The Archeological Site of Arzachena

This private four hour shore excursion from Olbia visits two of Sardinia's most significant Nuragic era sites near the town of Arzachena, with a brief stop in Porto Cervo on the return. After meeting your licensed guide at the pier in Olbia, you drive to Arzachena to visit Nuraghe Albucciu, a corridor style nuraghe, an earlier and simpler design that predates the tower shaped nuraghi found elsewhere on the island, dated to between roughly 1400 and 650 BC. Nuraghi like this one are generally believed to have served as fortified dwellings or watchtowers for the Nuragic people, who built thousands of these stone structures across Sardinia during the Bronze and Iron Ages.

From the nuraghe, your guide walks you to the nearby Giants Tomb of Coddu Vecchiu, one of Sardinia's best known Nuragic funerary monuments. Unlike the nuraghi, the Giants Tombs were built for collective burial: excavations at Coddu Vecchiu uncovered pottery and other funerary offerings linked to ancestor rites performed in the tomb's curved forecourt, or exedra. The monument's tall central stele, part of an older gallery grave that was later enlarged, is considered one of the most striking facades among Sardinia's megalithic tombs, with an original construction phase dated to around 2100 to 1800 BC and a later Middle Bronze Age expansion.

After the archaeological site, you drive along the Costa Smeralda for a short stop in Porto Cervo, the exclusive resort town founded in 1962 by Prince Karim Aga Khan IV. You return to Olbia along the panoramic coastal road.

• Mobility: Due to uneven surfaces, steps, and walking distances, this itinerary is not suitable for guests using wheelchairs. Please contact us for alternative sightseeing options, including private driving tours that may better accommodate your needs.