Italy · Southern Sardinia
Yacht Charter Forte Village
The south-west corner of Sardinia, where the dunes are held together by juniper and the towers are Spanish.
Forte Village sits on the coast at Santa Margherita di Pula, on the stretch running south-west from Cagliari towards Capo Spartivento. It is the part of Sardinia that faces Africa rather than Corsica, and it behaves differently for it: the beaches are long and pale instead of granite coves, the water shelves gently, and the afternoon light comes in off the sea rather than off the land.
The coast, and what holds it up
The dunes behind Chia are the tallest in Sardinia and they are held together by juniper — low, wind-bent trees, some of them centuries old, whose roots are the only reason the sand has stayed where it is. Walking on them is restricted for exactly that reason, and the boardwalks are not decorative.
Behind the dunes lie shallow lagoons, and in them, from autumn to spring, flamingos. Above the beach at Chia a Spanish watchtower stands on the headland, one of a chain built along this coast in the sixteenth century against Barbary raids: they were sited to see one another, and from the water you can still read the line of them.
Where the boat lies, and when to come
This coast faces south-west and is open to it. The anchorages are settled-weather anchorages, beautiful in a calm and untenable in a mistral, and the working berths are at Cagliari forty-five minutes east or at the small marina at Perd'e Sali. The crew will read the week rather than promise it.
Capo Spartivento at the western end has a lighthouse on the point and the clearest water on the stretch. Nora, the Phoenician city on the peninsula at Pula, is twenty minutes back towards Cagliari and half of it is under the water — you swim over the streets.
Practical notes
- The coast faces south-west and is open: the anchorages here need settled weather
- Cagliari is forty-five minutes east by road and has the working berths; the airport is an hour
- The Chia dunes are held together by centuries-old juniper, and access is on boardwalks for that reason
- The Spanish watchtowers along this coast were sited to see one another, and the line still reads from the sea
Reached from: Cagliari, Villasimius and the Costa del Sud
Where to dine
A table by the water
Fradis Minoris
PulaOut on the lagoon at Nora, cooking what the lagoon and the boats bring in, and watching the flamingos while it does.
Sa Cardiga e Su Schironi
CapoterraOn the road back to Cagliari, and the fish restaurant the island itself drives out to.
Su Furriadroxu
PulaIn a restored farmhouse in the village, doing the Campidano dishes rather than the coast's.
What to do
Anchorages & excursions
The Chia dunes
The tallest in Sardinia, held together by centuries-old juniper, and crossed on boardwalks for that reason.
Capo Spartivento
The lighthouse on the western point, and the clearest water on this stretch of coast.
The lagoons
Shallow water behind the dunes, with flamingos on them from autumn through to spring.
The Spanish towers
A sixteenth-century signal chain against Barbary raids, each tower sited to see the next.
The fleet
Yachts available for Forte Village
Vessels that operate here, from flagship motor yachts to smaller crewed boats. Every rate is quoted on enquiry.
Good to know
Questions we are asked about Forte Village
- What is the coast here like compared with the north of Sardinia?
- Softer. The north-east is granite, deep water and sheltered coves; this is long pale beaches, shallow water and dunes, facing south-west towards Africa. It is warmer later in the year and more exposed when the weather turns.
- Why are there towers all along this shore?
- They are Spanish, built in the sixteenth century against Barbary raiding, and they were placed so that each could see the next — a signal chain. From a boat you can still pick out the line running along the headlands, which is not obvious from the road.
- What does a yacht charter to southern Sardinia cost?
- It depends on the yacht, the season and the crew, so we quote on enquiry rather than publish a figure that would be wrong for most weeks.
Destinations
Nearby destinations
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Tell us your dates and how many of you there are, and we will come back with the right yacht and a full quotation.