Sardinia - any advice?

[crystaltips]

With this terrible summer ( some of us ) have been experiencing, DH and I have been dicussing Summer of 2003!

We are closing in on Sardinia, and I was wondering if any of you have advice/experince that might prove useful.

Are there any good wesites woth visiting for example?

We have DS aged 9 and DD aged 7.

Thanks.

Forte Village always gets rave reviews - but seems very expensive.

Forte Village is fantastic but is far too expensive. Lovely climate and beaches though

we stayed at a hotel called the Is Morus, near cagliari last year which was great (for us). Try to go for one of the bungalows in the grounds with wonderful views of the sea.

Only thing i would say was the beach was rocky in places. But fine if your kids are older.

We stayed at the other end of the island too. So close to the swanky areas like Costa Smeralda. We stayed in a town called Porto Rotoundo(spelling?) There are some lovely beaches this end of the island and the water here is crystal clear. Check out babygoes2.com for some ideas about self-catering or good hotels. I think they've got a 'favorite' section, and if I remember some really nice looking places in Sardinia.

let me know if you want more information

You could always try Sicily as it's cheaper than Sardinia and has loads of stuff to do. Just been over for a week and didn't want to come back. I'm probably biased though as my mum's from there!

Visited Sardinia last year (without children though!). Ryanair do VERY cheap flights to Alghero out of season. I think we paid £30 each return in June. The town of Alghero is very picturesque and only a 10 min taxi ride from the airport. It's right on the coast and the water there is beautifully clear and shallow so ideal for children. We stayed in very spacious apartment on the seafront with a huge balcony. There was a swimming pool there and everyone was very pleasant and helpful. If you'd like any more info (can't remember the name of the apartments) then post here and I'll find out for you. It's definitely one of the cheapest and nicest holidays I've ever had ...

Thanx Detta,

Glad to hear that it was a cheap holiday as every avenue I have explored has given me astonomical prices - Please let me know any details taht you have got.

Crystaltips, are you prepared to camp? We stayed in one of the campgrounds near the beach and found it fine. They have good facilities and it is by far the cheapest accomodation around. Lots of Italians there - who do it in style - we noted the couple next to us who changed into bathrobes and dined by candlelight!! We stayed at Cala Gonone, there is a lovely walk along the coast to Cala Luna. We weren't there at peak holiday season though, you may need to book.

My parents ( who are coming too ! ) can only just cope with the "foreign sanitation system"
Camping I presume would be beyond them. They are hitting 70 !

You could buy them luxury camping beds...anyway, I do recommend Cala Gonone - the sea is wonderfully clear and warm, and the coast is spectacular. Hire a car (with airconditioning) so you can look around - the roads are very uncrowded, particularly if you head away from the coast into the interior.

I'm thinking i gave you some pretty spendy options. We went off season so everything was a lot cheaper, but I imagine in summer prices can rocket.

Another idea - phone up a small, independent travel company called Long Travel based in shropshire (01694 722367) for their brochure and see if their s/c or hotels look like something you're after.

Crystaltips - sorry haven't been able to log on for a while. Will look up the info tonight for you and post tomorrow.

New user so treat me gently! We have now given up on high summer holidays and risk the UK weather but take our sun break in the may half term for either one or two weeks. Great prices, good weather and quieter resorts. Forte village is only affordable at these times and with 2+2 there is good accomodation available. We are expecting our fourth imminently and it is not geared for big young families (italian birth rate 1.2 per mother). FVR has everything for all ages and the accomodation itself is the weakest point. Spa is incredible with best massage so far in world and great saline pools, and even better with kids having fun in the club or go-karting. Go there at least once.

Detta - Thanks !

rdw - Welcome to mumsnet

rdw - oops and thanx for the advice !
Just started to rain here ( again ) getting really p*ed off with this "Summer" !

The apartments I mentioned are on the Via Lido in Alghero and are called the Residences Picale. A search on Google should find plenty of info. We found it very easy to phone them direct, as they speak very good English. It seems very much cheaper to book direct than to go via an agent. Hope you have a good trip, wherever you end up!

We stayed at Hotel Flamingo when we went it was about the cheapest hotel we could find and must say we couldnt fault it lovely food, beach and hotel staff friendly. Close to a small camp site but not much else although bus service very good to Pula (local town). As long as your kids dont need too much to do at night they will be OK swimming beach during day even a kids club but thats geared towards younger children. Would love to go again really enjoyed our stay. We booked through Sardatour but if you look at last minute.com you might get a good deal.

I'm in the process of booking a villa in Cannigione in Sardinia for June and have realised that it does not offer access to a swimming pool. Does anyone know how likely it is that a hotel in Sardnina would allow us access to their pool. We're travelling with 2 water babies, but I think that the salt water would be a shock!

Don't know about pools but I found the water pretty warm in July (NOTHING like here!!) and the beaches are wonderful, very soft white sand.