Spring holidays: discover Sardinia by bike

In spring, Sardinia explodes with scents and colors. This is the best season to explore the island from the mountains to the sea, allowing yourself to be enchanted by its incredible scents. Have you ever thought about taking an active holiday? If you love two wheels, you are in the right place. The almost deserted roads and the mild climate are the perfect allies for an unforgettable cycling holiday among dry stone walls, abandoned railways, vineyards, olive groves, fields of red poppies, and breathtaking views facing the crystalline sea.

Unless you are a professional and are willing to load your own by ship or plane, we can take care of the bikes by relying on a vast network of bikes rent companies now scattered throughout the island where you can find electric and pedal-assisted bikes up to the sportier ones. Book your cycling holiday and find out that thanks to the variety of landscapes and terrains, Sardinia is a destination appreciated both by competitive cyclists who like to test themselves with challenging and sporty routes and by novice cyclists, simple tourists who are looking for unspoiled nature, millenary culture, and lots of relaxation in this destination.

Here’s why you should take a cycling holiday in Sardinia:

• the roads with little traffic make it particularly safe
• cycling along the secondary roads will make you discover an immense heritage
• it will often happen that you leave in the mountains and find yourself on the sea

In Sardinia, there is 2600 km of cycle network divided into 52 itineraries that cross more than 200 municipal areas. The whole island, from the coasts to the interior, is, therefore, the perfect set to get on a nice bike and set off to discover unusual villages, country churches, farms, and many curiosities that you have not yet imagined. Far from traffic and noise, here is one of the cycling itineraries in Sardinia that we love the most.

Cycling on the west coast from Alghero to Buggerru

We start by bike from the extreme north of the West Coast of Sardinia from the splendid Catalan city of Alghero. Here, among the immense white cliffs of Capo Caccia and the hints of Mediterranean scrub along the paths of the Porto Conte Natural Park, you can breathe a magical atmosphere. By bike, with a not-too-demanding path of just over 40 km, you get to Bosa. The itinerary between the Riviera del Corallo and the Costa dei Grifoni is a much-loved itinerary by cyclists, but first, take the entire cycle path that from the center of Alghero reaches the Nuraghe Palmavera and the Necropolis of Anghelu Ruju to discover two of the most important archaeological sites in the island.

On the Alghero-Bosa coast road out of season, car traffic is non-existent. The road has one of the most beautiful panoramic views in Italy, and it is not uncommon to see the majestic griffon vultures in flight beyond the mountains while the depths of the sea can be admired from above.

Bosa is a delightful postcard of a thousand colors. The only village in Sardinia overlooking a navigable river (the Temo), dominated by the castle of Malaspina, it houses artistic treasures such as the fourteenth-century church of San Pietro and Malvasia, the sweet wine typical of these places that invite you to lengthen your stay.

You pedal gently on safe roads, most of which are secondary roads to which are added sections of the state road, cycle paths, and disused railways. Go past the Malvasia vineyards, the destination of food and wine tourism of niches, which dot the Modolo valley (very small and fascinating municipalities) the climb leads to Cuglieri, a medieval village, the main center of Montiferru. In the seaside village of Santa Caterina di Pittinuri you will admire S’Archittu in ecstasy, a majestic arch of white rock that stands out above the blue sea.

Between one stage and another, you can decide to detour inland where there is never a shortage of surprises. In this case, for example, you could reach the wonderful village of Santu Lussurgiu and pedal through the woods of the legendary Siete Fuentes. Returning to the coast, we arrive in the Sinis peninsula. Between the splendid white quartz beach of Is Arutas and the fascinating ruins of the ancient Phoenician city of Tharros, the wow effect is guaranteed. However, the unusual and unexpected village of San Salvatore is still missing, in the past, a film set for some famous spaghetti western films.

Park your bikes in front of the Cabras Museum and get to know the enigmatic statues of the Giants of Monti Prama in person before stopping for a delicious lunch based on the delicacy of the area: his majesty the mullet roe.

With the accumulated protein, you can continue the bike journey in the most demanding stretch that will take you to Costa Verde. One of the most inaccessible and intact areas of the island. Here among the forests and the dunes of Piscinas up to 50 meters high, the wonderful deer live unbothered. At this point, the differences in height and the surprise for the journey require distinct stages which from the coast will lead you to discover the uninhabited mining villages of Montevecchio and Ingurtosu, real ghost towns. You can choose to stay the night in a characteristic farmhouse surrounded by greenery.

Leaving the Costa Verde, you enter the Sulcis, and here the first stop can only be the amazing temple of Antas, a suggestive Roman temple dedicated to the Sardus Pater immersed in the countryside near Fluminimaggiore.

From here, the road will take you to Buggerru and unique beaches, such as the splendid Cala Domestica. You enter the heart of the Geo-mining park, once a UNESCO heritage site, among ghost villages and breathtaking landscapes.

When to go cycling in Sardinia

Cycling tourism is a way to discover Sardinia slowly and directly. Cycling, you can find places and meet people and thus come into deep contact with the environment and the wonderful landscapes crossed. The best season for cycling on the island in spring, whether you choose routes near the coast or explore the naturalistic and cultural paths of the hinterland.

Cyclists are almost always united by a marked environmental sensitivity, a great passion for the bicycle as a means of transport and as a lifestyle, a lively curiosity for places unknown to the general public, and a great adaptability to unforeseen situations.

Sardinia Natour designs exclusive tailor-made itineraries for cyclists and tourists who want to be part of the trip to Sardinia on two wheels to make the experience on our island even more unforgettable.