By Simone Scalas
Stop. Take a break from your busy life and experience a true Italian vacation. Come to a very special place that is my home and I want it to be yours during your visit to this little-known Italian paradise.
Welcome to my island, spectacular Sardinia (spelled Sardegna in Italian). It has 1,000 miles of coastline and sits a little over 300 miles west of mainland Italy. It is one of the gems of Italy that has been a fairly well-kept secret. It's widely revered by the Italians who praise it as the best place for their vacations. It is my honor to lead group trips here every year and these also include trips specifically for families with children.
Sardinia plays perfect host to those who seek out the best in vacation. There is something here for every kind of eager traveler: beach-lover, water-lover and mountain-lover of all ages and desired level of activity. The incredible variety of the terrain facilitates the wide array of experiences awaiting you. It's this variety that helps my island stand apart from the rest.
There is city life, too. The people of Sardinia's capital, Cagliari, are into sports like running, cycling and surfing which is not typical to see in other Italian cities. Tourism in Sardinia began in the 1970s so despite being a very desirable destination, it has not been over-developed.
Here the picturesque coastlines of sandy, peaceful beaches meet in radiant splendor with the crystal-clear pristine water that teems with aquatic life. What water sport can't be found here? Snorkeling, scuba diving, surfing, wind-surfing, water skiing and, my favorite, sail boating, are all fun in Sardinia because the conditions are almost always right.
With such a beautiful and rugged landscape, there are the mountains that cannot be overlooked. The highest point is approximately 5,000 feet, so they aren't lung-bursting, but allow for great hiking and biking. Discover richly colored vegetation, and wild, raw natural beauty that invites the wanderer to be filled with the energy of the living land. We even have a professional bike race here at the end of February, the Tour of Sardinia. We have the right climate and quality cycling roads to host this five-day race. Cycling tourists are thrilled by the riding to be found.
A truly one-of-a-kind place, Sardinia does bear resemblance to some of the loveliest places on earth. Parts of Sardinia are reminiscent of Big Sur in California. Then there are other areas that are beautiful like those I have found in South Africa, Australia and even Ireland. The landscape changes nearly every 20 kilometers.
I have the best job in the world because I get to bring people into my home and society, show folks not just a picturesque island, but one that has an interesting history, culture and, above all, beautiful people. Our food, language and traditions are very distinct from those found in the rest of Italy and yet we are still very Italian, especially where it comes to our hospitable nature and fantastic cuisine.
For better or worse, the Renaissance missed us. Being set apart in the Mediterranean, it happened while we weren't looking. Still though, the arts and creativity thrive here. We were colonized by the Spanish so their influences can be seen. There are also many remaining remnants of the Phoenicians--people who came from Lebanon who would stop here on their way to Spain.
We have our own language called sardo. It is the closest living language to Latin. Our children are even taught sardo in school so that it lives on. After a week of speaking and joking around in Italian and sardo to the kids who come on my trips, they learn quite a few words.
I invite you to come with your family. We will sail around the southwest part of Sardinia, around the San Pietro and Sant'Antico Islands. The children will run around and explore these tiny islands, there will be time for them to learn to windsurf and play molla. There is a great variety of activities for all ages.
Would you like to take a dip or soak in the rays? Do it, you're on vacation in an island paradise. Later we'll all pedal into the hills and breathe the fresh, fragrant air together. My mama will treat us to a wonderful meal of roast suckling pig and her other Sardinian specialties. We will eat together in my garden under the warm Mediterranean sun.
Sardinia and I await you and your family a braccia aperte (open arms)!
