Cala Portese, a flour-white beach with a handful of turquoise umbrellas, is sandwiched between dusty rose granite that seems to tumble endlessly into the island’s interior, juniper sprouting wildly between the jagged rocks. Sardinia’s northeastern tip, the Costa Smeralda, earned its Italian nickname “Emerald Coast” from its jewel-toned water, but cruising around the nearby La Maddalena Archipelago, whose deserted coves and beaches just as untouched blend the best of the Caribbean and Tahiti, the moniker really deserves to go to this smattering of wind-sculpted islands straddling the sliver of sea between Sardinia and Corsica, forming Sardinia’s first national park. Glancing off the side of the yacht, the water is so clear I can see more fish swimming than I recently saw while scuba diving in the Maldives.
My captain, Roberto from Enjoyacht, anchors our boat while asking, “Do you like Prosecco?” As he pulls out a bottle of sparkling Sardinian Vermentino, he adds with a smile, “Only two people in 92 days have said they don’t like Prosecco.” A one-man show, Roberto expertly slices sausage to bite-size width and places pieces on crisp flatbread crackers called pane carasau, which shepherds once ate on the island since it can last up to a year without spoiling. He delicately sets the mock pepperoni pizza on a tray made of cork, adding a chunk of Pecorino Sardo cheese and announcing proudly, “Everything here is from Sardinia.”
Sardinia’s Emerald Coast may be a hallmark of the European jetset circuit, and where the most yachts are at one period during the September Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup regatta. Yet there’s still a stretch that’s as untouched as it was in the late 1950s, when Prince Karim Aga Khan IV sailed by, later saying, “There is a multitude of fine sandy beaches and no one to walk on them. Green and grey mountains tumble into the sea, a carpet of purple and yellow, red and blue flowers perfumes the air.”
A few years later, along with the newly formed Consorzio Costa Smeralda, Aga Khan IV brought some of the world’s best architects—including Luigi Vietti, Jacques Couëlle, Michele Busiri Vici, and Antonio Simon Mossa—to transform the Gallura region’s 34-mile coastline (among the island’s least-populated areas at the time) into one of the world’s most luxurious seaside locales, where royals and screen stars brushed elbows at the handful of landmark properties that are still some of the most sought-after in summer today.
Costa Smeralda is undergoing a mini renaissance as original hotels like Romazzino now bear the Belmond name, Pitrizza is converting to a Cheval Blanc, and the first nonstop flight from New York’s JFK to Olbia debuted this season—which, by the way, is extending to seven months, the longest in the region’s history. While it’s modernizing, the Emerald Coast is maintaining its centuries of shepherding roots, honoring Arzachena as one of the world’s newest Blue Zones. “Sardinia’s Blue Zone reflects a way of life that naturally combines wellness, exceptional local food, and a deep connection to community and nature,” explain Simone and Marco Amorico, co-owners of Italian-based, family-owned luxury Access Italy. “Travelers are drawn to its authentic approach to longevity, where fresh local ingredients, daily movement, and meaningful social connections are simply part of everyday life.”
With each addition, the destination is maintaining its authenticity, while “always being inspired by what the prince wanted—nothing mass market, with a focus on nature,” said a representative of Consorzio Costa Smeralda over lunch at Hotel Pitrizza, adding that the territory should still maintain its wild feel.
Once you’ve windowshopped at Hermès and Dior in Porto Cervo, considered Costa Smeralda’s capital and home to one of the world’s most exclusive yacht clubs, here’s where to discover archeological ruins tucked away on wineries and first-generation family farms that are reviving ancient grains—plus, the stylish spots to dine and stay.
