Sardinia - leaving Cagliari to the west

[IanA]

We will be arriving in Cagliari by ferry from Palermo at the end of the first week of May and are wanting to go west towards Pula and Sant' Antico. The 2 options are the dual carriageway directly west, almost from the ferry port exit, or a route through the city and industrial areas around the lagoons. This second option will be at least 20 miles longer through urban and industrial areas and from street view assessments etc doesn't appear particularly scenic.

I have followed a number of threads over the last year or so on Sicily and Sardinia which have been very useful but I was wondering if anybody has any comment in particular on using the dual carriageway route (on a tandem). We will be arriving at the ferry port at about 8.00am on a Sunday morning so my thinking is that things will be reasonably quiet if we get the dual carriageway section over with as soon as possible. If we start and find it particularly unpleasant it would be possible to leave about half way along and re-join the coast road after the end of the industrial areas.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

[ConRAD]

HERE my route and HERE, just for some pictures, my complete trip.
On Sunday no trucks … and so, with or without a tandem, take it easy and enjoy !!!

[Sweep]

Quick thoughts ian.

Pity you will miss saint efisio on may 1. Been running for centuries and well worth seeing - lots of traditional dress etc - google image will turn up lots of nice pics.

Do i take it you are arriving on sunday may 7?

Did you know the giro d'italia arrives in town that day? It would be a pity to pedal straight off and miss that. Even if you don't really follow bike racing (i don't) it should still be a great spectacle.

And no doubt you would miss a few, er, sardonic, comments about your bike

[IanA]

Thank you for your comments.

Conrad, I had seen your interesting blog from a previous thread but failed to zoom in far enough to see you used the route into Cagliari that we hope to use out. It is good to have confirmation. Interestingly in 2015 we did a trip from Burgundy, France, through Switzerland, St Gotthard pass to the Italian Lakes, along a river valley round the east side of Milan, Cremona, Parma, Passo Della Cisa, then to Lucca and further south in Tuscany before returning to Livorno to get the ferry to Bastia. We arrived in Livorno on 24 September and got the ferry on the 25th, one day after you!

Sweep, yes we will be arriving on 7th May, so sadly will miss the festivities the week before. We have the flight booked to Cantania and ferry from Palermo 3 weeks later so the timing is fixed. Perhaps next time. Re the Giro, not being a particular follower of the racing scene it hadn't entered my mind. Fortunately we will be leaving to the west and the Giro arriving from the east so hopefully no conflict with road closures etc. However, as we will only have about 20 miles that day, and the finish line appears to be just up the road from the ferry terminal, we will probably stay around for a while and soak up a bit of the atmosphere. It will also be interesting to see what a genuine Sards sardonic comment is like! Hopefully a better class than the usual 'can you ride tandem' ( although we haven't had that so much for a while) and 'she's not pedalling on the back'.

Again, many thanks.

[ConRAD]

Hi IanA, yes I confirm that on 24SEP2015, just around noon, I was at Livorno port, ready to “sail” for Bastia !!! yes I also confirm that my actual route in/out of Cagliari was exactly the one of the post above, directly downloaded at the end of the trip from my gps, just tell me if you want the original gpx file, I still must have it somewhere! Unfortunately I can't assure you that it's the most scenic but is the actual one that I did getting to Cagliari port for embarking on the ferry to Palermo !! In my opinion is not too bad, rubbish apart . The rest is simply wonderful.

[Sweep]

Be careful on that road ian. It has a bad safety record, a lot of crashes, and I know of at least one cyclist who has perished there.

You get a fair few trucks on it as well, particularly near the industrial area.

If you throw "sulcitana" (the road's familiar name) and "incidente" (Italian for accident) into google/google news you will find a catalogue of serious accidents. A mirror night be useful.

I get the impression that you are heading for Sant Antioco via Pula though so you don't really have any choice.

Some wonderful coastline up that way.

If you were heading straight for Sant Antioco you could take the untarmacced (but rideable) road to Santadi.

Enjoy.

I'd be interested in your impressions of Sardinia after the trip.

[Gattonero]

Avoid all the coast roads on weekends, they do get busy, especially that one (SS195), make sure you keep right but with that usual 1/2mt from the border of the road, so you can easily swerve in when the roaring car approaches. The roads are not more dangerous than any other around the world, it only needs one idiot (which has no nationality), and I've seen many in different countries
Carry water! On a hot day you may run out and being many miles from the nearest town or village. The red wine can be really strong, so don't over do only because is cheap (2eu/lt)

[Sweep]

cannot help but say gatto that although the sards seem quite conservative by Italian standards when it comes to driving, there are nevertheless more I think than the expected number of tosspots once you get onto apparently fast roads. I have seen some truly appalling speeding driving and the "head on" crash is consequently not rare. Have you ever been on the 131 at night? Cultural differences do exist. And Italian road death rates are significantly higher than britain I think.

Good caution about the red wine - though it would be a pity to miss it.

If the OP is interested I can point him at some wonderful stuff -with the added caution that it is under no circumstances to be mixed with a discussion of Italian politics or society.

PS - maybe a bit overcautious to say avoid the coast roads at weekends I think. The road east from cagliari to villasiumius can get rather jammed, allowing a bit of fun cycling jamming and keeping the tosspots in check.

[Therealsouthstander]

We had a 9 Day tour of Sardinia last year.

Wonderful place to cycle,eat amazing food ,drink very good wine and enjoy the fantastic hospitality from the locals.


It was very hot at times when we were there. Three 500m climbs on some days in temps of 38 Deg C was fairly tough going.


I'll be back for more someday.

[Sweep]

Have checked Ian and the giro will not be arriving in Caglairi's Via Roma until about 5pm.

Which may be too late for your plans anyway.

But I would if I were you take some time to explore Cagliari anyway - it is a fine city and there are many places to sit outside with a bike.

The Poetto in particular is worth a pedal -if you pm me I can recommend a nice chilled beach bar to sit in to admire the view of the beach/the Devil's saddle etc.

Wonderful weather at the moment - getting warmer by the weekend.

[IanA]

Sweep, re the Giro, I had realised it would not be in town until late in the afternoon so had intended to stay around for a while to take in the atmosphere and then head out. However, plans have unfortunately been changed for us. The ferry company contacted us a few weeks ago to inform us the crossing would no longer be a night time crossing arriving 8am Sunday but a day time arriving at 9pm, after the Giro has left. (I suspect the ferry change is Giro related!). We have therefore had to arrange accommodation in both Palermo and Cagliari which we thought we had avoided. At present in Monreale before Palermo tomorrow for ferry Sunday am.

It also means we will be leaving Cagliari on Monday rather than Sunday which may be a different prospect on the road. I have therefore devised a route north via Sestue, Assemini and then back south to the west of the lagoons. Still some industrial areas but away from the dual carriageway, slip roads etc. We'll have a look Monday am and make a decision. Thanks for the offer of advice re Cagliari but unfortunately we won't have time to stay around. On any trip lots of places deserve longer but not all can be fitted in. It will just have to be next time!

We have been in Sicily for 3 weeks now and it has been quite hot so somewhat tiring, but a great place apart from the rubbish and dogs. Have gone from Catania to Palermo essentially following the south coast apart from a few forays inland for particular towns/sites. Even the drivers are good once you get used to it. In Sardinia we are hoping to avoid too many big climbs (due to age and tandem!) other than those necessary. So, along the SW coast, back inland avoiding the hills, north on the flat then back west to the coast at Cabras, follow the coast north to Stintino then NE to Santa Terresa for the ferry to Corsica. Hope it doesn't get too much hotter and looking forward to the next stage.

As always thanks for all the comments.

[Sweep]

Appalling behavior by the ferry company. The giro has clearly been arranged for ages.

Quick question - are you still heading for Pula?

I may also pm you over the weekend.

I assume you have PMs switched on?

All the best, sweep

[IanA]

Yes, still heading for Pula for first night. I think/assume pm's are on.

[Gattonero]

Sweep, re the Giro, I had realised it would not be in town until late in the afternoon so had intended to stay around for a while to take in the atmosphere and then head out. However, plans have unfortunately been changed for us. The ferry company contacted us a few weeks ago to inform us the crossing would no longer be a night time crossing arriving 8am Sunday but a day time arriving at 9pm, after the Giro has left. (I suspect the ferry change is Giro related!). We have therefore had to arrange accommodation in both Palermo and Cagliari which we thought we had avoided. At present in Monreale before Palermo tomorrow for ferry Sunday am.

It also means we will be leaving Cagliari on Monday rather than Sunday which may be a different prospect on the road. I have therefore devised a route north via Sestue, Assemini and then back south to the west of the lagoons. Still some industrial areas but away from the dual carriageway, slip roads etc. We'll have a look Monday am and make a decision. Thanks for the offer of advice re Cagliari but unfortunately we won't have time to stay around. On any trip lots of places deserve longer but not all can be fitted in. It will just have to be next time!

We have been in Sicily for 3 weeks now and it has been quite hot so somewhat tiring, but a great place apart from the rubbish and dogs. Have gone from Catania to Palermo essentially following the south coast apart from a few forays inland for particular towns/sites. Even the drivers are good once you get used to it. In Sardinia we are hoping to avoid too many big climbs (due to age and tandem!) other than those necessary. So, along the SW coast, back inland avoiding the hills, north on the flat then back west to the coast at Cabras, follow the coast north to Stintino then NE to Santa Terresa for the ferry to Corsica. Hope it doesn't get too much hotter and looking forward to the next stage.

As always thanks for all the comments.

Be aware of the industrial area of Macchiareddu if you are planning to go around there, easy to get lost even for locals

Btw, years ago Ferrys had to be booked months in advance, people coming on summer holidays from North Italy used to queue outside Travel Agencies in february!