Fewer crowds
January is quietest.
January, at 3% of the busiest month (August). Low season, under 35% of the peak: October to May. In off-season months, many seasonal hotels and restaurants may be closed.
A good place. At the right time.
Best time to visitSardinia.
Plan your visit
Find your month.
What matters most?
Weather 50% · Crowds 30% · Cost 20%
Start with May.
#1 of 12 · Balanced · 8.2/10
Overnight stays are 31% of the busiest month.
Based on Sardegna regional averages.
- Afternoon high
- 75°F
- Sea temperature
- 64°F
- Crowds
- Low
The sea averages 64°F (18°C). Fresh: fine once you are in. Warm air does not always mean warm water.
Check what is open. The off-season flag comes from visitor patterns. Confirm accommodation, services and transport for your dates.
Price context. Historical regional hotel-price season: about usual. There is no room-rate baseline in euros.
Historical averages, not forecasts or live prices.
A regional guide. Figures cover Sardegna, including Costa Smeralda, Cagliari and Alghero. Conditions vary within the region.
The whole calendar
Already have dates?
Explore your month, then weigh up the trade-offs.
May at a glance
Balanced match #1 · 8.2/10
Overnight stays are 31% of the busiest month.
The sea averages 64°F (18°C). Fresh: fine once you are in. Warm air does not always mean warm water.
Check what is open. The off-season flag comes from visitor patterns. Confirm accommodation, services and transport for your dates.
Read the May guide- Afternoon high
- 75°F
- Night low
- 55°F
- Sea temperature
- 64°F
- Rain days
- 4
- Daylight
- 14h 22m
- Crowds
- Low
All 12 months, on the same measures. Tap a heading to sort or a month to open its guide.Select a month to open its guide. Scroll the table for more detail.
| Rank | Month | Overall | Weather | Crowds | Cost | High | Low | Sea | Rain days | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | May | 8.2 | 9.0/10 Excellent | Low | Moderate | 75°F | 55°F | 64°F | 4 | 14h 22m |
| #2 | October | 8.2 | 9.0/10 Excellent | Low | Pricey | 75°F | 59°F | 72°F | 5 | 11h 13m |
| #3 | June | 7.8 | 10.0/10 Excellent | Busy | Pricey | 85°F | 63°F | 71°F | 2 | 15h 00m |
| #4 | April | 7.8 | 7.4/10 Very good | Low | Moderate | 68°F | 49°F | 60°F | 6 | 13h 14m |
| #5 | September | 7.6 | 9.8/10 Excellent | Busy | Pricey | 83°F | 64°F | 76°F | 4 | 12h 31m |
| #6 | July | 7.1 | 9.9/10 Excellent | Peak | Expensive | 91°F | 67°F | 77°F | 1 | 14h 46m |
| #7 | August | 6.6 | 9.8/10 Excellent | Peak | Expensive | 91°F | 68°F | 79°F | 1 | 13h 48m |
| #8 | November | 5.9 | 6.0/10 Good | Off season many places closed | Moderate | 65°F | 52°F | 67°F | 9 | 10h 00m |
| #9 | March | 5.7 | 5.6/10 Good | Off season many places closed | Moderate | 63°F | 46°F | 58°F | 8 | 11h 52m |
| #10 | December | 5.4 | 4.9/10 Fair | Off season many places closed | Moderate | 60°F | 47°F | 62°F | 7 | 9h 21m |
| #11 | February | 5.1 | 4.5/10 Fair | Off season many places closed | Moderate | 59°F | 44°F | 58°F | 7 | 10h 40m |
| #12 | January | 4.9 | 4.0/10 Fair | Off season many places closed | Moderate | 57°F | 44°F | 59°F | 8 | 9h 37m |
Overall follows your priorities. Crowds compare each month with this place's own year. Highs, lows and rain days are historical averages for 2011–2025.
A little perspective
The shape of the year.
Afternoon highNight low
Top balanced match · May
May
- High
- 75°F
- Low
- 55°F
- Rain
- 4 days
- Crowds
- Low
Some weather measures are unavailable. Gaps in the chart mean no data.
Off season can mean fewer services. Confirm what is open for your dates.
Sardegna regional averages · Historical patterns, not a forecast. Gaps mean no data. Crowds compare months within this region.
The busiest month records 36.4 times the overnight stays of the quietest.
Very-good-or-better weather scores: April to October. No month has a poor weather score.
Peak-season months: July to August. Low-season months: October to May.
The two busiest months account for 46% of annual overnight stays.
Events that move crowds and prices Ferragosto (15 August) and Italy's peak holiday weeks, typically 1–17 August 2027: Italians' own peak holiday: beaches packed and roads jammed; city shops and restaurants close around the 15th. Official site.
Hotel prices here run +38% against their yearly average in August and −14% in January, on the regional price index.
Before you go
Pack a little context.
Good weather
May and October, outside the busy season.
Very good or better April to October. June has the highest displayed weather score (10.0/10). Highest weather score outside the busy season: May and October.
Lower prices
December to February.
These are three lower-price months on the historical regional hotel index; there is no euro room-rate baseline.
School holidays
Summer break meets the busy season.
If your dates follow US school breaks: June falls in busy season; July and August fall in peak season. Spring break spans off season in March and low season in April.
Local families travel too: at least 30% of people in Italy live where schools are out on a typical day June to August and December. Italy's school calendar for September isn't fully published yet. (School holidays: OpenHolidays, ODbL, and official calendars.)
About these answers
These are historical seasonal patterns. Crowds compare a month with this place's own busiest month; they do not measure queues at individual sights. Weather answers use the displayed weather scores. These seasonal facts stay the same when you change your priorities; your Overall recommendation updates above. Prices retain the scope stated beside them. Full methodology.
Choose your season
The year, season by season.
Winter
Dec–Feb
Off season throughout.
Many seasonal hotels and restaurants may be closed.
57–60°FAfternoon highs
Spring
Mar–May
A quieter stretch of the year.
March falls in off season; April and May fall in low season. In off-season months, many seasonal hotels and restaurants may be closed.
63–75°FAfternoon highs
Summer
Jun–Aug
A busy season for visitors.
June falls in busy season; July and August fall in peak season.
85–91°FAfternoon highs
Autumn
Sep–Nov
A busier start, a quieter finish.
September falls in busy season; October falls in low season; November falls in off season. In off-season months, many seasonal hotels and restaurants may be closed.
65–83°FAfternoon highs
Ranges span monthly average afternoon highs, not daily extremes. Conditions and seasonal openings vary within Sardinia.
How we know
The default Balanced Overall weighs weather 50%, crowds 30% and cost 20%. Your priority choice updates the Overall, month ranks and recommendation. While your weather weight is at least 40%, Overall cannot exceed weather by more than 2. Close scores can describe different trip experiences. How the scores work.
| Statistical region | ITG2 · Sardegna |
| Region type | Beach (Eurostat NUTS3 typologies weighted by population: urban 27%, coastal 100%, mountain 91%; median ground height 272 m) |
| Population used | 1.6 million (1 January 2025) |
| Crowd reference years | 2024–2025 average |
| How our weather was checked | Official climate averages for Cagliari Elmas from the national weather service, every month: afternoon highs typically within 1°F (0.5°C), night lows within 2°F (1.1°C). |
| Climate index | HCI:Beach, observed climatology over 15 years (2011–2025) |
| Hotel occupancy (annual) | 60% |
| Accommodation mix | 57% hotels, 13% camping |
| Hotel rates | ISTAT, NIC consumer price index for accommodation services (ECOICOP 112), by region |
| Country price level (restaurants & hotels, EU27 = 100) | 107 |
| Daylight latitude | 40.09° N |
Crowds: Eurostat nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments by month and NUTS 2 region, per 1,000 inhabitants, divided by days in the month. "Season here" is the month's figure as a share of this region's busiest month. "Visitors" ranks overnight visitors per resident against all Europe's regions that month. Weather: Holiday Climate Index (Scott et al. 2016; Rutty et al. 2020) computed from ERA5 reanalysis with daily highs, night lows and rain days corrected from open national weather-service station records and population-weighted to the region. Prices are regional where the page says so (ISTAT, NIC consumer price index for accommodation services (ECOICOP 112), by region), otherwise national. Hand-written notes are marked and nothing depends on them. Full method · this region's data.