8 Days Hidden Sardinia

Arrive at Olbia Costa Smeralda Airport, where you’ll be warmly welcomed by your local English-speaking guide, a true expert on Sardinia and your companion throughout the journey. Travel by comfortable coach through scenic landscapes to your hotel, beautifully set in the countryside near Oliena. After check-in, enjoy a relaxed welcome dinner with the group and your first taste of Sardinian hospitality.

After breakfast, set off in off-road vehicles for a spectacular day exploring the wild heart of Sardinia. Your first stop is Su Gologone Spring, the island’s most important karst spring, where crystal-clear water surges from a dramatic limestone gorge. Continue into the remote Lanaitho Valley, deep within the Supramonte mountains, to visit Sedda Sos Carros, a remarkable Nuragic archaeological site featuring a sacred spring adorned with stone ram heads, unique in the Mediterranean.

A short walk leads to Sa Ohe Cave, a powerful natural phenomenon where, after heavy rains, an underground river erupts with a thunderous roar.

The day culminates with an unforgettable lunch at a traditional sheepfold. Welcomed by local shepherds, you’ll enjoy a feast of cold cuts, cheeses, fresh ricotta, sausages, roast suckling pig, carasau bread, vegetables, seasonal fruit, coffee, digestif and Sardinia’s famous Cannonau red wine.

After breakfast, travel to Orgosolo for a deeply immersive cultural experience centred on one of Sardinia’s most important traditions: bread making. Inside a historic local home, you’ll be welcomed into the uhina e ohere, the traditional kitchen where generations of women prepared tostu or carasau bread. Guided by a local hostess, you’ll actively participate in each stage of the process – rolling, baking and toasting – while learning about the cultural and social importance of this ancient craft. At the end of the session, enjoy freshly baked bread accompanied by local sausages and potatoes cooked in a wood-fired oven. The experience continues with a short urban walk through Orgosolo, discovering its famous murals that depict scenes of everyday life, traditions and collective identity within Sardinia’s agropastoral society.

You will then transfer to the coast and check in at your next hotel.

Today you’ll explore S’Abba Frisca Park, the largest ethnographic museum in Sardinia, set within a lush natural park at the foot of Mount Bardia. Walking among fountains, streams and Mediterranean vegetation, you’ll discover restored rural buildings and traditional tools that bring Sardinia’s past to life, from shepherd huts and carts to mills and farming implements. Lunch is a relaxed tasting of local cured meats and cheeses, paired with Sardinian wine. In the afternoon, watch skilled artisans and farmers demonstrate traditional crafts, including a fascinating horse shoeing demonstration, showcasing the precision and strength required for this ancient profession.

After breakfast, travel into the countryside to Cuiles Buchi Arta Refuge, an ancient stone sheepfold surrounded by open pastures and Mediterranean scrub. Here, you’ll witness traditional cheese-making techniques, learning how freshly milked milk is transformed using age-old methods passed down through generations. The visit concludes with a tasting of freshly prepared cheeses and other local products in a simple, authentic setting.

Return to the hotel later in the day, with time to relax and enjoy the coastal surroundings.

After breakfast, head towards the coast via Dorgali, reaching Cala Gonone, one of the jewels of the Gulf of Orosei. From the harbour, board a boat for a memorable coastal excursion past towering limestone cliffs, sea caves and hidden coves. Visit the famous Blue Marino Caves, once home to monk seals. Accompanied by an expert guide, explore over 900 metres of tunnels and chambers carved by the sea, filled with echoes, legends and dramatic rock formations. Enjoy a packed lunch in a picnic area before continuing to Orosei, a charming medieval town set between mountains and sea. Visit a local olive oil mill to learn about Sardinian olive oil production, followed by a guided tasting of different varieties. Your visit is made even more special by a welcome from a local choir, whose traditional songs bring Sardinian culture vividly to life. A guided walk through Orosei’s historic centre completes the day.

This morning, travel to the protected Biderosa Oasis, one of Sardinia’s most beautiful natural reserves. Begin with a short guided walk through the coastal forest, learning about the area’s unique ecosystems. Then, at the end of your walk, take to the water by kayak, paddling gently through lagoons, marshlands and canals that connect the ponds to the sea. From this peaceful perspective, observe the changing landscapes of the oasis, from forest to wetlands, before enjoying free time to relax on the beach and swim in crystal-clear waters.

After breakfast, check out and transfer by coach to Olbia Airport for your return flight.

Throughout the journey, you’ll stay in carefully selected, comfortable hotels. In Oliena your hotel is set in the peaceful countryside. This welcoming hotel provides a relaxed base in the heart of Sardinia’s interior, ideal for exploring mountain landscapes and rural traditions. In Cala Gonone, your hotel is located near the coast. This comfortable four-star hotel offers easy access to the Gulf of Orosei, with well-appointed rooms, attentive service and a friendly atmosphere. This is the perfect base after an active day of exploration.