The Italian island I keep recommending over Capri
Hey travelers,
The Italian coast dream is a real one.
Positano, those Amalfi cliff towns, and usually a visit to the island of Capri. I understand why they fill up imaginations the way they do. Capri has the glitz and glamour, the legendary piazzetta, and the hotels hanging over water that is genuinely, impossibly blue. It’s cinematic in a way that earns the reputation, and the island delivered on it well enough that the whole world showed up.
On a busy summer day the island of Capri receives up to 50,000 arrivals, on an island of roughly 14,000 people. New 2026 rules now cap organized tour groups to help manage crowds in the narrow streets.
The beauty is still there. Summer just has a lot of company.
Sardinia in September is the same dream with considerably more island to it.
Some of Sardinia’s beaches have earned the nickname “Little Tahiti”, and the water lives up to it in person, crystal-clear and that Gatorade shade of blue. The Costa Smeralda delivers the glamour: luxury hotels and the vibrant hub of Porto Cervo, with yachts in the harbor, designer shops, and aperitivo with a view. Mid-September is when all of it peaks. The August crowd thins, hotel rates come down 30-40%, and the sea stays warm.
The island of Sardinia is bigger than the Costa Smeralda, though, and that’s what makes it worth the trip.
Just inland, San Pantaleo is the artsy counterpoint: a hilltop town of artisan shops, galleries, and cafés on a stone piazza. Head further in and you’re in the Supramonte, a mountain range made for hiking, with small villages tucked into the landscape and a quiet that takes a moment to settle into. East toward Baunei, the coastline turns rugged, limestone cliffs dropping to remote beaches mostly accessible only by boat or a long hike in. Cala Goloritzé, on the Baunei coast, was named the most beautiful beach in the world in 2025.
The secret is getting out, and with Delta making the first-ever nonstop flight from the US (JFK to Olbia) this summer, Sardinia has never been this easy to reach for American travelers.
Where you stay depends on which version of the island you’re after.
Aethos Sardinia is the design-forward coastal choice, a boutique hotel in Cannigione with infinity pools and views over the Bay of Cannigione and the La Maddalena Archipelago.
Romazzino, a Belmond hotel on the Costa Smeralda, sits directly on the white sands of Spiaggia del Romazzino, with turquoise water, vintage 1960s coastal architecture, and a slow glamour to it.
Up in the San Pantaleo hills, Petra Segreta is a Relais & Châteaux property styled after a traditional Sardinian farmhouse, built of granite and stone set into the landscape, with a Michelin-starred restaurant on-site and the whole northern coast 20 minutes below.
Su Gologone is out in the Supramonte mountains above Oliena, famous as a restaurant long before it was ever a hotel, with a spring-water pool, local Sardinian craft and culinary experiences, and a stillness you don’t find on the coast.
September is when the island is at its best, and none of it is as well known as it’s about to be.
What’s On My Radar
A place, opening, or experience worth knowing about.
The Baby Grand just opened in Coronado, and it's now at the top of my list for a special stay. Consortium Holdings, the group behind the iconic Lafayette Hotel (iykyk), took a former motel on Orange Avenue and spent six years and $18 million turning it into 31 rooms packed with maximalist details like seashell headboards and tropical wallpaper, a lagoon-style pool complete with sand, and a hidden oyster and champagne bar behind a mirror wall. There's open-fire dining, lobby music composed by Swizz Beatz, and the whole thing is described as a place that feels lost to time. Rooms start at $350/night.
Worth Packing
One thing that earns its spot in the bag.
Everyone has opinions about checked luggage vs. carry-ons, but the bag that actually makes carry-on-only travel work is your personal item. I took my carry-on for two full weeks in Vietnam without checking a bag, and the thing that made it possible was having the right bag underneath the seat. Two I reach for depending on the trip: the Calpak Luka Duffle, which is structured enough to stay organized, and the Beis Mini Weekender when I need a little more room. Both also ride right on top of a rolling carry-on so you're not carrying the weight of overpacking.
Now you just need somewhere to take it.
If an Italian island summer has been on your list, I’d love to help you put it together. Gold Dust Travel is where to start.
If someone came to mind while you were reading this, feel free to forward it their way.
— Kelsey, founder of Gold Dust Travel