Where to stay in Olbia

The centro storico is the pedestrian spine around Corso Umberto, with cafe tables under parasols and the granite basilica of San Simplicio a few streets north. It is the shortest walk to everything and the only area where a stay works without a car at all. The port side, around the Isola Bianca terminal, is about 2 km from Corso Umberto by road and keeps the same walk into town while sitting outside the strictest traffic zones.

North-east along the gulf, Pittulongu spreads along the shore under bare granite hills, houses scattered rather than built in a line. It is about 8 km from the centre by road and about 14 km from the airport. Porto Rotondo, a frazione of the same comune on the north side of the gulf, is a marina village with yachts along the quays and the steepest street tariff in the comune.

South-east, Murta Maria and Porto Istana face a bay of white sand and low islands, about 12 km from the centre, where a car is needed for everything. The Costa Smeralda proper, Porto Cervo included, lies in the neighbouring comune of Arzachena, which the airport operator puts 34 km from Olbia, so it is a day target rather than an area of this guide. Quub's Sardinia guide covers the rest of the island.

The rule to plan around is short. Under the dirigenziale ordinance of 25 March 2025, zones A and B of the historic centre are a limited traffic zone every day from 00:00 to 24:00, open only to residents, emergency and public services and vehicles with a temporary authorisation, and parking is banned throughout the ZTL at all hours, even for vehicles that may drive in. Loading is capped at 20 minutes and the speed limit is 30 km/h. Zone C1 closes from 17:00 to 24:00 and zone C2 all day. No provision for lodging guests appears in the ordinance, so a hotel inside those streets cannot be assumed to register a plate. Cameras bill the registered keeper, which for a hire car is the rental company, and the fine runs EUR 83 to 332.

Outside the zone, Aspo runs the paid bays. Zone 1 takes in Corso Umberto, via Garibaldi, via Catello Piro, via De Filippi and via Acquedotto Romano, 132 spaces at EUR 1.50 an hour from 08:00 to 20:00 on working days, Saturdays included. Zone 2, the wider ring of viale Aldo Moro, via G. D'Annunzio, via Acquedotto, via Roma, via Planargia, via Gallura and via Tavolara, has 287 spaces at EUR 1.00 an hour from 09:00 to 13:00 and 16:00 to 20:00 on the same days. The airport area is charged at EUR 1.00 an hour from 08:00 to 20:00, Acquaviva at EUR 1.00 an hour around the clock, and the camper area at EUR 1.50 an hour up to the tenth hour and EUR 15.00 for a full day.

Porto Rotondo is the exception, charged at EUR 3.00 an hour in the summer season, from 08:00 to 13:00 and 16:00 to 24:00. For the beaches at Pittulongu, Bados, Lido del Sole and Porto Istana no municipal tariff or ordinance was found, so ask the property what parking it has. GetCar's car rental page for Olbia covers the hire side of the trip.

The imposta di soggiorno is due from anyone not on the Olbia register who stays in any lodging in the comune, short lets of up to 30 days included; the regulation presumes a let is for tourism unless the taxpayer proves otherwise. It is charged on at most seven consecutive nights, and the comune's information sheet adds that the cap cannot be split: once a guest has paid seven consecutive nights, later nights that year are not taxed. Children up to their sixteenth birthday are exempt, as are carers of hospital inpatients, non-self-sufficient disabled guests and a companion, a coach driver and a tour leader per group of 25, police and armed forces on duty, people working at a local business, and university students up to 26 enrolled in Olbia.

The amount is the one gap. The Giunta sets the rates by resolution, and the newest table the comune publishes is for 2023: hotels EUR 2 to 5 by stars, B&Bs, room lets and rented houses EUR 2.50, and houses of cadastral category A7 and above EUR 5. The Finance Ministry register lists an Olbia act of 13 November 2025, but the act sits behind a keyed download, so the 2026 figures are unverified. Guests pay the host at the end of the stay and get a receipt. Every Sardinian let also shows a regional IUN next to the national CIN in its listing and at the entrance of the unit, and the host registers each guest with the police within 24 hours, which means an identity document or passport for everyone, children included.

The comune charges street parking at Porto Rotondo only in the summer season. The centro storico and the port side keep shops and services through the year, which is why they carry the monthly stay types here.

Ferries dock at Isola Bianca, about 2 km from Corso Umberto, so a first or last night near the port saves a drive at an awkward hour. Travellers flying in from outside the Schengen area pass through the EU Entry/Exit System, fully operational since 10 April 2026, at their first Schengen border.

A first visit on foot, or a month with shops open all year: the centro storico.

An early ferry: the port and the waterfront.

A beach holiday with a car: Pittulongu.

A marina on the doorstep: Porto Rotondo.

White sand south-east of the town: Murta Maria and Porto Istana.