The North East Coast of Sardinia, from Golfo Aranci to Baia Sardinia, is called Costa Smeralda (The Emerald Coast) - 35 miles of sandy beaches and coves bordering an emerald green sea, undoubtedly one of the most beautiful in the world one of the best destination for a real luxury Sailing or power yacht vacation. Once the unmarked territory of a few shepherds, today it has become one of the most exclusive holiday destinations in the world. Fifty years ago the Aga Khan purchased this region. Where at one time there were only fields of grain and sheep bathing in the sea, there now stand beautiful villas, designed by architects of international fame to blend in with the wild striking beauty of the coastline. If you really search a wonderful luxury unforgettable vacancy on a motor yacht among the international Jet Set this is your ideal goal. But the most striking characteristic of Costa Smeralda is that beyond the small jet setting villages life retains its simplicity. Whether you stay in a luxury hotel, on a million-dollar yacht or in a tent, if you go to the trouble to visit Sardinia, you must not leave without negotiating the narrow, windy, hilly road that curves alongside this most picturesque coastline. You will be rewarded with shimmering turquoise waters, wind-sculpted sandstone formations, beautifully camouflaged resort homes and brightly-hued fishing villages where minuscule boutiques sell the most expensive, most elegant casual attire in the universe. It costs the earth, in August it's crowded, it's impossible to find a place to stay, but we dare you to find anyone who regrets having gone there.

Unlike many parts of Italy, the main attractions here are not jewel-like towns or world-class museums. What you've come to see is right the beautiness of nature, every minute of the day. Keep bathing suits, towels and snorkeling gear at hand always, because you will find dozens of places to stop and take a swim. Of course best way to enjoy Sardinia is a luxury motor boat charter around it’s coast, or a more romantic sailing charter for the lovers of peace and dramatic settings. Meander north, stopping in Porto Rotondo, then in Porto Cervo, to stroll through the narrow streets, people-watch at a cafe, inspect the glamorous yachts and sailboats and look for bargains in the boutiques. After Porto Cervo, the vistas open up as you drive past Liscia di Vacca, surely one of the world's most memorable bays, and on past the Gulf of Arzachena. Soon you'll come to the bustling seaport of Palau. This is the departure point for the dramatic island of La Maddalena.

Arzaghena
Situated on a hilltop, Arzachena is dominated to the East by an enormous mushroom shaped granite rock called 'Lu Monti Incappiddatu', and to the North by another hill. In a geographical area known as 'Gallura', in the Northern part of Sardinia, Arzachena, together with Porto Cervo, is part of the Emerald coast (Costa Smeralda) and comprises over eighty kilometres of coastline rich in bays, gorges and beaches, perfect for those searching for a complete relax. In addition to the natural beauty of the territory, Arzachena boasts a architectural and cultural heritage of great interest; the town, in fact, has a number of Churches well worth visiting: the Tempio Nuovo, the Church of St Lucia, the Church of St Maria della Neve, the Church of St Petru, the Church of St Lucia of Agliuledda, the Church of St Ghjuanni d'Alzachena, the Church of St Miceli Sanna, the Church of St Tummeu and the Church of St Giuseppe in Surrau. Arzachena is within easy reach of Olbia, city with both port and airport for connections to the mainland.
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Baja Sardinia
Baja Sardinia is an exclusive tourist destination, situated in a large bay, with sandy beaches, beside a crystal clear sea. This part of the Emerald Coast (Costa Smeralda) is famous as an 'aquatic park'. It is an excellent location in which to play tennis, sail, canoe, and windsurf and of course for luxury yacht charters. The surrounding sea bed provides a spectacular environment for scuba diving. Night time entertainment at Baja Sardinia is guaranteed with discotheques, colourful shop windows, and evening markets where one can buy traditional Sardinian articles. Almost daily, in the center of Baja Sardinia visitors can enjoy dances, theatrical performances and singing. Within easy reach lies the peninsula of Capo Ferro with its lighthouse and Bisce island which is part of the National Reserve of the Archipelago of the Maddalena. Excursion enthusiasts should not fail to make the trip to Colle Battistone to admire the numerous granite 'sculptures'. Towards the end of Baja Sardinia one reaches the splendid sandy shore of Cala Battistone.
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Cannigione
Cannigione lies on the western shore of the broad bay that forms the Gulf of Arzachena, in north Sardinia. Tourist development has transformed this old fishing village, which was also the point of departure for boats to the island of La Maddalena, into a functional and modern holiday resort, meeting point for luxury yacht charters in Sardinia from all over the world. The Gulf of Arzachena, which reaches so deeply into the mainland as to seem a fjord, ends in a Lagoon that is highly interesting from the point of view of nature. By the shore at Cannigione there are various hotels and residences, the only two camping sites in the Arzachena territory and numerous villas which gave rise to the residential settlement of "La Conia".
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Golfo Pero
To the south of the promontory which closes the inlet of Porto Cervo, there is the wide bay of Golfo Pero (this is its true name, later transformed into “Pevero”) faced by the beautiful islets of Li Nibani, ever populated, as its name suggests by numerous flocks of seagulls (li nibani in the dialect of Gallura). A thick Mediterranean macchia, which almost reaches the dunes of the beach of Pevero, covers completely the hinterland as far as the promontory of Monte Zoppu. This solitary hill closes, to the south, the wide bay of Porto Li Nibani, an inlet with crystalline waters and a beach, from where one enjoys the impressive view of its homonymous, facing islets. However, the most beautiful views from the land are only for whoever succeeds in reaching, not without effort, through the thick and intricate Mediterranean macchia, the summit of Monte Zoppu (139 m). From it, in fact, the eye takes in the whole inlet of the Gulf of Pero; southwards, the rocky coast of Porto Liccia, dotted with magnificent little beaches, with the islands of Mortorio and Soffi in the background; the villas of Romazzino, relatively near; and still further away the faint outlines of Capo Figari and the island of Tavolara. Visiting the area by sailing boat is of course a privileged point of view that allows a unique and unforgettable vacation in this corner of Sardinia.
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Liscia Ruja
Liscia Ruia is the biggest beach on the Emerald Coast as well as one of the most beautiful in Sardinia because of its exceptional natural characteristics. An over 500 metre long arc of very fine, rosy sand, delimits a bay washed by very clear, pure waters and framed by the thick arbutus and cistus macchia of the plain behind, with its thick juniper bushes pushing nearly as far as the sea. Every year this beach in meeting point for all the ViP from all over the world who came here for a luxury motor yacht charter in this corner of paradise of sardinia.
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Marmorata
The stretch of coast to the east of Santa Teresa is really special, with the beach of Porto Quadro, the promontory of Punta Falcone - which represents the northernmost boundary of Sardinia - and the wide bay of La Marmorata with its homonymous islets. The beach of La Marmorata, considered one of the most beautiful on the island, is a long beach with deep, fine sand, the splendid green and turquoise waters of the bay and the incomparable panorama with the bigger of the two islets of La Marmorata (hiding to the sight the other one) which holds the remains of a Roman granite quarry.
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Palau
Palau is definitely one of the most spectacular and noteworthy seaside towns in Sardinia (Gallura region) bordering the Emerald Coast. It's also an important landing place to reach Corsica and the Archipelago of La Maddalena by sailing boat or motor yacht. Its modern harbour's development is tied to the entire extending coastline, offering a variety of gulfs, dream-like bays, uncontaminated beaches and small rocky islands that emerge from a crystal-clear sea teaming with life. Palau's artistically shaped coastlines are sculpted by the wind that generates a wide variety of shapes and forms in its rocks. The most famous is that of "Dell’Orso". Over thousands of years, the atmospheric agents have amazingly transformed this rock to unmistakably appear like a bear. For those wishing to travel coast-to-coast while also visiting Palau's surrounding hinterland characterised by lush, Mediterranean vegetation, the Trenino Verde (green train) has been made available by Sardinia's Railway and has proven quite successful amongst tourists.
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Porto Cervo
Prince Karim Aga Khan created 'the Emerald Coast' as an exclusive area for the enjoyment of the heads of International high society. Porto Cervo became its Capital and the heart of fashionable society. Porto Cervo is the village area whilst nearby is the Porto Vecchio, with the Piazzetta Hotel Cervo, the Passeggiata and the Sottopiazza. Shopping, boutiques and luxury restaurants are the norm at Porto Cervo. Sights of certain interest: the tourist harbour, at the entrance of which one can admire the "Azzurra", finalist of the America's Cup in 1983. The famous Yacht Club is a port of call for the most beautiful yachts of the Mediterranean. Not by chance, Porto Cervo has hosted some of the most important and prestigious sailing competitions such as the Sardinia Cup, the Swan Cup, the Veteran Boat Rally and the Maxi Yacht Rolex. In the vicinity of Porto Cervo are the enchanting beaches of "Pevero", "Pedra Bianca", "Pietra Niedda", "Cala Liscia", "Ruja", "Punta Capricciosi" and "Portu Li Coggi".
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Razza di Giunco
The southernmost part of the Emerald Coast - which begins, as beforesaid, with the wide bay of Cala di Volpe - has the same environmental characteristics as recurring in the rest of this extraordinary stretch of the Sardinian coast. In addiction, it presents the particularity of a high concentration of beaches: there are as much as sixteen in less than five kilometres of coastline. The last five ones are situated in the Cala Razza di Giunco and are quite different from one another, although they have the splendid crystal-like sea that washes them in common. It is to be pointed out the existence, behind the dunes close to the second and third coves, of small ponds which are always framed by a luxuriant vegetation of marshy plants and surrounded by a thick Mediterranean macchia.
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Tavolara
The island of Tavolara - elongate and narrow, hardly approachable because of its particular and mighty limestone ridge - influences the landscape of the whole north-eastern coast of sardinia with its characteristic outline. On its northern part a thick Mediterranean macchia still grows, dotted with isolated specimens of holm-oaks, maples and big junipers which are supposed to have covered with thick forests all the island, originally. The only, easily accessible side is the western one which juts out towards Sardinia with its granitic and sandy tongue, Spalmatore di Terra. Tavolara is a must for any sailing charter in emerald coast. The island’s circumnavigation is something great: one sails at all times dominated by the high limestone crest, which reaches its maximum altitude at Punta Cannone (564 m).
The southern coast of the island looks like an enormous limestone rampart, with striking series of large fissures and erosive phenomena. The eastern coast is characterized by the majestic arch of Ulysses, so called, and by the Grotta del Papa (named after a nearby rock resembling a pope’s figure). In the last analysis, it is up of a scenery very similar to that of the Gulf of Orosei (much further to the south): in fact, the geological origin of these two areas is alike. Crystal waters, untouched nature and a wonderful marine environment for your dreamlike sailing holiday in sardinia.
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