10. Sardinia - North Coast

After leaving Alghero on the West Coast we headed north east to reach Sardinia's North Coast just east of Porto Torres, staying at lu Bagnu, Palau and Olbia. We are taking a ferry from Olbia tomorrow morning (Friday, 30 June) to Civitavecchia on the mainland north of Rome, where we will stay for 3 nights before flying home on Monday.

MARINA DI SORSO

Colourful beach umbrellas as far as the eye can see - in both directions:

LU BAGNU

On the beach again:

Toni briefly practicing some yoga:

We then had a few beers overlooking the beach:

CASTELSARDO

A castle overlooks the town:

View of the harbour from below the castle: 

Church bell tower near the cliff below the castle:

POLLO BEACH

A windsurfing & sailing beach about 7km west of Palau, our next stop:

PALAU

We stayed at Palau for two nights - this was the view across to the harbour from the balcony of our hotel room:

Taking tourists on boat tours around the nearby islands in the Maddalena Archipelago is big business in Palau; car ferries also run to the main Maddalena Island from Palau:

The harbour is very busy early and late in the day:

Our day trip into the Maddalena Islands was on a relatively small boat, carrying only a dozen tourists:

Several times during the trip we swam near the boat in stunning, azure coloured waters:

I managed to snap a shot of a herring gul flying near the boat at lunchtime

:
Enjoying time on the boat after a swim:

Sights on other parts of the trip through the islands:

A rock formation known as Bear Rock near Palau:

OLBIA

We are staying for two nights at Olbia prior to catching the ferry early tomorrow to Civitavecchia on the mainland, a trip of about 5.5 hours.

The view from the balcony of our hotel room:

A quiet piazza in the historic town centre:

The dome of the San Paolo church, taken from distance with the zoom:

A closer view of the dome & the church:

Some offshore islands near Olbia:

Looking across the harbour in the late evening light: