Travel

Cagliari is the capital of the island of Sardinia, a region of Italy located in the Mediterranean Sea. Cagliari is easily accessible from many Italian and European cities. The town is linked to the mainland by a number of means of transport: scheduled flights, low-cost flights and ferries. Here you can find some advice on how to get to Cagliari.

Visa information

Visitors from some countries will need a visa to enter Italy. Official information is provided by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

By Air

Cagliari International Airport (IATA: CAG) is well connected to a large number of Italian and European cities through regular and low-cost airlines.  The following is a list of airlines that fly directly from/to Cagliari in the conference period:

  • Ryanair: Italy (Bari, Cuneo, Genoa, Milan-Bergamo, Parma, Perugia, Pescara, Pisa, Rome, Trapani , Trieste, Venice-Treviso), Belgium (Bruxelles-Charleroi), France (Marseille-MP2, Paris-Beauvais), Germany (Düsseldorf-Weeze, Frankfurt-Hahn, Karlsruhe-Baden), Poland (Krakow), Spain (Barcelona-Girona, Ibiza, Madrid, Seville, Valencia)
  • Meridiana: Italy (Bologna, Catania, Florence, Milan-Linate, Naples, Olbia, Palermo, Rome-Fiumicino, Turin, Venice, Verona)
  • Easyjet: Italy (Milan-Malpensa), Germany (Berlin-Brandenburg, Berlin-Schoenefeld), United Kingdom (London-Stansted), Switzerland (Basel, Geneva)
  • Alitalia: Italy (Rome-Fiumicino, Milan-Linate)
  • Air One: Italy (Rome-Fiumicino, Milan-Linate)
  • Air Berlin: Germany (Munich)
  • Germanwings: Germany (Cologne-Bonn, Stuttgart)
  • TUIfly: Germany (Cologne-Bonn, Munich, Stuttgart)

The major Italian international hubs of Rome (FCO) and Milan (MXP and LIN) are only a one-hour flight from Cagliari and are served daily by multiple flights. Attendees are advised to verify connections through Rome/Milan, as well as direct connections to Cagliari. Be warned that sometimes automatic booking sites operate poorly on flights with multiple connections. especially if low-cost companies are involved. An useful web resource for searching regular or low-cost flights is SkyScannerIf you don't find a good solution, you are advised to consult a travel agent or to explicitly check connections through Rome (primary choice for trans-continental or other long distance flights), Milan, or another major hub connected to Cagliari, and then look for the connection to Cagliari. In particular, the following is a list of the most frequent flights from major hubs in the conference period (taken from the airport seasonal flight timetable):

Given the many low-cost solutions, flexible dates are also an option that should be considered (and you could benefit from an extra day at the beach after the conference!).

From Cagliari Airport to the City

The airport is only a 15 minutes drive from the city center. Such a short distance from the city center justifies the use of Cagliari airport taxis to get to your hotel within the city or to the convention center. The taxi fare to convention center and nearby hotels is about 20 Euro. A shuttle bus service operates from/to Cagliari every 30 minutes between 5:20 and 0:30.  Useful information can be found by visiting the Cagliari International Airport website.

Other Nearby International Airports

Sardinia is served by two other international airports:

  • Alghero
    Alghero is a town in the province of Sassari in northwestern Sardinia.
    The Alghero Airport (IATA: AHO) is located approximately 8.0 km north-northwest of the city. The town is about 200 km from Cagliari.
    Direct bus connections to/from Cagliari are scheduled every day.
    For further information visit: www.aeroportodialghero.it
  • Olbia
    Olbia is a town in northeastern Sardinia. The town is about 250 km from Cagliari.
    The Olbia - Costa Smeralda Airport (IATA: OLB) is directly connected to Olbia railway station by the public transport service. A coach service operates daily to/from Cagliari.
    Detailed information is available on the airport website.

By Ferry

The Port of Cagliari is one of the largest seaports in the Mediterranean Sea basin. Ferries and cruise ships dock right in front of the city center.
Cagliari is directly connected to Civitavecchia (Rome), Naples, Palermo and Trapani.

The island is served by four other main seaports: Olbia, Porto Torres, Golfo Aranci and Santa Teresa di Gallura. All the ports are connected to Cagliari by bus and/or train routes.

Timetable and fares are available on the website of the main navigation companies:
www.tirrenia.it
www.dimaiolines.it
www.moby.it
www.grimaldi-lines.com
www.sncm.fr

Rent a car

Driving is the easiest and most comfortable way to move around the island. Car rental facilities are located on the ground floor of the Cagliari airport.

Visit the car rental page in the Cagliari Airport website to choose a car rental company and make your reservation.

Parking & Taxis

The Cagliari conference center has a large free car park all around the venue.
Taxi and pick up points are just in front of the conference building, alongside Viale Armando Diaz.

If you wish to travel by taxi, please contact one of the following companies:

Cooperativa Radio Taxi “Quattro Mori”
Tel. +39 070 400101
www.cagliaritaxi.com

Cooperativa Radio Taxi “Rossoblù”
Tel. +39 070 6655
www.radiotaxirossoblu.com

Consorzio “Taxiamico”
Tel. +39 070 826060
www.taxiamico.com

Taxi services are normally operating 24 hours a day.

If you are travelling very early in the morning, or taking a long journey, then it is also recommended to book your taxi in advance by calling one of the taxi companies.

Opening hours in Italy

Throughout the year, apart from holidays, businesses are open at the following hours:

BANKS: Business hours for banks in Italy are from 8:20 am to 1:30pm and from 2:30pm to 4:00pm. Banks in Italy are open from Monday to Friday.

SHOPS: Shops in Italy usually open at 9:00am and close for lunch at 1:00pm. Afternoon shop opening hours are usually from about 4:00pm to 8:00pm. Most shops open on Saturdays at least in the morning. Few shops are open on Sundays. Large supermarkets and department stores are open all the week from 9:00am to 9:00pm.

PHARMACIES: Pharmacies in Italy generally open at 9:00am to 12:30pm and from 3:30pm to 7:30pm. Most pharmacies are open on Saturday mornings while it is not usual for them to be open on Saturday afternoons and on Sundays. There is always at least one pharmacy in every area of the town that is open at any time ("Farmacia di turno" in Italian). A sign with the addresses of the nearest open pharmacies is always  on the door of every closed pharmacy. An updated list of these pharmacies is published on the Ordine dei farmacisti di Cagliari website (click on "Farmacie di turno oggi").

Further information

Further information on how to get to Sardinia is available on the SardegnaTurismo website.