Olbia (Sardinian: Terranòa; Gallurese: Tarranòa) is the major city of the Gallura sub-region in northeastern Sardinia.

Understand

Piazza Regina Margherita next to the Corso Umberto I

Olbia is the 4th largest settlement (by population) on the island. Since 2016 the whole Gallura sub-region including Olbia is a part of the province of Sassari.

The name Olbia is from the Greek happines. These days the city rarely attracts visitors who usually arrive there by a plane or a ferry port, and than rush out to the beauties of the coasts of the Gallura including the most expensive one -- Costa Smeralda.

Tourist information

1 Ufficio Informazioni turistiche, Via Dante/Corso Umberto I (at the corner with Molo Brin), ☏ +39 39 0789 52206, info@olbiaturismo.it. Apr-Sep 09:00-20:00; Oct-Mar M-F 09:00-13:00. (updated Jul 2017)

Get in

Leaving Olbia by sea

View towards the port of Olbia

By plane

1 Aeroporto Olbia Costa Smeralda (OLB  ^IATA) (at the south edge of Olbia), ☏ +39 0789 563 444, info@geasar.it. (updated Jul 2017)

Services

• Left luggage service. 09:00-22:00. Inquire at the airport's Information Desk. Daily fee per piece €10 (€6 up to 2 hr), over 80x60x20cm €12 (€8 up to 2 hr). (updated Oct 2017)

Connections

• Urban bus lines 2, 10 connect the airport with Olbia centre (from 06:00 approx. every hour). Tickets are sold at the airport's Information Desk.
• A number of bus companies provide direct connections from the airport to various destinations in Sardinia: Sassari, Nuoro, Cagliari, Santa Teresa Gallura, Palau, Arzachena, Porto Rotondo, Costa Smeralda, San Teodoro, Budoni, Orosei, Cala Gonone, Alghero, Castelsardo. Tickets for ARST buses could also be bought at the ticket vending machine.

By boat

There are two ports close to Olbia.

• 2 Porto di Olbia (Stazione Marittima). Connections by Tirrenia ferries with Civitavecchia (close to Rome), Genova and by Moby Lines with Piombino (next to the island of Elba), Livorno and Civitavecchia. The ferries' berths are at the Isola Bianca wharf. Regional buses make a stop there. (updated Aug 2017)
• 3 Golfo Aranci (Stazione Marittima Golfo Aranci) (in Golfo Aranci commune). Corsica Ferries Sardinia Ferries runs 2 services a day to/from Livorno. (updated Aug 2017)

Land connections from the Golfo Aranci:

• By train: 4 Stazione di Golfo Aranci The station is next to the Port of the Golfo Aranci. It is 23 km north-east from Olbia.
• By bus: a seasonal service by ARST.

Railway station

By train

5 Stazione di Olbia, Via Giacomo Pala, 10, ☏ + 39 0789 22456. The main station in the city connects it with Sassari, Cagliari and to the ferry terminal at the Golfo Aranci. (updated Jul 2017)

By bus

6 Stazione ARST. Regional buses connect the city with the resorts and other locations across the province, as well as to Cagliari. The "station" is a merely a series of marked bus stops which follows the urban bus stop. The 2 ARST ticket vending machine is at the Corso Umberto I further east at the location of the old bus station. (updated Jul 2017)

Get around

By bus

ASPO. Provides urban bus services in Olbia. Check the map of the bus lines in the city and their schedules for more details. Single 90-min €1, single 90-min on board €1.50, day pass €2.80. Tickets sold at news stalls, tabacchi, caffés, etc.. (updated Sep 2017)

• InfoPoint ASPO, Via Indonesia, 9 (quite out of the centre), ☏ +39 0789 52206, infopoint@aspo.it. M-F 09:00-13:00, and W F also at 16:00-19:00. (updated Jul 2017)

See

Basilica di San Simplicio

Chiesa di San Paolo

• 1 Basilica di San Simplicio, Via San Simplicio. 07:30-13:00, 15:30-20:00. This austere Romanesque basilica minore was built in 11-12th centuries. It is considered as one of the most important monuments in the Gallura region. (updated Aug 2017)
• 2 Chiesa di San Paolo, Via Cagliari. Built in the middle of the 18th century. It has a characteristic tiled polychrome dome added in 1939. (updated Aug 2017)
• 3 Palazzo Colonna (Palazzo comunale). A villa in a Liberty style was designed by architect Bruno Cipelli for Colonna family. It now hosts the Town Hall. (updated Aug 2017)
• 4 Villa Clorinda (Collegio di San Vincenzo), Via de Filippi. A Lyberty villa in pseudo-Gothic style by the same architect. It's a private property, which belongs to a religious college. Still reportedly visitors are able to pass the gates and see the building from outside. (updated Aug 2017)
• 5 Teatro Michelucci. An open-air theatre designed by the famous Italian architect Giovanni Michelucci. (updated Aug 2017)

Archeological sites

• 6 Pozzo sacro di Sa Testa (by bus line 4 to Pozzo sacro stop). The remains of a Nuragic temple built around a sacred well. (updated Aug 2017)
• 7 Acquedotto romano. Some very modest traces of the Roman aqueduct and the cisterns. (updated Aug 2017)
• 8 Cabu Abbas (Riu Mulinu). Some remains of nuraghe. (updated Aug 2017)
• 9 Castello di Pedres (6 km from Olbia). Remains of the 13th-century castle. (updated Aug 2017)
• 10 Tomba di giganti di Su Monte 'e S'Abe (next to the Castello di Pedres). One of the so-called tombs of giants, a Nuragic tomb on the South of Olbia. This one is considered to be one of the largest ones and better preserved in Sardinia. (updated Aug 2017)

Do

Piazza "coperta" del Mercato

• 1 Museo Archeologico (at the Peddona islet at the old port), ☏ +39 0789 28290. Tu-Su 09:00-14:00, 17:00-21:00. Some remains of the sunken ancient ships are of a particular interrest there. Free admission. (updated Aug 2017)
• 2 Parco "Fausto Noce". It's a nice and the largest urban park in Sardinia. Some say though that at times it looks rather deserted, so you may not feel quite safe yourself there then. (updated Aug 2017)

Buy

Olbia has the only mall and the only McDonalds for hundreds of miles – for many people there that is a good thing.

Eat

An invitation for a drink

• Trattoria da Leo e Lina, Via Sarcidano, 7 Olbia, ☏ +39 3346667784. Great family-run restaurant with friendly service and typical Sardinian dishes. Cheap with plentiful helpings. €8-14. 
• Zaza Doner Kebab, Piazza Regina Margherita. Turkish restaurant with many dishes such as Kebab, Falafel, Borek, desserts and vegan recipes.
• Sifen Wok, Chinese Self-Service Restaurant with prices remaining the same, no matter the quantity of the food eaten.

Sleep

• Hotel Pellicano D'Oro (Hotel Pellicano D'Oro), Via Mare Adriatico 34 - Golfo Aranci - 07026 Pittulongu Olbia, ☏ +39 0789 39094. 4-star beach hotel in front of the sea, with restaurant, panoramic terrrace and swimming pool." Room rates from €120. 
• Residence Sardegna Baia dei Delfini, Loc Porto Pollo Palau. Residence Sardinia at Porto Pollo Palau in front Maddalena island 

Stay safe

You may encounter poor road conditions, with potholes and open grids. Also the skill of some drivers leaves something to be desired. For women, it's better not to walk alone late at night, just to avoid the possibility to meet drunk homeless people (who are usually harmless though).

Go next

• Oschiri — a village of 4000 people.
• Tempio Pausania — a former mountainous co-capital of the Gallura subregion.