Best of Sardinia: Cagliari, Alghero, Baja Sardinia

Your holiday begins at London Gatwick where we meet the Tour Manager before flying directly to Sardinia's capital, Cagliari, in the southeast corner of the island. Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean after Sicily, located north of Tunisia, south of the French island of Corsica and east of Spain's Catalonia province.

Cagliari is a lively coastal metropolis, bursting with history, located in the beautiful Bay of Angels. This fortified city has been ruled by many different civilisations over the centuries. On arrival this evening, we transfer to our hotel in the city's historic centre. After checking in, dinner is served at our hotel.

• Dinner

Shortly after breakfast we meet our local guide for a walking tour of Cagliari. With a long and varied history, Cagliari was ruled by a series of empires, from the Phoenician to Roman. In the 13th-century the city was dominated by the Pisans, who built some of Cagliari's most beautiful monuments. When the Kingdom of Aragon conquered Sardinia from the Pisans it fell under the rule of the Spanish Empire, until it was passed to the Italian royal house of Savoy in 1718.

Starting at the Castello neighbourhood, on a visit to the public gardens you can walk among avenues of palms and jacarandas and admire two monumental Moreton Bay fig trees. Our tour takes in the Royal Palace, the Pisan watchtowers of San Pancrazio and the Elephant, and the graceful stone cathedral of Santa Maria.

With a free afternoon you could explore other treasures, from its viewpoints to its museums and beaches. This evening, maybe try a local speciality such as Culurgiones, a traditional pasta filled with pecorino, garlic and mint - or feast on seafood in La Marina district.

• Breakfast

Today is the first of two trips on Sardinia's Little Green Train, named not for the colour of the train but in tribute to the countryside it travels through. Setting out from nearby Monserrato, our destination is the small town on Mandas. Travelling in comfortable new Stadler trains we enjoy views of the basso Campidano along the way.

Our journey retraces the footsteps of DH Lawrence who described the route in his book 'Sea and Sardinia'. On arrival at Mandas station there's time to view the old locomotives and heritage carriages before strolling through the cobbled streets of the historic centre to the farmstead 'Le Vigne Ducali'. There we watch a cooking show by a skilled local housewife, followed by a chance to try out the techniques and a relaxed lunch of freshly-prepared dishes.

We then walk to the 19th-century district of San Francesco to see the convent founded by friars and a small church dedicated to St Christopher.

Later, we travel north to our next destination, Oristano, and check into our hotel before dinner.

• Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Today is a highlight of our tour as we visit the ruins of Tharros, an ancient city with a backdrop of the turquoise Mediterranean Sea. Situated on the Gulf of Oristano, Tharros is one of the most important archaeological sites in the Mediterranean with many layers of history. The earliest settlers were Nuragic, a name which derives from the island's most characteristic monument, the nuraghe, a tower-type fortress. The Phoenicians founded the ancient city in the 8th century BC which was abandoned in the 11th century AD. Our visit is a dive into the past, viewing the site's stunning natural amphitheatre which overlooks the sea, and the remains of baths, temples and necropolises built by different ancient cultures.

There's free time over lunch before visiting the Giovanni Marongiu Civic Museum in Cabras to admire the archaeological heritage on display, in particular the unique statues known as 'the Giants of Mont'e Prama'. Our cultural day isn't over yet, and our next activity is a tour and wine tasting at Sardinia's oldest winery, founded in 1898. This evening dinner is independent and you are free to continue sampling the local cuisine.

• Breakfast

Heading to Macomer after breakfast, we board the Green Train to Bosa, following a traditional pastoral route along the basalt plateau, up to the ruins of the ancient Cistercian abbey of Santa Maria di Corte. After a guided tour of the monastic complex, we resume our journey, stopping at Tinnura station for a visit to the 'Country of Art'. This small open-air village-museum showcases work by Sardinian artists and colourful murals painted on the façades of houses.

Our train continues to Tresnuraghes, where we stop to taste local produce, including Sardinia's famous Malvasia wine and fragrant biscuits, then travels through vineyards, slowly climbing the hills surrounding Bosa. At the Bosa Marina station there's free time for a quick lunch, before visiting Bosa, the only river settlement in Sardinia, at the mouth of the river Temo. In this pretty town, houses painted in tones of terracotta, gold and blue hug the waterside, while Malaspina Castle towers over the historic centre. After soaking up the relaxed ambiance we continue to Alghero for an overnight stay.

• Breakfast

Seafront Alghero has a distinct Catalan flavour inherited from its Spanish rulers and is still known as 'little Barcelona'. The city's Spanish origins are evident in both its architecture and daily city life, where a Catalan dialect is still heard. Our morning is dedicated to a walking tour, starting with a stroll along the city's golden sea walls to the historic centre, where a wide cobblestone boulevard is criss-crossed by narrow streets of colourful buildings and artisanal shops.

Your afternoon is at leisure to get acquainted with this charming seaside town. You could visit one of the many medieval churches, such as Chiesa di San Michele on the main street, known for its beautiful majolica-tiled dome. Or you could enjoy a refreshing dip in the aquamarine Mediterranean.

This evening is free, giving you a chance to discover some lovely local restaurants, possibly down at the marina. Seafood lovers might like to try the famous rock lobster.

• Breakfast

On this morning's excursion we learn more about the island's most ancient history. We set out after breakfast to visit the mysterious Nuragic complex of Santu Antine, a dry stone monument and one of the most significant buildings of the Nuragic civilisation which thrived on Sardinia between the Bronze and Iron Ages. This megalithic structure is believed to have been built for a king, and is named 'Sa Domu de su Re', the King's House.

After looking around this fascinating structure, we travel to a typical Sardinian agriturismo, for a 'farm to fork' lunch experience with local wine.

Our sightseeing tour continues with a visit to the spectacular Basilica di Saccargia, built in a Pisan Romanesque style from black basalt and white limestone to form its stripy façade. We reach the stunning coastal area of Baja Sardinia, with pristine white sands, rocky outcrops and azure sea. This popular beach resort near the Costa Smeralda, Sardinia's northeastern 'Emerald Coast' is an idyllic spot in which to relax during the final three nights of our trip.

• Breakfast, Lunch

Today is a free day to explore this beautiful region at your leisure. You might like to stroll down to the nearby beach, relax at the hotel pool, or could choose to join an optional excursion (payable locally) into the glorious blue waters of the Maddalena Archipelago.

This evening you are free to dine independently and, besides the hotel restaurant, you could explore the small town of Baja Sardinia where several highly rated restaurants overlook the bay. Apart from fresh seafood, fish and fresh pasta, another Sardinian speciality is suckling pig.

• Breakfast

After breakfast this morning, we take a short drive to fashionable Porto Cervo, a glamorous seaside resort which attracts iconic yachts and the rich and famous who sail on them. Our local guide shows us around this small town and there's free time to stroll through the marina to charming streets with flower-filled balconies, past boutique hotels, to browse the designer shops, or soak up the ambiance with a refreshment in one of the stylish cafés or bars. On a hill above overlooking the coast is the modern Stella Maris church, built in the 1960s in a simple Mediterranean style with a cone-shaped bell tower and a painting by El Greco inside.

Returning to our hotel, the afternoon is free to spend as you wish and our hotel is less than five minutes' walk from the sandy beach known as Spiaggia di Baja Sardinia and a kilometre west of the town is the pristine half-moon bay of Cala Tremonti. This evening, dinner with wine is served at our hotel, marking the final evening of our holiday in beautiful Sardinia.

• Breakfast, Dinner

Our Sardinian adventure has taken us in a clockwise direction from the south east to the north east of this phenomenal island, starting in the thriving capital of Cagliari and ending in the idyllic coastal resort of Baja Sardinia. We have followed scenic routes on the Little Green Train, to the riverside town of Bosa, and experienced the island's diverse historical sites including the 'King's House' Nuraghe of Santu Antine and the ancient city of Tharros. Along the way, we've tasted local wines at Sardinia's oldest winery, sampled the island's unique flavours and authentic dishes, freshly prepared from locally-grown produce at a traditional farmhouse.

After an early breakfast, we transfer to the airport for our flight back to London where your holiday ends.

• Breakfast