Published on: 15 December 2016 | Last updated: 23 December 2019
Cagliari: cycleway by the Poetto beach
At a glance
Distance
185 kilometres
Difficulty/terrain
Easy-ish. There are some short climbs around Villasimius.
Traffic
The route is mainly on quiet roads - there is one ten-kilometre section where the road is busier but even here it’s not very heavy.
Surfaces
Entirely on surfaced cycleways and roads.
Overview
The route heads out of Cagliari following the 7-kilometre cycleway along the Poetto beach. This is followed by a gorgeous stretch of coastline as you head towards Villasimius and the Capo Carbonara.
Highlights
- the cycleway along Cagliari’s Poetto beach
- beautiful coastline around Villasimius
For more about Cagliari please go to Places: Cagliari on this site.
Beaches
The most accessible beaches are on the southern part of this section:
- Cagliari Spiaggia Poetto
- Villasimius
- Cala Sinzias and Costa Rei
- Bari Sardo
- Tortoli/Santa Maria Navarrese —there are a series of beaches between Tortoli and Santa Maria Navarrese
Map and altitude profile
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| Distances | |
|---|---|
| Cagliari to Villasimius | 54 kms |
| Villasimius to Muravera | 48 kms |
| Muravera to Bari Sardo | 65 kms |
| Bari Sardo to Tortoli | 11 kms |
Route description
Cagliari to Villasimius and the Capo Carbonara
Coming out of Cagliari there’s a lovely ciclabile (cycleway) that takes you for about ten kilometres along the Poetto beach.
Preceding it, there’s another cycleway that starts almost immediately after the ferry terminal and runs alongside the harbour.
When the first stretch of cycleway ends, continue along the seashore, to a marina and then turn left and pick it up where it resumes. The route then follows a quiet service road which runs between the main road and a canal. When the cycleway reached a junction I picked up the road (the Viale Poetto which leads direct to the Poetto beach.
The lungomare beside the beach has been taken mainly given over to cyclists and pedestrians with one lane left as a restricted access for residents and taxis.
Finally, sadly, the cycleway comes to an end after 7 kilometres and you need to pick up the SP17. There’s a cycle lane along the road, that’s more or less continuous, although there are points when it gets irritating, at every junction it tries to prevent you going straight on, and you start to wonder whether it’s worth the trouble.
After the cycleway from Cagliari the next 13 or so kilometres are a bit dull in comparison, but be patient and your patience will be rewarded with another fine stretch of coast road as the SP 17 takes you to the Capo Carbonara, passing on its way, the Torre Cala Regina and the Torre Fenugu.
After the village of Solanas the road climbs up to 159m passing the Torre di Capo Boi (and the Capo Boi) on the way. Over the crest of the hill and the Golfo di Carbonara comes into view. You can see, right at the end of the capo two lighthouses: one the Faro di Capo Carbonara and the other the Faro della Isola dei Cavoli.
Spiaggia di Mari Pintau near Gereméas
Villasimius
There is a stretch of decent cycleway that takes you to the fringes of the resort town of Villasimius, and another takes you out of town along the Via Matteotti almost to the beach. Just before the beach turn left onto the SP18 following the signs for Muravera.
The SP18 continues along the coast from Villasimius —a great scenic road. It climbs to 165m as you reach the top of the climb there’s a dramatic first view of the long line of beaches along the Costa Rei and in the distance the mountains of the Gennargentu. There are also great views back towards the Capo Carbonara and over the Isola Serpentara.
The road then descends down to Cala Sinzias where there’s a nice beach.
After Cala Sinzias it becomes less interesting. After a while I turned off onto a quiet minor road which rejoins the strada provinciale near the coastal resort of Costa Rei. From here it’s time to head north to pick up the the old SS125 or to give it its full name the Strada Statale Sardegna Orientale
The SS125
There are two versions of the SS125. There’s the new road, referred to as the Nuova SS125 or the SS125 variant which has lots of tunnels and viaducts, and a section near Cagliari that’s off-limits to bikes. One way or another it’s a road to avoid. There’s also the old road which tends to be much quieter because most of the traffic takes the new road. It isn’t entirely deserted as it’s marked on maps as the scenic option - so it’s popular with tourists, campervanners and motorcyclists.
The naming of the two versions of the SS125 can be confusing: the new road is referred to as the Nuova SS125 or the SS125 variant (‘SS125 var’ for short) while the old road is referred to as the SS125, or sometimes as the SS125 Vecchia, or Vecchia Strada Statale Sardegna Orientale and sometimes as the Ex-SS125.
The road signs are intended to direct through traffic onto the fast road, so if for example you simply follow the signs for Olbia then you are likely to end up on the new version the road which, trust me, you don’t want to do. If you have a gps then all you need to do is download the tracks follow them, but if you are doing it the old-school way then it needs a bit of care —although it’s no more than a bit of common sense really. It’s definitely worth having a decent map that’s detailed enough to show the names of the places on the road.
Near Olia Speciosa there is an intersection with the SS125 Nuova. This is the first of a series of points where you need to ignore the signs designed to encourage car drivers onto the new road. In this case ignore the sign for Muravera and take the SP20 following the signs for San Priamo.
The SP 20 isn’t especially scenic, but is very pleasant and it’s a lovely cruise to junction with the old SS125 just outside San Priamo.
Keep an eye out, for the dazzling white of the saline at Torre Salinas, a little further on from the junction on your right-hand side. The beach here is well worth the short detour.
Torre delle Saline beach near San Priamo
Muravera
The road takes you into Muravera a small country town with places to stay, cash machines, bars and restaurant. Going out of Muravera ignore the signs for the new SS125 and keep straight on. Soon after Muravera comes Villaputzu another cheerful, unpretentious, country town.
There’s a fair amount of local traffic between Muravera and Villaputzu, but once you’re past Villaputzu things quieten down a lot.
At the intersection after Villaputzu, continue straight on ignoring signs for Cagliari and Olbia. Basically do the same thing at every other intersection.
On the way, keep an eye out for the pretty 15th-century church of San Nicolà set among olive trees. (There’s also a shady picnic area). The church, built between the 12th and 13th centuries, is one of only two brick-built Romanic churches on the island.
After the church there’s a section where the traffic from the new road rejoins the old road. My map shows the plans for a section of the new road, but it hasn’t been built yet, so there’s a section of about 10 kilometres where the road get busier.
The SS125 near Jerzu
A few hundred metres after the 100-kilometre marker sign the two roads diverge again, with old road heading left into Tertenia. You could continue on the road to the next inter-section, but note that after that there’s a long tunnel. Among the many reasons to go via Tertenia are a decent bar-ristorante a supermarket, a water tap, and a cash machine —not to mention a street named after Ernesto Che Guevara. Going through the town follow the signs for the municipio.
A little further on from Tertenia you come to another intersection. At first sight, it looks like you have to rejoin the main SS125, but in fact, the road continues beside it. Follow the signs for Cardedu and Jerzu and ignore all of the others.
As the new road disappears into a tunnel the old road continues to climb gradually towards the high point of 267m at the Genna e Cresia, heading through the Cannonau wine country. At the top of the climb, at the junction with the SP11, bear right following the signs for Lanusei.
As you descend, a whole new perspective opens up, on your right you will see the Gennargentu and a string of villages high on the heights on the other side of the valley. If the previous section on the SS125 was lacking a little bit in drama, the descent certainly makes up for it. Eventually, you come to a junction and a concrete bridge that takes you over the Fiume Pelau river. Turn right, following signs for Cardedu.
At the intersection with the new road keep straight on following the signs for Cardedu and Bari Sardo. At the next intersection keep straight on following the signs for Bari Sardo.
At Bari Sardo the route detours to take in the long sandy beach with its watchtower. The detour is worth the effort, but you can just continue straight on if you prefer.
The beach at Bari Sardo with the Torre di Bari Sardo
Tortoli
I had originally planned to turn off the SS125 at the 133-kilometre mark and then make a detour round the coast. In fact, this time the section of road shown as planned had in fact been built. So I continued on following the old SS125 into Tortoli. If you are heading for Tortoli or to the ferry port at Arbatax you need to pick up the SS125 dir (diramazione) - a branch road of the main road.
Options
At Muravera you could head inland for Barumini and from there to Oristano and Alghero — or south along the coast. Or you could head from Dorgali south-west to Laconi and from there to Barumini.
Torre San Gemigliano near Arbatax (view from the Camping Porto Telis)
More information
Places to stay
Transport and services
Resources
Articles in this series
- Sardegna East Coast: Introduction
- Sardegna East Coast: Part 1: Cagliari to Tortoli
- Sardegna East Coast: Part 2: the Gennargentu
- Sardegna East Coast: Part 3: Orosei to Olbia
Get in touch
Please get in touch if you find any errors in the information, or if there’s anything, good or bad, that you’d want other cyclists to know.
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