The Best Summer-Ready Villas in Sardinia

This villa offers the best of both worlds: privacy within its cool, tiled quarters, plus the benefits of a surrounding holiday park and hotel. It sleeps up to eight in a mixture of doubles and bunks that kids will love (there are even surfboards on standby, propped against the villa’s walls). Out front, there’s a small grassed garden with loungers angled towards the sea, and you can reap the benefits of a restaurant, pool and a 27-hole golf course, if a moment of exertion strikes. Pretty Pula is only a 10-minute drive away, with some of the best beaches on Sardinia’s south coast.

If you go down to the woods today, you’ll find this secluded villa, set within an enchanting pine forest, on the Sardinian coast. Open the doors to let in fresh salty sea air from the coast, only 150 metres (500ft) away, or bask in the ample outdoor spots – including a private garden, large veranda and wood-fired barbecue area – during languid al fresco meals. The interiors are simple, the price tag affordable – it’s the stuff of summer holiday dreams.

This rose-hued villa sleeps up to 10 guests in the coastal town of Pula, steps away from Riva dei Pini beach. The house is decorated with cool, clean colours and splashed with coral-motif artworks that riff on the villa’s name and nautical shades that nod to the sea. Embroidered bed linens add homely touches, but it’s the outside where this villa really excels. There’s a private garden, with several shaded terraces for dining beneath matchstick pines, plus a rooftop patio for lazy glasses of wine, chased down with cool evening breezes.

If you think a holiday home should be more than a place to crash after a long day at the beach, you’ll appreciate the personal touches of these villas. Straw hats hang beside bright mural-painted walls, minimalist design furniture dots the space and compact kitchens are tucked discreetly to one side. Best of all, the apartments are located in a locanda (small Italian inn), with its own mountain-backed pool, garden-championing restaurant and shaded outdoor seating set amid the olive groves – plus Nora Beach is only an eight-minute drive away (since we’re counting).

North-west Sardinia’s coastline is famous for its emerald waters and eye-catching white beaches, but it also boasts endless hiking trails, ancient ruins and picturesque fishing villages, such as Stintino, where this resort is located. Here, you’ll find apartments for couples, as well as luxury Sardinian-style villas, sleeping up to 10 people, realised in petal-pink plaster with terracotta tiles and timber-beamed ceilings. Perks include sea-spying verandas, three communal pools and the Al Borgo restaurant, with its sunset-ready terrace and views of the Mare di Fuori.

If your ideal holiday includes quality time with family and friends, then this beach-side villa ticks all the boxes. It sleeps up to 14 people and boasts several indoor and outdoor lounges, where you can gather for sun-bathing, wine sipping, food guzzling and spying of endless sea views. From the main terrace, decked with a long lemon-graced, Mediterranean-style table, you’ll spy a sandy pathway that leads down to Li Mindi Beach. The infinity pool, ringed by sunbeds, is also a bit of a showstopper.

Palau is one of Sardinia’s top jet-set destinations and the gateway to the Costa Smeralda. This home is only a 12-minute stroll away from the town’s port, where you can board a yacht to one of the heavenly islands of La Maddalena archipelago, making it a great basecamp for beach bums and luxury day trippers. The villa itself is not too bad, either: with a private pool, rooftop terrace, sea-facing sunbeds and a made-to-order breakfast – you might think twice about leaving at all.

Conveniently located near Olbia’s waterfront – the main harbour and airport in northern Sardinia – this sea-view apartment puts you a pebble’s throw from the island’s whitest beaches and bluest waters. It can host up to six people and is particularly primed for families with its safe, glass-walled private pool and adjoining terrace, where parents can keep a close eye. When you’re not gawping at the sea, there are mountain views and slopes shouldering the island’s fragrant maquis shrub to contend with.