Spots in Villasimius
First view upon arriving at Campulongu
Beaches are on offer almost exclusively in the Villasimius area, but you will be spoilt for choice. Punta Molentis is the furthest from where we stayed, and ‘although I love all my children equally’ I must say, it has something special.
Campulongu
Campulongu is the first beach that we visited in Villasimius. In fact, it is the first beach that we visited in Sardinia. It set the bar high, but you only need to look at the pictures to comprehend this. The striking element of this beach is how long it is; about 900 meters of flat sandy beach front will greet you upon arrival. You will have a view of cascading mountains in the distance, but wide open views of gorgeous blue sea meeting the horizon straight ahead.
The long stretch of Campulongu with cascading mountains in the distance
Punta Molentis
On our second day in the Villasimius area, we drove to Punta Molentis. I mentioned this in the introduction, but you must trust your Waze or Google Maps companion because there is a very sharp turn down a narrow dirt road that you will miss if you are not paying attention. Once you have parked, you still have a pretty substantial walk until you reach the actual ‘equipped’ beach area where you can rent sun-beds and there is a (very good) restaurant.
My friend Shelley and I posing on the way down to Punta Molentis
Many of the most gorgeous pictures (at right), however, were taken on the journey to the beach area. Below you can see the water is gorgeous, and there is one solitary swimmer to the right of the photo. We opted to move on to the beach area at left for more comfort and amenities, but if a more natural experience is what you are after, you could drop anchor right here.
A view from the restaurant at Punta Molentis and me trying to be artistic with my Ichnusa
Once you reach the beach area, you will notice that there are essentially two sides to the ‘developed’ beach area, white sand with the same clear waters on one side and a fascinating quarry with granite boulders jutting up with more dramatic waters crashing in between them. On the sandy beach side, there is a cute restaurant on a wooden deck, that resembles a ‘crab shack’. We arrived at the beach about 10.30 in the morning, and one of my favorites hacks is to go over to the restaurant nearby and book a table for a few hours later. We had a casual delicious seafood lunch here, with a refreshing Ichnusa to wash it down. I feel a little guilty, like I have neglected beer while prioritizing wine in this website. Ichnusa is really considered the ‘national’ beer of Sardinia, so I encourage you to try it while on the island. The slogan on all the labels reads ‘anima sarda’ (Sardinian soul).
The ‘rocky side’ of Punta Molentis
Porto Giunco
Here I am under the tower of Porto Giunco
Porto Giunco is one of the most recognizable and popular beaches in the Villasimius area. There is ample parking and the beach is very large. In fact, once you park and reach the beach front area, you have a choice of going to the east side or west side of the beach. We opted to move towards the emblematic ‘torre’ (tower) of Porto Giunco, which is the remnants of a 17th century defensive tower, erected by the Spaniards. Now the tower, like many others on the Sardinian coast, stands as a symbol of a multicultural past. This tower and others have become a recognizable part of the coastal landscape in Sardinia. You can climb up to this tower. I opted for just exploring some of the coast below on a wander to the far end of the beach.
Lido Cala Porto
At first when we arrived mid-morning, the sun was lazily hiding behind some cloud cover and the color of the water was more of a steely grey than the brilliant and limpid shades of blue we had become accustomed to over the previous days. Within the hour, the colors changed and the sea dazzled once again. We rented sun beds at a little ‘lido’ called Cala Porto with a casual snack bar and deck area on which we ate lunch. All the while we had views of the ruined watchtower and the gorgeous water that the light ultimately illuminated in all of its glory for our final beach day in Villasimius.