Olbia (Historic Center)

Olbia (pop. 60,382) is the largest city on the Costa Smeralda and the fourth-largest city in Sardinia, after Cagliari, Sassari, and Quartu Sant`Elena. Olbia has been populated since the Nuralgic Age, three millennia before the Common Era. In Sardinian it is called `Terranoa`. Olbia is the economic and cultural center of the Costa Smeralda and is meant to be an initial jumping-off point to explore the towns of the Costa Smeralda that are within a 15-mile drive of town. Olbia Costa Smeralda Airport is located two miles to the south-southeast of Olbia`s historic center.

The historic center of Olbia is a quarter of a square mile in area, roughly stretching eight to nine-tenths of a mile from Olbia`s waterfront and the Museo Archeologico, and then a quarter-mile south from Canale Zozo. The most prominent piazzas in the city are Piazza San Simplicio, located adjacent to the Basilica di San Simplicio, northwest of the train station, and the Piazza Giacomo Matteotti and the Piazza Regina Margherita, located southeast of the train station, south of Corso Umberto I. To the north of the historic center is Parco Fausto Noce, the largest public park in Sardinia, located on a plot of land separated by two bodies of water (the Rio San Nicola to the north and Canale Zozo to the south).

Points of interest in Olbia include the Basilica di San Simplicio, located on the corner of Via Fausto Noce and Via San Simplicio in the northern part of the historic district. The Chiesa di San Paolo Apostolo is located on Piazza Civita, located just to the north of Corso Umberto I. Note that Corso Umberto I is a one-way street with traffic flowing away from the Port of Olbia, Olbia`s waterfront and the Museo Archeologico di Olbia; to access a two-way street from the waterfront area, take Via Nanni Alessandro.

Outskirts of Olbia

Out of the towns and cities outside Olbia, you will most likely consider staying at one of the following towns: Porto Rotondo, Golfo Aranci, Porto San Paolo, or Capo Coda Cavallo.

Porto Rotondo is one of the most noteworthy beach towns in the Costa Smeralda. Porto Rotondo (pop. 306, rising to 30,000 in the summertime) is located in the middle of a peninsula roughly nine miles northeast of Olbia. A mile to the west of town, there is a smaller beach and resort area called Punta Nuraghe, and 1.25 miles to the east, there is a cape and a beach area called Punta Volpe. Porto Rotondo`s beach is located on the northwestern edge of the bay, at the end of the Passeggiata del Porto. Many shops, restaurants and bars are located near the port, around the Piazza San Marco, Piazza della Darsena, Piazza Casbah, and the Piazzetta dei Deiana. The Marina is located across the bay`s mouth from the beach (Spiaggia del Porto) and the Yacht Club. The beach on Punta Nuraghe to the west of town is called Spiaggia di Ira. There are three beaches on Punta Volpe: from south to north, Spiaggia dei Sassi, Spiaggia di Shirley Bassey, and Spiaggia Punta Volpe.

Golfo Aranci is located 10.5 miles northeast of Olbia. It is the eastern terminus of the train lines in the Costa Smeralda, connecting Olbia and the rest of the country with Golfo Aranci. Originally called Figari, Golfo Aranci was the original ferry connection between the Costa Smeralda and the mainland, and is still connected to the mainland today by a ferry line to Livorno. The town (pop. 2,475) is compact, approximately a half-mile long by a quarter-mile wide on an isthmus between the Gulf of Olbia to the south and the upper Tyrrhenian Sea to the north. The town`s two beaches, Le Cinque Spiagge and Prima Spiaggia, are located close to the city center; Cala Moresca is located two miles to the southeast, on Capo Figari.

Porto San Paolo (pop. 3,427) is a small town on the Rio Scalamala located about eight and a half miles southeast of Olbia. The port of Porto San Paolo, half a mile north of town, is the jumping off point for ferry services which connect the Sardinian mainland with Tavolara Island. If you will be visiting Tavolara Island and the overlying nature reserve, you will get on the ferry from Porto San Paolo. The main streets in this small town are the Via San Paolo and the Via Pietro Nenni, the latter of which connects the town and the port.

The southeasternmost point you might be visiting while you are on the Costa Smeralda is Capo Coda Cavallo. Fifteen miles southeast of Olbia, Capo Coda Cavallo is part of the protected marine area which also includes Tavolara Island and Molara Island, the latter of which sits offshore about 1.5 miles from the cape. The granite peninsula is sparsely populated but can feel crowded, as the beaches on the peninsula are narrow and welcome a fair number of tourists, who stay in vacation rentals close by. The main beach is the easternmost beach on the cape, called Spiaggia di Punta Est; other beaches in the area are the Spiaggia di Cala Suaraccia and the Spiaggia di Lastra Ruia.