Tips and tricks from Alghero
Coming into a new town, a new country can be challenging on its own. You research all there is about transportation, how to behave, and what not to do, and then when arriving it still surprises you. The transport is not as it should be, the tickets can’t be bought where it was written, etc. We have the same experience and below we bring you some of our tips and tricks from what we learned in Alghero.
Transport from the Airport
Starting with the first one – getting from the airport to the city center. The Alghero Airport is located in a small town called Fertilia that was founded during the Fascist regime in 1936. It is not as far from the Alghero itself, and waddling is an option, but let’s look at other options.
Arriving at the airport you will notice it is a small one and there are not as many options for you to get to the city center.
Bus from Alghero Airport to city center
The bus is an obvious choice, especially when on a budget when traveling.
The ARST bus stop is located about 150 meters (492 feet) from the arrivals’ exit doors.
Buses are departing every hour, starting from 05:20 am to 23:00 pm.
It takes about 20 to 30 minutes to get to the city center and the bus makes stops on the way.
You should get to the last stop on Via Catalogna, which serves as a kind of bus station. All buses have a stop there and many busses are leaving from there. In case you will go to Neptune’s Grotto by bus, this is also where the bus is leaving.
There is more than one bus stop, but it’s easy to navigate.
Tickets for the bus in Alghero
With the tickets, it gets a little trickier. On the internet you will find, that you can buy tickets on the automatic vending machines inside the airport, at the bus stop (not true), online on the ARST website, and in some tobacco and lotto shops – there is one inside the airport terminal too. We found out none to it to be true 😅.
There is also a lot of information that you can buy tickets directly with the driver of the bus – NOT TRUE! No matter what bus you take, you have to already have a ticket (also when going to Neptune’s Grotto) and on the bus you are only validating it.
Praising the Italians for being modern, get the DropTicket app upfront. Here you can buy tickets from the airport, or when going around by bus in Alghero.
We learned it the hard way, getting on the bus in the middle of nowhere, ready to pay the driver, he didn’t accept money, but let us on the bus, where during the journey we managed to download the app and purchase tickets.
You buy tickets for the journey, so when purchasing you need to know the names of the stops from where to where you going (note: the names on Google maps for some reason do not correspond with the ones in the app 😅).
After choosing the stops, you validate the tickets inside the bus by swiping them in front of the driver. You can buy multiple tickets on the app – also for your other travel companions if they don’t have the app.
Get the app, cause we saw people at the airport being sent away by the bus driver if they didn’t have tickets. There is a possibility to buy paper tickets inside the airport, but we haven’t found it.
Taxi from the airport to Alghero
Taxis are stationed next to the airport exit and are easily spotted.
The drivers are very helpful with your luggage and will take you to Alghero in less than 30 minutes.
We took a taxi as well to try it, and because we didn’t yet know about the app DropTicket.
The price of the journey was 25 €.
The taxi will leave you at their official standing point (where you can find taxis later if you need one). The taxis stand next to the walls, near the port, so it’s at the entrance to the old town.
Renting a car from the Alghero Airport
Renting a car is a great option if you are staying longer and what to see what is around Alghero (there is a lot to discover). It is also an easy way to move around. There are quite a few rental places, but it’s best to rent upfront.
Read also: Where to eat in Alghero
Tips and tricks we learned
The next section will really be about random tips and tricks we learned or noticed when in Alghero and hope to come useful when there.
Reading the bus timetable right
On the timetable, you see at what time is the bus leaving from which bus stop – making it easy to plan your arrival at the destination.
Sound like an easy thing to do, but one can read it wrong, as we did.
When planning our visit to Neptune’s Grotto we read the timetable wrong, and in the early morning found out the first bus to the cave goes at 9 am. We ended up going by taxi as at 9 am we booked our entrance.
Having a closer look at the timetable, it is easy to understand actually – link.
The link showed the line going to Neptune’s Grotto and back. l
On the timetable, you see the starting point till the last stop and then the timetable continues from the last stop back to where it came from. Just have a closer look at it and you will see it’s easy to understand.
Coperto
Restaurants in Italy charge a so-called “coperto” which is essentially a flat, fixed cover charge on a person starting at 2 €. This is for the table setting and the bread usually. If this didn’t appear on your bill then you are not required to pay anything more than what’s printed on your bill.
The streets are not made for a suitcase
Sounds like an obvious one, but many forget Alghero is an old city. The streets are covered with cobblestones.
Get ready to carry your suitcase, especially if you are living somewhere in the middle of the old town.
And because it is an old city, forget about elevators as well (unless you live in a resort or newly build hotel).
Packed bus back to the airport
Taking the bus back to the airport? Make sure to get in the first stop at Via Catalogna.
We took the first bus early in the morning and there were already a lot of people at Via Catalogna, however, on the way even more people entered.
the bus was packed and at some stops, we thought he wouldn’t take more people, but he did.
To make sure you get in, try getting to the starting stop – Via Catalogna.
Riposo, also known as siesta
Not only in Spain, but the Italians also have their own siesta. You might know it as the siesta. In Italy, it is called riposo. This traditional early afternoon shutdown varies from business to business, but usually lasts about 90 minutes to two hours.
We arrived in the middle of the riposo, and restaurants were closed as well as grocery stores (apart from Eurospin, that one was open).
How to buy a souvenir you won’t regret
It is good to know that Sardinia is famous among others, for its production of cork. About 80% of the cork of Italy is produced in Sardinia, therefore among good souvenirs are things made of cork. And they make lots of things from cork.
Plush wild boar is another thing you will see a lot of in Alghero. At first, we didn’t understand it, but later when we went by car to Neptune’s Grotto, two wild boars jumped in front of our car and the local taxi driver just waved his hand saying there are a lot of them around here.
Alghero particularly is known for its Red Coral.
You will find shops filled with jewelry and more made out of the coral and if you visit the Red Coral Museum, you will fall in love even more with the interesting material.
As it usually is with things – you will come across many so-called fakes. To ensure you buy the real deal look for the official seal.
Make sure to leave the souvenir buying for the last day. The shops will not go anywhere and till then you will know what you want.