I’ll admit that when I first started planning my recent trip to Sardinia, I didn’t have a grasp on how big the island really is. I thought I could stay in the north and make day trips to the south, and vice versa. But after booking accommodations in Costa Smeralda and plugging Cagliari — Sardinia’s capital city — into Google Maps, I realized that three hours each way of navigating notoriously winding roads was not an ideal way to spend a mere 3.5 days on the island. 

Honestly, I had no qualms about taking a relaxing coastal vacation. I never feel the need to go-go-go, and Costa Smeralda does boast some of the most beautiful beaches in the world. But I’d also heard many people call it an “oligarch’s playground,” an overly touristy region packed with garish superyachts and restaurants slinging mediocre food to see-and-be-seeners who don’t know any better.