Sardinia - South Coast Panorama (SP71)

Sardinia's south coast contains some of the most extraordinary beach scenery in the entire Mediterranean — water that cycles from turquoise to emerald to deep sapphire depending on the depth, white sand beaches framed by wild maquis scrubland, and a coastline so undeveloped that you can drive for kilometres without seeing a single hotel. The 25-kilometre Strada Panoramica della Costa del Sud (SP71) between Chia and Porto di Teulada hugs this coast on a narrow road that climbs and descends over rocky headlands, revealing a new bay at almost every bend. This is the authentic southern Sardinia that exists behind the tourist brochure images of the Costa Smeralda in the north.

The standout stop on the route is Tuerredda, consistently rated among Italy's top ten beaches. A half-hour walk from the road (or a longer drive on a rough track) leads to a bay of extraordinary beauty: fine white sand, Caribbean-blue water clear to 5 metres depth, and a small island just offshore that you can wade to at low tide. In the height of summer the beach draws crowds, but in May or September it is possible to be entirely alone. The Torre di Capo Malfatano, a 16th-century Spanish watchtower on the headland above Tuerredda, is one of dozens of such towers built by the Spanish crown to warn coastal communities of Saracen and Barbary pirate raids. From the tower platform, the coastline unfolds in both directions in a panorama that takes in at least four distinct bays.

For a van traveller, the Costa del Sud route has one significant practical consideration: the SP71 is a narrow, winding road that can be difficult to pass on when two vehicles meet, and in high summer the bay access tracks are sometimes blocked by queuing cars. The route works best in May, June, September, or October when traffic is light and the water is still warm enough to swim in (the Sardinian sea reaches 24–26°C in September). The road itself is paved throughout and presents no mechanical challenges — gradients are moderate and distances are short. Wild camping on Sardinia requires care: many of the most beautiful spots near beaches are technically protected within the Parco Naturale Regionale Sulcis, and camping is prohibited. Official campsites near Chia and Porto di Teulada are well-equipped and in beautiful positions.

Sardinia has a distinct food culture that bears strong traces of its long centuries of Spanish and Aragonese rule. Look for malloreddus (small ridged pasta with saffron and sausage), porceddu (whole suckling pig roasted over myrtle branches), seadas (fried pastry filled with fresh cheese and drizzled with honey), and Cannonau wine, a robust red made from Grenache grapes that is unique to the island and associated with the extraordinary longevity of Sardinian shepherds — the island has one of the world's highest concentrations of centenarians.