Published on: 15 December 2016 | Last updated: 23 December 2019
SP105 coastal road between Alghero and Bosa
At a glance
Distance
546 kms
Difficulty/terrain
Moderately challenging. There are no really big climbs along this section of the coast, but there are plenty of smaller ones and the cumulative altitude gain adds up.
Traffic
Most of this section of the route is on quiet roads. The route stops as Pula about 35 kms from Cagliari. The reason for this the last 12 kilometres into Cagliari are on busy roads. The distance is short, but it is very stressful: on the first half you need to cope with tankers on a narrow road heading to and from a refinery, and there’s then a fast, busy, dual carriageway into Cagliari. There’s no way to avoid the busy roads into Cagliari without a long detour to the north of the city. I would strongly recommend getting a private transfer from Pula into Cagliari.
Surfaces
The major part of this route is on surfaced roads in good condition. However, there is a stretch of unsurfaced road across the Piscinas dunes.
Finding your way
There are no cycling-specific signs, but the route is fairly straightforward to navigate following the normal road signs.
When to go
Avoid July and August if you can. The best months are May and June and September. April and October are also possibilities but there’s a greater risk of bad weather.
Coastline between Alghero and Bosa looking back towards Alghero
Overview
This route mixes spectacular coastal roads with historic sites, villages with murals, a little bit of island-hopping, and of course some beautiful beaches. It follows the coast south to the town of Oristano before making a detour inland through to visit the historic sites of Barumini and Genna Maria —remnants of a unique ancient civilisation. It heads back to the coast where you can see the island’s mining heritage alongside some of its most beautiful coastline. After the mining coast, the route takes you to the islands off the south-west coast and to Carloforte, is one of the island’s prettiest towns with a unique history. A last glorious stretch of coastline brings you to Pula and the remains of the ancient city of Nora. If I had to choose just one of the Sardegna routes it would be this one.
Highlights
- the city walls of Alghero
- the beautiful villages of Bosa and Carloforte
- the muralled villages around Tinnura
- the archeological sites of Barumini, Genna Maria, Tharros and Nora
- the 100-metre high sand dunes of Piscinas
- the mining heritage of the south-west coast
Nebida - view from the Belvedere
Map and altitude profile
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tips for using the map
Run your cursor over the graph to show the elevation, and distance from the start, for any given point on the route. (Note: the altitude graph is not shown where the route is flat).
Click the little icon in the right-hand corner to see the map fullscreen
| Distances | |
|---|---|
| Alghero to Bosa | 44 kms |
| Bosa to Is Arenas | 44 kms |
| Is Arenas to Oristano | 66 kms |
| Oristano to Barumini | 58 kms |
| Barumini to Sant’Antonio di Santadi | 83 kms |
| Sant’Antonio Santadi to Piscinas | 58 kms |
| Piscinas to Portovesme (for Carloforte) | 78 kms |
| Isola di San Pietro loop | 40 kms |
| Calasetta to Chia | 83 kms |
| Chia to Pula (Nora) | 20 kms |
| Pula to Cagliari (not part of route) | 35 kms |
Mural in Tinnura - Lavotrici d’Asfoleto by Pina Monne
Options
This route can be ridden both directions. North to south is better for the coastal sections as it means you are on the side of the road with the best views.
You can, of course, join this tour with the Olbia-Alghero route or with the Cagliari-Olbia route.
From Barumini, rather than turning back towards the south-west coast you could head for the east coast at Muravera or through the Gennargentu mountains - see the Guida Cicloturistica della Sardegna.
From Cagliari you could also take the ferry to Palermo in Sicilia.
Getting there and back
If you are flying Alghero airport has a good choice of flights. If you are planning on flying out of (or into) Cagliari airport then the best option for getting to Cagliari city centre is to take the train.
There are ferry services from Cagliari to Civitavecchia, and Napoli. You could also get a ferry to Arbatax on the eastern coast and from there to Genova and Civitavecchia on the Italian mainland. You can also catch the train from Cagliari to Olbia.
Alternatively you could start from Porto Torres following the {Sardegna North Coast route}. There are ferry services to Porto Torres from Genova, Marseille, Toulon and Barcelona.
You could travel to by train to Alghero from Olbia or Porto Torres changing at Sassari. For more information see this page: Getting around: local and regional train services.
The Laveria Lamarmora at Nebida (washing plant for separating the metal ore)
Downloads
Maps to print out or view offline
GPS files
Street in the centre of Carloforte (Galaia restaurant)
More information
Places to stay
Transport and services
Resources
Torre dI Santa Margherita near Pula
Articles in this series
- Sardegna West Coast: Introduction
- Sardegna West Coast: Part 1: Alghero to Bosa
- Sardegna West Coast: Part 2: Bosa to Is Arenas
- Sardegna West Coast: Part 3: Is Arenas to Oristano
- Sardegna West Coast: Part 4: Barumini and Genna Maria
- Sardegna West Coast: Part 5: the Costa delle Miniere
- Sardegna West Coast: Part 6: the Costa delle Miniere
- Sardegna West Coast: Part 7: the Isola di San Pietro
- Sardegna West Coast: Part 8: Calasetta to Pula
Dunes at Portixeddu
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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