Spiaggia del Poetto

"Il Poetto" IS Cagliari's beach, and a long strand at that, and many city bus lines run alongside it, so getting here is easy.

The layout reminds me of L.A.'s strand of beaches. This long strand is anchored at its southern end by la Sella del Diavolo (the Devil's Saddle) which is a promontory, though not as imposing and extensive as Palos Verdes. The beach continues as a strand for miles, without any foothills behind it, and then makes a bend which is backed by foothills, the same way that the Palisades and Malibu do along Pacific Coast Highway in L.A. The difference is that the layout is a mirror image, or reversed.

There's a lot of space at lengthy Il Poetto. It does not feel crowded. The water is warm, the surf is mild, and the color is appealing and clear, though not crystalline. Again, if you are doing the real tourist thing in search of crystalline coves and a tourist scene, you'll be on a ferry or a low-cost flight to northeastern Sardinia, at the Costa Smeralda, where Porto Cervo is the feather in its cap. But, if you are in low-key Cagliari, the island's capital in Sardinia's south, you will find that this a great beach in a city that has everything you need and very little hype, thus making it very relaxing.