Best Babymoon Destination - Sardinia, Italy

In September 2022, we flew across the pond for one last hoorah of a European adventure before our baby girl arrived. We chose Sardinia, Italy for a few reasons:

· we had never been

· it would be a relaxing beach vacation

· Sardinia has some of the most beautiful, clear water in the world

We began our trip in Rome because there are direct flights from Dallas where we live. We spent a few nights in Rome before jetting off to Sardinia.

Fun fact, we named our baby girl Rome. I'm Italian and Rome is one of our favorite cities :)

There are nonstop flights from Rome Fuimicino to a number of destinations on Sardinia. We chose to stay in the posh Costa Smeralda area of the island and flew into Olbia (OLB). I would love to go back and explore more of the island, but we chose this area and the Cervo Hotel for access to a private beach and walkability for a pregnant lady. We didn't want to rent a car/ taxi around for our entire stay and walking too much just wasn't an option.

We pre-booked an airport shuttle to take us to the hotel.

First of all, we loved the Cervo Hotel. We were able to book this 5 star resort with points through Chase Ultimate Rewards but it is also a Marriott hotel, if you're a points user. Additionally, in comparison to other hotels in the area, Cervo Hotel was significantly cheaper. The hotel is located in an upscale shopping district with tons of stores and restaurants but it wasn't too big to walk through (again, for the pregnant lady). 

On the days we wanted to head to the beach, we called the front desk and let them know what time we wanted to leave. There were free boat shuttles from the hotel to the private beach cove several times a day. The shuttle was about 8 minutes. TIP: take the earliest shuttle around 10am. You'll get there first and get the best lounge chairs. When scheduling your shuttle, also schedule lunch to be delivered. There was a set beach menu with sandwiches, salads, fruit, etc. Bottles of water were free at the beach (like an open bar for a pregnant chick!) and canned beer was available for 6 Euros. 

Let me just say...the beach is STUNNING. I loved that it was in a cove away from the hotel. It truly felt secluded and like we discovered something. There were also easy hiking trails directly from the beach for the more adventurous.

Towels were provided.

The concierge at Cervo Hotel was fantastic. I didn't know how I would be feeling each day so we didn't schedule much in advance. The concierge helped us out daily. They recommended White Beach for us to see Sardinia's infamous crystal clear water and it was spectacular!

Because of the roads leading to White Beach, no taxis will take guests. We had to rent a car for the day. The roads were not bad at all. I was very surprised taxis wouldn't go. We felt super safe!

The hotel arranged for a car to be dropped off at the hotel for about 150 Euros for the day and we were off!

There were dozens of beach clubs along White Beach ranging from cheap to expensive. We chose White Beach Club because I am a photographer and wanted to photograph the white palapas but it was definitely in the higher range for price at 100 Euros for two people. This rate included 2 covered lounge chairs and towels on the first row. There was a restaurant and bar on site for additional charges. Keep in mind, the service on the beach was not great. Bring water, beverages and snacks with you.

Costa Smeralda in general is VERY expensive. Be prepared to spend a lot of money on dining out. We found most restaurants were about 100-200 Euros for two people per meal, but we found a few cheaper places to eat and there was even a grocery store in the shopping center. We stocked up on snacks and beer/wine for the hubby.

Cheaper options: Pomodoro and Elit were in the shopping district and reasonably priced. There is also a pizzeria that we didn't try. One night, we took a cab to nearby Belvedere and the meal was fantastic. Apparently it's where locals eat. It was more affordable but the cab was 60 Euros each way. It was worth it to us to have a meal "off-site" and see another area of the island.

Porto Cervo is relatively small and outside of the shopping district, there isn't much to explore. I was ok with this because all I really needed was the beach but I could see how others could get bored. We did take the trolly train around Porto Cervo for some site seeing. It was only 30 minutes and 10 Euros per person. Nothing spectacular but something to do while not having to walk.

We really enjoyed our babymoon on Sardinia and I actually wish we had a few more days to explore more of the island. If we could do it again, we would stay 2-3 nights in Porto Cervo then another 3-4 in Alghero or Cagliari.

As a beach snob, I can now say, Sardinia has the most beautiful beaches and water I have ever seen. Maybe we'll take little Rome back one day.

Congrats mama. Have the best babymoon on Sardinia!