One week, five couples, and six kids—we’re back from our first family getaway in Sardinia! The goal was to keep the kids outdoors as much as possible, so we rented a huge “footballer-style” villa with plenty of outdoor space. It was perfectly located near the beach in Costa Smeralda, on the island’s northeast coast, and just a short trip from Olbia airport (thank you, EasyJet, for direct flights from Gatwick!).
We had an amazing time, even though we only got four sunny days out of the seven we’d hoped for. 🌞🏖️
Canon EOS 5D MkII – EF 28-70mm – Left, view from the main dining room, with the sea in the background (Photo from JP). Right a view of the massive swimming-pool at sunset. Only a few of us went for a swim, as it was pretty chilled – surprisingly, no kid fell in the pool for the whole week (Photo from Sab).
The photos might look calm and quiet, but trust us—that wasn’t the reality! They’re intentionally curated to avoid sharing images of others without permission.
In truth, our days were packed, maybe even a bit too much. Between planning outdoor excursions and juggling tasks like cooking (with two sittings each meal), there was never a dull moment!
Canon EOS 5D MkII – EF 100mm – 1/3200s f/3.2, ISO 100 – Chiara and JP walking in the beach just down from the villa. Chiara initially did not want to put her feet in the sand, for about half an hour. Then we couldn’t get her our, way too much fun (Photo from Sab).
On the photography front, we came back with a surprising number of great portraits of the kids, thanks largely to the EF 100mm 2.8 Macro lens. Originally designed for macro shots, it also creates beautifully blurred backgrounds and is perfect for portraits on a full-frame camera. Its fast aperture was a lifesaver with constantly moving kids!
The lens is also lighter than the 24-70mm, making it easier to handle. Sab did an amazing job throughout the week—most of the top-rated shots are hers! 👏📸
Canon EOS 5D MkII – EF 100mm – various exposures – Left, Chiara looking up from the football pitch (yes we did have a mini-football pitch in the villa) (Photo from JP). Middle, Chiara playing with one the numerous outdoor showers (Photo from Sab). Right, a nice cuddle to daddy during our of the short trip out of the villa (Photo from Sab).
Canon EOS 5D MkII – EF 100mm – 1/500s f/2.8, ISO 100 – Chiara and Sab preparing the food outside. She is not eating cooked green beans any more, but she was actually eating a raw one at this moment – go figure.
Canon EOS 5D MkII – EF 100mm – 1/4000s f/3.5, ISO 100 – This picture was taken from the deck of the villa and is a small crop of the land in the horizon. It was de-saturated and contrast was drastically increased to give the “Lost in …” look we are fan of, the haze re-enforcing the feeling of distance between plans
Canon EOS 5D MkII – EF 100mm – various exposures – Chiara playing on main deck of the house close to the pool. Children kept running around, playing with water from the pool or outdoor showers, they spent 90% of their time outside (Photos from Sab)
Canon EOS 5D MkII – EF 100mm – 1/1250s f/3.5, ISO 100 – The men are enjoying an aperitif by the pool while the wife’s are cooking. Being in a footballer house, we hope to enjoy a footballer lifestyle, unfortunately it didn’t quite work out like that. This picture is actually a mock-up, we barely had relaxing time 😉
Most of the week we stayed in the villa or close by, as it was largely enough for the kids to have fun. We did do two full-day excursions a bit further, one day in Porto Cervo and another day in La Madallena, a small archipelago in the north. With the risk of paraphrasing the Routard Guide book, it was lovely, like a mix between Corsican coast and the granitic Seychelles islands.
The four pictures below are taken in the main island. We did take a ferry to get there, Chiara loved it.
Canon EOS 5D MkII – EF 100mm – Top left, a view of the smaller Isla Caprera. Top right, Chiara rap-style visiting La Maddalena town riding on her favourite horse. Bottom left, JP trying to explain to Chiara that sand is no good to eat (we finally gave up, she realised it by herself). Bottom right, Chiara all smiles trying to hang on a rope on the ferry, it was very windy (all photos from Sab).
Canon EOS 5D MkII – EF 100mm – 1/500s f/2.8, ISO 100 – Maybe it was because we were on an island, but Easter chocolate eggs came very late for us – on the 29th April – probably delayed by the royal wedding. Anyway, eggs were there and children had fun collecting them, including Chiara.
Btw, where have they all gone ??
