geocalia
Day itinerary · 39.22° N · 9.11° E
Forty-five minutes from Cagliari, the ruins of Nora first thing, lunch on the beach beside Nora and the afternoon in the dunes of Su Giudeu, with an islet you can walk to.
Part of Cagliari and Sardinia's South Coast
The plan
Any part can be swapped for another without spoiling the day.
from Cagliari to Pula along the SS195; park beside Nora beach
buy the ticket online · €10 · the guided visit is booked separately by phone
swim at Su Guventeddu beach and lunch at 13:00 · book and confirm it is open
Strada Comunale Su Guventeddu, 09050 Pula · +39 070 9208181
at low tide, to the islet on foot · flamingos on the Spartivento pond
To Cagliari in an hour along the SS195
Adds up the activities and meals in the plan at their published prices; travel and accommodation not included.
The route
The coast south-west of Cagliari brings together, in one morning and one afternoon, the oldest and the loveliest things in southern Sardinia. Three-quarters of an hour from the city are the ruins of Nora, a Phoenician city that Rome filled with theatres, baths and mosaics, on a peninsula between two bays. You have lunch on the beach next door, at Don Carlo, and in the afternoon you carry on to Chia, where the dunes of Su Giudeu face an islet you can walk to at low tide.
Fly to Cagliari-Elmas (CAG), with direct flights from Barcelona and Seville. Hire a car at the airport or in the city: without one, this day cannot be done. From Cagliari to Nora it is about 45 minutes on the Pula road, the SS195.
8:15 · Leave Cagliari. On the SS195 towards Pula. Park beside Nora beach.
9:00 · Nora archaeological site. Opens at 9:00. Walk round the temple of Tanit, the forum, the theatre and the baths beside the sea. Entry costs €10 (€6 for under-18s, free up to age 5); buy it online. If you want a guide, book by phone: the online ticket does not include one.
11:30 · Swim and lunch at Su Guventeddu. A few minutes by car to the beach of the Sant'Efis Hotel. Have a swim and sit down to lunch around one o'clock at Don Carlo, which is also open to people not staying at the hotel: fregola with prawns, seafood culurgiones, red tuna. Book and confirm it is open that day: the website does not publish opening hours.
15:30 · Su Giudeu. Half an hour further south, past Pula and turning towards Capo Spartivento. Go down to the beach by one of its three access points. At low tide, walk out to the islet; from the path, look at the flamingos on the Spartivento pond.
19:30 · Back to Cagliari. An hour on the SS195.
Where to eat
Lunch is half the plan: book before you set off.
What to order: at midday, the handmade fregola cooked like a risotto with prawn sauce or the culurgione that meets the sea; for a main course, the barely seared bluefin tuna cube, and seadas for dessert
What to order: at midday, the culurgiones ogliastrini with potato, mint and pecorino (€14) or the fregola with lobster sauce (€18); for dessert, the sebada with strawberry-tree honey
What to order: the Fuori Tonno menu (€90), all bluefin tuna; a la carte, the hand-cut bluefin tuna tartare (€24) and the linguine alla Nicolo with the house tuna reserve (€24)
Map
With where to park at each one.
Getting there
When to go
From May to October, for swimming at Chia; best in May, June, September and October. Nora is open all year, but Don Carlo does not publish its season: outside summer, call ahead. In July and August go to Nora at nine, before the heat.
Tips
In summer there is no shade among the ruins.
At low tide you can reach the Su Giudeu islet without swimming.
The website does not publish hours or season.
Questions
About 45 minutes by car.
€10 for adults, €6 for under-18s and free up to age 5.
At Don Carlo, on Su Guventeddu beach, open to guests from outside the hotel.
Yes, at low tide.
More plans like this
geocalia.com/en/italy/sardinia/cagliari-south-coast/itineraries/nora-and-chia-beaches
Prices, opening hours and times are approximate: check them before you go. Each place has its own page on Geocalia.
Geocaliahttps://www.geocalia.com/en/italy/sardinia/cagliari-south-coast/itineraries/nora-and-chia-beaches
