40.56° N · 8.32° E
Walls above the sea, the Grotta di Nettuno by boat or down 654 steps, nuraghi and wineries. No direct flight from Spain: you arrive via Olbia or Cagliari.
What to do
Each plan says how long it takes, who it's for and whether you can book.
Boat and cave · About 3 h round trip · Entry €18 plus the boat · April to October
Staircase and viewpoint · 654 steps · All year · Cave entry €18 with time slot
Walk · 2 h · Free · All year · Best at sunset
Itineraries
Days and weekends already planned out, with how to get between each stop and who to book with.
Plan the trip
Each choice narrows the next: the season shapes how best to travel, and how you travel decides where you stay and where you eat.
When to go
May, June and September. Boats to the Grotta di Nettuno run from April to October, the sea is good for swimming and the bastions aren't crowded. In July and August there are more people and the climb up the Escala del Cabirol is hard in the sun. From November to March the grotto opens from 10:00 to 15:00 and closes on Thursdays, there are no boats and the archaeological sites close at 14:00.
How you travel
Choose how you're travelling and we'll tell you where to stay, how to get around, where to eat and which services you'll need. We only show the ways of travelling that make sense here.
There is no direct flight from Spain to Alghero. The city's airport, Alghero-Fertilia (AHO), is about 10 km away, but from Spain you can only get there with a connection. The practical thing is to fly direct to Olbia (OLB), from Barcelona, or to Cagliari (CAG), from Barcelona and Seville, and cross the island by hire car: from Olbia it is about two hours by road and from Cagliari about three and a quarter.
A car is what makes this trip from Spain work: you fly to Olbia or Cagliari and cross the island. Once in Alghero, leave it parked outside the walls for the old town and the boat to the cave, and use it for Capo Caccia, Palmavera, Anghelu Ruju and the wineries of the Nurra.
Who you're with
A trip with a toddler is not the same as one with a teenager. Pick yours to see what works and what to bear in mind.
With children, the plan comes naturally: a boat to a cave, a walled city you can walk round and two prehistoric sites where you go into the tombs. At the Grotta di Nettuno and the sites, under-6s go in free and ages 6 to 17 pay the reduced fee.
Teenagers respond to the physical and to whatever has a touch of adventure: going down 654 steps hung from a cliff, entering a cave with a lake inside or taking their first try dive in a marine protected area.
Where to stay
We show you what suits the way you travel.Change how you travel
Why we like it: Five stars in a villa from around 1880 on its own promontory on Alghero's seafront, with a seawater pool, spa and 24 rooms.
Why we like it: Hotel of 20 rooms in the former San Francesco convent, in the heart of Alghero's old town, with breakfast in the cloister. No car access or lift.
Why we like it: Superior four-star inside the Porto Conte Park, above the bay with Capo Caccia opposite. Two seawater pools, thalassotherapy and a restaurant.
Services for this trip
Where to eat
From set lunch menus to Michelin stars. We mark the price level and what to order at each place.
What to order: the week's tasting menu, three to seven courses (€40 to €75), or à la carte the roasted culurgiones with sheep broth and the cuttlefish in its ink; Sardinian cannonau and vermentino wines
What to order: the Alessandrina fritto and the octopus salad to start, the fresh pasta with bottarga, artichoke and pecorino, and for dessert a wild fennel ice cream; if there is any, the owner's goat's cheese
What to order: the Menù Degustazione 1990, the fixed menu of traditional Barbagia cooking with produce from the farm and the Nurra; tell them when booking if you are vegetarian or coeliac
Nearby
The closest places, whichever country they are in.
40.30° N · 8.50° E
By planeBy car
40.94° N · 8.23° E
By planeBy car
40.20° N · 9.35° E
By planeBy car
40.28° N · 9.63° E
By carBy campervanCampingOn footBy motorbike
Tips
There's no direct flight from Spain to Alghero.
By land it's compulsory and in August it sells out.
With a ground swell the grotto closes and boats don't sail.
The old town is a limited traffic zone.
The climb back, in the sun, gets very long. Go first thing or by boat.
Alghero is a city of about 44,000 inhabitants on Sardinia's north-west coast, the island's fifth largest. In Sardinia they call it Barceloneta: its old town is of Catalan origin, street names are in Catalan beside the Italian and its festivals, such as Holy Week or the New Year's Eve Cap d'Any, show the Hispanic heritage. It preserves almost intact the walls on the sea side, with bastions that are now the city's promenade.
Capo Caccia is the limestone promontory that closes the bay of Porto Conte to the west, about 24 km away. Its walls drop sheer into the sea, and at the base opens the Grotta di Nettuno, a cave with a salt lake inside. Around it, the Porto Conte Park protects scrub, pine woods and the coast, and the sea is a Marine Protected Area. Between the city and the cape lie remains of prehistoric Sardinia, such as the Palmavera nuraghe, and to the north, on the Nurra plain, the vineyards.
Let's be clear: there is no direct flight from Spain to Alghero. Alghero-Fertilia airport (AHO) is 10 km from the city, but from Spain you can only reach it with a connection. The practical thing is to fly direct to one of the island's other two airports and cross by hire car:
From Olbia you can do Alghero in one long day, but it's worth sleeping at least one night. From Cagliari, think of two or three nights, or combine it with a trip along the west coast.
In the city, if you want to do everything on foot: the bastions, the dinners and the boat to the grotto, which leaves from the port. The San Francesco Heritage Hotel is inside the walls, in a former convent, and Villa Las Tronas, a five-star on a promontory, is on the seafront. At Porto Conte, if you're coming for the sea and Capo Caccia: the Hotel El Faro is inside the park, with the cape opposite.
For eating, Il Pavone is the fish house on Piazza Sulis, with a veranda over the sea; Al Tuguri, chef's Sardinian cooking in a stone house in the old town; and Sa Mandra, the Nurra agriturismo with a fixed menu of shepherds' cooking.
There are two ways, and the journey is half the visit:
By boat from the port. With Navisarda or another operator, it leaves from the Banchina Dogana, next to the walls, and in about 40 minutes skirts Cape Galera, Punta Giglio and the cliffs of Capo Caccia to the mouth of the cave. It runs from April to 31 October. It's what the grotto recommends for families with children and older people. See the page for the boat to the grotto.
On foot down the Escala del Cabirol. From the Capo Caccia viewpoint 654 steps descend hugging the cliff. Going down is easy; coming back up, especially at midday in summer, is tiring. From June to October you park at Casa Gioiosa and take a shuttle; from November to May, you drive all the way up. The page on the stairs explains it step by step.
Entry to the grotto costs €18 (€10 for ages 6 to 17, free up to 5) and the visit is guided, every hour on the hour, half an hour long. By land you need a booked time slot. In rough seas it doesn't open: call the tourist office before setting out.
If you're going to see the grotto and several museums, the Alghero Ticket at €35 brings them together: the grotto, Palmavera, Anghelu Ruju, the Coral Museum, the archaeological museum and the San Giovanni tower.
May, June and September. There are boats to the grotto, the sea is good for swimming in the coves of Lazzaretto or Le Bombarde and the bastions can be strolled without crowds. July and August are high season: more people, full boats and a very tough staircase in the sun. In October there are still boats until the 31st. From November to March the city is quiet and cheap, but there are no boats, the grotto opens from 10:00 to 15:00 and closes on Thursdays, and the archaeological sites close at 14:00.
There are two day plans from Olbia, the grotto by boat and the bastions and Capo Caccia on foot and Palmavera, and a two-night getaway designed for those arriving at Olbia or Cagliari.
Questions
No. You fly direct to Olbia, from Barcelona, or to Cagliari, from Barcelona and Seville, and continue by car.
About two hours, about 140 km. From Cagliari, about three and a quarter hours.
€18 entry; €10 for ages 6 to 17; free up to 5. The boat is paid separately.
The boat, with children or if you're not fit; the stairs, if you want the cliff scenery and don't mind climbing 654 steps.
Its old town is of Catalan origin and the city preserves that heritage in its streets, its name and its festivals.
Two or three: one for the city, one for Capo Caccia and the grotto, and another for Palmavera, Anghelu Ruju and a winery.
Geocaliahttps://www.geocalia.com/en/italy/sardinia/alghero-capo-caccia
