Driving in Sardinia scares many people, especially first-time visitors and non-Italians. Honestly, I hear them. While in Sardinia you won’t find much traffic, except in the bigger cities like Cagliari and Olbia, it’s easy to get confused and lost.
Many travelers dreaming of a holiday on our beautiful island have asked me how they could go about it without renting a car. The short answer is no, it’s quite impossible to visit Sardinia without renting a car.
However, there are some ways you can actually enjoy a wonderful holiday without having to drive yourself. And here I’m going to list them all.
Join a group tour
This is the most straightforward, even though not the most obvious. A group tour usually also includes the private driver and vehicle (at least my tour does), but not all do.
There are also many types of group tours: large so on big buses, smaller so on a minivan or minibus, standard so visiting the whole of Sardinia in ten days, mainly to tick off a checklist of sites, and some that focus on a specific region/theme.
Joining a group tour can be more costly than a DIY trip, but it also has the benefit of having all the logistics handled and sorted out. And trust me, as a travel designer from Sardinia, I can assure you that in my region, this is a big plus.
For example, the Sardinia small group tour that I have designed and fully organized covers 8 days and 7 nights and has everything included, from the accommodation to the private vehicle with a professional driver, tour leader, tour guides, meals, and activities.
It focuses on a specific region, the famous Sardinia Blue Zone, with a high number of centenarians, and we will explore the local culture and lifestyle.
I purposely avoided the “grand tours” so popular now and mainly organized by non-locals who don’t have a deep knowledge of the region, because I think they are superficial and just one of the many trips of this “checklist era” that we are living.
I think Sardinia deserves better planning because it can provide better experiences and this is why I made this trip and am planning many more.
Click here for more info on my Sardinia Longevity Tour
Book a tailor-made vacation package
A tailor-made vacation package is like a dream come true. Especially if you are traveling with a large family or group of friends and can customize it and add all the optional services, sharing the price among all.
This is basically a fully-organized tour package but only for you and your group: customized and tailored to your specific needs and priorities.
If you are purchasing a tailor-made tour in Sardinia, you can opt for adding a private vehicle so that you don’t have to drive. A certified private driver with a vehicle (NCC, in Italy) can be quite expensive, but if you are a group of ten/twelve people, it’s a cost you can share.
Click here to check my tailor-made vacation packages
Stay in big cities
If you are not staying in Sardinia for a long time and mainly want to visit one or two big cities, you can stick to the trains. In fact, cities like Cagliari, Olbia, and Sassari are connected via railway and there are plenty of things to do in each of them.
The railway network also reaches smaller towns and even villages. But then, to move around those towns and explore archaeological sites and other points of interest in the surroundings, you will need a car because trains and buses hardly reach.
Sardinia without a car? Cycle!
Cycling through Sardinia is a lovely experience if you are the adventurous type of traveler. In cities like San Teodoro, Olbia and Cagliari, you can find bike rentals so if you are traveling around Sardinia without a car, you can reach the cities using public transport or a taxi and rent a bike or even a motorbike.
Rely on public transportation
Another way to travel around Sardinia without renting a car is to rely on local public transport.
To be able to do this, however, you will need to have quite some time on your hands. While trains are a bit more frequent, buses are not so much.
The local buses are used to reach smaller towns and those without a railway station, but they are usually one or two per day, so you really cannot afford to miss them.
One more thing to keep in mind when you rely on a mix of public transportation means is that train and bus schedules don’t always match and that even when you reach a town by bus, to get to see its surroundings and potentially other nearby towns, you will need a private driver, as local buses are quite seldom and don’t always cover all areas.
Last but not least, local taxis are not common in small towns. This means that you really need to have a good plan with all the bus and train routes and schedules to avoid being left stranded.
If you need help crafting an itinerary, check out my custom Sardinia itineraries, which include all transfer information and instructions. Keep in mind, however, that if you are traveling to Sardinia independently, I always suggest renting a car.
