Sardinia

Sardinia combines a rugged interior with some of the Mediterranean's most luminous coastlines. Its identity lies in contrast: granite landscapes, pastoral traditions, hidden bays and a strong island character that remains distinct from mainland Italy.

Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean, lying west of the Italian mainland and just south of Corsica, from which it is separated by the narrow Strait of Bonifacio. Its interior is a land of granite uplands, cork oaks and sheep pastures, dotted with nuraghi, the stone towers of a Bronze Age civilisation found nowhere else; its coast has some of the clearest water in Europe.

In the north-east, the Costa Smeralda was created in the 1960s by a consortium led by the Aga Khan, with Porto Cervo as its harbour and architecture designed to blend with the granite and maquis. Offshore, the La Maddalena archipelago is a national park. The south around Pula and Chia has long beaches and lagoons where flamingos gather, and Cagliari is a capital with its own historic citadel.

The season begins in May and ends in early October. June and September offer warm sea, long days and space on the beaches; July and August are the height of the Costa Smeralda season, when the yachts arrive in Porto Cervo, the restaurants and clubs are full and the island’s most famous hotels are at their busiest.

The Maestrale, the north-westerly wind, can blow for days at a time, so it helps to know which coast is sheltered. The Yacht Club Costa Smeralda holds its principal regattas in late summer. Spring and autumn suit walking and the interior, and the island’s festivals begin early: Sant’Efisio fills Cagliari with costumed processions each May, as does the Cavalcata Sarda in Sassari.

The Costa Smeralda remains Sardinia’s best-known address. Hotel Cala di Volpe, a Luxury Collection Hotel, and Hotel Pitrizza, a Luxury Collection Hotel, with its stone villas near Porto Cervo, are its classic houses, together with Romazzino, A Belmond Hotel, the coast’s original beach hotel. In the south, Forte Village Resort at Santa Margherita di Pula gathers several hotels within one large estate.

LVXVRY books Cala di Volpe and Pitrizza through Marriott STARS & Luminous — at the official hotel rate, with the privileges the programme attaches to the stay. For Romazzino and Forte Village, LVXVRY advises on and arranges the stay directly, and can add days at sea around La Maddalena or a few nights in the south.