You can read guidebooks and ask questions, but you really don't know how it is going to be until you get there and have the experience for yourself.
My husband and I read a couple of different guidebooks for general information and we asked around to anyone who had visited Sardegna. There are the general recommendations: "The roads are slow-going" and "Make sure you fill up your gas tank when you can." Nothing prepared us for what Sardegna was really like.
Road conditions and speed
There are no high-speed roads in Sardegna. Mostly, there are small mountain roads with plenty of curves. Typically, the speed limit is 50km/hour. True, you can go faster in some places, but it is about the average speed with all of those curves. It is also possible that you will find things in the road to obstruct you or cause damage to your tires. We found the road blocked by goats, sheep, cows, and plenty of rocks in the road that could easily damage a tire out in the middle of nowhere. Lastly, most of the time, speed limits are not posted. Typically, the larger roads are going to be 90km/h and the small mountain roads and in cities are going to be 50km/h.
Petrol
Gas is called "benzina senza piombo" (gas without lead) and "gasolio" for diesel in Italy. It can be hard to come by. We always made sure we had at least half a tank of gas at all times. Also, make sure you always have some Euros on you: 5's, 10's and 20's. Many stations close at lunchtime for two or three hours. There are automated machines that take cash or credit cards, although we have never been able to get a card to work. So we had to rely on cash. You have to estimate how much you are going to need, because you don't get change. When you do find an attendant, will you know how to say, "Fill 'er up"? You say "il pieno" (sounds like eel pyeh-noh). Remember, too, that gas is very expensive in Europe, so be prepared to spend a big chunk of money on gas. I think gas was about 1.05 Euros per litre (which makes it around $5 a gallon).
Police
Be careful if you are speeding around on the little roads. There will be police (polizia or carabinieri) lurking around places you wouldn't believe. You can be in the middle of nowhere and there they are! Police are also authorized to stop anyone at any time to check documents. Usually there will be more than one of them. They will hold out a sign--a red circle on a white stick--for you to stop. They will ask for car registration information and driving licence and/or passports. If everything is in order, you will be on your way in just a few minutes. We were stopped one day by the polizia as we were coming around a corner. They asked for our identification and papers for the rental car. We didn't have our passports, since some hotels will keep them upon check-in. Our car rental papers were not right (there was a copy instead of an original), but since it was a rental, they told us it was fine, we could go.
Signs
Here is a list of some of the signs you will come across as you are driving:
- accendere i fari = lights on
- senso unico = one-way
- escluso residenti = residents only
- divieto di sosta = no stopping
- divieto di accesso = no entry
- dogana = customs
- ghiacco = beware of ice
- nebbia = foggy
- rallentare = slow down
- caduta massi = watch for falling (fallen) rocks
- aperto = open
- chiuso = closed
- tutte le direzioni = all routes (found in cities)
- parcheggio = parking (libero doesn't mean free, it means there are free spaces!)
- A triangle with a vertical black line = danger
- A horn with a line through it = no sounding your horn
Stop signs are the same, they say "Stop." You will also recognize the yield signs. Another thing you will notice is that there may be missing (or just nonexistent) road signs or tourist signs. There were plenty of times that we made a turn-off to see something that was posted, never to find what we were looking for or ever see another sign after the initial sign. It can be very frustrating. We ended up giving up on a few things and just finding our way on a couple of more things. I suggest that if it is something that is important, just ask someone. If you don't know any Italian, you can usually find someone that speaks enough English to tell you the way.
If you break down, you can call 116 (like the AA or the AAA) for assistance.
If you don't get car-sick because of the mountainous roads, it is really the best way to get around the island.