The reward for a 5am was the morning sun spreading gold across the mossy peaks around Cagliari. The expansive view of unspoiled coastline as we came into land – all gleaming white sand and neon-turquoise bays – was nothing short of a postcard: we wished we were there, and we soon would be. Mentally, I picked out a dream spot on the shores.
For years, I’d heard mixed reviews of . “If you want to pay €30 for an average bowl of spaghetti with a view of the mega-yachts, go ahead,” friends had warned with a raised eyebrow. It took me a while to realise they were talking, mainly, about the north of the island, where glitzy ports line the rarefied coastline, and the ultra-wealthy flock to huge coastal resorts.
But here, on a bright summer morning, with my plane window full of mountains and piercing aquamarine shallows, I was confident we’d got it right. Italy’s flash side has had quite the year following the post-pandemic travel rush, then season two, which aired in late 2022. Set on neighbouring , the show turned the heads of affluent travellers to ’s plunging clifftop , spicy islands, Med yacht trips and ornate villas.
It was this Versace-clad picture of Italian travel that I was looking to escape as I arrived in Sardinia’s southernmost city, Cagliari, bound for the rather more barefoot seaside village of Chia. My partner, Giles, and I had booked to spend the first night in Cagliari, forever suckers for a fourth or fifth-tier Italian city (and I’d recommend i.