in Gallura

A busy day of work is ended and now you are looking for a relaxing moment in the most exclusive wellness center of the city. 

A few minutes from our Meeting and Business Center you will find the Geovillage, a spa where pampered with massage and treatment programs. Geovillage is a resort which is only few kilometers away from Costa Smeralda. It is the ideal place to enjoy a few hours of calmness in a lovely space and in an atmosphere of total relax.

Depurative, relaxing and perfumed infusion, multi-sensory shower like tropical rain, different kind of wellness courses, sauna, Turkish and Mediterranean bath will allow you replenishes mind and body. For its therapies Geovillage uses high-quality cosmetics, natural products and essence of officinal herb of Sardinia. Also the wellness center offers beauty and medical treatment.

If you are a good cooking lover, the wine and food routes are a good idea to spend your free time. An activity you can do through the year. Olbia and the near villages have a rich wine and food tradition and old recipes are passed down from generation to generation.

The gastronomic delights recall both the Sardinian pastoral tradition rich of beef and cheese and the fish-based cuisine of the fishermen tradition.

The farming culture transmits dishes of incomparable taste, like capretto al mirto, zuppa cuata, zuppa gallurese, mazza frissa and semolino fritto that when cooked resembles to the cream.

The most famous Sardinian sweets are Seadas with honey and Tiliccas.

The fish-traditional cuisine is simple but tasty. Olbia is well-known for its cozze that can be eaten uncooked, boiled, with lemon, with tomato sauce and gratin…or better with a superb dish of spaghetti!

Another dish to try absolutely, and that everybody who come to Olbia want to try, it’s definitely the bottarga. To eat as a side dish, as an appetizer or as a sauce for pasta. A typical dish from Olbia without doubt is spaghetti with sea urchin that you will find in the best restaurants of the city. Also you can taste them uncooked in the small taverns of the city center.

If you feel like of a fancy dish you can chose the Ortiadas, a frying of anemone and attinie breaded with bran and rosemary oil. Gives that extra special touch adding some lemon drops. They will be delicious!

Another dish of the Olbia cuisine is the Burrida, stew dogfish dressed with fish livers sauce. 

To all these traditional dishes, there are others more elaborate like sea basses and orates, fish soup, cigale, lobster and sea goat.

To enjoy all these tasty dishes you can add a good glass of wine of the surrounding cellars produced by the grapevine of Olbia and in the neighbourhood of Monti, Tempio and Berchidda.

The wine and food routes are the best way to try and taste all these delicacies in company.

Olbia welcomes you, to a place of fun and leisure but also a city of culture and history. Due to its great choice of wonderful beaches and the different activities which are possible to do throughout the year, Olbia is one of the most important touristic destinations in Sardinia. The city is a starting point or with the ferry or by air for a fantastic holiday, it is not far from the world famous Emerald Coast which is one of the most beautiful coastal areas in the world. The typical Sardinian village of San Pantaleo is also nearby. Other treasures of this area are the exclusive ports of Porto Cervo and Porto Rotondo.

The most important of the places to visit in Olbia is certainly the Old Town, dating from the Roman and Medieval period. After visiting this area you can realize how ancient the city is. The streets are the original routes that date back from

 over 2000 years and have the original urban Roman water systems.

From the highest point of the acropolis in the Old Town you can see the Basilica of San Paolo, built in the thirteenth century. It is possible to reach on foot from the center the Basilica Minore of San Simplicio (patron saint of the city) which is

 built in a Romanic style. There are some paintings that must be seen in the Basilica which date back to Medieval times. A place not to be missed on this cultural tour is Archaeological Museum a new building situated on the Peddone island. In the museum there are on display Neolithic and Judicial archeoligical remains and Roman and Medieval shipwrecks that were found in Olbia.

Other places of interest worthwhile visiting are the Acquedotto romano, the biblioteca simpliciana, the mura Puniche which is between via Torino e via Acquedotto and the Palazzo Comunale.

If you are looking for more information visit this website http://www.olbiaturismo.it

Visit our magic surroundings

Are you brilliant or creative? Do you need stimuli? In that case you can visit our near villages! The Village of San Pantaleo has been the scene for more than 60 movies. Its rocks have bewitched Roger Moore and Charlotte Rampling, fascinated Franco Nero and Irene Papas and seduced the rookie Raoul Bova at his first ciak. A place that will amaze you with the natural contrasts, mountains and sea together. Have a cocktail in the square of this charming and fascinating place is an obligatory stop you should not miss for any reason in the world and live a few hours in the high society.

Tavolara Festival

Tavolara Festival is an event nationwide, unmissable if you are in this area in July. Founded in 1991 by a group of friends fascinated by this places, involves important authors and performers and gives voice to Italian cinema and some films not enhanced by the distribution circuits. An experience not to be missed because Tavolara has been defined the most fascinating outdoor arena in the world.

Over the years, the event has been enriched by an extensive program of secondary events.

The size achieved by the event, its credibility nationwide and the quality of journalists and experts involved makes it one of the festivals most exposed by the domestic media, including those carried out in Sardinia.

SOURCE: http://www.cinematavolara.it/

Do you only have few days to spend in this area and do you like to keep you fit doing physical activity? Excellent! You can discover the north-east of Sardinia having sport. Olbia and the close village offer lots of opportunity for doing any kind of sport. Consider that a well-known magazine of Surf, called Sardinia the “Hawaii of Mediterranean” because of the high number of windy beaches that allow you to practice all watersports like sail boat, windsurf and kitesurf that in the recent years has seen a huge increase of those who practice them. The beaches of Olbia are perfect to spend some time in these activities. 

CAPO FIGARI AND FIGAROLO ISLAND

One of the most beautiful places for doing trekking, day trips, horse ride or diving is definitely Capo Figari, a reserve of great naturalistic importance. Reaching the peaks of the promontory (Mount Ruiu)you can see the ruins of the lighthouse or traffic lights where in 1928 Guglielmo Marconi ushered a radio link with Tuscany.

In Punta Falasca, however, there are several fortified positions and remnants of World War II.

Walking through another path you can reach an old small cemetery called “cemetery of the English” where there are the tombs of many sailors died during several shipwrecks over the years.  Not far away you can find Cala Greca, a beautiful rocky cove with a dark-blue and deep sea.

In Figarolo Island (139 meters high), reachable by sea thanks to a dock for small boats, you can find a small and nice beach. Off the island, with the help of an experienced dive guide, you can visit the small wreck of a wooden merchant ship sunk in the middle of 900. It’s amazing see how it is adapted to the undersea landscape.

SOURCE: Olbia Tempio Turismo

Biowatching

A few kilometers by our Meeting Center the passionate about biowatching will have the opportunity to spend their free time doing this activity in an environment rich of flora and fauna. During the walk or the sailing you can observe the typical species of different habitat such as the Mediterranean scrub, colonies of seabird, the posidonia, the tidal pool, dolphins, mouflons, etc. You can do biowatching throughout the year in Capo Figari and Figarolo and in the Protected Marine Area of Tavolara and Punta Coda Cavallo alongside the C.Ri.M.M. onlus Association. It is a no profit organization made up of volunteer researchers that for many years carry out research on marine mammals and costal species in the north-east of Sardinia. They will accompany you during the activities in order to describe features and curiosity about the species observed.

You can also do snorkeling and observing the species that are a few meters deep. 

Birdwatching

Sardinia and the area of Olbia are rich of environmental sites of Community Importance because of about 330 species of birds, that thanks to favorable environmental condition nest and reproduce in these places. Some of them are migratory species that you can observe just in a particular time of the year, which choose Sardinia as a place of passage between Europe and Africa. Instead the other ones live permanently in these places. A perfect place to do birdwatching! The basic to do this activity is have a guide to recognize the species and a telescope or a binoculars in order to observe from a distance without annoy the natural behavior of this animals.

Whale & Dolphin watching

In the beautiful sea of Golfo Aranci and in the Protected Marine Area of Tavolara you can observe the dolphins which are in this area to breed their puppies. Also during the last winters has become habitual the transit of fin whales that frequent this area to feed themselves.

It is important to observe these animals in their natural habitat without cause them any stress and without interfere with their activities.

Mount Limbara

Another place recommended to lovers of day trip is undoubtedly the Mount Limbara, dubbed by someone “the Dolomites of Sardinia”. Thanks to the low altitude, this place allows you to take a walk and relax yourself in an healthy environment.

Limbara is different by the other mountain formations of Sardinia for the great variety of its landscapes; the rural area and the vineyard of Tempio and Calangianus, a dense vegetation inhabited by the wild boards, the Olbia sea, the Archipelago of La Maddalena and the white cliffs with the high snowy mountains of Corsica as background. The vegetation is extremely varied and lush. Officinal herbs, the holm oak, the ash, the pine, the fir, the juniper, the cork, the strawberries plants, the heather and the holly. There are also a several varieties of mushrooms (such as the porcini) that annually call attention of many evaluators.

It is easy to see wild boars, wildcats, martens, foxes, birds of prey and, if you are lucky, the golden eagles.

Inside the Mount Limbara you will find different unique and wonderful paths.

Have fun ... and do not forget to bring your camera with you!

SOURCE: montelimbara.it

San Simplicio in Olbia

The second week of May do not miss the celebration of San Simplicio, the patron saint of Olbia.

The day devoted to the saint is the 15th of May but the celebration start the 6th of May, running on the novena.

For many years this religious festival combines the sacred to the profane, with celebrations of various kinds.

This religious festival has been combining for many years sacred and profane, with various kind of celebrations.

Several associated events, including “Mussel Festival”, “Palio of the Star”, “national competition of Judo”.

However the main event remains the religious procession on 15th May, which go through the city, accompanied by several folk groups from all over Sardinia.

SOURCE: eventiesagre.it

Festival of Vermentino in Monti

Monti is a village nestled at the foot of Mount Limbara where, for decades, the first Sunday of August is celebrated the festival of Vermentino. Wine produced in this area for centuries.

The main goal of the event is the wine cellar of Vermentino which was inaugurated in 1956 and was the first in Sardinia to sell bottled wine in large quantities.

Vermentino is an age-old vine variety.

It is from Portugal or Madeira and then it spread in Sardinia and in other parts of Italy. It prefers sandy and rocks soils, for this reason Gallura is his ideal land.

In 1975 it awarded the DOC brand. Then in 1996 it also awarded the DOCG brand

Nel 1975 gli è stato conferito il marchio DOC a cui poi si è aggiunto, nel 1996, il marchio DOCG, of controlled and guaranteed origin, a brand granted to very few Italian white wines.

SOURCE: sagradegliagrumi.com

Festival of Mirtle in Telti

If you are in Olbia in mid-August you should taste a traditional local speciality, well-known all over the world, the myrtle liquor.

Telti, a village 18 Km from Olbia, has been organizing for twenty years the festival of this delicious liqueur. Four days rich of folklore, culture, traditions, music, food and beverage.

An event changed during several years up to become a real project of local marketing. Myrtle liquor as well as food and wine, culture and environment.

Do not forget doing “Lu caminu de li cosi boni”, in English “the path of the delicious”. A gastronomic path through the streets of the old town center to discover the ancient flavors of the traditional Sardinian cookery.

This event also becomes a meeting place between producer and consumer, such as liquor manufacturers, producers of make up, gastronomy, milk products, pastry-making and flower composers

SOURCE: sardegnainblog 

Festival of Fish fry in Santa Teresa di Gallura