Sardinia Cultural Heritage & Coastal Tour – 8 Days

Afternoon:

• Arrival in Cagliari: Upon landing at Cagliari Airport, you'll be met and transferred by coach to the village of Sant'Antioco to check in to your hotel.

Evening/Night:

• Welcome Dinner: Enjoy your first taste of Sardinian cuisine with a welcome dinner, including a first course, a second course with a side, dessert, and water.

Morning:

• Breakfast: Early breakfast at the hotel.
• Hypogean Village: Visit the Hypogean Village, once part of a vast Punic necropolis that later became a refuge for the local population — the “gruttaius” — and remained inhabited until the 1970s.
• Chiara Vigo Workshop: Meet Chiara Vigo, the last master of byssus (sea silk), and visit her workshop-museum of textile artifacts and traditional weaving rituals. (No entry fee, but a tip is requested.)
• Sant'Antioco Catacombs: Conclude the morning at the Basilica and Catacombs of Sant'Antioco, a Punic hypogean funerary complex dating back to the 5th century B.C.

Afternoon:

• Lunch: Enjoy lunch at a local restaurant.
• Archaeological Museum of Sant'Antioco: Explore the Archaeological Museum of Barreca, home to bronze bronzetti figurines and artifacts spanning the peninsula's various historical eras.
• Sardus Pater Wine Cellar: Tour the Sardus Pater winery's 75-year history and finish with a tasting of three wines paired with pecorino cheese, cured sausage, and traditional Sardinian bread.

Evening/Night:

• Dinner: Return to the hotel in time to enjoy dinner.

Morning:

• Breakfast: Early breakfast at the hotel.
• Carloforte Sightseeing: Sail from Calasetta to the Island of San Pietro for a coastal tour passing Capo Sandalo — home to Italy's westernmost lighthouse — plus historic salt pans and tuna traps.
• Girotonno Event: Attend Girotonno*, the international bluefin tuna food festival held over the last weekend of May, with art, music, and cooking shows from national and international chefs.
• Walking Tour of Carloforte: Wander the caruggi, Carloforte's narrow Ligurian-style streets lined with pastel houses and Liberty-style galaie balconies.

Afternoon:

• Lunch: Enjoy lunch at a local restaurant.
• Sant'Antioco Sightseeing: Take the ferry back to Calasetta and tour Sant'Antioco Island, with photo stops at Coaquaddus, Cala Sapone, and Maladroxia beaches, and the iconic Mangiabarche cliff and lighthouse, nicknamed the “Boat Eater.”

Evening/Night:

• Dinner: Return to the hotel for dinner.

Morning:

• Breakfast: Leisurely breakfast at the hotel.
• Boat Trip Excursion: Depart from the harbour of Buggerru for a boat excursion (up to 2.5 hours) along Sardinia's southwest coast, taking in towering cliffs, the Grotta Azzurra sea cave, and Cala Domestica, before reaching Pan di Zucchero, a 133-metre sea stack among the tallest in the Mediterranean.

Afternoon:

• Lunch: Savour lunch at a local restaurant.
• Henry Mine: Board an electric train to explore the Henry Gallery, part of the former Pranu Sartu mining complex excavated in 1865 for zinc and lead, its kilometre-long tunnel cut through cliffs above the sea.

Evening:

• Leisure Time: Return to the hotel to relax and enjoy the evening.

Morning:

• Breakfast: Early breakfast at the hotel.
• Cagliari Castello Walking Tour: Travel to Cagliari and take a walking tour of the Castello quarter, the fortified historic district featuring the Tower of the Elephant, San Pancrazio Tower, and the Saint Remy Bastion.

Afternoon:

• Tuvixeddu Punic Necropolis: Visit Tuvixeddu, the largest Punic necropolis ever discovered, home to over 100 tombs and inhabited since the Neolithic period. (Free entry.)
• Lunch and Free Time at Poetto Beach: Continue along Viale Poetto and the flamingo-filled Molentargius Lagoon to Poetto Beach for lunch and free time on its 8km of shallow, crystal-clear water.

Evening/Night:

Return: Return to your hotel late afternoon, and enjoy a quiet evening and dinner at the hotel.

Morning:

• Breakfast: Early breakfast at the hotel.
• Serbariu Mine: Visit the former Great Mine of Serbariu in Carbonia, once one of Italy's primary coal sources during the 1930s–1950s, now a museum with a hoist room and underground galleries.

Afternoon:

• Educational Farm: Enjoy a guided tour of an educational farm, meeting livestock and exploring the orchard and beehives, followed by a multi-course lunch of homegrown, seasonal fare with wine and water.
• Nuraghe Seruci: Explore the Nuragic village of Seruci, home to one of Sardinia's largest polylobed nuraghes and the remains of roughly a hundred stone huts, including a “meeting hut.”

Evening/Night:

• Leisure Time: Return to the hotel to enjoy the evening at your leisure.

Morning:

• Breakfast: Early breakfast at the hotel.
• Tratalias Village: Walk through Tratalias, a ghost town abandoned in the 1980s and once the seat of the Diocese of Sulci, home to the former Romanesque Cathedral of Santa Maria di Monserrato.
• Domus de Janas Necropolis of Montessu: Explore the Domus de Janas of Montessu, the largest necropolis in southern Sardinia — Neolithic rock-cut tombs inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2025.

Afternoon:

• Lunch: Enjoy lunch at a local restaurant.
• Sant'Elia di Tattinu Church: Visit the tiny Greek-cross church of Sant'Elia di Tattinu, one of Sardinia's oldest and most significant early Christian sites.
• Tattinu Holy Well: See the Nuragic holy well of Tattinu, with its tholos chamber and “inverted staircase” architrave roof, dedicated to the cult of water. (Free entry.)

 Evening/Night:

• Dinner: Return to the hotel for dinner.

Morning:

• Breakfast: Breakfast at the hotel.
• San Giovanni Cave: Walk the 850-metre route of the Cave of San Giovanni, once used to transport minerals and now closed to vehicles, emerging into the forest of Marganai.
• Sounding Stone Museum: Visit the Sounding Stone Museum in San Sperate, showcasing artist Pinuccio Sciola's sound-generating stone sculptures and the village's open-air “mural sculptures” gallery.

Afternoon:

• Lunch: Break for lunch at a local restaurant along the route.
• Cagliari Sightseeing: Enjoy a final sightseeing tour of Cagliari with photo stops at the viewpoints of Monte Urpinu Park and Buoncamino, followed by free time.
• Departure: Transfer to Cagliari Airport for your flight home.