There's no need to fly all the way to the Maldives or Caribbean to find the most beautiful beaches imaginable. The world's best beaches are no more than a four-hour flight from the UK — but they're not in Greece or Spain.
There's one Mediterranean island with beaches that are a match for anywhere on the planet. In fact, one of its beaches has been named the world's best beach. Add that to the island's hot weather, which is still reaching temperatures of 28C in September and 24C in October, its amazing food, rich history and city life and you've got the ingredients for the perfect holiday. And it won't cost you the Earth.
In fact, a round-trip flight from London to Sardinia, a magical island off the coast of Italy, costs just £110 with Ryanair in October and takes just 2.5 hours. Compare that to £616 for a flight to the Maldives. And you can get bed and breakfast accommodation in Sardinia in October for as little as £50 a night, while even a four-star resort hotels are listed for as little as £85 a night.
Despite all this, Sardinia is not even in the top 10 islands most visited by British tourists, which is dominated by the likes of Tenerife, Majorca and Lanzarote in Spain, as well as Santorini, Corfu and Rhodes in Greece.
Sardinia is around halfway between the coasts of Italy and Spain in the Mediterranean and is far less popular and less well-known than the hotspots of Spain and Greece, which are now visited by so many tourists each year that locals there are fighting back against over-tourism.
Sardinia is huge so there is lots of space available and you won't find yourself crowded into one or two over-populated tourist spots. But despite its size, it's comfortably navigable and you can drive the coast easily, stopping off at any of the gorgeous beaches that you'll find at regular intervals.
It has a big city, Cagliari, on its southern tip, so you can experience the bustle of city life, complete with a lively restaurant and bar scene. Cagliari even has its own beach, Poetto, with huge stretches of sand as well as lots of bars and food stands to choose from all along it.
On the opposite end of the island is Alghero, a reasonably big town also with a lively restaurant scene. It has several beautiful beaches within easy reach, not least La Pelosa to the north. From Alghero, the famous Grotte di Nettuno cave is a boat ride away.
Sardinia also feaures luxury in abundance, and its north-eastern shore is a magnet for wealthy European tourists who flock to Porto Cervo, where you can entertain yourself by examining the heavily-guarded yachts and trying to guess who owns them.
And there are airports in each of these areas with direct flights to the UK so whichever of Cagliari, Alghero or the north-east (the airport is Olbia) takes your fancy, there's a way to get there with minimal fuss.
The food scene is sensational, as you'd expect from anywhere in Italy, and there are so many options to eat. Given Sardinia is less overwhelmed by tourists than the likes of Majorca, you'll still find that many of its restaurants still cater mainly for locals and the quality of food is high.
But perhaps Sardinia's main selling point is the extraordinary number of jaw-droppingly beautiful beaches, any one of which would be a national treasure if they were in a different European country. They are regularly featured at the top of lists of the world's best beaches.
It's almost impossible to pick out the "best" beaches in Sardinia, because there are so many that could make the list and they are all over the island. Unlike some holiday spots, where the best beaches are located in a particular spot, Sardinia has stunning beaches along every part of the coast, north, south, east and wet.
Naming it the best beach in the world, The World's 50 Best Beaches said Cala Goritzé "feels like more than just a beach — its raw beauty has a way of touching you emotionally the moment you lay eyes on it. Whether you're looking down from the viewpoint above or standing at the shore with your feet in the water, the scene is truly breathtaking".
Here are a selection of other beautiful beaches in Sardinia and you may well find ones that you prefer through your own research. As well as the main island of Sardinia itself, there is also the archipelago of Maddalena, a series of islands just off Sardinia's north coast, which has its own collection of gorgeous beaches. There are regular boat trips here from the main island.
1. Cala Mariolu
2. Siaggia della Pelosa
3. Spiaggia del Pirata
4. Spiaggia Rena Bianca
5. Cala Corsara, La Maddalena
Sardinia can, of course, get busy in the peak times of July and August, when lots of Italians holiday there themselves. Costa Smeralda is among the most popular destinations. It's also something of a celebrity hotspot and the area of the island where wealth is most obvious.
If you fancy a bit of celebrity-spotting, this is definitely the place to go, with Spiagga del Principe the best beach to potentially see a Hollywood star, music mogul or business leader. Lonely Planet says: " A number of beautiful coves necklace the fabulous swoop of coastline where Gallura's wind-whipped granite mountains tumble down to fjordlike inlets in the emerald sea. One of the finest is the Spiaggia del Principe, a stunning crescent of pale sand snuggled among low cliffs named after Prince Karim Aga Khan, who has given it his seal of approval."
Where you choose to stay in Sardinia depends on the sort of holiday you want. Cagliari is the island's largest centre of population, a bustling city with a perfect mix of the historic and modern. It is not really a tourist city, so the restaurants here cater mainly for Italians so you can be sure of their quality.
You could choose to base yourself in Cagliari to get the city experience with its busy food and nightlife scene then venture out to the island's beaches from there. Cagliari even has a beautiful beach to call its own, the massive Poetto, a short ride out of the city, where people from the city flock as often as they can. As with many popular beaches in Italy, there are lots of places to eat and drink right on the beach, from sandwiches and snacks to sit-down cafes, restaurants and bars.
At the opposite end of the island is Alghero, a comfortable-sized town with several hotels and several beaches and interesting sites nearby, including the most gorgeous country villages. From Alghero you can get a boat to Grotta di Nettuno (Neptune's Cave), a dramatic seafront cavern where stalactites hang above the water.
On the east coast you have the luxury destinations of Porto Cervo and the Costa Smeralda, a haven for the rich and famous. If you're not ready to mingle with the wealthy just yet, then Cannigione is an understated small town nearby, where there are lots of options for hotels, restaurants and bars.
Similarly, if you want a location that is close to the city but also has a good selection of hotels, restaurants and beaches nearby, try Villasimius in the south, a short drive from Cagliari.
Your options for eating in Sardinia are almost endless, with all the major towns and cities having lots of authentic options which are still for the most part geared more to Italians than tourists.
But one eating experience not to be missed is the agriturismo. This is an Italian concept which has seen traditional farms adapt to cater for visitors who want to eat or stay (or both). The menus can be extensive and fantastic, and you will find yourself very full of the most excellent locally-produced food. There's nothing like it. Agriturismo La Colti, between Cannigione and Arzachena in the north-east of the island, is a classic example.
The main airports in Sardinia are at Cagliari on the south coast and Olbia on the north-eastern coast. You can also fly to Alghero on the north-west coast. You can get frequent flights to them from UK airports. You can fly to Olbia from London, Manchester, Bristol, Edinburgh and Birmingham. Calgiari is served by several more UK airports. Here are a selection of examples of flights with prices correct at time of writing:
