Olbia
Lying on a stretch of plain surrounded by hills, Olbia strikes for its beauty: towards the south the silhouette of the Island of Tavolara, in the middle the homonymous gulf (with the typical mussel farming), and the harbour station of lsola Bianca characterize the landscape. However, Olbia is not only the main junction of the connections with the Continent: it is also a beautiful art town with several evidences of its long history.
Worth to see: Basilica of San Simplicio, in Romanesque-Pisano style, built between the 11th and 12th century with granite blocks from Gallura; the church of San Pietro e Paolo with decorative granite ashlars; the Town Hall, Liberty; corso Umberto where the architrave are characterized by 18th century epigraphs; the rests of the Roman Aqueduct; the Punic walls.
Telti
It lies on the slopes of Mt. Limbara and has been an autonomous Municipality since 1963. Its origins date back to the end of the 19th century, when groups of shepherds began to gather around the small country churches of Sant'Antolia and Santa Vittoria. In Telti, the last week of August, the Myrtle Festival is held: besides the typical liquor from Sardinia, it aims at promoting the products of the local agricultural/breeding and craftsmanship tradition, from cheese to granite and wrought iron handicrafts. The territory is dominated by Mt. Pinu (742 m), covered by a Maritime Pines wood and partly by a thick Mediterranean maquis.
Calangianus
The rich town of Gallura lies in a territory which has been inhabited since prehistory, as witnessed by some significant pre-nuraghic finds. Presently, Calangianus contributes for about 90% to the national production of cork and since 1978 an important International Cork Fair has been held. The church of Santa Maria degli Angeli (1378) is worth a visit: it has a beautiful 18th century choir, a wooden tabernacle, and some 19th century paintings.
Sant'Antonio di Gallura
The town was part of the Municipality of Calangianus until 1979; today it consists of a group of white houses situated near Lake of Liscia (at 2 km), an artificial basin used for the irrigation of the agricultural areas of Arzachena and Olbia and for the water consumption of Costa Smeralda and the many towns in Gallura.
Near the shores of the lake, which submerges the church of San Nicola di Carana during the flood days, there is a giant wild olive (at least ten persons must be holding hands to encircle it): according to researchers, it is one of the oldest trees in Europe.
Arzachena
An agricultural town transformed by the tourist and economic boom, Arzachena is worth a visit for the archaeological monuments scattered throughout the countryside. The Grave of Gigante in Coddhu 'Ecchiu is one of the best preserved graves in the whole Sardinia. Also the Neolithic necropolis of Li Muri is very interesting, with its circle graves typical of the Culture of Arzachena. At the north-eastern edges of the town, on a hill called Monte dell'lncappiddatu ("of the hat"), a big granite boulder stands out: erosion gradually shaped it into a big mushroom.
The site is rich in materials which can be dated back to various epochs, from the Recent Neolithic period (3,500-2,700 BC) onwards, and in the surrounding area the rests of a nuraghic village have been found.
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The scenario is extremely picturesque and the colors, during the sunny days, amplify the splendor of the laps of this itinerary: sea, coast, islands and holms, promontories and endless beaches are of rare beauty. The richness of the seabed and fauna is also of great importance.
Budoni
In the south of Olbia, you can go towards the coast of Baronia, developing for over 100 km between San Teodoro (marking the ideal border with Gallura) and Orosei. Budoni lies here: it is a sea resort famous for its wonderful panorama and the big linear or half moon beaches. The nearest one is situated in town and is a characteristic rocky bay surrounded by a thick pinewood. All the coastal beaches are beautiful and busy.
If you want to go towards the south of Budoni, you can reach the beaches of Berchida, La Caletta, and Capo Comino, known for its charming dunes of very thin sand united by the Mediterranean maquis.
San Teodolo and its beaches
San Teodoro, an integral part of Parco di Tavolara - Punta Coda Cavallo, is also the ideal departure point for an itinerary by bike to discover wonderful beaches (18, big and small) surrounding this location. After leaving the town and going towards the south, take the SP road to Ottiolu until, before Villaggio Miriachéddu, you will find on the left the access to the road of L'lsuledda, a dirt road (about 1,5 km) developing at the foot of a hill in the middle of the low maquis up to a beach of white sand of about 1 km sheltered by a small pond, protected by cliffs, and surrounded by a green area. In the south, towards the east, you can reach the beaches of Li Marini and Segafusti, next to Ottiolu.
Back to San Teodoro, you can go towards the east of the town along a large avenue lined with trees and leading to the beach of Cala d'Ambra, sheltered by the hill of Lu Casteddu. It is a small and quiet beach, well equipped and surrounded by tourist structures: it was in the past the mooring place of ships used for the transport of coal extracted from Mt. Nieddu. The stretch in the north of San Teodoro gives the opportunity to discover a series of wonderful beaches such as La Cinta, just outside the town by following via del Tirreno and via Gramsci. The big and very beautiful beach with white sand is delimited by dunes separating it from the nearby pond of San Teodoro (ideal for people fond of birdwatching), on which centuries-old junipers stand out in the middle of a maquis scented by rosemary and other Mediterranean essences.
Following the coast, always towards the north and along the SS road 125 which runs along the pond, at 10 km from San Teodoro and immediately after the country hamlet of Lu Fraili, on the right there is the detour to the beach of Lu Impostu, next to the pond of Brandinchi or Catranzolu, and that of Punta Aldia, near Capo Sabatino. After returning on the SS road, go ahead towards Lotturai, from where you can reach the white beach of Capo Coda Cavallo, almost at the end of the road crossing the promontory, a series of small hills with pinewoods and maquis, up to the extreme point known as Coda di Lu Furru, in front of which Molara rises.
Porto San Paolo
It is part of the Municipality of Loiri and faces entirely the big calcareous boulder of the Island of Tavolara: here, the beaches of Porto Taverna, Costa Dorata, Porto San Paolo, and Costa Corallina follow each other without a break. The coast mainly consists of rocks (above all in the southernmost stretch) and is spaced by sandy bays opening as arches among the granite cliffs.
Island of Tavolara
In the granite panorama of Gallura, the Island of Tavolara represents an exception: 565 m of height, 6 km of length and 1 km of width, it is an enormous trapezium-shaped calcareous plateau, whose cliffs vertically dive for over 20m. Called Hermaea Insula by the Romans, it dominates all the coast and preserves its natural landscape thanks to the building prohibition imposed by the Municipality of Olbia. Two appendixes lie at the eastern and western edges: Spalmatore di Fuori, mountainous and steep, and Spalmatore di Terra, almost entirely flat. Here you can find a tiny group of houses, two restaurants, a cemetery, and a small harbor. Tavolara houses a rich avifauna and some rare botanic species. Between Tavolara and Capo Coda Cavallo, Isolotto di Molara and Scoglio del Molarotto emerge from the sea: the first re-presents the geological and environmental continuity of the nearby coast of Coda Cavallo and is formed by granite.
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