A week in Cagliari

I have spent this last week in Cagliari for a holiday, I'm not on my Erasmus placement here. Nevertheless, I thought it would be interesting to share my experience with you, as it was a great trip for me. It was a marvellous week!

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The transport:

I left from Belgium on a Ryanair flight to Charleroi airport because there were no flights going to Maastricht. I paid something like 70 euros because it is quite a popular destination that lots of people like, and so the prices have risen quite a lot. I was there during the high season, too - in the middle of September...

So, I caught the Ryanair flight and we arrived in Cagliari with no problems. Once here, we bought a bus ticket from an automated machine. The ticket was 4 euros, which is a little expensive but I didn't know any other kind of bus to take us here. The first bus that arrived was fine - we had only been waiting for about 15 minutes. We were waiting in front of the airport, next to the last door.

During the evening, the last bus that goes towards the airport leaves at 12 and costs the same 4 euros.

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Accommodation

In order to find a cheap place where we could sleep, we chose to rent an entire flat because we were in a group of girls. We found somewhere on the website called homelidays. The truth is, you have to trust this page and its members, at least if you follow all their advice given on the website (like sending various emails to the owner, calling on the telephone, asking for a written contract, although that is not what I did, etc. )... You also have to look at the reviews made by other people who have stayed in that accommodation before you.

Once we had chosen our accommodation, I was in contact with the owner on the telephone and I sent the money (the deposit). I also asked him to lower the price because we were students... and he agreed!

Furthermore, in the end we got another reduction on our bill because there were works in the flat above ours (which couldn't have been helped) and the noise disturbed us a little.

I can advise you all to also look at the website called Airbnb. It is a system where people rent out their homes/flats/rooms for a week or so. The price is per night and it is also quite cheap.

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What to see?

• Cagliari:

Cagliari is a small city, you can visit it all in just one day. It is pretty because there are higher parts and so you can go up to those areas and have panoramic views over the city. The old area is above the new part, and the old area is where the University, the towers and cathedral are, as well as a square and a terrace with beautiful 360 degree views. It is in this square where there is a cool bar, you can sit outside on sofas! When it is sunny there, it is somewhere where you can spread out and relax with a coffee in your hand.

The view is really cool as well because there are arches, lights, large and old rocks and you can take such beautiful photos. Each part of the terrace is facing a different part of the city below. You can get to the top by a lift, or you can walk all the way up.

If you descend towards the direction of the University, you will arrive below to another square that leads to the gran vía (the main street). On the left there is the high street with all the shops, and opposite there are lots of shops too.

On the hillside, close to the University, you can see the cathedral. It looks small from the outside, but when you go in, you can see it is huge. There are two chapels here below and they are big too, and next to the cathedral there is a museum that has objects from the cathedral inside it. But I didn't go there, so I can't say if it's cool or not.

It is nice to walk along here. There is also a café, an archaeological museum and a lot of antique shops.

Below, in the newer part of the city (well, there are still old buildings but it is different to the area above it), you can see the botanical gardens. I think it costs a couple of euro (one or two), and you can also see the Roman Amphitheatre. It was closed when I went, so I can't tell you what it's like, but you can see everything from the outside. It is quite renovated (completed with new rock) and there isn't much original rock which is a shame, but still its quite cool to take a look.

Still in the city, there are other ruins like the Villa of Tigellio. You can see the outside of this and personally, I have not visited the museum that accompanies the ruins. I just looked from the outside.

Afterwards, you can go and see the port, next to the bus station. If you follow this motorway, you will arrive at the beach - Poeto. However, you have to choose a good time to go. Everyone goes by bus, you could get the P. D. or the P. W (if I'm not mistaken), both of those go to the beach. If you have any problems or doubts, the Tourist Centre is in front, on the Roma road. You can ask there.

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Beaches

The beaches (called the "Poeto" area) in Cagliari are beautiful because they are not inside the city, instead they are far away. They are also a little wild. The only bad thing is that the first few beaches are privatised, so you will have to go not to the first beaches, but a little further on the bus. On these open beaches there are beach bars and not too many people (at least in September, when I was there), there are areas that are a little wild, the water is clean and it is very nice to paddle. But take a sweater for the evening, because when the sun goes down, it gets cold straight away.

Behind the Poeto beaches there are salt lakes. It is possible to go inside and to walk there, but you have to enter where they start, by the area closest to the city. Because from Poeto (the beaches) it is not possible to go through inside. The area is blocked and closed by a road.

If you want to take a pleasant walk, you can rent bicycles in the city and go to the salt lakes and the beach by bike. There are four or five shops for bike rentals in Cagliari, there's one next to the bus station.

• Calamosca:

Calamosca is a small beach before Poeto. You can get there with the normal bus that goes to the beach (you only have to stop one before, when it begins to do big turn towards the beach). From the bus stop you have to walk for twenty minutes. But during the summer on the weekends there is a special bus that goes to Calamosca and then you don't need to walk the twenty minutes. It's the 5/d I think... something like that.

Calamosca is in a cove (it is beach located between two rocks) where there aren't many people. It does makes your feet hurt a little because there are stones and pebbles in the water, but it's nice because the walk is cool and there are not as many people as there are on the other one.

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What to see outside of Cagliari

• Hiking in the mountains:

For hiking, there are several places where you can go. Personally, I was at Burcei. More precisely, I stopped before Burcei, at the mountain "Sette Frateli". Burcei is the direction that the bus takes you towards, but you have to get off before the last stop. It's a very nice place, even if it's not easy to get there. There are buses to go out there, but the schedules change according to the time of year, so it is necessary to check the information before going. The bus drops you off you at the side of the road in the mountains. Once yo are at the stop, you have to turn around. Behind you there is a round-a-bout. You can take the road on the left that goes down (follow the signs). You arrive at a forest ranger centre where you can ask for a map.

Then go down the road and on the left you will see a dirt track that goes down even more. Take it and continue until you reach a botanical garden and a walking area. There is a closed-off area with animals inside. Personally, I didn't see them, but maybe if you are making a little less noise you will be able to see some of them (deer, wild cats, birds... ). In the middle of the walk down, you have two options: either you can make a small turn that is made for children and others, or you can make a big turn to see more beautiful landscapes. You climb more in the mountains on the big turn. I made the big one, but you have to be careful not to get lost because it is not very well sign-posted. Apart from that, you have to go through a road where there is a barrier. We heard wild boars there! It was a bit scary, but it was so cool too! The forest which you walk through is beautiful.

There are other mountains nearby and other walks to do as well, but I don't remember the names of those ones, sorry!

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Beaches and other cool places:

• Pula :

Pula is a city in the North-East of Cagliari. It is about one hour away by bus and there are lots of buses that go there from Calgiari station. Also, they go on Sundays too (I took the bus on a Sunday). So, it is easy to go to this town (small town, almost a village if we compare with the villages of southern Spain... ). The bus ticket was not expensive either, it cost me about three or four euros for the return trip. Once there, we went back into the city and immediately asked the tourist center to tell us the bus schedules to go to Nora, the archaeological site that is next to the city. We missed the bus, or rather, the bus didn't even come! So, in the end we decided to take a taxi. There were 5 of us, so we asked for a van. The trip cost fifteen euros, or three euros each, which is quite cheap. But on our return, we forgot to ask for the van and so then we had to pay for two singe taxis, which were ten euros each! However, it was worth the it because it was a very cool day out.

The city is tiny and we returned in less than an hour. It is pretty - there is a souvenir shop, a typical pastry shop, and a liquor shop. There was a small church too, and little streets and a café.

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• Nora:

As I mentioned before, the bus timetable to get to Nora isn't correct. We had to get a taxi. This problem wouldn't have happened, of course, if we had had a car!

In Nora there's a nice beach that makes you want to stay there forever! It is very clean and isolated, as well it also has the famous archaeological site there too. Don't miss the guided tour! There is one every hour or every two hours in Spanish and English, I think. The visit was great! The archaeological site is so IMPRESSIVE! There are lots of ruins, foundations of Roman villas, colonies, Roman baths, etc. It is an entire Roman city in front of your eyes. This place is fantastic, I recommend it so much! Furthermore, the guided tour is not too short, or too long. It lasts about forty-five minutes but that's all it takes, no more or less. It gives you time to make the visit last the time in-between two buses (when it's high season). This visit allows you to have a good look at the site without overwhelming you with extra information that you forget straight away... The landscapes are idyllic and you can take amazing pictures there to put in your albums, that's true!

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• Chia:

Chia is a coastal area located about an hour / an hour and a half from Cagliari. To get there, we took a bus form Cagliari to Pula and then a bus to Chia. We stopped where all the tourists got off... Then, there are several beaches, so you need to walk a little to avoid the first beaches, which are less beautiful and have more people on them. If you have a car you can continue by car, then there are other places to park. I advise you to walk at least fifteen minutes. Where we were, there was a pink lake (because it is an area with salt, a salt lake) in front of the sea. It's very nice. A little to the right, there is a bar where you can buy cakes, ice cream, chips, and a good beer... To the left, there is a rock that can be climbed. From above, you have a good view over the coves and you can take very cool photos. You only need one afternoon to go there, except not if you love to lie in the sun for hours and hours... Which I don't!

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Distinctive things about the city:

• The truth is that this is not the best place to go clubbing, in my opinion. We had a lot of difficulty in finding some bars where we could dance. I think it's quite typical of Italy or Sardinia. I've heard from other people who have also travelled there that bars close early, around two o'clock in the morning. That wasn't the case in Cagliari, but it's true that people didn't dance. They had drinks in the streets, in front of the bars but without music. There were concerts too but very early, at 10pm or 11pm they were already finished.
• There are a lot of clubs on the Poeto beaches (I think it's the beach bars that turn into clubs at night) but I wasn't there then because I had to go and return by taxi. In the end, we met in a bar that has a panoramic terrace of the city. You remember, I told you about this place before... The bar where there are the sofas outside! Then we moved to another bar next door, going down a small staircase. It was a bar that seemed like it didn't have anything to offer at first, but then when we went to the back, we saw that lots of people were going down a staircase to the back of the bar. We followed them and we discovered a bar down there in a sort of tidy cave. There were blue lights and a band that played the guitar over an electro background rhythm. It was cool but not a lot of people danced there either. Drinks were also a bit expensive in those two bars.
• Ice cream shops! It is not a speciality of the city per say, but instead a speciality of Italy in general! Ice creams! I'd recommend a particular place to you: Calle Vitorio Emmanuelle. They make ice cream with apple, figs, nuts, pears, etc. It's divine!
• The last thing... The sun and the amazing weather! But that too... You can also say it about Italy in general!

Well, have a nice trip!

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