The Costa Smeralda, on the northern part of the island, lies on the same parallell as Naples and has an excellent climate, with very mild winters, never snowing or freezing. You can in fact on warm sunny days of winter, find a sheltered spot on a beach and actually do some sun-bathing. Winter sailing is also another attraction, having the whole archipelago to one’s self.

The heat of summer, on the other hand, is refreshed by the frequent Mistral wind and summer holidays are guaranteed to be sunny, with only a minimum of bad weather.

The mild winters make Sardinia an ideal place for retirement, considering also its proximity to the rest of Europe, being not more than an hour or two’s flight from the main cities. Rome, for example, is only half an hour’s flight from Olbia-Costa Smeralda airport. All residents of Sardinia are entitled to purchase Meridiana airline tickets from Olbia to and from Rome and Milan at special low rates and anyone residing in Sardinia for more than six months may ask for official resident status.
 

The island of Sardinia, with its wide variety of the ever-changing countryside, can in effect be considered as a miniture continent, giving you the possibility of making many short but fascinating trips around the island. There are infinite archeological sites to visit and numerous itineries for sight-seeing.

As a retirement destination, Sardinia has not yet been discovered by the international home-seeker and should be seriously considered by those seeking a warm, friendly and secure place to retire.  

Generally Sardinia is a very safe place to live in; in the small towns, people still leave cars with keys and houses open. One needs to be more careful about closing up only during the month of August, when many out-of-towners are around. However, the Costa Smeralda has its own private guards, doing round the clock surveillance, ensuring an excellent security in the area.

The basic shops of Porto Cervo remain open all winter: supermarket, pharmacy, tobacconist, newsagency and post office, plus the odd boutique or two. There is already a stable English-speaking community on the Costa Smeralda, which is occasionally enriched by the temporary visits of other foreign home-owners coming in the off-season.

Laurence Camillo

January 22^nd 2003                                                                                             

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         Copyright L. Camillo 2000