Since the Aga Khan began to develop it in the 1960s, the Costa Smeralda, on Sardinia’s northeast coast, has become one of the world’s most prestigious holiday spots. This is where the rich and famous congregate every summer, attracted by jewel-green seas, beautiful beaches and discreet, extremely expensive properties designed to blend with the scenery. Tom Cruise, Elizabeth Hurley and Rod Stewart have all stayed here; Roman Abramovich and Princess Caroline of Monaco moor their yachts at Porto Cervo, which boasts one of the finest marinas in Europe.

But while a cocktail on the Costa Smeralda will set you back at least £19, and prime waterfront property goes for more than £13,000 per sq m, you need to travel only a few miles in either direction to find a very different Sardinia, with the same dramatic scenery and sandy beaches, but with much lower property prices. Throw in direct, low-cost flights from Britain with Ryanair and EasyJet, and the dolce vita, Sardinia-style, is surprisingly affordable.

Three months ago, Jarrod and Susan Morgan, from Lichfield, Staffordshire, bought a one-bed flat for £91,567 in the pretty resort of Calarossa, on the Costa Paradiso in the northwest. “It was dead easy,” says Jarrod, a financial advisor, of the purchase. “And it’s a beautiful place – the view out along the coastline is one of the best in the world.” The couple, both 34, already owned a mountain property in Austria, but wanted somewhere warm as an alternative holiday home.

Properties at the development of 350 flats, a short walk from the beach, are built in a traditional style. They are painted in warm terracottas, yellows and oranges, while the plots are divided with neat paths and abundant greenery. The resort has three pools and its own small shops. Pierre & Vacances, the resort management company, will even let out your property for you when you are not using it.

The big country

Some buyers are leaving the coast behind and finding their dream home in a rural idyl

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Alternatively, you could buy land on the island and build your own place, but rules on development are tight: a law passed last year banned building within 1.25 miles of the sea (only those who already had planning permission are exempt). Moreover, there are different types of permission with different restrictions: agricultural land is the cheapest to buy, but, not surprisingly, you can only build agricultural buildings on it.

Don’t forget those extras, either. Buying costs in Italy are high – count on adding about 13% to the sale price to cover the local equivalent of stamp duty and agents’ fees. Nonresidents must also pay an annual “luxury tax” that varies from region to region, but could be as much as £1,000 for a two-bed villa on the coast.

So where are the hot places to buy, and what can you get for your money?

Cagliari and the south

The ancient city of Cagliari is the capital of Sardinia, but after the local authorities rejected the Aga Khan’s wishes to make it the centre of his development, it did little but crumble gently under the hot Mediterranean sun. Things have started to look up recently, however, thanks to heavy investment by the European Union and the arrival of cheap flights from Luton (although only in summer).

Cagliari itself is a mixed bag: the medieval citadel, with its surviving bastion wall and imposing cathedral, is beautiful and peaceful, with far-reaching views out to sea – although these are spoilt to some extent by the giant oil refineries on the horizon. Its narrow cobbled streets are charming, however, and there are several new funky bars and restaurants. A two-bed flat set a little way off the main streets will cost about £130,000; the beach is 10 minutes away by bus.

Just southwest of Cagliari is the pretty coastal town of Pula. Here, a fourbed semidetached villa near the beach would cost a little more than £200,000, says Chiara Nieddu, who works at the Alghero airport office of House Around Sardinia, an English-speaking agency. “The prices are not as crazy as in the northeast,” she says. This may change: Knight Frank is about to launch Is Molas, an upmarket development near Pula, the first stages of which are due to be completed in 2012. Prices are expected to range from £880,000 to £2.72m.

Alghero and the west coast

Prices around the medieval fishing port of Alghero have shot up recently, thanks to year-round flights from Ryanair. One-bed flats without a sea view start at about £100,000; a fourbed villa with sea views and some land in the Alghero area will cost at least £270,000. Further up towards the pretty “finger” of the northwestern tip of Sardinia, around Stintino, semidetached two-bed houses go for about £135,000.

North coast

Stretching from Porto Torres in the west to Santa Teresa in the east, this is one of the most affordable areas of Sardinia, and has so far resisted mass tourism. John and Margharita Davey set up Sardinia Estates in the mountain village of Tempio Pausania last year to concentrate on this area; the couple say that they have had a flood of interest from British buyers attracted by the dramatic coastline and reasonable prices.

The gated resort of Costa Paradiso, towards the eastern end of this stretch of coast, is one of the more upmarket developments in the area. On a rocky hillside of pink granite moulded into weird and wonderful shapes by wind and rain, villas have been built to blend in with their surroundings, giving them a weirdly futuristic feel. The views out over the sea are breathtaking and, although there are no sandy beaches, each flat or villa has access to a pool. Prices start at £112,000 for a two-bed flat with shared pool; Sardinia Estates is selling a three-bed villa on two levels, with its own pool, for £610,000.

Further west, the landscape is gentler and less dramatic, but still pretty. Prices remain low: in the small, bustling towns of Valledoria and Sorso, you can buy a one-bed flat for as little as £65,000. This is also one of those areas where you might stumble on that buyers’ dream: the villa in need of work. Elma Homes, a British-based company with local Sardinian agents, is selling a fourbed villa, half a mile from the sea, near Sorso, for £142,500.

East coast

Finally, there is no avoiding Costa Smeralda, at the northern end of the east coast. As you will have already gathered, this is not a place for those on a limited budget. “A villa on the coast in Costa Smeralda is seldom less than £13.5m,” says Philippe de Clercq, the Savills representative in Sardinia. A typical two-bed flat costs at least £340,000 – and that’s not even on the coast. For a sea view, you would need to spend £600,000 or more. Many of the properties conform to a sculpted, even surreal style.

Move south past Olbia (also served by cheap flights from Britain), and prices drop substantially. More than halfway down the island, near Tortoli, for example, House Around Sardinia is selling a three-bed villa, about two miles from the beach, for £132,000. Prices in Villasimius, on the southernmost tip of the east coast, have already risen considerably; fourbed villas inland start from about £400,000. A little further north, in the small town of Castiadas, £175,00 would buy a three-bed villa with a sea view.

Sardinia Estates, 00 39 348 334 7572, www.sardinia-estates.net; House Around Sardinia, www.housearoundsardinia.eu; Savills, 020 7016 3740, www.savills.com; Elma Homes, 01923 893764

Island paradise

Savills is selling the seven-acre Cappuccini Island, just off Porto Cervo on the Costa Smeralda, for £23.5m. The island has a large villa split into into 3-bed domes, a clubhouse with swimming pool and a private restaurant.

Savills: 020 7016 3744, www.savills.co.uk

Villa Smeralda Sei is a fourbed villa set in a large mature garden on a hill, two miles from Porto Cervo and 600 yards from two beautiful beaches. It is on the market with Brian A French & Associates for £1.36m.

Brian A French & Associates: 0870 730 1910, www.brianfrench.com

A one-bed country cottage in 4,700 sq m of land, with a small vineyard and 100 fruit trees, just over a mile outside Tempio Pausania, in the north is on sale for £85,000.

Sardinia Estates: 00 39 348 334 7572, www.sardinia-estates.net

An 82 sq m two-bed ground-floor flat, with a covered verandah, in Santa Teresa, is on sale for £64,500. Situated on the north coast, you can take a day trip to Corsica or enjoy local beaches.

House Around Sardinia: 00 39 0782 620047, housearoundsardinia.eu

To find properties for sale in Sardinia on propertyfinder.com click here

To search for properties in Sardinia on properazzi.com click here

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