San Teodoro is a summer town on the north-east coast of Sardinia, a place that lives for the months between June and September and goes very quiet the rest of the year. It sits between the granite hills of Gallura and a lagoon where flamingos sometimes wade, and its reputation rests on a beach. La Cinta is a long strip of fine white sand that runs for kilometres between the sea and the lagoon, backed by dunes and juniper, and across the water the limestone bulk of the island of Tavolara rises like a ship's prow, fierce and grey, nearly six hundred metres high. The little island has a claim to be the world's smallest kingdom, a title once held by a family of shepherds and fishermen who were recognised by a king of Sardinia in the nineteenth century.
The beach is the draw, but the landscape behind is of interest too. The hills are covered in maquis, the scented scrub of myrtle, rock rose, wild olive and cork oak that smells wonderful on a hot afternoon, and the granite boulders are rounded into strange shapes by wind and rain. The lagoon is a protected wetland where egrets, herons and flamingos feed, and in spring and autumn migrating birds stop to rest.
The riding is a pleasure at the quieter times of the year. The state road, the SS125, runs south from here along the coast toward Budoni and Posada, with long, easy bends, hills and sea views. In summer, the traffic is heavy and slow, with holiday cars, camper vans and the sort of overtaking you would rather not witness, so go early. In the shoulder months, the road is empty and the air is clear. The surface is generally good, though some sections have been patched and rough, and goats and cows can wander onto the road in the quieter inland stretches.
The town has everything for visitors: restaurants, bars, shops, a few nightclubs and a good supply of fuel stations on the main road. Seafood is the local speciality, with grilled fish, spaghetti with clams and bottarga, the cured mullet roe of Sardinia, and for the sweet tooth, seadas, fried pastries filled with cheese and drizzled with honey. Olbia, about twenty-two kilometres to the north, is the nearest big town, with its ferry port and airport.
Visit in June or September if you can. The sea is warm, the beach is not packed, and the prices are lower.