Rent a Car Sardinia
Sardinia car hire, tailor-made for you
A true Mediterranean gem, the island of Sardinia is home to some of the world’s most gorgeous beaches. Wander innumerable coastal trails, kayak out from hidden bays. Drive your hire car inland and be immersed in pristine countryside, secluded hamlets and Bronze Age settlements. Book nowPopular car hire locations in Sardinia
Explore Sardinia's best beaches
While Sardinia’s best-known beaches are in the north-west, along the glamorous, star-studded Costa Smeralda, there are many other strips of sandy paradise from which to gaze at the bluest of blue seas.One of the most secluded beaches can only be only accessed by a 30-minute boat ride from Cala Gonone, halfway down the island’s east coast. It’s worth the journey: the sublime Cala Luna (moon cove) is a crescent of white sand backed by a freshwater lagoon and flanked by cave-ridden cliffs.
On the southern half of the island’s west coast, Costa Verde comprises a string of wide, sandy beaches like Scivu, never crowded and backed by 200-foot dunes perfect for barefoot strolls. As you steer your hire car along the coastal road you won’t be able to resist pulling over to scramble down to isolated rocky coves.
Fancy an explore off-shore? Off the coast of Costa Smeralda, the Maddalena archipelago – a 20-minute ferry ride from the port of Palau – is made up of over 60 tiny granite islands scattered between Sardinia and Corsica. When not swimming or sailing, visitors can potter around Maddalena, a lively and cosmopolitan town, full of bars, restaurants and bookshops.
Road trips to Sardinia's best-loved hiking trails
Gola Su GorropuTake a half-hour drive from the seaside resort of Cala Gonone, past the farms of the lower Flumineddu valley, and you will reach car park opposite Hotel Silana at the Genna Silana pass on route SS125 (km 183). From here it’s a two-hour (10.5 km) ramble through holm oak forests and eroded limestone slopes to the mighty boulder-strewn canyon of Gola Su Gorropu, one of the deepest in Europe.
Cala Goloritzè
Ninety minutes’ further south along the SS125, which bisects the Parco Nazionale del Golfo di Orosei e del Gennargentu (Sardinia’s largest national park), the looming mountains of the Gennargentu meet the sea rather suddenly, forming a crescent of dramatic cliffs. A relaxing walk beginning at Cooperativa Goloritzè on the Golgo Plateau winds its way to a stunning pebble bay named Cala Goloritzè. Leave about 2.5 hours to get there and back.
Nuraghe Su Nuraxi
To get to the Bronze Age settlement of Nuraghe Su Nuraxi, Sardinia’s sole World Heritage site, good shoes are mandatory. Trek through the lush countryside near the town of Barumini (a 50-minute drive due north of capital Cagliari), with or without a local guide, until you reach the megalithic tower (dated to 1,500 BC) and nuragic complex of circular interlocking buildings that tumble down the hillside.