Sardinia: Villasimius and Costa Rei

That stretch of coast between Villasimius and Costa Rei

In organising this trip I made use of the information from the website

Our starting point is the village of Solanas, a small hamlet of the municipality of Sinnai, set on the splendid beach of the same name. Very white sand stretching for just over a kilometre, framed by two imposing cliffs, Cuccuru de Portu Perdosu and Capo Boi. We are about 35 km east of Cagliari and only 11 from Villasimius. Here begins one of the most beautiful stretches of coast in all of Sardinia. We proceed northeast and after a few kilometres, at the aforementioned Capo Boi, from which there is an excellent view over the Gulf of Carbonara, the municipality of Villasimius welcomes us. We are in the sub-region known as Sarrabus, about 45 km southeast of Cagliari. Its calling cards are the Capo Carbonara marine protected area, which extends from here to beyond Punta Molentis, and the delightful beach of Porto Sa Ruxi, reachable thanks to a few kilometres of unsurfaced road.

More or less at the height of the village of Capo Boi we also find the beach of Piscadeddus. We continue northeast and enter the area of the Gulf of Carbonara. Campus and Campu Longu are the main beaches, followed, along the western coast of the tongue of land forming Capo Carbonara, by the beaches of the tourist small harbour (also known as the rice beach) and Cala Caterina. Right at the southern tip of Capo Carbonara stands, facing the Isola dei Cavoli, the beach of the same name. On the eastern coast of Capo Carbonara we find, now continuing north, Cala Burroni, near which stands the old granite quarry Cava Usai, in the past also known as Cava Manna. Then follow the very long beach of Porto Giunco, with the Nottéri pond behind it, and then the little beach of Timi Ama. Still going north we come to the beach of Simius, of Riu Trottu (with a gravel bed) and the beach of Punta Molentis.

With Cala Proceddus the seaside localities of the municipality of Villasimius thus come to an end. At this point, in fact, the territory of the municipality of Castiadas begins. The connecting coastal road offers an incomparable view over the islands of Serpentara and the Varaglioni. The first coves you come across hint at the wonders that this stretch of coast offers along its entire length. They are the beaches of Cala Pira, overlooked by an ancient tower on the northern promontory, and Cala Sinzias. In order then come Cala della Marina, the cove of Monte Turno, and then the very long beach of Sant'Elmo which, stretching for several kilometres, offers various access points. We then reach the locality of Punta Santa Giusta, which faces a magnificent rock called "Lo Scoglio di Peppino". The dividing line between the beach of Santa Giusta and that of Costa Rei is virtually non-existent.

Almost without noticing, in fact, we are already in the territory of Muravera, whose main tourist hamlet is precisely Costa Rei. We are about 20 km north of Villasimius, and the beach of Costa Rei, over 8 km long, is characterised by its white sand, the pine woods and the Mediterranean scrub that have made it one of the most frequented localities in Sardinia. Practically right behind the beach rises Monte Nai, at whose foot stands the built-up area. At the northern end of Costa Rei we find the locality of Piscina Rei, followed by the localities of Iba Sa Cresia and Ziu Franciscu. Finally our journey ends at Capo Ferrato, near which lies the well-known cove of Porto Pirastu.