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Stintino: itineraries and places to visit

Travel tips and tourist information

Below there is a list of tours, tourist information and suggestions
to organize your stay in Sardinia , in the wonderful Stintino.

Stintino and its surroundings

The area around Stintino is a territory of contrasts:
the varied coastline contrasts with the rugged landscape and sunny interior, with its dense Mediterranean vegetation.

The first place to visit is with no doubt La Pelosa beach, always sheltered from the wind, with its fine white sand and calm, clear waters of a color that fades from turquoise to blue.

In front of La Pelosa, which is the main beach in the area, you can admire the Isola Piana, also reachable by swimming, that in the past was used for livestock grazing.

In the north part of the coast there is “La Pelosa Tower”, built by the Aragonese in 1578. The schist tower has a truncated cone shape and internal environment located about 6mt above the ground.
In front of that there is also a small beach called La Pelosetta, bounded on the north by Capo Falcone, with its cliffs and the beach.

“Coscia di donna” is a peculiar cove formed by grey gravel, stones and cabbles; it’s not very visited because of the difficult accessibility and the absence of sand.
With its jagged brown rocks and the green and blue sea, it’s the ideal destination for people who love wild and pure nature.

If you keep going to the south part, you will find the “Saline beach”, towards Pozzo San Nicola: a white beach with white sand dunes, located near “Tonnara delle Saline” and made of small pebbles, which the sea made round with the passage of the time. The beach gets its name from the nearby pond which is famous for the rare species of birds that live there.

The pond “Stagno di Pilo” is located at 9km from Stintino, a beautiful protected area, surrounded by sand dunes, where you can admire the colonies of pink flamingos.

Close to the sea, there are the ancient “tonnare”, place where the fishermen work, which was one of the main economic source of the country until the 20th century.
Today, despite the rennovation, they have kept the original layout and structure of different low buildings placed next to each other.

The Tonnara Museum, located in the quay in the territory of Capo Falcone, is a construction built around a trap. Its structure of the networks reconstructs the labyrinth of the old traps.
Externally it recalls the architecture of the traditional houses of Stintino, while internally it’s divided into 6 “rooms”: the “big room”, the “bordanello room”, the “bordonaro room”, the “bastard room”, the “west room”, the “death room”.
They trace the Tonnara history with the big collection of photographs and paintings from the end of the 19th century.

Especially the “bordonaro room” illustrates through diaries and archive documents the history and organization of the Saline Tonnara in the Asinara Gulf, while the “bastard room” traces the history of tuna fishing.

 

La Pelosa by night

Asinara island: how to visit it

It´s possible to reach the Asinara island by train, mountain bike, and even on horse; you can also spend a day enjoying the beautiful coast landscapes with one of the many sailboats, traditional fishing boats or catamarans.

Train tour

It’s surely the best way to take a relaxing and funny excursion with family and kids. Comfortable and airy, it allows to enjoy the perfumes an colors of the nature. After 20min journey by motor ship trough crystal clear waters, you can reach the Fornelli quay from the Tanca Manna port. Here you can visit Tartanet, the recovery center of the sea turtles, wich is an unforgettable experience for kids. After the tour, you can visit the park with the cozy train.
The former maximum security prison and the Austrian-Hungarian ossuary also worth a visit. It’s also interesting to visit the village Cala Reale, where the Savoy Royal family spend the summer holidays, and Cala d’Oliva, a surreal village with white houses  now uninhabitated.
During the train tour, the families can make different stops for swimming and to see the nice white donkeys, which are characteristic of the island.

Jeep

It’s the ideal excursion for people who want to explore the island without the timetable imposed by the traditional group excursions. Every jeep accommodates in fact only 7 people, a part from the touristic guide, and they can decide together the route and the stops.

During the 20min journey by boat, you can enjoy the beautiful and turquoise sea of La Pelosa and Piana Island. After that you can dock at the Fornelli quay and take place on the jeep to start the adventurous tour.
The tour starts visiting the Sea Turtle Recovery Center (Tartanet), then a long visit to the former maximum security prison to see the cells and places where the prisoners used to live; the park guide also tell stories and anecdotes about the prison. The route continues towards Cala Reale, making all the stops you want to admire and take pictures of the flora and fauna of the island.
The Royal Palace and the Austrian-Hungarian ossuary worth a visit. You also have to visit Lazaretto and the only riding school in the island; you can take a walk by horse and see the typical white donkeys.
Then you can visit Cala d’Oliva, a charming fishing village where it’s located the former super-prison where the Mafia bosses used to live; after that you can visit the beautiful Cala Sabina beach, with its crystal clear waters.
But the tour is not finished yet: it’s time to climb the highest part of the island. You can reach “Punta della Scomunica” only by jeep; here you can admire the beautiful landscapes of the whole island.

Through the jeep excursion you will discover a different island: you can admire not only its coasts and its crystal clear sea, but also its mountains and the highest landscapes; the vegetation, colors and perfumes change in the higher part of the island.

By foot or by mountain-bike

For sportsmen, it’s also possible to visit the island by foot or by mountain-bike.
You can rent a bike directly in the island, in the Fornelli quay, or you can bring your own bike by motorship and start your tour in total autonomy.
You will find lots of paths to follow: the “path of the donkey” and the “path of the granite”, which have different length and difficulty; or you can cross the island, from Fornelli to Cala d’Oliva, along the only paved road.

Sailboat and catamaran

For lovers of the sea, or if you want to spend a relaxing day sailing in the clear waters of the Asinara Gulf, you can make an excursion on a sailing boat or catamaran.

Departures are scheduled in the morning from Stintino. You can spend the day with a small group of people or book the boat just for you for the whole day.
You can make lots of stops in the beautiful coves, where you can snorkel and find out different species of fish and mollusks in the marine protected area.
You can also make two or three stops in the island, guided by a sailor, in order to visit the most interesting places: the recovery center of the sea turtles, the super-prison and Cala d’Oliva.
Another important stop is the lunch, normally in front of Cala Reale, where the crew will prepare a tasty menu of seafood specialties, with a Vermentino, typical Sardinian with wine.
The funny day of sun, sea, culture and sail, ends with an unforgettable swim in front of La Pelosa beach.

The aperitive at sunset in catamaran is also compulsory.
The tour starts at 18.00pm and you can sail in the Asinara Gulf looking for the perfect view of the exciting sunset while you sip a refreshing drink waiting for the moment when the sun touches the sea.

Fishing-tourism

For people who want to combine a visit of Asinara island with a fun fishing in the coastline, it’s possible to choose the trip with the fishing vessel.

The day starts with a welcome on board by the friendly crew of the vessel and then you go to the fishy Asinara coast. The boats used for fishing-tourism are the only one allawed to fish within the marine protected area.
You can spend the whole day fishing assisted by a seamen (among stops for swimming) who will serve the lunch based on the day’s catch, which is expertly cooked by the captain following the traditional Sardinian recipes.
However same stops within the island also worth a visit, in order to know the history of the island, with a guided visit to the super-prison in Cala Reale.

The day ends with the sunset behind Capo Falcone that will bring you back home after the unforgettable sea taste.

Taxi-Boat Service

A handy way to visit the island is the Taxi –Boat Service. Fast and safe boats connect the Ancora port (the closest one) or the Stintino port with the three landings of Asinara.
Especially the 10 minutes route Ancora-Fornelli and the special location of the trip sheltered from the wind and the sea allows a safe access to the park even in very difficult weather conditions.

The service consists in one way and return transport or the island, with scheduled timetable.
It also works, when available, with a call during the evenings or night, according to the needs and variability of the passengers.

Normally the timetable corresponds to the bus service; with a daily rate you can visit a big part of the island.