Sardinia Traverse is a bike holiday that takes you through 4,000 years of history. It’s an adventure filled with primordial sounds and silences, offering a challenge set against the bluest sky you’ve ever seen and the most transparent sea in which you’ve ever swum.
Starting from the northwest in the Catalan town of Alghero, where the cultures and traditions of the western Mediterranean converge, you’ll ride towards the island’s center. Along the way, you’ll pass through Bosa and Santu Lussurgiu, both exemplary medieval villages.
Once you reach Ula Tirso, prepare to challenge yourself on the Gennargentu Mountain, the island’s heart. The final leg of the bike tour on the southeast coast is like riding through a postcard, culminating in Cagliari. Here, you can relax and celebrate your journey at a fine restaurant downtown.
Sardinia traverse by bike | Self-Guided Tour
From Alghero to Cagliari
A Self-Guided Bike Tour is a type of cycling adventure where you have the freedom to plan and navigate at your pace. Our dedicated tour guide and support team will handle hotel bookings, logistics, and baggage transport, ensuring you enjoy a hassle-free and carefree experience.
44 – 105 km / day
In: Alghero (Google Map)
Out: Cagliari (Google Map)
Alghero, with a typical old center made out of narrow streets protected by its massive bastions overlooking the sea, is a charming place to start your week. We’ll welcome you at the airport, and we’ll have a 10-minute shuttle to your hotel in town.
According to arrival time, we’ll have a detailed bike fitting and a short warm-up ride exploring a lovely rural countryside with olive oil groves, orchards, and vineyards.
Then, you can start your bike holiday in Sardinia with a proper Mediterranean aperitif with the local refreshing Torbato wine, followed by a tasty dinner at one of our favorite restaurants on the ramparts facing the marina.
Overnight: Alghero
Included: Dinner
Today’s ride will take you along the stunning scenic coastal road from Alghero to Bosa, 45 km of pristine beauty over the cliffs overlooking the sea, admiring the views of Alghero Bay and Capo Caccia.
Surrounded by wild nature over a rugged coastline, mountain pastures, and oak forests, you’ll ride all the way to the colorful Bosa, a medieval town dominated by its XII-century Malaspina castle.
Left Bosa, the road starts climbing through the Modolo valley, a vivid patchwork of vegetable gardens, olive groves, and vineyards of Malvasia, producing the precious wine symbol of the area. When at the top, don’t miss to turn and admire the beach of Porto Alabe with its brown volcanic sand, then ride across the villages of Magomadas ending in Tresnuraghes.
Overnight: Tresnuraghes
Included: Breakfast Dinner
As soon as you leave Trensuraghes, we enter the Montiferru area, an ancient inactive volcano that you will climb along a magnificent road with a 5% incline, shaded by oak trees and with a perfect surface. You will reach the peak at Santu Lussurgiu, a stone village nestled in the mouth of the volcano. Then, you will gradually descend into the Tirso valley, the longest river of Sardinia, passing by the ancient Santa Chiara dam, built between 1918 and 1924. This dam, which gives rise to Lake Omodeo, named after its designer, was considered a colossal work for its time, and at 70 meters in height, it was the tallest dam in the world for many years.
Overnight: Ula Tirso
Included: Breakfast Dinner
Today’s itinerary leads you all the way up to the Gennargentu range, with its highest Sardinian peak, Punta La Marmora. The route starts along the Tirso river banks, gently climbing among silent plateaus and crossing very few rural villages. An important one is Samugheo, known for its tradition of precious woolen carpets, still handmade with excellent workmanship according to ancient techniques and now reinvented by international designers. Then you’ll cross the stunning wine landscape of the Mandrolisai region, producing a great full-bodied wine using three local grapes, the Bovale, Monica, and Cannonau. The last effort brings us to the chestnut woods of Aritzo with its mountain allure.
Overnight: Belvì
Included: Breakfast
The day starts downhill towards Gadoni and the Flumendosa River valley, following it all the way to the Ogliastra region. You’ll be surprised by the wild beauty of its nature, where the river and its erosion have carved valleys creating bizarre rock formations known as “Tacchi” (heels).
They are rocky plateaus rising on high canyons of white limestone carved over the millennia by the Flumendosa River and its tributaries. We are at the heart of the Sardinia Blue Zone, one of the areas of the world where people live longer, you may easily encounter a centenarian.
The last canyon encloses the lake Flumendosa and leads us to the Orroli village, laid on a vast plateau and symbol of longevity in Sardinia. Here, there’s the “Panifico Kentos”, a modern bakery making the most fragrant bread you can imagine, using only local wheat species and sourdough starter.
Overnight: Orroli
Included: Breakfast
After a short stretch on the plateau, your Sardinia Traverse by bike brings you to the megalithic complex of the “Nuraghe Arrubiu”. This 3000-year-old fortress is one of the most important of the 7000 “Nuraghi” buildings spread all over the island. It is beautifully preserved, and if you dedicate a short visit, it will allow you to discover the very evolved civilization that lived here three thousand years ago. You will then follow the Flumendosa River valley, ending by the sea in Muravera. The landscape here is marked by the most generous citrus groves of Sardinia and lagoons inhabited by pink flamingos and rare birds.
Overnight: Muravera
Included: Breakfast
3 options for the last leg of your Sardinia traverse by bike: the stunning old 125, the coastal ride of the SP17, and the epic ride touching the east coast of Sardinia. All three are memorable rides between mountains and the sea.
The first one, along the old 125, is a 70 km long ride along the west Sardinian coast. This stretch of the old national road between Cagliari and Palau is now a new straight road, leaving the old road as a paradise for bikers and slow cars.
The second one is a fantastic coastal road, a never-ending series of ups and downs along a succession of impressive cliffs and beaches, granite hills, and ancient Spanish towers. It will be difficult to resist the temptation to stop and swim in one of the many beaches and crystal waters, such as Porto Sa Ruxi, Solanas, Torre delle Stelle, Geremeas, Mari Pintau, Cala Regina.
The third one is the icing on the cake, adding a stunning coastal ride between Castiadas and Villasimius with a view of Isola di Serpentara.
All three end with a 7 km long sandy beach of the Poetto, where we’ll ride on a neat cycling path along the beach.
The arrival in Cagliari is just great, as we ride right into the precious Molentargius Park with its huge pink flamingo colony. A last bit of safe cycling path will lead us along the marina right to the center of Cagliari.
Overnight: Cagliari
Included: Breakfast
It’s time to say goodbye, but we know our Island touched your heart and you want to be back in Sardinia or in one of Mediterras’ destinations with us!
After breakfast and talk about the whole tour, we’ll help you with bikes and luggage and shuttle to Cagliari airport, at just 10 minutes from city center.
Ciao Amici, ci vedremo ancora!
Included: Breakfast
You can bring your own bike or rent one from us, we offer great bikes from selected Italian and international brands: road bikes, leisure cycling, mountain bikes, e-bikes, all in perfect working conditions. You can book your rental bike at the end of the reservation process.
At the foot of the Gennargentu mountain, Hotel Edera provides a stay focused on relaxation, excellent dining and it is a strategic base for biking tours and recreational activities.
Three centuries and four generations make this family hotel a nest of peace and relaxation in the heart of Sardinia.
Agriturismo surrounded by greenery, offering nature, genuine high-quality products, and good service.
In the center of Muravera, in the heart of Sarrabus: Domu Elvira is a traditional period house converted into a warm family hotel.
Set amid the alleyways of the old Marina quarter, where you can experience Cagliari at its most authentic.
Sea view hotel with terrace, right on the way to Bosa. Walking distance from Alghero old town.
We are humans, we are locals, we are bike guides.
We take care to provide a tour customized for you.
Let’s do a chat and book a free call with us today!
In our private bike tours, you can:
Cycling the West Coast of Sardinia from Alghero all the way south to Cagliari. Your bike holiday will bring you to Bosa, the Sinis peninsula and Cabras, the Green Coast, and the islands of Sant’Antioco and San Pietro.
