I stayed for every week for $1,500

White sand, clear turquoise sea and plush trees swaying within the breeze. This might sound like an outline of the Maldives — nevertheless it’s actually what I experienced on a recent trip to Italy.

Sardinia, the Mediterranean’s second-largest island after Sicily, is usually known as “the Maldives of Europe” for the great thing about its beaches — two of which appear on “The World’s 50 Best Beaches” 2024 list, chosen by greater than 1,000 travel professionals.

Just like the Maldives, parts of Sardinia have a fame for being expensive. Those with deep pockets head to Costa Smeralda — or Emerald Coast — known for its yacht-loving jet set, upscale golf resorts and designer stores.

Luxury hotel company Belmond opened the renovated Romazzino at Porto Cervo in August, with fellow LVMH brand Cheval Blanc set to open a hotel in 2026. Hotels from the Rocco Forte group and Mandarin Oriental are also as a consequence of open in the identical 12 months.

Nevertheless it’s possible to experience Sardinia’s beautiful coastline without spending a fortune, as I discovered on a recent vacation. Airfare obviously affects travel costs, but I spent $1,500 for every week on the island, including flights from London.

First, I used to be blissful to travel in the autumn when prices are cheaper. Schools within the U.K. start in early September, and I reasoned that the weather would still be tremendous.

I used to be also content with mid-range accommodations and desired to stay somewhere that included some meals to make budgeting easier. I used to be also keen to be near local restaurants as they’re often cheaper than those in touristy places.

Searching online, I discovered that vacation company Neilson had a resort on Sardinia’s northeastern coast, not removed from the Costa Smeralda. I’d been to a Neilson-run hotel in Greece a couple of years before and was impressed with its service and food, in addition to activities like kayaking and yoga.

Neilson’s Baia dei Mori Beach Club is a 40-minute drive from the airport at Olbia, situated next to the sand dunes of a fairly beach. I discovered a deal for 849 British kilos ($1,102) per person for every week, based on two sharing a room and traveling at the tip of September.

The worth included return flights from London Stansted Airport, transfers, each day breakfast and lunch, plus 4 dinners and on-site activities like tennis coaching, guided cycling, yoga classes and windsurfing. The hotel’s website showed pale sandy beaches lined with pine trees, and rooms in single-story buildings set amongst easy gardens.

I used to be sold, and I booked to go together with my friend Sinead.

On the primary morning, I headed to a yoga class held on a picket fitness deck near the beach. Then I sunbathed for several hours and took an aqua aerobics class within the hotel’s pool.

Within the afternoon, Sinead and I joined a guided mountain bike ride, selecting the “green” beginner level, which took us on a 9 km (5.6 mile) circular route. Keener cyclists can enterprise along the twisting roads within the hills for intermediate or advanced routes. We stopped for a lemon granita on the Shardana restaurant, set among the many trees overlooking the white sand Baia Sant’Anna beach.

Our days continued to be a mixture of activity and rest, often starting with yoga, followed by a weightlifting class or bike ride within the afternoon.

A highlight was a stand-up paddleboard “safari” during which, together with other guests, I paddled my way around a peninsula to the 4 km white sand Budoni Bay beach, which has stunning views to the mountainous Isola Tavolara. The resort also runs sailing classes for all levels, with a race at the tip of the week.

On evenings when food wasn’t included, we walked into the village of Tanaunella for dinner. At L’Hotel Pedra Niedda, I enjoyed malloreddus alla campidanese, a Sardinian pasta with a sausage sauce, for 12 euros ($13), while family-run Pizzeria da Paolo had a wide selection of pizzas for under 10 euros. At Ristorante La Volpe, I splashed out on a tuna steak with an anchovy mayonnaise for 25 euros.

The remainder of our budget went to alcoholic drinks and coffees at local bars, and sooner or later we hired a automobile (about 120 euros, including delivery, collection and gas) to move south to the Gulf of Orosei and Gennargentu, a national park with dramatic cliffs and a string of white-sand beaches.

The coastal town of Cala Gonone has boat rides to the Grotte del Bue Marino caves, which I imagine are very talked-about in the summertime. As a substitute, we drove along the coast to the cove at Cala Fuili, where a tiny, white pebble beach is flanked by cliffs popular with climbers. There, we headed down steep steps to seek out a spot among the many sunbathers.

Like many destinations, Sardinia is keen to scale back overtourism and has introduced limits to the number of people that can visit certain beaches in high season. At La Pelosa beach along the northeastern coast, people must place mats under their towels to stop sand getting stuck to them and being faraway from the beach.

My hotel is a low-rise resort set back from the shore, with paths marked through the sand dunes to stop damage — and its beach never felt crowded.

It was the best off-season escape.