Sardinia is the second largest island (23,813 sq. km.) in the Mediterranean (Sicily is larger), and as a result of its isolation, less dependent on insularity than on the distance separating it from mainland Italy. The climate is Mediterranean with long hot dry breezy summers and short mild rainy winters, except at high altitudes. Average annual temperatures range from 18 ºC along the coastal belt to 14 ºC inland. Precipitations are largely confined to the winter months and distribution is somewhat irregular, with as much as 1,300 mm./year in the highest areas. The prevailing wind is north-westerly, which blows over the island in all seasons, particularly sweeping the west side.
Basically, tourism in Sardinia is linked to its extraordinarily beautiful coastline, with a variety of splendours hard to find elsewhere, and not only in the Mediterranean. Pure white sands alternate with tiny hidden coves, sheer cliffs frequently soar above magnificent caves and picturesque rocks rise from a clear sparkling sea facing rugged promontories, eroded by the wind.