Bosa and the Planargia: coloured houses by a river, a castle and Malvasia wine.

What is Bosa?

Bosa is a village on Sardinia's west coast, on the banks of the Temo, the island's only navigable river. Its coloured houses climb the slope of Serravalle hill to the Malaspina castle, built between the 12th and 13th centuries. The district covering that slope is called Sa Costa: steep lanes, stairways and pink, yellow and blue façades. Below, beside the river, runs Corso Vittorio Emanuele, the main street, and on the other bank stand the Sas Conzas tanneries, of stone and red trachyte, which made the village rich and today are a national monument.

The river flows into the sea about two kilometres away, at Bosa Marina, the beach area, with a kilometre of golden sand, a small harbour and an Aragonese tower above the Isola Rossa. Behind Bosa begins the Planargia, a district of low hills and small villages such as Magomadas, Tresnuraghes, Suni or Tinnura, where the grape is grown that goes into Malvasia di Bosa, an amber white wine with a designation of origin.

How do you get there from Spain?

By plane, to Cagliari or Olbia, and then by car. Cagliari has direct flights from Barcelona and Seville, and Olbia from Barcelona; from other cities there is a connection. The airport closest to Bosa is Alghero, about 55 km away, but it currently has no direct route from Spain, so it's only of use if you connect in Italy.

From Olbia it's about two hours by car (estimated), along the SS131 to Macomer and the Planargia road. From Cagliari, about two hours and twenty-five minutes (estimated), along the SS131 northwards. If you come by boat from Barcelona, Grimaldi Lines arrives at Porto Torres, about two hours to the north. There are ARST buses from Alghero and from Macomer train station, but for the Planargia, the coast and the wineries you need a car.

What to do in two or three days?

The first day, Bosa on foot. Climb through Sa Costa to the castle, go into the chapel with the 14th-century frescoes, go down to eat by the river and cross the Ponte Vecchio to see the tanneries and the Museo delle Conce. In the late afternoon, the boat trip on the Temo with Bosa Diving shows you the village from the water.

The second, the Planargia and wine. A Malvasia tasting at Emidio Oggianu's winery, in the countryside near Magomadas, and the Columbu family's Malvasia at Su Camasinu, in Sa Costa.

The third, the sea. In the morning, snorkelling at Capo Marargiu or a swim at Bosa Marina. In the afternoon, the coast road towards Alghero, with the Torre Argentina, the coves of S'Abba Druche and the cliffs of the griffon vultures.

There are two day plans leaving from Cagliari or Olbia: Bosa on foot and by boat on the Temo and Malvasia and the coast road, and a two-night getaway.

Where to sleep and eat?

In the centre, the Hotel Palazzo Pischedda, a hotel from 1896 thirty metres from the Ponte Vecchio, or the small hotel of the Locanda di Corte, in a courtyard in Sa Costa. By the beach, the Hotel Al Gabbiano, in Bosa Marina, with beach service.

For eating, the Ristorante Sa Pischedda, open since 1974, with Bosa lobster and pizza; the modern Sardinian dinner at the Locanda di Corte; and Malvasia with cheese and cured meat boards at Su Camasinu.

And the Trenino Verde?

The narrow-gauge tourist train from Macomer to Bosa Marina, 46 km across the Campeda plateau, appears on the Trenino Verde website with its fares, but without dates or timetables for this season, and the line has had long interruptions for works and fires in recent years. We don't include it in the plans: if you're interested, check its website before you go.