SD › Italy › Sardinia with Kids
Updated: May 3, 2022
By Santorini Dave
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Top 10 Things To Do with Kids in Sardinia
Sardinia is a charming and unique family holiday destination. First, it is an island. Second, it is foot-shaped. Third, there are many interesting animals: the small Sardinian donkey, the mouflon, the white donkey of Asinara.
Kids enjoy Sardinia because it’s so incredibly family and child friendly. Here’s a list of 10 things to do with your kids during your holidays in Sardinia. Enjoy!
The little green train
Small touristic train that snakes into the woods and in the wildest regions of the island. It climbs the mountains, crosses panoramic bridges and allows you to enjoy amazing panoramas. The little green train often receives school children, as it considered a great way to discover the hidden beauties of the island.
The wild ponies of the Giara plateau & Museum of Sa Corona Arrubia
In ancient times they were spread all over Sardinia, while now they live only in the plateau (apart from a few ones in Monte Arci). There are only about 700 exemplars of these dark brown, small (about 120 cm) and restless ponies. The uniqueness of the race is guaranteed by the plateau features, 500/600 high and with steep walls. Not far from the Giara (about 30 minutes) you can also visit the Museum of the territory, or Sa Corona Arrubia. Here your kids can have fun and learn by visiting the different sections: fauna, botanic, geology, anthropology.
Taking a picture with the stone animals
During the centuries, the wind blowing in Sardinia has had fun shaping the rocks in different forms that are great for kids to study and photograph.
- Elephant rock in Castelsardo
- Bear rock in Palau
- Turtle rock in S. Teodoro
If you want to move from animals to vegetables, why don’t you look for the mushroom rock?
Diverland
The biggest Water Park Village in Sardinia, where your kids will have fun and enjoy the warm weather! They’ll be spot of choice among the 6.700 sqm swimming pools, 1.400 sqm water slides, baby club and animation teams…only 20 Km from Cagliari!
Enjoy the beach of Cagliari: Calcetto (soccer) and sandcastles
Poetto, the 8 Km sandy beach of Cagliari, is something you can’t miss if you are in the area. Your kids will have fun making sandcastles, bathing (the seabed is shallow, suitable for children) or taking part to the several activities! (soccer, volley-ball…).
Ice cream at Monte Urpinu
If you are visiting Cagliari, you can of course have a relaxing time in the park of Monte Urpinu. Eating a refreshing gelato (ice-cream) and wandering throughout the park’s paths, while your way will be crossed by a colourful peacock or a lovely goose.
Mountain Bike trails
Nature and sport lovers can choose among the several mountain bike paths proposed. Mountain bike trails are studied to enter the most charming and wild regions of the island. What better way to let your kids experience the island and enter in full contact with nature?
Sardinia miniature
The miniature reproduces the most important and representative spots of Sardinia in just 360 meters. You will find a Nuragic village, where are reproduced habits and customs of ancient Sardinian populations; the Astronomy Museum, the Planetarium, an exposition entirely dedicated to Charles Darwin and finally, a Biosphere. The biosphere is considered a “unique experience of education for environmental sustainability”, as it links the beauty of nature to the perception of the balances which govern the cohabitation.
Neptune’s caves
Among Sardinian caves, Neptune’s Caves are considered by many the most fascinating. Adults and kids can’t be indifferent to the spectacular views! Neptune’s caves can be reached by a panoramic 600-step rock stair, but if your kids are very young we suggest you to take the ferry from Alghero.
Running throughout Europe’s highest sand dunes
The sand dunes of Piscinas are a still unspoilt area in the central-western part of Sardinia. I personally love climbing up and walking over there, enjoying the sight and the smell of the blue sea from one side and the wild Mediterranean vegetation from the other side. How much place there for children, to run and roll in the sand!
You can visit Sardinia at any time of year, depending on what kind of holiday you are looking for. July and August are the hottest months (the average monthly temperatures are min. 21 max. 30 degrees), perfect if you wish a kind of “sun and fun” holiday! For a quieter stay, I personally suggest spring (from March-April to June and September): it’s not so hot and is less frequented by mass tourism, so you can better enjoy the nature and the history of Sardinia. Winter is a good period to discover culture and traditions, because you can take part to the numerous festivals and “sagre” throughout the island, entering in contact with locals and their habits. Winter is mild, average temperatures goes from a minimum of 7 to a maximum of 16 degrees.
This was a guest post by Giulia Garau. She lives and works in Sardinia. Travel lover, she has the chance to work for an important tourism agency, CharmingSardinia.com, which deals with Luxury and Family Hotels in Sardinia.
I'm Santorini Dave. I started this site in 2011 with a short article on tips for visiting Santorini with kids. We're now a small team of writers and researchers dedicated to providing the best travel content on the internet. We focus on 
We are looking for a place to finish up a 6 months round the world adventure. We have two children (12 and 14) who are active and love the ocean, fishing, surfing and snorkeling/diving. My husband and I love to be active – biking, yoga, water sports – and healthy eating is a must for this end-of-trip adventure. We would be interested to rent a house for 2-3 weeks. Which island do you recommend?
Kindra Tatarsky
Not sure what you mean. Sardinia is an island (and great for families) and Corsica and Sicily are nearby but not sure what region you’re limiting yourself to.
We would like to travel to Sardinia or one of the Greek islands such as Crete or Naxos with our 3 year old, 14 and 16 year old. We are looking to hire a villa. We are also accustomed to hot weather because we live in west Africa. Which of these options would best suit our diverse family? Thank you.
Maryse Monmarche
Naxos is the best for a vacation/villa stay. Crete or Sardinia better if you’re looking to be active, move around, and explore the islands.
Hello once again!
After you recommendation I went to Naxos this last summer …I absolutely loved it ,Thank You!. We stayed 3 weeks and enjoyed every minute of it. This year we want to go to Sardinia. What area or costal town you recommend for a family with young children ? nice beach, supermarket and restaurants at hand; a good base to explore around but without being to overwhealming. We are going in August :( and and planning to rent a car.
Thank you in advance.
Best Regards,
Paola
Hi Paola.
The Atahotel Tanka Village Resort Villasimius is very family-friendly. A good kids club and beautiful beach.
Good luck.
Very nice article. Thanks
Hi,
My partner is really interested all historical places and as we are planning on visiting Italy he would really love to visit Pompeii. My only reservations are that we will have our 2 children (5 & 12) with us and this is our first trip to Europe and I have heard many “bad” things about Naples and surrounding areas. I would like to know if you would recommend not going to this destination or would you say its ok to visit?
As we are making our way up from here to France, England and then Scotland this will be quite possibly the first destination of our 4-6 week long trip.
Thanks
Tania
Naples is a little rougher around the edges than the rest of Western Europe but it’s hardly “bad”. As long as you – and the kids – aren’t expecting a pristine coastal resort I’m sure you’ll do fine. That said, Pompeii can be a very hot and taxing trip for kids if it’s right in the middle of summer – so be sure you know what you’re getting into. Rome might be a better combination of attractions and amenities.