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The white sand beach of La Cinta at San Teodoro under a blue sky, with the limestone mass of Tavolara island across the water

Where to stay in Sardinia

Photo: Emabarto01, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Places to stay in Sardinia

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About Sardinia

Sardinia has no island-wide tourist tax: each comune sets its own, and some charge it only in the warm months. Pick the base by airport: Cala Gonone, for one, is about 107 km by road from Olbia airport.

Italy. Guide last checked .

Facts and rules

Last checked . Each fact links to its source.

Airports
Cagliari (CAG), 7 km from the city; Olbia (OLB), 4 km from Olbia and 34 km from the Costa Smeralda; Alghero (AHO), 10 km from Alghero. Distances as the airport operators give them. Source
Tourist tax in Cagliari
From 1 April 2026, per person per night: hotels EUR 1 to 5 by stars, extra-hotel lodging EUR 2, or EUR 3 from July to September, youth hostels EUR 1.50. Only the first five consecutive nights are taxed; under 12 and over 70 exempt. Source
Tourist tax in Alghero
2026, per person per night: EUR 2 in hotels up to 3 stars, B&Bs, holiday flats and occasional lets; EUR 4 in hotels of 4 stars and up. Nights after the first seven consecutive ones are exempt, and so are children under 12. Source
Holiday-let rules
A Sardinian short let must show the national CIN and the regional IUN in every online listing and at the entrance of the flat. The host registers guests with the police (Alloggiati Web) and reports guest numbers to the Region. Source
Check-in
Hosts may accept only guests with an identity document or passport, and register each guest with the police within 24 hours. Source
Parking in Cagliari
The comune runs five limited traffic zones (ZTL), Castello, Marina, Stampace, Villanova and the Poetto, plus pedestrian areas. Its ZTL office issues the passes; a guest with a rental car parks outside the zones. Source
Parking in Alghero
The historic centre is a ZTL all year, with camera gates at Via Simon and Piazza Sulis. Guests of lodging inside may drive in to load or unload luggage after the host sends the plate to the local police. Source
Parking in Olbia
Zones A and B of the old centre are closed to traffic all day, every day, and parking is banned throughout the ZTL at all hours, even for permit holders (ordinance 8 of 25 March 2025). Source
Monthly stays
Up to 30 days a home is a short let. Sardinia's rules allow tourist leases of more than 30 days and up to 18 months; the contract must then be registered and keep a tourist purpose. Source
Emergency number
112 Source

Areas of Sardinia

The Bastione di Saint Remy in Cagliari, a pale limestone terrace with a central arch and a double staircase, under a blue sky
Photo: Ryan Hodnett, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Cagliari

The regional capital, in the south: the Castello district on its hill, the Marina, Stampace and Villanova districts below it, and the Poetto as the city beach. A city with services all year, 7 km from its airport, it suits a city stay or a month more than a beach holiday. Su Nuraxi di Barumini, the nuraghe on the UNESCO list, is about 64 km from the airport.

Cagliari airport
about 8 km
Poetto beach
about 9 km

Car and parking

Castello, Marina, Stampace, Villanova and the Poetto are limited traffic zones (ZTL) run by the comune, each with its own hours, and entering one without a pass brings a camera fine of EUR 83 to 332. Park outside the zones and walk in, and ask the host before arrival whether a pass is possible.

The sandstone sea walls of the old town of Alghero above clear blue water, with people on the ramparts and green hills across the bay
Photo: Holger Uwe Schmitt, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Alghero

A walled old town on the sea in the north-west, 10 km from its own airport. It suits a stay on foot in the old town, with the north-west in reach by car: La Pelosa beach at Stintino, which needs a booking from 15 May to 15 October, is about 52 km from Alghero airport.

Alghero airport
about 12 km
Olbia airport
about 137 km

Car and parking

Under the ZTL regulation the comune publishes, the historic centre is closed to traffic and parking from midnight to 08:00, 10:30 to 14:30 and 16:30 to midnight, except for permit holders, with camera gates at Via Simon and Piazza Sulis. Guests of lodging inside may drive in to load or unload luggage once the host has sent the plate to the local police. In summer 2026 the comune opened temporary paid and free car parks in the town.

The marina at Porto Cervo seen from the town beach, with motor yachts and a sailing boat moored in a calm bay
Photographed in 2018. Photo: Bärwinkel,Klaus, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Olbia and the Costa Smeralda

Olbia is the port town 4 km from the north-eastern airport, with its old centre around Corso Umberto and ferries from Civitavecchia, Livorno and Genoa. It suits a practical base or a longer stay. Porto Cervo, the marina of the Costa Smeralda in the comune of Arzachena, is about 40 km from the airport by road, and the coast around it suits resort hotels and villas.

Olbia airport, from Olbia centre
about 7 km
Porto Cervo, from Olbia airport
about 40 km

Car and parking

Zones A and B of the old centre of Olbia are a ZTL all day, every day, and parking is banned throughout the ZTL at all hours, even for permit holders; zone C1 closes from 17:00 to midnight. Park outside the old centre. No official parking source for Porto Cervo was found as of September 2026, so ask the host.

The white sand beach of La Cinta at San Teodoro under a blue sky, with the limestone mass of Tavolara island across the water
Photo: Emabarto01, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

San Teodoro

A beach village south of Olbia, with La Cinta beach, and Cala Brandinchi and Lu Impostu nearby. It suits a beach holiday with a car more than a city stay. The comune charges its tourist tax only from 1 May to 31 October 2026.

Olbia airport
about 31 km
Olbia centre
about 32 km

Car and parking

Cala Brandinchi and Lu Impostu need a booking from June to September, EUR 2 per person, opening at 18:00 two days before, and the booking does not include parking. The comune runs paid public car parks; their tariffs for visitors are not published online.

Cala Gonone on the slope of a green limestone mountain above a calm bay, with rocks in the foreground and a small harbour on the right
Photographed in 2015. Photo: Unukorno, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The Gulf of Orosei (Cala Gonone)

Cala Gonone, the seaside village of Dorgali on the Gulf of Orosei, is a base for the coves of the gulf such as Cala Luna and for the Gorropu gorge, reached from the Genna Silana pass on the SS125. It suits walkers and a slower trip, and every airport is a long drive away.

Olbia airport
about 107 km
Cagliari airport
about 196 km
Dorgali
about 10 km

Car and parking

In 2026 the comune runs a free shuttle bus from 1 June to 30 September on four lines: the red line links the Iscrittiorè car park with the port from 07:10 to 19:50, and the green line runs between Cala Gonone and Dorgali in the evening. No municipal parking page for Cala Gonone was found as of September 2026.

Guides

Questions

Is there a tourist tax in Sardinia?

Not for the whole island: each comune sets its own imposta di soggiorno. From 1 April 2026 Cagliari charges EUR 1 to 5 a night in hotels by stars and EUR 2 in extra-hotel lodging such as B&Bs, EUR 3 from July to September, on the first five nights. Alghero charges EUR 2 in most lodging and EUR 4 in hotels of 4 stars and up, on the first seven nights. San Teodoro charges only from May to October in 2026.

Which airport is closest to which area?

Cagliari (CAG) for Cagliari, about 8 km by road. Olbia (OLB) for Olbia, the Costa Smeralda and San Teodoro, and for Cala Gonone, about 107 km away. Alghero (AHO) for Alghero, about 12 km by road.

Can a rental car drive into the old town of Alghero?

Guests of a hotel or flat inside the ZTL may drive in to load or unload luggage once the host has sent the plate to the local police. Otherwise the regulation the comune publishes bans traffic and parking from midnight to 08:00, 10:30 to 14:30 and 16:30 to midnight, with camera gates at Via Simon and Piazza Sulis.

What codes should a Sardinian holiday let show?

The national CIN and the regional IUN, in every online listing and at the entrance of the flat. In June 2026 the Region suspended the IUN of lets that had not met their guest statistics duties since May 2023.