09:00–10:00
1Basilica di San Simplicio Culture
Olbia's Romanesque granite church, the town's oldest and quietest corner, worth the 20 minutes before the crowds arrive.
Via San Simplicio, Olbia
Trips planned by Robin · Olbia, Italy
Olbia & Costa Smeralda Itinerary: The Perfect 3 Days.
Three days is enough to do the Costa Smeralda properly if you resist the urge to see every cove: one day for Olbia's low-key old town and a first golden-hour look at Porto Cervo, one full beach day swimming Liscia Ruja and Capriccioli, and a gentler last morning at Spiaggia del Principe, the beach many locals rate above all the others. This plan keeps Olbia as your base, with a rental car for the coast and every dinner already chosen.
Robin planned this trip forFirst visitBeaches & covesCoupleRental carBalanced paceMid-JuneChange these assumptions →
Planned by Robin
3 days · 16 stops
Every place is real, planned with the same verified data that Robin uses in the app. How these itineraries are made
3-day Olbia itinerary at a glance
1Basilica di San Simplicio→Corso Umberto→Porto Cervo→Liscia di Vacca belvedere
2Liscia Ruja→Capriccioli→Cala di Volpe drive→Pevero sunset
3Spiaggia del Principe→La Celvia coastal walk→Olbia waterfront passeggiata
- Best for
- First-time visitors who want beaches with a little glamour on the side
- Car needed
- Yes. The coves are a 25-40 minute drive north of Olbia and there is no useful bus
- Where to stay
- Olbia for value and restaurants, or up the coast near Porto Cervo to skip the drives
- Best months
- Late May to June and September; July and August are beautiful but packed
- Pace
- Balanced
- Robin recommends
- Book one dinner up the coast instead of driving back to Olbia; the return drive after sunset is the plan's one repeated cost
Your 3-day route
All stops, numbered by day order · Map © OpenStreetMap contributors
Day 1 · Friday
Day 1: Olbia's old town, then Porto Cervo at golden hour
Ease into Sardinia with Olbia's low-key old town and your first taste of that famous coastline at Porto Cervo, no rush today, just settling in with a good seafood lunch and a golden-hour look at the Costa Smeralda's glamour.
Stops in walking order · Map © OpenStreetMap contributors
11:15–12:30
2Corso Umberto Old Town Wander Walk
Olbia's pedestrian spine, pastel facades, small artisan shops, and the pace of a town most tourists skip through too fast.
13:00–14:30
3Ristorante Gallura Eat
A long-standing Olbia seafood room, good for your one sit-down meal today before the drive north.
↓30 km · ~35 min drive
15:20–16:50
4Porto Cervo Piazzetta Shopping
The Costa Smeralda's famous little harbor square, walk the marina and see the yachts that give the coast its name.
17:00–17:20
5Belvedere di Liscia di Vacca Nature
A quiet clifftop pullout just north of Porto Cervo where the granite coastline turns gold in the late light.
18:11–19:41
6La Lanterna Eat
Back in Olbia for a relaxed dinner of Gallura classics after the coastal drive.
Robin's tip. The Belvedere di Liscia di Vacca stop looks skippable on paper at 20 minutes. Do not skip it: it is the one place on day 1 where the granite coast turns gold with nobody else around.
Day 2 · Saturday
Day 2: The beach day, Liscia Ruja to a Pevero sunset
This is the beach-and-cove day the Costa Smeralda is famous for. Liscia Ruja and Capriccioli for swimming, a scenic drive between them, and sundowners at the Pevero belvedere before dinner.
Stops in walking order · Map © OpenStreetMap contributors
09:30–11:00
1Spiaggia di Liscia Ruja Nature
One of the Costa Smeralda's finest sweeps of white sand and turquoise water, arrive early for calm water and easy parking.
↓1.8 km · ~23 min walk
11:30–13:00
2Spiaggia di Capriccioli Nature
A short drive south to a granite-boulder cove with clearer, shallower water, bring goggles for the rocks at the northern end.
↓21 km · ~26 min drive
13:38–15:08
3Ristorante Barbagia Eat
A proper sit-down seafood lunch back near the marina, Gallura specialties done well.
15:30–16:45
4Cala di Volpe Coastal Drive Nature
The single prettiest stretch of the SP59, pull off at the Cala di Volpe overlook for the postcard bay view.
18:30–18:50
5Belvedere di Pevero
Golden-hour aperitivo spot above Pevero Golf, the classic Costa Smeralda sunset locals actually go out of their way for.
19:03–20:33
6Bar Pizzeria Gattopardo Eat
Casual, well-loved pizzeria in Olbia to close a big beach day without another heavy sit-down.
Choose where your evenings live
If you hate ending a beach day with a 30-minute drivetrade the Olbia pizzeria for a casual dinner near Porto Cervo after the Pevero sunset, and roll home late with no rush
If you want the local, un-glamorous side of Gallurakeep the plan; Olbia's evening streets and an easy pizza are the honest counterweight to a Costa Smeralda afternoon
If you would rather swim than drivedrop the Cala di Volpe drive, stay at Capriccioli until the light softens, and go straight to the Pevero belvedere
Ask Robin to personalize this day →
Day 3 · Sunday
Day 3: The Prince's beach and a slow goodbye
A gentler last day: one more swim at the beach many locals rate above all the others, a quiet coastal walk, and an easy drive back into Olbia to close things out.
Stops in walking order · Map © OpenStreetMap contributors
09:30–11:00
1Spiaggia del Principe Nature
Named for the Aga Khan's fondness for it, arrive by mid-morning before the small beach fills, best swim of the trip.
11:15–12:30
2La Celvia Coastal Walk Walk
A short unmarked footpath along the rocks linking Principe's cove to a quieter neighboring inlet, bring water shoes.
13:17–14:47
3Ristorante Pizzeria Troncadero Eat
Easy, well-regarded lunch back near Olbia before the last stretch of the trip.
15:00–16:30
4Olbia Waterfront Passeggiata Walk
A gentle final walk along the Olbia harbor promenade, the low-key ritual locals do every evening.
Bucket-list foods in Olbia
Culurgiones
Sardinia's pleated pasta parcels filled with potato, pecorino and mint; the island's signature primo and a Gallura menu staple.
On this trip: Ristorante Gallura, day 1 lunch, the town's long-standing seafood and Sardinian room
Gallura seafood with Vermentino
Bottarga, grilled catch and the local white wine grown on these granite hills; the Costa Smeralda's one true pairing.
On this trip: Ristorante Barbagia, day 2's sit-down lunch near the marina
Porceddu
Slow-roasted suckling pig, the great inland Sardinian feast dish. This coastal plan does not cover it; ask Robin to swap in an agriturismo dinner and it will.
Seadas
A fried cheese-filled pastry drowned in local honey; order it wherever day 1's dinner ends.
On this trip: La Lanterna, day 1 dinner, with Gallura classics
Where to stay for this itinerary
Stay in Olbia centro if…
- you want restaurants, the passeggiata and normal prices every evening
- flying in and out of Olbia airport with minimal transfer time matters
Stay in The coast between Porto Cervo and Baja Sardinia if…
- the beaches are the whole point and you would rather walk or drive five minutes to them
- you are happy paying Costa Smeralda rates for the location
Before you go
Do you need a car?
Yes. Every beach on this plan sits 25-40 minutes north of Olbia on the SP73 and SP59, and the coastal pullouts that make the drives worthwhile only work with your own wheels. Book the rental for the whole stay; Olbia itself you walk.
What must be booked ahead?
The rental car, well ahead in summer, and any Costa Smeralda dinner you care about in June-August. The beaches themselves are free and unbookable; going early is the only reservation that matters.
How do you get in from the airport?
Olbia Costa Smeralda airport is barely 10 minutes from the town center by taxi or rental car; it is one of the easiest arrivals in the Mediterranean.
Is three days enough?
For Olbia plus the classic Costa Smeralda coves, yes. What it leaves out is the water: the La Maddalena archipelago and Tavolara island each deserve a boat day, and that is exactly what a fourth or fifth day adds.
Which beach should you not miss if you only swim once?
Spiaggia del Principe, day 3's morning. Arrive by mid-morning; the cove is small, the water is the clearest on this stretch, and by noon in summer it fills.
4-5 days
Have 4-5 days?
First, split the beach day
Give Liscia Ruja and Capriccioli separate mornings so neither swim is on a clock, and use the freed afternoons for the Cala di Volpe drive and a longer Porto Cervo wander.
Day 4: the La Maddalena archipelago
Drive to Palau and take the ferry across; the archipelago's granite islands and the Caprera coves are the best water in this corner of Sardinia.
Day 5: Tavolara and the south
Boats from Porto San Paolo run out to Tavolara's limestone massif; pair it with the beaches around San Teodoro for a last swim away from the Smeralda crowds.
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