Guns & Butter: Porto Cervo, Sardinia Travel Guide (Party Edition)

Porto Cervo Party Guide is part of the ANA, Take Me ‘Round the World Trip Report.

TPOL’s Guns & Butter Travel Guide is the best way to see as much as you can in as little time as possible. Here’s how it works – A trip is composed of two factors: Labor And Lazy. The opportunity cost (what is given up) for relaxing and being Lazy is gained by being adventurous in the form of Labor and vice versa. The guide includes inefficient activities i.e., tourist traps that should be avoided and aspirational activities that are worth doing but may be impossible to see given the constraints of time and resources.

Before going to Sardinia, decide if you want to go to Porto Cervo or somewhere else on the island. Porto Cervo is different from the rest of the island. It is the most expensive. It is the most exclusive. And, if you’re looking for parties, it is the most fun.

Hotels

If Porto Cervo is your choice, do yourself a favor and double check that you can find reasonable accommodations there. Don’t do it like I did and scramble to find a hotel while taking off (see Travel Planning: Check Prices Or Just Go?).

Two choices I recommend are Hotel Cervo for points and Hotel Luci di la Muntagna for cash. The former is part of Bonvoy, and the latter is a great value of a luxury hotel without the sticker shock.

Yacht

It is so choice. If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up (see Porto Cervo, Sardinia: My Yacht Is Bigger).

I can only imagine what it would be like to be on a yacht and cruise from beach to beach.

Beaches

Sardinia is not short of beaches. To relax, I went to the private one for guests of the Hotel Cervo.

Two trendy options are Nikki Beach or WHITEbeachclub.

WHITEbeachclub

Getting There: Rely on your hotel concierge to book a taxi to the port. That is 40 euros each way. From the port, take the dingy boat which was 20 euros roundtrip (after negotiation).

The hotel tried to make a chair reservation at WhiteBeach, but they were sold out. I went in person and was given a chair for 10 euros. It wasn’t in the community section of chairs, and it didn’t have a mattress. The towel was an additional 10 euros. This was one of the best deals in an otherwise cost prohibitive island.

Food on the Beach

In its smugness, WHITEbeachclub said their restaurant was booked solid, even for one person. Fed up, I walked to the one next door. It was the right choice. I felt like I belonged when I ordered a glass of rose and the lobster pasta. Again, the price was not outrageous.

Drinks

Make no mistake, Porto Cervo is for partying.

For music, I went to Just Cavalli two of the nights. Billionaire is also famous.

You can pay $20 for vodka soda or if you’re adept like TPOL, you can make friends and drink Dom instead.

For a more casual atmosphere, I went to Canteen where I found margaritas and reggaeton. Glad I left PR to spend 15 euros on what I get for far less at home.

For a sunset party, I went to Phi Beach. It has a nice view of the sea, but it was a bit pretentious for my taste. Also, there were too many kids.

Food

Guns and Butter is about what you can do given limited resources. I spent a disproportionate amount of my time drinking. Apart from breakfast two times, one cheeseburger, and the lobster pasta, I did not eat much for the 4 days I was there (see Travel Anxiety Sucks: Can It Be Prevented?). There was no shortage of fancy restaurants in Porto Cervo, and I can imagine the food would have been great.

Taxis

If only you could avoid taxis, you would find that Porto Cervo is not that expensive. Some may suggest renting a car, but that doesn’t solve the designated driver problem. Taxis are a necessity that must be endured. Prepare to spend 20 to 30 euros minimum going anywhere, no matter how close.

Overall

I liked Porto Cervo. For as upper class as it is, I found everyone to be down to earth. You don’t have to be a millionaire to go there, but this guide would be much crazier if I were one.

If you enjoyed the Porto Cervo Party Guide then read the ANA, Take Me ‘Round the World Trip Report.