Sardinia is an Italian island off the west coast of Italy. It has two main airports, Cagliari in the south and Oblia in the north. We were looking for a short warm trip during the “Toussaint” school holidays (Toussaint is All Saints – the holiday is 2 weeks and includes Halloween). We looked at flights, costs, travel time etc. happened on Sardinia as the choice.

It seemed either the north or the south would be fine for what we were looking for – relaxed towns and beaches. As it happened the convenience of flights (going out of Orly or Charles de Gaulle rather than Beauvais) and prices and date of flights led to Caligiari being the airport of choice.

Then it was a question of where to go once we got there. The choices were either west in the direction of Pula and Chia or east in the direction Villasimius. In this instance, the choice was decided by the airbnb accommodations available.

We ended up in an area between Pula and Chia called Santa Margherita di Pula. It is about an hour drive on a two lane highway, SS195, from the airport of Caligiari. It isn’t a very scenic drive but it sure is worth it!

The area between the main road, SS195 and the beach in Santa Margherita di Pula is generally flat and mostly a gated community. There are mostly houses which are large and separated from each other with significant gardens. There are a few townhomes. On the other side of the highway is another gated community but set on a hill.

We picked a house on the hill instead of the flats in an area named Eden Rock. Here are some of the views from our rental house. It was gorgeous! While it looks far away, the beach is only a 20 min walk — but downhill. Which means you are coming uphill on the way back.

The beach is long – very long and very secluded.

There is only one section where you could enter at one end of the beach and very little parking. As a result, I can imagine that the beach rarely gets very crowded. Only those residents of Santa Margherita di Pula the flat part or Eden Rock the area on the other side of the road can access this amazing beach. There is one entrance and parking for perhaps 30-40 cars about a 10 min walk from the beach. So it really is for residents only – very exclusive! There are only also a very few hotels.

Also as a result, there are very few restaurants and no tourist shops and effectively also no grocery shops. As such it is a throwback to a different era. Everyday I imagined the large houses filled with extended families and the Italian nona cooking the mid-day meal.

Our last day we went for a sunset walk and swim! Gorgeous!

In conclusion, it isn’t a beach to stop at if you are driving by. You can’t really park and there aren’t many services like food and bathrooms. But if you own one of those houses either in the flats or the hill – you’re in luck. Or like us, you can rent!