Costa Smeralda

Costa Smeralda, Italy

Low-angle view of sunrise over the pink granite boulders and turquoise water of Capriccioli beach on the Costa Smeralda.

A Sardinian coast of white sand, turquoise water and yacht-filled marinas, where the prices are firmly high.

The place

Costa Smeralda is a coastal area on the northern side of Sardinia, the Italian island in the western Mediterranean. The name was first used for a small stretch of shoreline in the commune of Arzachena, but today it is loosely applied to a strip about 20 km long. Visitors come for the sea first: long bays of pale sand, granite headlands and shallow water that shifts between blue and green depending on the depth and the light. Behind the beaches the land rises into low scrub and cork-oak country, and the air smells of myrtle and wild herbs in the warm months.

The main settlements were laid out to a single plan rather than growing organically. Porto Cervo is the centre of gravity, with its harbour, boutiques, galleries and a marina that fills with large private yachts in summer. Smaller hamlets such as Liscia di Vacca, Baja Sardinia, Capriccioli and Romazzino sit along the coast, each with hotels and villas set back from the water. Golf courses, a polo ground inland near Arzachena and a sailing regatta each September give the area a sporting calendar that runs through the season.

Prices are the first thing most people notice. Property here ranks among the dearest in Europe, and hotel rates reflect the same ambition. Budget travellers will find the most room to manoeuvre by staying in campsite bungalows or a rented villa a little inland, then spending the days on the coast. The area is best understood as a set of distinct places rather than one resort: a marina, a handful of beaches and a wider island that rewards a car.

Its story

The Costa Smeralda was not always a byword for luxury. Before 1961 the north-east of Sardinia was quieter, and the stretch around Arzachena saw little development. That year a consortium of investors began building a planned resort along the shore, led by Prince Karim Aga Khan. The aim was to draw wealthy visitors from the start, rather than adapting an existing village coast to them later.

The architects chose a local design language. The church of Stella Maris in Porto Cervo, designed by Michele Busiri Vici in the 1960s, follows a neo-Sardinian style inspired by Nuragic monuments, and the wider project drew on the island's own forms rather than mainland villa styles. Other architects, including Jacques Couëlle, Savin Couëlle and Vietti, worked on the scheme, and the towns were laid out to a detailed urban plan.

Fame followed. Celebrities and business figures began arriving, and the area's exclusivity grew with each season. Beaches took the names of people and places nearby, and Spiaggia del Principe keeps the prince's name. Sporting life grew alongside the resort: the Sardinia Cup regatta has been held off the coast each September, and polo matches play out inland near Arzachena.

The coast has older roots too. The necropolis of Li Muri shows that people lived here long before the planners arrived, and the Costa Smeralda's modern towns sit on a landscape with a much longer human story. Today's visitor meets the yachts and villas first, but the older layers are never far away.

What to see

Culture

Costa Smeralda is a place where people come to be seen, but the everyday rules are simple and largely the same as anywhere in Italy. Sardinians are proud of their island's identity, and locals speak their own languages alongside Italian, so a few words of Italian go a long way in shops and bars. Meals run late and are unhurried; sitting over a coffee or an aperitivo is normal, and nobody expects you to leave quickly.

Dress is relaxed on the beaches and around the marina, but it shifts once you step into the village centre of Porto Cervo or into a restaurant in the evening. Many people dress up for dinner. Stella Maris is an active place of worship, so keep voices low and remove sunglasses and hats when you go inside.

Photography needs care. Yachts and their crews are private, and staff at the marina may ask you to move on if you linger on a gangway. Ask before photographing people in the street or at a beach bar, and do not pose with anyone's boat without permission.

Beaches are shared spaces too. Take your rubbish back to the car or a bin, and avoid playing loud music from a phone near families or other sunbathers. Tipping is not expected in bars, though a small amount for good table service is welcome. Keep your voice down near the water at night and cover your shoulders before entering Stella Maris.

What to wear

In Costa Smeralda, the traditional dress you will see is mostly in museums and at village festivals rather than on the marina. Sardinian costume, known as su costumu, varies from town to town across the island, and the Gallura area around Arzachena has its own styles. Women's dress traditionally combined a full skirt, a fitted bodice and an embroidered apron, often in dark wool, with linen underlayers and silk or cotton embroidery. Men wore dark woollen jackets and waistcoats over linen shirts, and festival pieces used richly coloured embroidery and decorative metalwork.

Today most people here dress in summer resort clothes: linen shirts, sundresses, espadrilles, sandals and polished loafers in the evening. In Porto Cervo the look is polished, with plenty of white, navy and gold jewellery, but locals mostly dress for the weather.

What should a visitor wear? Pack light cotton and linen for the heat, which can be strong in summer, and a cover-up for the walk back from the beach. Carry a light layer for evenings on the coast, when a breeze comes off the sea. Churches ask for covered shoulders and knees, so a shawl or lightweight shirt helps. For the terrain, wear closed shoes or sturdy sandals on rocky coves and paths to beaches such as Petra Ruja, and save flip-flops for the sand. A hat and sunglasses are essential at midday.

What to eat

Plan it

Best time. May to June and September to October suit most visitors: the sea is warm, the crowds are thinner and the heat is gentler than in July and August. Many hotels and beach restaurants open in spring and close in autumn, so check opening months before you go.

How long. 3–4

Getting there. Fly to Olbia's Aeroporto Costa Smeralda, which has seasonal international flights and a few domestic services outside summer, then take a regional bus or hire a car for the last leg. Ferries run to Olbia from Civitavecchia and Livorno all year, with Genoa and Piombino in summer.

Budget. high

Tips

Etiquette

Nearby

Sources