Sardinian Nightlife: Costa Smeralda, Clubs and Street Food Festivals

When I’m home, I’m generally boring AF. I don’t go out much, and when I do I follow my friends to whichever bar is popular at the moment. I’m not a huge clubber and, to me, Sardinia doesn’t mean ‘party’… more like ‘sleep on the beach, eat like a pig and tan’. Still, this year I managed to get out of my shell a little and explore different scenes. Here they are.

Phi Beach, Baja Sardinia

Phi Beach is a beach club which is said to give you the best sunset views in the whole of Sardinia. Nestled in between rocks facing the beach, the club is only a short drive from Olbia and can be found in Baja Sardinia, near super exclusive tourist village Porto Cervo.

I dragged my friends there because I’m a sucker for a pretty sunset. They briefly hated me for the €20 entry charge (which includes only one drink, but that’s Costa Smeralda for you), for my NSFW Intimissimi merry widow attire and for the long queue to get in which, at 7:50 pm on an August night, threatened to make us miss the sunset, but they forgave me for the good night and lovely Insta shots we ended up getting.


Although house music is not my vibe, the view, the canopy beds, the prosecco, the people and the inevitably magic atmosphere of Phi Beach managed to entertain even a metalhead like me. Fatboy Slim and Martin Solveig also played that week… but we decided to spend the €60 ticket price on pizza.

Village Festivals

If you haven’t been to a town festival, then you’ve missed out on the spirit of Sardinia completely. This year I went to the uber popular Sagra Del Vermentino di Monti, a drink festival that is all about Vermentino, a slightly fizzy typically Sardinian white wine. Held in Monti, a village in between the Northern Sardinian hills with only 2,300 inhabitants, the Sagra Del Vermentino allows you to drink as much wine as you like after purchasing an entrance ticket (and a glass) for the cost of €10. All around the wine stalls you can find local produce, sweets, cakes, sandwiches and the like. Sounds like the dream, right?

People queueing for wine
Formaggella, Sardinia’s take on cheesecake, baked with ricotta, raising and lemon/orange zest

I also went to Mirtò, a festival in Olbia’s fishermen quarter celebrating all things Mirto, our unique aromatic liquor made with myrtle. The festival was all about Mirto tasting, together with Sardinian cuisine, local music, street food and cute food and cocktail trucks.

Luna Glam Club, San Teodoro

More clubbing, more views. I promise I am not 14 – it’s just that this club offers one of Northern Sardinia’s nicest moonlight views and it keeps you partying until the break of dawn in a crowded, sweaty riot of a night that sounds like my personal idea of hell, but that you’ve got to do at least once a season to pretend you’re still alive.

We went on a Friday, for a 90s type night featuring remixes of cheesy 90s Italian and international songs – before you ask, yes, they did play Blue by Eiffel 65. Three showers after a night like that are highly recommended.

Pictures: Carolina Are

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