Car Rental - Alghero
Car rental in Alghero unlocks this gem on the north-west coast of Sardinia, an Italian island in the heart of the Mediterranean. The city is sometimes known as Barceloneta - or little Barcelona - because of its Catalan past. This influence is noticeable even today in the language spoken by locals.
Visitors to the region will find Alghero an ideal base for exploring the nearby beaches of Riviera del Corallo, named after the famous red coral beneath the surface of its waters. This area is home to resorts including Porto Conte and Capo Caccia, all of which are accessible using your rental car in Alghero.
You’ll find our holiday car rental collection desk located at Alghero Airport just outside the arrivals hall. Our Alghero car rental process is quick and easy, allowing you to get on with the rest of your stay on this beautiful island. We’ve got a comprehensive range of holiday car rentals for you to choose from, so you can pick the one that’s right for your vacation or business trip.
Alghero Locations
A Quick Guide to Alghero
Alghero dates back to medieval times, when it was a fortified port town ruled by a powerful Genoese family. It fell under Catalan rule from the 17th century, and the Catalan language is still widely spoken in what’s known as the Algheres dialect.
Today, the city is a popular tourist resort, with a historic center and modern restaurants lending it an easygoing and convivial atmosphere. It’s also a great place to stay if you want to explore the rest of the riveting Riviera del Corallo region in your holiday car rental.
Exploring ‘Barceloneta’
A good place to start your visit to Alghero is in the very center, a small enclave with cobbled streets and cafes surrounded by ancient sea walls. Many of the buildings date back to the 16th century.
Around Alghero, you’ll find lots of restaurants serving local specialties, many of which change according to the catch of the day. A popular dish is Catalan-style lobster, cooked to a simple recipe with oil, vinegar and garlic. If you visit one of the restaurants near the Capo Caccia peninsula, be sure to take your camera to capture the views of its rocky cliffs as the sun sets.
Many of Alghero’s most popular beaches are to the north of the city, but you’ll also find some great sunbathing spots closer to the old town. The waters are shallow and great for paddling, and it’s a blissful way to spend an afternoon if you’re visiting as a family. To the north of the city, near Fertilia, are Lazzaretto and Bombarde beaches, which offer water sports including kayaking and windsurfing.
Cultural Capital
Your car makes it possible to explore many other resorts across the island. Less than three hours from Alghero in your holiday car rental, head for Cagliari, home to Roman ruins and elegant modern architecture.
Like Rome, Sardinia’s capital was built on seven hills, and you can still see remnants of the ancient city that once stood here. The amphitheater, sometimes known as ‘Is centu scalas’ or 100 steps, is remarkable, carved into the side of the Buon Cammino Hill in the 2nd century AD. You can also explore the stately Santuario e Basilica di Bonaria, which includes a basilica and cemetery.
Cagliari’s coastline becomes lively in the summer. The clear waters around the beaches are also perfect for snorkeling, and you can explore the underwater shipwrecks that lie just off the coast.
Also worth a visit is the Musée Granet, the city’s main art gallery. With paintings by some of the greatest names in art including Monet, Matisse and Picasso, it’s a wonderful way to spend an afternoon.
Island Delights
Around an hour away from Cagliari in your holiday car rental lies the tiny island of Sant’Antioco, linked to the ‘mainland’ by a road causeway. The main town, also called Sant’Antioco, has a historic harbor and basilica. Or Calasetta, to the north, is close to some excellent beaches. Both areas are quiet and undeveloped, and ideal places to get away from it all.
Sant’Antioco is easily accessible from Cagliari, in your holiday car rental, via the Strada Statale 130 Iglesiente. The island makes for an interesting day excursion with a number of things to see, including the Roman and early Christian catacombs that lie under the old town.
Car rental in Alghero unlocks the wonders of Sardinia and allows you to explore every available inch of it at your own pace.
Driving In and Around Alghero
Sardinia can easily be reached by boat and car ferry, with a number of daily crossings arriving in Porto Torres from the Italian mainland. This port is around 25 miles from Alghero in your holiday car rental via the Strada dei Due Mari – Road of the Two Seas. The island’s other main port is Olbia on the eastern coast.
There are also a number of domestic and international flights arriving daily at Alghero Airport, in the nearby town of Fertilia. It’s less than six miles from the airport to Alghero city center, via strade provinciali - provincial roads - SP44 and SP42. There are no large freeways in Sardinia, but plenty of highways, the SS131 being the main one of the island.
Road connections are excellent in Sardinia and there are numerous scenic routes to enjoy in your Alghero car rental, making driving here both straightforward and a visual pleasure. The traffic is not usually very heavy, apart from in major towns during the peak summer season. You’ll be driving on the right, as in the US, and speed limits on the highways are 110 km/h. In towns and villages, this drops to 50 km/h, and is 90 km/h on secondary roads.
It can sometimes be difficult to park in cities such as Alghero during busy tourist seasons, but you can easily spot pay-and-display parking bays that are highlighted by bluelines, with tickets available from nearby meters or occasionally from parking assistants. Some historic areas of Alghero, like other big cities such as Cagliari, are off-limits to cars during certain hours, and you may face a fine if you drive in one of the limited traffic zones during these times.
To get the best from this island, you’ll want to use some of the smaller provincial roads, marked as P or SP on a map. These roads are the best way to access some of the best scenery and towns across the island in your holiday car rental, leading you out of the way to some truly special places.
