Mountain Biking In Sardinia

Day 1
The trip starts at our hotel in Pula. The leaders will organise an optional group meal, taken at one of the town's local restaurants.

Day 2
We start the trip as we mean to continue with some amazing forest riding through the typical ilex and cork forest that is so common in this part of the island. One of the highlights of the day is a challenging technical descent down to the beach at Chia, arguably the most beautiful in the south of the island. After lunch we head back to our hotel in Pula on an ancient Roman coastal road, which connects the settlements of Nora and Bithia. This coastal road has stunning views down to the coastline for most of its length. Distance cycled 61km. Approximate height gain 900m

Day 3
Today we warm up our legs with a challenging early morning climb up to Piscinamanna. We gain height pretty quickly via a hairpinned track and are rewarded with both great views at the summit and an amazing descent afterwards. We will take a rest stop in Santadi at a local vineyard which produces the famous Sardinian wine Terre Brune. After the stop we continue onwards to our overnight destination in Nuxis. Distance cycled 67km. Approximate height gain 1300m

Day 4
Today we're riding close to the old mining areas of Rosas and Orbai. After a picnic lunch in an ancient olive grove, we descend to the cave of San Giovanni. The cave is a natural tunnel carved out of the limestone by water over the millennia and is nearly 1km in length. We will ride right through the cave and out the far side, where we enter the Marganai forest. We finish with a climb up to our fantastic agriturismo accommodation in Domusnovas. Distance cycled 48km. Approximate height gain 1200m

Day 5
After breakfast we head out riding on amazing trails through ilex forest around the village of Tinny and on to the former mine site at Arenas. Later there is an optional visit to the Roman temple at Antas, which lay undiscovered for centuries in a remote valley. After our stop there is an incredible descent down to Buggerru and the bay of Portixeddu. Tonight we stay in a hilltop agriturismo with spectacular views over the surrounding countryside. Distance cycled 52km. Approximate height gain 850m

Day 6
We spend most of today riding close to the stunning coastline, initially heading for the undeveloped beach of Scivu. Later we head past the old mining village of Ingortosu and on to our overnight accommodation in an agriturismo in Montevecchio, where we will spend two nights. Distance cycled 56km. Approximate height gain 1300m

Day 7
Today we start with a truly spectacular singletrack descent along the length of the Rio Irvi valley. The trail crosses from one side of the valley to the other, in total crossing the river 18 times as we head down to the incredible Piscinas beach. This beach is famous for having some of Europe's highest sand dunes, some of which are over 50m high. In the afternoon we climb inland away from the Costa Verde and on towards Monte Arcuentu. We return to our agriturismo in Montevecchio where we spend our last night together. Distance cycled 38km. Approximate height gain 920m

Day 8
The trip finished after breakfast in Montevecchio