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Foreign hello everyone. My name is Claudia. I was born and raised in Sardinia and I still call it home. I am the mastermind behind the Strictly Sardinia travel blog. And now this weekly Sardinia podcast where each week I will bring you the best Sardinia has to offer and share my most useful tips that will help you plan a memorable trip to my wonderful island. And today I want to answer a pressing question that many of you have when planning a trip to how to get around Sardinia. Let me start by saying that Sardinia is the second largest island in the Mediterranean after Sicily. So it's fairly big. It has a surface that for American listeners is about the size of Vermont. British listeners may want to compare it to Wales. So it's fairly big. It's about 270 kilometers long. That's around 168 miles from north to south and 145 kilometers wide on its widest point and that would be around 90 miles. Now, I understand that if you're coming from North America or Australia, you may be used to really big distances and Sardinia may seem small to you, but I promise there are lots of winding roads, sometimes unpaved roads, with which means that getting from one place to the other may be a bit more time consuming than you'd expect. As a local, I'm here to help you pick the best way of moving around Sardinia based on your budget, your travel style, whatever you wish to do on the island. Let me get started now. So how to get around Sardinia? The best way of getting around Sardinia is definitely by car. Let me see. Start with a disclaimer. You don't need a car if you're coming to Sardinia for just a weekend and you just want to visit Cagliari, the capital, or perhaps Alghero, and you don't wish to get out of town. However, driving is by far the best way of getting around Sardinia. If you're visiting for a short time, it means you'll have more independence. You won't be tied to the schedule of buses or trains or even guided tours. It means you can see more in a shorter amount of time. By the way, let me say that when it comes to Sardinia, less is more, so you want to focus on slow travel. In the summer, if you have a car, it means you have the possibility of reaching the most secluded beaches, so beaches that are a bit less crowded than the most popular ones. Now, if you come in August, don't expect to find really a secluded beach because there aren't that many of that. In general, driving allows you to visit a small town to experience a unique festival. Get to the trailhead of a hike you really want to tackle. You can stay for sunset or you can go for sunrise and you don't have to worry about the last scheduled bus for the day. Many of you ask me which are the best car rental companies in Sardinia. This let me say that we don't have any local car rental company that I know of. Most of the big companies you find here will be famous international ones such as Alamo, Avis, Hertz Europe Car and we have some Italian ones such as Maggiore, Locauto and Sicily by Car. When it comes to car rental, however, my recommendation, and that's what I personally do wherever I'm traveling in the world and in Italy, is using this Discover Cars, which is a comparison site and has an excellent customer service. Whenever I, you know, I've ever I've never really had any issue and the few times I've had an issue, it was solved in a matter of minutes. When you're getting a car rental here in Sardinia or actually anywhere in the world, I recommend getting full coverage insurance which includes a collision damage waiver. This protects you if you have an accident and includes personal liability insurance. It also covers medical expenses for all passengers in case of an accident and theft protection. The good news is that you can get full coverage insurance directly via Discover Cars. Now don't worry, I will give you the links to Discover Cars in the description of this podcast. One important thing that I need to say you are allowed to legally drive in Italy from 18 years old. In order to do that, you need to have a valid driving license from one of the European Union countries. If you don't have that meaning, if you're coming from a country outside the European Union, for example Canada, South Africa or the United States, you need an international driver's license. For my American listeners, you can get that on the website of aaa, which is American Automob Association. Now, I know that some of you have never been asked to show a valid international driver's license. That does not mean it is not a legal requirement. It is so. If you go to a car rental company, they may or may not ask you for your driver's license. If they do and you don't have an international driver's license, they may even refuse to give you a car. Same thing with the police. If you don't have a valid driver's license, you'll get a fine. Now, provided that you're renting a car in Sardinia, what can you expect? Sardinia's Road network includes a mix of fast and free highways, winding provincial roads and unpaved countryside roads. The speed limit varies depending on the type of road and the location, but let me show you a few differences. High speed road in Italian is called Strada Statale, Strada Statale or Superstrada. It's a four lane highway, it's toll free. And the main one in Sardinia would be the Strada Statale 131, which connects Cagliari to the north of Sardinia, so Sasseri and Porto Torres. And there are some sections of the strada straight statale one to five, which are also four lane. The speed limit on these roads is 110 kilometers per hour, which is around 68 miles per hour. Remember, you always need to respect the speed limit because if you get caught speeding, you'll get a fine and you'll have to pay that. We also have provincial roads which are two lane, often winding. It's called in Italian Strada Provinciale, literally provincial road. The speed limit here varies depending on where the road is located. It can be anything between 90 kilometers per hour, which is 56 miles per hour, outside of urban area, to 50 kilometers per hour, which is 31 miles per hour. Urban routes are different. Now, the speed limits in towns and cities in Sardinia can range between 30 to 50 kilometers per hour, which is 1931 miles per hour, depending on the area. Some cities, such as Olbia, have implemented the 30km h speed limit throughout the city. Lower limits always apply in historic center and residential zones. Again, respect the speed limit in the city because, well, first of all, there's a lot of people walking around and you don't want to risk anything, and they have speed cameras all over and you don't want to get a fine. Then there are smaller access roads. Many roads leading to beaches and trails and around the countryside aren't paved. And here you will want to drive even slower. Now, when you're driving to Sardinia, the first thing you need to remember, for those of you coming from the United Kingdom, Ireland, South Africa, Australia, is that we drive on the right side of the road, like in the rest of continental Europe and North America, the legal age to Drive is 18 and you are expected to wear your seat belt even on the back seat. If you enjoy driving, you'll have a wonderful time here. In Sardinia, the roads may be a bit more narrow compared to what you're used to, but traffic is never that bad except in the cities, and roadworks can occasionally slow you down, but it's never a nuisance. We have lots of winding rows. So if you're traveling with children and someone prone to car sickness, come with Dramamin or ginger tablets and have them 30 minutes before getting in the car. On the plus side, driving along the island means you'll get endless views. It's gorgeous, especially if you're driving along the coast or in the mountainous area. Now, I know that Italian drivers have a very bad reputation, but Sardinians are not really that bad drivers. Some tend to go above the speed limit, but if they are tailgating, you just don't bother. You know, let them pass and drive a bit more defensively than you would parking in Sardinia, the rules vary depending on location, and usually there's a color code to define whether a payment is required or not. In cities, and even outside cities, in beaches, sometimes in beach areas, blue stripe spaces require payment, which can be done via the street machines or via apps like Moneygo. And the rates vary and even the timing varies. So the best thing to do is literally get out of the car, go to the vending machine, and find the exact fees and exact timings for when you have to pay. White striped spaces are free to use, though some of them can be Carico, Scariko, load, unload, and they're also marked by white stripes. But there is usually the picture of the sign of a man loading or unloading a car. There's always a sign pointing this out. Yellow striped spaces are reserved for residents, disabled drivers, or official vehicles, such as, for example, a police car. You cannot park there without authorization or you get a fine. The beach varies a lot in terms of parking. Municipalities sometimes put very high rates. Sometimes you pay by the hour, sometimes you pay by the day. Again, it's a matter of getting out of the car once you park your car and finding out how much you have to pay and for how long. Most parkings in Sardinia are managed by private companies. Sometimes there may be an attendant on the side, other just a machine, and you need to pay cash if you use a machine. At times, cards are accepted too. Parking outside a designated area may end up in you getting a ticket. And what happens usually is that you don't get an immediate notification, the car rental company does, and you receive a fine, which you have to pay. Otherwise it builds up and you get higher charges eventually. Another way of traveling around Sardinia is by train. Now, of course, we have trains in Sardinia, and I need to point out that there aren't that many trains, honestly. And this is not the best, the best region in Italy to visit by train, but you know, they usually connect the main towns, the main cities, and there are no trains usually to coastal towns, to mountain towns or near trailheads. However, if you just stick to main cities or travel a bit slower, the train is a good way to get around and you can mix it up with the buses. It's very budget friendly. And we have two main train options in Sardinia. One are the Trenitalia trains, which are the same trains that run around the rest of Italy really. And it covers the main routes here in Sardinia. So there's connection between Cagliari, Oristano, Olbia, Golfo Ranchi, which is one of Sardinia's ferry terminal, Sasseri and Porto Torres which is another ferry terminal. Trains also connect Calgary to smaller towns in the south of Cernina, Lake Iglesias and a few other smaller towns. Trenitalia trains are actually very accessible for passengers that have a disability. So you will find somebody that will help you handle luggage, boarding, disembarking. You can buy tickets very easily at a station or via the website of Trenitalia. We also have another kind of train, the ARST train A rst. This is the public bus company in Sardinia, but it also operates some train routes. For example, the Macomer Tu Nuoro connection, Macomer to Nuoro and the Sasseri to Alghero. 1 they are accessible trains for people with disabilities. There usually is a boarding ramp and you can buy train tickets usually at the station. And there are places where the Trenitalia and ARS railways intersect in Macomer and Sassari, where the trains to Alghero depart from. Each company has actually its own station, but they're very close. So it's, you know, getting from one train to the other is very easy and you will never miss a connection. I also wanted to point out that we have some scenic trains here in Sardinia. We have a network of tourist trains known as Trenino Verde. Trenino Verde. Little green train in English. It's the largest tourist train network in Europe, measuring 438 kilometers, which is 271 miles. Now this isn't really a way of getting around Sardinia. The train travels really, really slowly. It's more of a tourist attraction to explore lesser known destinations. There are currently five routes you can pick from, but departures don't really work around much of a schedule and they're usually just announced a few months before the departure. And it's honestly quite difficult to plan a journey around it unless you have a long time in Sardinia or your days are very flexible. Another way of getting around Sardinia is by bus. The bus is a convenient and budget friendly way of getting around the island wherever the train doesn't go. Public buses in Sardinia are operated by A R S T, the same company that operates some of the trains. It has stations in Cagliari, Sassari, Alghero, Nuoro, Olbia, Iglesias and Oristano. And connects those cities to a multitude of other smaller towns around the island. If you want to explore the many beaches of the island, you're still better off renting a car. But there are bus stops along some of the beach hubs in Sardinia. For example, in Costa Ri in southern Sardinia, in In Kia and Villa Simius in southern Sardinia. In San Teodoro and Stintino in the north of Sardinia, Buses have dedicated seats for passengers with disabilities. But you need to let the company know of whether you have a disability. 36 hours before traveling. You can get tickets directly at the bus station at a local kiosk. We call it Taba Kino in Italian. Tabacchino it means tobacco seller. And you can catch the bus stop at the bus station or at the Fermata. Fermata in Italian, which is the bus stop. We also have ferry to get around Sardinia. Yes, because there are smaller islands that are also part of Sardinia. Now. The smaller islands I'm referring to are La Maddalena in the northeast, Azinara in the northwest, Isola di San Pietro in the southwest, and Tavolara, which is close to Olbia. There are three main companies that operate the ferry routes. Del Comar D E L C O M A R operates the ferry to San Pietro island, either from Calazeta, Calazetta or Porto Scuso. It also operates the ferry from Palau to La Maddalena and from Porto Torres in the north of Sardinia to Azinara. These are all car ferries, meaning you can take your car on the ferry, except the ferry to Azinara National Park. Private cars aren't allowed in the national park. There's also Maddalena Lines, which operates the ferry from La Maddalena to Palau and vice versa. This is also a car ferry. And finally there's Tavolara, Traghetti, Egite. Now the name is long, but the only thing you need to know is that this Tavolara ferry operates from Porto San Paulo, which is close to San Teodoro, between San Teodoro and Olbia to Tavolara. It's a tourist ferry. No cars are allowed on the islands, so you just Go there and to spend your day on the island. You don't need to get ferry tickets in advance to go to La Maddalena, San Pietro or Azinara. Just get to the harbor and the ferry departs on a regular basis. But in case you are going to Tavolara, you really should book your your tickets in advance because this is a tourist ferry mostly, which means there'll be other people on it, lots of other people. Finally, let me point out another way of getting yourself around Sardinia for the most adventurous of you. By bike. Biking has become recently a more popular way of getting around the island. And I often hear of organized biking group tours. The network of cycling lanes is slowly increasing. There are some fabulous panoramic roads that are hardly trafficked. But if you want to bike around Sardinia, I would say it's best to avoid biking along the coastal roads in the summer months when there's a lot of traffic, as it might feel quite intimidating. And probably I would also avoid biking in the summer months, period, because it gets too hot. You have a small fee to pay in case you decide to bring your bike on the bus or on the train. So let me sum up the best ways of getting around Sardinia. First of all, by car. It's a really easy way to explore the island if you're short on time, if you're traveling with your family, if you just want maximum flexibility, we have trains operating around Sardinia. The main company is Grenitalia, which is the same one that operates in the rest of the island. And the other company is arst, which is the same one that runs public buses around the island. We also have ferry travel between Sardinia, mainland, let's call it that, to the smaller island around Sardinia, such as La Maddalena, Azinara, San Pietro and Tavolara Island. Finally, you can go around Sardinia by bike if you wish. Now, this is all I have to say on the topic. Next week we're gonna talk about two of my most beloved places on the island. Villa Simius and Costa Ri. Until then, enjoy reading my blog. Enjoy listening to other episodes of Streetly Sardinia podcast. Remember to leave a good review if you like this podcast and goodbye.