# Two nights in Alghero from Olbia or Cagliari: the Grotta di Nettuno by boat, the walls, the nuraghi and Nurra wine Two nights in the old town of Alghero: bastions on arrival, a boat to the Grotta di Nettuno and Palmavera on Saturday, Anghelu Ruju and a winery on Sunday before heading back. Fuente: https://www.geocalia.com/en/italy/sardinia/alghero-capo-caccia/itineraries/two-nights-between-cave-and-wine · Revisado: 2026-11-13 Dónde: Alghero and Capo Caccia Alghero calls for two nights: a walled city that is enjoyed at night, a cave you reach by sea and, around it, the Sardinia of the nuraghi and the vineyards. This getaway sleeps both nights in the old town, in a former convent, to do everything on foot and use the car only for Capo Caccia and the Nurra. ## How do you get there from Spain? There is no direct flight from Spain to Alghero, although the city has an airport. Fly direct to Olbia (OLB), from Barcelona, or to Cagliari (CAG), from Barcelona and Seville, and hire a car at the airport. From Olbia it is about two hours via Sassari; from Cagliari, about three and a quarter hours on the SS131. If you arrive via Cagliari, leave early on Friday: you will reach Alghero in daylight. ## Where to stay? AccommodationWhereWho it suits San Francesco Heritage HotelOld town, in a former conventTo do everything on foot; no parking or lift Villa Las TronasSeafront, on a promontoryFive-star with a spa and free parking Hotel El FaroPorto Conte, facing Capo CacciaTo have the cape and the sea in front of you Both nights at the San Francesco Heritage Hotel, with breakfast in the cloister. It has no parking: leave the car outside the walls. If you prefer to sleep by the sea and facing the cape, swap for the Hotel El Faro, and for a treat, Villa Las Tronas. ## Where to eat Three different tables. Il Pavone is the fish of Piazza Sulis, since 1979, with a veranda facing the sea. Al Tuguri is seasonal Sardinian and Alghero cooking, in the stone rooms of the old town. And Sa Mandra is the long farm-stay lunch, with what the estate produces. ## What if you change a day? The cave on foot. If there are no boats (from November to March) or you fancy the cliff, go down the Escala del Cabirol: 654 steps and the same €18 entry. More sea. Swap Palmavera for a boat day with the Navisarda mini-cruise, which leaves at 9:30 for the coves of Capo Caccia. ## El plan ### Friday · 15:00 · From Olbia or Cagliari to Alghero Two hours from Olbia, three and a quarter from Cagliari. Park outside the walls and walk in to the San Francesco; check-in is from 16:00 to 23:00. ### Friday · 18:30 · Walls and old town The Marco Polo, Pigafetta, Magellano and Colombo bastions at sunset, with the sun going down behind Capo Caccia. Free. ### Friday · 20:00 · Dinner at Il Pavone On Piazza Sulis, with a veranda over the sea. Three-course menu at €50. Book by phone. ### Saturday · 09:45 · Boat to the Grotta di Nettuno Navisarda from the Banchina Dogana, about 40 minutes along the coast. Cave entry €18, separate from the boat. ### Saturday · 14:30 · Palmavera nuraghe By car towards Porto Conte. €7, guide €3 more. ### Saturday · 16:00 · Snorkelling or an introductory dive at Capo Caccia With Capo Galera Diving Center, next to Palmavera: boat snorkelling from €35 or an introductory dive for €100, from age 10. Book it beforehand. ### Saturday · 20:30 · Dinner at Al Tuguri Sardinian cooking in a stone house from 1973. Menus from €40 to €75. ### Sunday · 10:00 · Anghelu Ruju necropolis The 38 domus de janas, on the airport road. €7. ### Sunday · 11:30 · Sella & Mosca A guided visit by reservation or the wine shop, open from 15 May to 31 October. ### Sunday · 13:30 · Lunch at Sa Mandra A €60 fixed menu at a Nurra farm stay. Online booking only; confirm that they are open that day. ### Sunday · 16:30 · Back to Olbia or Cagliari You reach Olbia around 18:30 and Cagliari around 20:00. ## Consejos ### Book the cave and the tables Cave time slot, Il Pavone, Al Tuguri and Sa Mandra. ### Check the sea on Friday If there is a swell on Saturday, swap the boat for the stairs or for Anghelu Ruju. ### Allow time to reach the hotel Check-in at the San Francesco closes at 23:00. ## Preguntas frecuentes ### How many nights do you need in Alghero? Two for the city, the cave and a day of prehistory and wine; with three, you add a beach or diving. ### Is it better to arrive via Olbia or Cagliari? Via Olbia you are about two hours away; via Cagliari, about three and a quarter. Choose the direct flight you have from your city. ### Do you need a car? To get there from Olbia or Cagliari, for Capo Caccia and for the Nurra, yes. In Alghero, no. ### When should you go? From April to October, when there are boats; best in May, June and September. ## Dónde dormir if you're flying - **Villa Las Tronas Hotel & Spa**: A hunting villa over the sea Villa Las Tronas is the crenellated house you see on the rocks south of the old town, on Alghero's seafront. It was built around 1880 by Alessandro, third Count of Sant'Elia, as a hunting lodge, and around the 1920s it was remodelled with the air of a medieval castle. It was the summer and hunting residence of the Italian royal house, received Romanov princesses, who gave two salons still on show in the Sala Rosa, and has been a hotel since 1961. Today it is a five-star with only 24 rooms and suites, on its own promontory between Cala Lavatoio and Cala Capone, separated from the city by a centuries-old park. The rooms They keep period furniture. They range from the 13 m² single, with a four-poster bed, to the 60 m² Suite Superior with a 50 m² terrace and a whirlpool bath for four. In between there are doubles with sea view, coast view or park view, some with a balcony, suites with a living room and a triple with a garden view. The rooms have air conditioning, satellite television and a minibar. Ask for a sea view: from the gulf side you see Capo Caccia in the distance. Pools, spa and restaurant The outdoor pool is seawater, unheated, facing the gulf, and is used in the summer months. The spa has a heated indoor saltwater pool, sauna, Turkish bath and a fitness area, and also works in winter. From its own piers you go straight down to the sea. The restaurant serves Mediterranean cooking with views of the old town, and breakfast is Italian. Getting there and what is nearby Alghero airport is 10 km away, and the hotel arranges the transfer if you ask 24 hours ahead. It has free outdoor parking in the park, unattended. The historic centre is reached on foot along the seafront. The concierge books hire cars, boats, restaurants and guided visits with a day's notice. If you travel with your dog or cat, the hotel accepts all pets at no charge: tell them when you book. The website does not publish prices or check-in and check-out times. - **San Francesco Heritage Hotel**: Sleeping in an old-town convent The San Francesco Heritage Hotel occupies part of the old convent of San Francesco, next to the church of the same name, in the heart of Alghero's old town. It has 20 rooms, several of them overlooking the cloister, one of the quietest corners of the city. It is not a luxury hotel: the rooms are simple, and what you pay for is sleeping inside the walls, in a building with centuries of history, five minutes' walk from the bastions, the cathedral and the harbour from which the boats leave for the Grotta di Nettuno. The rooms and breakfast There are singles, doubles, triples and superiors, single or double. The style is sober, with no frills. Breakfast, continental and included, is served from 8:00 to 10:00 in the cloister; there are gluten-free, vegetarian and vegan options if you ask. There is wifi. What you need to know before booking It is an old building and has limitations worth knowing: There is no lift: the rooms are reached by stairs. If you have large suitcases or find climbing hard, ask for the ground floor. There is no parking, and the old town is a limited-traffic zone: you arrive on foot. Leave the car in a car park outside the walls. Animals are not allowed. Children are welcome, but there are no cots. Check-in is from 16:00 to 23:00 and check-out until 10:30, with no late check-out. Reception is open from 8:00 to 23:00. Who it is for For those who travel without a car or leave it parked and want to do everything on foot: the walk along the walls, dinners at Al Tuguri or Il Pavone and the boat to the cave, which leaves from the harbour five minutes away. The website does not publish the star rating or prices: you see them in its booking engine. - **Hotel El Faro**: A ship-shaped hotel facing Capo Caccia Hotel El Faro is at the tip of Porto Conte, inside the natural park, above the Baia delle Ninfe. It is a superior four-star with a building of stepped terraces over the rocks designed by the architect Antonio Simon Mossa in the shape of a ship. Next to it stands a coastal tower, and across the bay, opposite, you have the wall of Capo Caccia. It is the accommodation for those who want to sleep away from the city, with the sea in front and the cape a quarter of an hour away. Rooms There are a dozen types: from the Classic, with or without a sea side, to the Deluxe with terrace, the Sea Garden with garden, the suites and the Premier Deluxe Terrace, with a large terrace over the bay. There are Family Rooms for families. The website does not publish the number of rooms or their prices: you see them in its booking engine. Pools, thalassotherapy and restaurant It has two pools on the slope that goes down to the sea. The central one is seawater, with hydromassage, and is heated in the cooler months. The Thalasso & Spa centre works with seawater. There is a restaurant over the sea and a lounge bar. The hotel also organises sports activities, excursions and experiences in the area. Getting there and what is nearby It is at the exit from Fertilia, on the Porto Conte road, about twenty minutes by car from Alghero; you need a car. From here you are very close to everything around Capo Caccia: the Palmavera nuraghe, the Escala del Cabirol and the Capo Galera diving centre. The website does not publish the opening season, the check-in and check-out times or whether pets are allowed: ask before booking. ## Dónde dormir if you're driving - **Villa Las Tronas Hotel & Spa**: A hunting villa over the sea Villa Las Tronas is the crenellated house you see on the rocks south of the old town, on Alghero's seafront. It was built around 1880 by Alessandro, third Count of Sant'Elia, as a hunting lodge, and around the 1920s it was remodelled with the air of a medieval castle. It was the summer and hunting residence of the Italian royal house, received Romanov princesses, who gave two salons still on show in the Sala Rosa, and has been a hotel since 1961. Today it is a five-star with only 24 rooms and suites, on its own promontory between Cala Lavatoio and Cala Capone, separated from the city by a centuries-old park. The rooms They keep period furniture. They range from the 13 m² single, with a four-poster bed, to the 60 m² Suite Superior with a 50 m² terrace and a whirlpool bath for four. In between there are doubles with sea view, coast view or park view, some with a balcony, suites with a living room and a triple with a garden view. The rooms have air conditioning, satellite television and a minibar. Ask for a sea view: from the gulf side you see Capo Caccia in the distance. Pools, spa and restaurant The outdoor pool is seawater, unheated, facing the gulf, and is used in the summer months. The spa has a heated indoor saltwater pool, sauna, Turkish bath and a fitness area, and also works in winter. From its own piers you go straight down to the sea. The restaurant serves Mediterranean cooking with views of the old town, and breakfast is Italian. Getting there and what is nearby Alghero airport is 10 km away, and the hotel arranges the transfer if you ask 24 hours ahead. It has free outdoor parking in the park, unattended. The historic centre is reached on foot along the seafront. The concierge books hire cars, boats, restaurants and guided visits with a day's notice. If you travel with your dog or cat, the hotel accepts all pets at no charge: tell them when you book. The website does not publish prices or check-in and check-out times. - **Hotel El Faro**: A ship-shaped hotel facing Capo Caccia Hotel El Faro is at the tip of Porto Conte, inside the natural park, above the Baia delle Ninfe. It is a superior four-star with a building of stepped terraces over the rocks designed by the architect Antonio Simon Mossa in the shape of a ship. Next to it stands a coastal tower, and across the bay, opposite, you have the wall of Capo Caccia. It is the accommodation for those who want to sleep away from the city, with the sea in front and the cape a quarter of an hour away. Rooms There are a dozen types: from the Classic, with or without a sea side, to the Deluxe with terrace, the Sea Garden with garden, the suites and the Premier Deluxe Terrace, with a large terrace over the bay. There are Family Rooms for families. The website does not publish the number of rooms or their prices: you see them in its booking engine. Pools, thalassotherapy and restaurant It has two pools on the slope that goes down to the sea. The central one is seawater, with hydromassage, and is heated in the cooler months. The Thalasso & Spa centre works with seawater. There is a restaurant over the sea and a lounge bar. The hotel also organises sports activities, excursions and experiences in the area. Getting there and what is nearby It is at the exit from Fertilia, on the Porto Conte road, about twenty minutes by car from Alghero; you need a car. From here you are very close to everything around Capo Caccia: the Palmavera nuraghe, the Escala del Cabirol and the Capo Galera diving centre. The website does not publish the opening season, the check-in and check-out times or whether pets are allowed: ask before booking.