The coast road, all the way to Tuerredda
SP71 Costa del Sud · 25 km along the sea · Porto Budello → Capo Malfatano → Piscinnì → Tuerredda
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The route
The SP71, the Costa del Sud
This is what the day is about: not a beach with a drive in front of it, but twenty-five kilometres of road hanging above the sea that end at Tuerredda. The Costa del Sud is one of the finest stretches of coast on the island and it changes colour at every bend. From the centre you drop down to the SS195 and join it heading east, towards Chia: that way the sea stays on your right and all the scenic lay-bys fall on the right side of the road.
Allow twice as long. It's about twenty minutes from the house to Tuerredda if you drive straight there: but if you do the road as it deserves, stopping along the way, it takes an hour. That hour is better spent than an extra hour on the sand. -
First stop
The Torre del Budello
The first view over the harbour bay, with the Spanish tower on top of the headland. Ten minutes is enough: it's just to get a sense of how this coast is put together. The same view, at sunset on the third day, will be something else entirely.
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Along the way
Capo Malfatano and the bay of Piscinnì
The cape is the most photographed spot on the coast: a tower above, the headland, a sheltered bay below. A little further on, Piscinnì is a small inlet of green, very shallow water, hemmed in by the rocks and the ancient Roman limestone quarries. If you fancy a swim before the big beach, have it here.
Rule of thumb: there are only a few roadside parking spaces at Piscinnì. If you find them full, drive on without regret — it's a side dish, not the main course. -
Where the road ends
Tuerredda
The road crests one last time and there it is below you: half a kilometre of pale sand between Capo Malfatano and Capo Spartivento, with the islet planted just offshore, a few minutes' swim away or reachable by pedalo. This is the beach people come all this way for, and it lives up to its reputation: calm water, sheltered from the strong winds, a clarity that doesn't fade even in August, a rich seabed. The mask-and-snorkel beach of the area. Kiosks, hire places, plenty of parking — you stay here for as long as it lasts, this is the place where it makes sense to lose track of time.
The beach rules: a beach mat instead of a towel is compulsory, no dogs, no smoking, no tents. You show the booking QR code at the entrance. -
Heading back
The same road, the other way round
Don't rush back: the SP71 on the way home is a second route, not the same one in reverse. In the late afternoon the colours of the coast change completely, the lay-bys you skipped on the way out are empty, and the sea, with the low light behind you, does what it never does at midday. Then dinner in the village, a couple of minutes from the house.
The white dunes of Is Arenas Biancas
The unspoilt stretch inside the Capo Teulada military range · you go in through the gate at km 73.700 on the SS195
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Setting off
The gate at km 73.700 on the SS195
From Teulada you take the SS195 heading west and keep an eye on the kilometre markers: at km 73.700, on your left, there's the gate, with the beach clearly signposted. That's where you go in, and it's the shortest way: this gate is quicker than any other approach.
What lies beyond the barrier. The gate opens onto the unspoilt stretch inside the Capo Teulada military range: a strip of coast that the military have in effect protected for decades and that you can only cross here. You buy the pass at the barrier; anyone staying in accommodation in the area gets a reduced rate on showing their booking confirmation — ours does the job. -
Inside
Five kilometres of white dirt track
Past the barrier there are about five kilometres of pale track before the car park, through country that looks like no other stretch of coast you can reach by car: not a house, not an advertising hoarding, just Mediterranean scrub. Take it slowly, it's the finest part of the approach: just before you get there you come to the glimpse of the headland, with the lagoons on one side and the sea appearing at the far end. Worth a stop with the engine off.
Stay on the track. The turnings inland end up in restricted military territory: you drive straight to the car park, and that's that. -
Where you end up
Is Arenas Biancas
From the car park it's barely five hundred metres on foot, along a wooden boardwalk that runs right down to the sand. Then it opens out: two kilometres of the whitest, finest sand, hemmed in between Punta di Cala Piombo and the headland, with dunes twenty or thirty metres high covered in centuries-old junipers behind. It's the most extraordinary landscape in the whole south-west, and the fact that it sits inside the military range has kept it as it was: no beach clubs, no rows of umbrellas, just sand and Mediterranean scrub. The water goes from clear turquoise close to the shore to deep blue further out.
Don't climb the dunes. Walking on them and taking away sand or shells are both forbidden, and there are wardens watching from the towers. The boardwalk is there for a reason: stay on it. -
Heading back
The lagoons and the flamingos
Coming back along the dirt track the other way, you find the Is Brebeis and su Crobu lagoons again, where flamingos and migratory birds stop off. In the low light the birds are active and the headland lights up: the glimpse you caught on the way out is a different photograph on the way back. Then you go out through the gate and you are on the main road again, as if nothing had happened.
The shallow seabed and the harbour at sunset
Portu Tramatzu · the day with the shortest drives
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Setting off
Portu Tramatzu
From the centre: SS195, then SP71 and the signs for Porto Tramatzu, just beyond the beach at Torre del Budello. Fine white sand and water that stays very shallow for tens of metres — the easiest spot in the area if you have children with you. Out in front is Isola Rossa, the rock covered in Mediterranean scrub that closes off the bay.
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If you fancy it
By dinghy to Cala Zafferano
On the beach there is dinghy hire: if you decide to give half a day to the sea, from here you can reach Cala Zafferano under your own steam. Alternatively there are guided boat trips, which leave from Porto di Teulada and must be booked: there are several operators, from fishing tourism to mini-cruises. Either way you reach the stretch of coast that can only be seen from the sea, since on land it is closed off by the military range — and it is the finest sight of the three days.
Book at least the day before and reconfirm on the morning itself: when the mistral is strong the trips are called off. We can tell you who to ring. -
In between
The rest of the bay
It is a bay used by windsurfers and spearfishers, and there are canoes and small boats for hire if you fancy exploring it under your own steam before calling it a day.
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How it ends
Aperitivo at Teulada harbour
The day ends at the Bar del Marina, on the marina (SP71 at km 2,175), looking out over the bay with the Saracen tower of Budello opposite. Aperitivo with wines from the Santadi winery and boards of local cured meats and cheeses; if you like, you can stay on for dinner.
Get there before sunset. In August the sun drops over the bay at around 20:30: turning up a good hour before that gives you all the best of the light, glass in hand. And from there it is ten minutes home.
At a glance
The three days in a table
| Day | Beach | Access | Good to know |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | Tuerredda+ Piscinnì, Capo Malfatano | Booking + 3 € | 1,100 a day, booked the day before at 08:00. Beach mat yes, dogs no, smoking no. |
| II | Is Arenas Biancas | Gate on the SS195 at km 73.700, pass at the barrier | Open from June to September. Five km of dirt track to the car park, then 500 m of boardwalk. |
| III | Portu Tramatzu | Free | Large car park, kiosk, shallow seabed. Base for the boat trips to Cala Zafferano. |
From our experience
Five things that make all the difference
- Tuerredda decides the order. Booking opens at 08:00 for the following day and in August it goes quickly: if you do not get a place, move that day to the end and bring Portu Tramatzu forward.
- Keep an eye on the mistral. In a strong north-westerly Tuerredda holds up, because it is sheltered; the dinghy trips towards Capo Teulada, on the other hand, are called off. If the weather turns, swap the first day with the third.
- Is Arenas Biancas faces west. In the mistral it is exposed and the very fine sand becomes unbearable: if the wind is up, put it off for a day.
- Cash for the car parks. Several of the car parks along the coast charge, and not all of them have a working card machine.
- The SP71 is not just a way of getting from A to B. It has scenic lay-bys every few kilometres. Stopping three times along the way is worth more than gaining half an hour on the beach.
Information checked in August 2026 — access rules and opening times can change during the season.
Sources: spiaggiatuerredda.it ·
Visit Teulada ·
Sardegna Turismo ·
Suestellas ·
Bar del Marina