My travels to Italy and Sardinia was a spontaneous one booked later in the year, but I’m so glad I went ahead and booked myself on this trip.

I had originally planned to kick-back and just take 2 weeks relaxing along the idyllic coastlines of Sardinia, however Sardinia was just too close to Rome and I had always wanted to visit The Colosseum, one of the Wonders of the World!

It’s for this reason that I decided to travel directly to Rome from London Gatwick and then spend 4 days exploring what Rome had to offer, with the Colosseum being the main event.

I would then fly down to the Cagliari Elmas Airport in Sardinia which is as deep South as you can get, pick up a Hire Car and then travel up to the North of Sardinia over a week to Olbia Costa Smeralda Airport at the North East of the island where I would get my flight back home.

In my eagerness to ensure I got Rome in, I did not check the times of my flight.. So I got into Rome City Centre at 2am on the 9th September 2024.

This extremely early arrival actually was a blessing in disguise 🙂 .. I had booked a lovely Airbnb booked opposite the Colosseum, so it allowed me to throw my luggage in the room and take a stroll around the City Centre at 3am in the morning.

The benefit of being up at that time was that obviously the streets were totally empty, so I managed to get some of my best shots of the Colosseum as soon as I arrived early in the morning, with no tourists or crowds around.

After having taken 3000 photos of the Colosseum, I retired to my Airbnb apartment for a well needed nap before the day ahead, which was ironically a Colosseum Tour!

After a very late arrival, I was up at the crack of dawn to join the ‘jump the queue’ 2.5 hour Tour of the Colosseum! It was an absolute scorcher, hitting 40 degrees in the early part of the day.

I booked the Tour through Get Your Guide and have to say the trip was excellent. We started early and all got given an ear piece so that even if the Tour Guide went ahead, we could still listen to their continual commentary as we walked around the outside and inside of the Colosseum.

The Colosseum itself is well worth a visit and the architecture both in and outside are just breathtaking! However, for such a wonder of the World to be situation in the middle of a giant round-a-bout, was a little strange.

For the remainder of Day 2, I decided to trek around the City Centre to some of the renowned landmarks in Rome. These included the stunning Trevi Fountain, The Spanish Steps, Palatine Hill and The Roman Forum. All are absolutely worth going to visit if you are ever in Rome and none of these really need a Tour Guide and are easily accessible by foot (having said that, be prepared to put in around 25km per day walking).

Day 3 in Rome was one that others has said was a ‘non-negotiable’ and that was The Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel & St. Peter’s Basilica Guided Tour booked this time by a company called ‘Headout‘.

It was another blazing day reaching over 40 degrees in Rome, so the ‘Jump the Queue’ came in really hand today. The Queue to get into the Vatican was immensely long from around 8am, so it is well worth booking a Tour in advance.

I can only describe The Vatican City with a few words, ‘Jaw Droppingly Large’.. We had already walked around 7km just in the Museums alone. The Artwork, Architecture and Monuments were something to behold and it was difficult to know where to look, a real treat for the senses.

We walked through the Sistine Chapel and everyone had to take all hats off and be respectful by not talking during their time in there. There are many amazing pieces of artwork in the Vatican and one of main attractions within the Sistine Chapel is the ‘The Last Judgement’ by Michelangelo. This work of art is a staggering 13.7m × 12m in size too!

The final part of the Vatican Tour was St. Peter’s Basilica which was also an incredible piece of Architecture and a must see in Rome.

My final day in Rome was my most anticipated Tour, although unfortunately became my least favourite. This was ‘The Roman Crypts and Catacombs Tour‘ and comprised of a 3-4 hour trip to 3 of the most famous Crypts and Catacombs in Rome. It was my least favourite due to the fact the Tour did drag on a little and even though there was some great history, the museums were slightly underwhelming. If you have time in Rome, it is worth it, but I preferred the Colosseum and Vatican City Tours.

Below are the highlights and landmarks I got to visit during my 4 days in Rome:

• The Colosseum
• Trevi Fountain
• The Spanish Steps
• Palatine Hill
• The Roman Forum
• Vatican Museums
• St. Peter’s Basilica

After walking 25km per day for 4 days in Rome, I was looking forward to a more relaxed week lapping up the stunning coastlines of Sardinia!

I had not planned my Flight from Rome to
Cagliari Elmas Airport in South Sardinia very well as the flight got me to Cagliari late at night, I then had to pick up a Hire Car and drive another 1.5hrs to the Beach House I had rented out for a few days.

By the time I got to the Beach House at 01:00am, an extremely understanding host Daniele showed me around the 3 bedroom place before I hit the sack.

When I woke up, I was absolutely amazed at the sheer beauty of the Beach House and its surroundings. It was a large detached hill-set property leading to a private beach. This was one morning I don’t think I will ever forget.

I took many photos and flew my drone around the property and beach, however nothing did it justice. You can see the Beach House using the link if you are interested in renting it out.

Before my drive to the North of the island, my 3 days in the South of Sardinia was a really nice change from the hustle and bustle of Rome. It was laid back and the coastline could have been the Caribbean!

I took some time to drive both East and West of the Beach House, so I managed to get to see beaches from both sides of the island.

Two of the most stunning beaches in the South are ‘Tuerredda Beach’ that looks like something from a movie set its so beautiful and ‘Piaggia di Punta Molentis Beach’ that is actually 2 beaches back-to-back between 2 mountains!

The South of Sardinia was an absolute joy to spend a few days exploring and I would thoroughly recommend trying Airbnb to book, as there are some real hidden gems, like The Beach House, that I was so lucky to find.

After several days in the South, I packed ready for my 3-4 hour drive to the North of Sardinia for my final 4 days on the island.

While driving to Olbia in Northern Sardinia, it was great having the flexibility in the Hire Car to just stop off at various coast lines to fly the drone and get some awesome shots from above!

My destination was Hotel Ollastu a 4 star hotel that had the most idyllic surroundings with a stunning background view of one of the star attractions along the North East Coast of Sardinia, which was the Mountainous looking Tavolara Island.

I had to keep pinching myself as I spent my final 4 days at Hotel Ollastu as it really was such a stunning location on the island, everywhere I went was another photo opportunity or an excuse to get the drone out again!

Apart from the Hotel itself, another of my highlights from the North-West of Sardinia was ‘La Pelosa Beach’. I got told to get there early as there was a limited number of people allowed on the Beach at any one time! It had crystal clear waters and fine white sand like talcum powder, it really was a true gem! 

Other than the sheer beauty, another one of the main reasons people flock here is to see the remains of La Pelosa Tower. La Pelosa Tower was built in 1578 to defend the surrounding Town of Stintino.

My final day was spent lazing around the Hotel grounds lapping up the beauty and managing to get a few final drone shots before flying back to the UK.

The Colosseum in Rome was probably one of the highlights for me, as I have always wanted to see this Wonder of the World! The location was a little strange, however the building and history surrounding it was just breathtaking.

I visited Rome in September and even then it was extremely hot, I was expecting it to be the tail end of Summer, however there was not a day that the temperature was not above 40 degrees!

My advice in Rome would be to book ahead for the big Tourist Attractions and Tours such as the Colosseum and the Vatican.

Sardinia was an absolute jewel of an island with astounding views and coastlines that are as good, if not better and anything any other country has to offer. The island was much larger than I expected, I was planning to drive around it in a day, but it takes a day to go from North to South, I read after my visit that this is often something visitors to not plan for, the sheer size of the island! Its for this reason, a Hire Car is a must to get around on Sardinia, I just could not have done the things I did without it.