Getting Here

How to get to North Sardinia: a local's guide to flights, ferries and ports

15 July 2026 14 min read

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Sardinia looks like an easy island to get to. It has three commercial airports, half a dozen ferry ports, and an entire travel industry telling you any of them will do. They won't. The difference between landing at the right airport and the wrong one ranges from 15 minutes of driving on the same kind of road (Alghero vs Olbia for the north-west) to three hours and a wasted half-day (Cagliari for the north). The difference between booking the right ferry and the wrong one is sometimes a whole day of your holiday.

This is the honest version. Three airports, four ferry routes, and which combinations actually make sense if you're heading for North Sardinia — Badesi, Costa Paradiso, Santa Teresa, the Costa Smeralda, or anywhere on the Gallura coast.

The short answer

If you're flying for Beach Base specifically (Badesi and the rest of the north-west Gallura coast): Alghero (AHO) is our first choice when there's a direct flight from where you're starting, and Olbia (OLB) is our second. Both airports work — we use both — but Alghero is slightly closer to us on slightly faster roads, it's a smaller building so you're out of arrivals in 20 minutes, and the route in is less twisty than the inland road from Olbia. Olbia wins on flight schedule, not on convenience.

If you're heading further east on the Gallura coast (Costa Smeralda, Porto Cervo, San Pantaleo, Santa Teresa di Gallura), Olbia is right — Alghero adds an extra 90 minutes of driving and starts to make no sense.

If you're taking a ferry: Genoa → Olbia if you're coming from anywhere north of Rome, Civitavecchia → Olbia if you're coming from Rome or further south, and Barcelona → Porto Torres if you're coming from Spain. Porto Torres is actually a sensible north-west port for Badesi — the drive in is comparable to Alghero airport. Livorno → Olbia works too but costs more than the Genoa route and arrives at the same place.

If you have a choice between flying and ferry: fly unless you're bringing a car you actually need. The ferry-with-a-car economics only work for stays of two weeks or more, large groups splitting fuel, or families bringing serious equipment (bikes, surfboards, infant gear).

The rest of this post is the long answer.

Airport 1: Alghero (AHO) — our first pick for Beach Base

Alghero's airport (AHO) is the closer of the two main options for Beach Base, and the one we personally use whenever a direct flight from where you're starting works out. It's a smaller building than Olbia, which means a 15-minute walk from gate to car park most days, no internal shuttles, and rarely a queue at car rental.

The road in from Alghero is mostly flat dual-carriageway as far as Sassari, then a faster coastal road north. You won't fight mountain switchbacks the way you do coming out of Olbia, which makes a real difference if you've got tired kids, a hire car you're learning, or you're driving after an early-morning Ryanair landing.

Alghero is a Ryanair stronghold, plus easyJet, Volotea and a handful of others — which means cheap direct routes from a lot of European cities and very few from the rest. Off-season the schedule thins out quickly.

Direct flights (summer schedule):

If your home city has an Alghero route, it's almost always the right answer for Beach Base. If it doesn't, look at Olbia next.

Airport 2: Olbia (OLB) — the other right answer

Olbia's airport is the entire reason Costa Smeralda exists. It was built specifically to feed the resort coastline, and it still does that job better than any other Sardinian airport — especially for the east side of the Gallura.

The route to Badesi runs inland through Tempio Pausania — a beautiful drive, but slower than the Alghero road. Mountain bends, occasional roadworks, and almost no overtaking opportunities. Add 10–15 minutes onto the same distance you'd cover from Alghero.

Olbia's airport itself is small — two arrivals halls, one long terminal — and outside of August it's painless. Bags arrive in 20 minutes, car rental desks are at the far end of arrivals, and you're on the road within 45 minutes of landing.

In August it gets brutal. Sunday turnaround days are the worst — 30,000 people through the building on a single day, every car rental queue an hour long, every cab booked. If you can't avoid August, fly Tuesday or Wednesday, not Saturday or Sunday.

Where Olbia wins:

Direct flights (summer schedule):

In winter the Olbia schedule collapses to a handful of Italian domestic routes plus Frankfurt and London. If you're coming October–April, expect to connect through Rome or Milan to either northern airport.

Airport 3: Cagliari (CAG) — almost never for the north

Cagliari is the capital's airport, in the deep south. It has more international routes than Olbia in winter, more domestic options year-round, and it's often the cheapest of the three.

But it's 270 km from Badesi — a 3-hour drive on the SS131. Even if your Cagliari fare is €100 cheaper, you'll lose it on fuel, tolls (the SS131 is free, but eating a meal en route isn't), and a wasted half-day at each end. Cagliari only makes sense for North Sardinia if you're combining the trip with a proper South Sardinia leg — Pula, Villasimius, the Sinis peninsula, the Costa Rei.

The exception: off-season, when Olbia has almost no direct flights and you'd connect through Rome anyway. A direct flight to Cagliari plus a long drive sometimes beats two flights plus a shorter drive.

Ferry route 1: Genoa → Olbia (or Porto Torres)

This is the workhorse of the North Sardinia ferry network. Moby, GNV and Tirrenia all run overnight crossings from Genoa, typically leaving around 8pm and arriving in Olbia at 6:30–7:30am.

The Genoa terminal is well-signed and parking is easy. Boarding starts about 90 minutes before departure. Book a cabin — not a "reclining seat" — if you can. The reclining seats are a false economy; you'll arrive in Sardinia broken and book a cabin for the return anyway.

The same ships sometimes go to Porto Torres instead of Olbia. Porto Torres is on the north-west coast, closer to Alghero and Stintino — about 1 hour 10 to Badesi, so very similar to Olbia. If you're heading for Beach Base specifically, take whichever sailing fits your schedule. If you're heading further east (Costa Smeralda, Santa Teresa), take the Olbia sailing.

Ferry route 2: Civitavecchia → Olbia

Civitavecchia is Rome's port. Grimaldi, GNV and Moby all run this route, day and night. It's the right ferry if you're already in Rome, Tuscany, or anywhere south of the line Rome–Pisa.

The downside is the road getting to Civitavecchia. The A12 from Rome is straightforward, but if you're coming from further north, you've already been driving for hours. The Genoa route saves you that.

Ferry route 3: Livorno → Olbia

Livorno is between Genoa and Civitavecchia on the Tuscan coast. Moby, Grimaldi and Corsica Ferries sail to Olbia. The route is fine, the boats are fine, but the schedule is thinner than Genoa or Civitavecchia.

For most people choosing between northern Italian ports, Genoa wins on schedule density and pricing. Livorno is a fine fallback if Genoa's full.

Ferry route 4: Barcelona → Porto Torres

This is the route Spanish guests usually don't realise exists.

GNV runs a direct ferry from Barcelona to Porto Torres twice a week (more often in summer, occasionally daily in August). The crossing takes about 12 hours and runs overnight in both directions.

Porto Torres is in the north-west, a 2-hour drive to Badesi. That's longer than Olbia, but cheaper than flying-plus-car-rental for a Spanish family.

The Barcelona → Porto Torres ferry is the single biggest non-obvious option for a Spanish or French (Pyrenees) traveller. If you've been doing the maths on flights and not loving the numbers, run it again on the GNV site.

Ferry route 5: Corsica → Santa Teresa di Gallura

If you're already in Corsica — or doing a multi-island trip — the short hop from Bonifacio to Santa Teresa di Gallura is the easiest border crossing in the Mediterranean. Moby and Blu Navy both run it.

This isn't a route most people start with, but it's the right way to add Sardinia to a Corsica trip. Santa Teresa is 50 minutes from Badesi.

Should you bring a car or rent on the island?

This is the question that decides whether you fly or ferry, so it's worth answering carefully.

Rent on the island if:

Bring your own if:

Realistic August car rental prices in Olbia, booked in February: €450–700/week for an economy car. Booked in May for an August stay: €900–1,400/week. Booked in July for an August stay: don't.

You need a car. North Sardinia has almost no public transport. There's one bus a day between most coastal villages, none after 7pm, and Uber doesn't operate. Cycling between beaches is technically possible and practically miserable. If you want to actually see the region, you drive.

Putting it together: which combination for Beach Base?

If you're staying with us in Badesi, here's the honest rank-ordered list:

  1. Fly into Alghero, rent a car. Our first pick when there's a direct flight from your city. Slightly shorter drive, smaller airport, faster road. Costs ~€80–400 in flights (Ryanair-dominated) + ~€400–900 car rental for a summer week.
  2. Fly into Olbia, rent a car. The right answer when Alghero doesn't have a direct flight from where you're starting — which is most of Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Eastern Europe outside summer. Same car-rental economics.
  3. Fly into Olbia or Alghero, transfer service. If you're not driving (older guests, couples without an Italian licence), book a private transfer through your accommodation — about €150 one-way to Badesi from either airport.
  4. Ferry from Genoa or Civitavecchia to Olbia, with your own car. The best option for two-week stays, families with gear, or anyone coming down from northern Europe by road.
  5. Ferry from Barcelona to Porto Torres. The right answer for a Spanish or southern-French family with a car — and the closer port to Beach Base of the two main Sardinian ferry destinations.
  6. Fly into Cagliari. Only if you're combining south and north Sardinia on the same trip.
  7. Ferry from Bonifacio. Only if you're already in Corsica.

For more on what to do once you've arrived, see our guides to the best beaches near Badesi, the 15 best day trips from Badesi and where to eat in North Sardinia. And if you haven't booked your stay yet, our apartments in Muntiggioni are about an hour from Alghero, an hour and a quarter from Olbia, and 130 metres above the bay.