How to plan a stay for up to ten in South Sardinia, for a family, three generations at once or a group of friends: the rooms, the meals, the cars from Cagliari airport, and the days out that work for everyone.
Most of the groups who stay at Il Polpo Nero are families, and more often than not, one person invites everyone. Some are friends travelling together. Either way, the house is the easy part. What follows is everything around it, the way we would explain it to friends planning their first week at Il Polpo Nero.
A villa for 10 people in Sardinia: what the house gives you
Il Polpo Nero crowns the hill at Perd'e Sali, near Pula: macchia all around, the sea in front. It is spread over three floors, with five bedrooms for up to ten guests and five bathrooms, which matters more than any view on the first morning.
The house is set up for a group. The living room has a sofa for ten, which settles the film-night question before it is asked. The pergola has a table for ten overlooking the pool, the patio a second one for eight, and the rooftop a banquet table for sixteen, next to an outdoor kitchen. Inside, the kitchen has two fridges and freezers, a dishwasher and a Thermomix, and there is a washing machine for the inevitable towel crisis. Every room has air conditioning and blackout blinds. And for the moments when ten people is nine too many, there is a library with a coffee corner, a creative corner for music, painting and drawing, and an honesty bar.
Who sleeps where is usually the first question. We do not publish a room-by-room plan here: five bedrooms for up to ten guests is the honest summary. Write to us before you book and we will talk you through the rooms.
Families, three generations or friends?
The shape of the week depends on the shape of the group. Families with small children want a pool they can see from the table, which the pergola gives you. Three generations want all of that, plus a quiet corner for the grandparents and somewhere for the teenagers to be out of sight; three floors help. Friends tend to want late dinners, early swims for the keen ones and long lunches for everyone else. We wrote more generally about why a villa suits group travel; here we stick to the practical.
For dates, ask us as early as you can. If your group is thinking of spring rather than summer, the house can also be offered in early May.
How to get ten people from Cagliari airport
The house is about thirty-five minutes from Cagliari-Elmas airport. Plan on driving yourselves: there is parking at the house, a car gets you to Pula in about ten minutes, and the arrival works best as a small convoy.
The airport lists some twenty-eight car rental companies, with their desks in a dedicated area in front of the terminal, and between them they hire out cars, vans and minibuses. For ten people and their luggage, a minibus and a car, or three cars, is a sensible answer. Book early for summer, check how many seats and suitcases each vehicle really takes, and agree in advance who drives back after dinner. If your group flies in on different flights, the first car to land does the supermarket run. For flights to Cagliari, our guide on how to get to Sardinia has the details.
Shared meals: who cooks tonight?
Cooking for ten is half the fun and all of the washing-up, so take turns. A rota of teams of two or three, one dinner each, works well; the team that cooks does not clear.
Shopping for a long table is a pleasure in the south. In Cagliari, the San Benedetto market moved in March 2025 to a temporary hall in Piazza Nazzari while its historic building is rebuilt, and it is still the place for fish, fruit and vegetables; go in the morning, as it closes in the early afternoon. Bread comes from Pbread, a natural bakery on Viale Colombo whose sourdough is worth the detour, and which also keeps a long list of wines. For dessert, Ditrizio, on Via Crispi, became the first pastry shop in Sardinia to win the top award of Gambero Rosso's pastry guide; for a table of ten, call ahead. And for the team on duty, the rooftop kitchen has a plancha: our red mullet on the roof is a good first dinner.
For one night, let someone else cook. On request, we can find you a private chef. For a dinner of his own at the house, Francesco Stara, the chef of Fradis Minoris at Laguna di Nora in Pula, one Michelin star in the 2026 guide, comes up the hill on request. For something closer to Sunday lunch at a Sardinian grandmother's, Marzia Aroffu, Cuoca d'Italia 2018, will come and cook a family-style dinner, again on request. Both are on our experiences page, and the banquet table on the roof seats sixteen, if the group has made friends.
The rooftop and the pool: the house's two living rooms
In practice, a group spends its days in two places. The pool has a sea view, a solarium and sunbeds, and the pergola looks over it, so lunch and a swim are a few steps apart. The rooftop is where the evenings go: a lounge, the long table, the outdoor kitchen, and the Gulf of Cagliari in front of you.
One thing to know before you plan the photographs: the house faces east. You get the sunrise over the sea, not the sunset, so the early risers in your group will have the best of it, a coffee on the roof while everyone else sleeps. Our summer day at Il Polpo Nero goes through the hours one by one.
Group activities in South Sardinia that work for ten
The best days out for a group are the ones that do not need everyone to agree on everything. A few that work:
- Nora, in the morning. The Phoenician and Roman town is a short drive from the house, and big enough for a group to spread out. Our day guide to Nora has the practicalities.
- The lagoon next door. The Laguna di Nora environmental centre runs guided canoe and snorkelling tours, with an aquarium and a sea turtle recovery centre on site. Children love it; adults pretend not to.
- A beach that suits the wind. With ten people, choose a beach with room and shade nearby. Our index of the beaches near Pula tells you which one to pick on which day.
- Cagliari for a day. Split up in Castello and the Marina and meet for lunch. We wrote up a day in Castello and the Marina.
- A cellar visit, with a designated driver. Cantine di Dolianova runs guided cellar visits on booking, and Cantina Santadi, in the Sulcis hills, offers a tour of its cellars and barrel room with a tasting, Monday to Saturday, booked ahead.
- A morning as cheesemakers. Argiolas Formaggi, a sheep's cheese dairy at Dolianova, runs a hands-on cheese-making morning, Casaro per un Giorno, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, for groups of at least ten. You are, as it happens, exactly ten.
- A day on the water. A boat trip along the coast can be arranged on request with a local partner, through our experiences.
For groups with children, our week of family activities in South Sardinia has more ideas, day by day.
Why book a group villa directly
Booking with us directly means one conversation with the people who own and look after the house, rather than a platform in between: questions about the rooms, the dates and the extras go straight to us. It also brings the Vespa scooters at Il Polpo Nero, complimentary for direct bookings, which is how two members of any group quietly escape to Pula for an ice cream. We explain the rest in the benefits of booking directly.
Quick answers
How many people does Il Polpo Nero sleep? Up to ten guests, in five bedrooms, with five bathrooms.
How far is the villa from Cagliari airport? About thirty-five minutes by car. Car hire companies have their desks in front of the terminal, and some hire out vans and minibuses.
Do we need a car? Yes. For ten people, hire two or three cars, or a minibus and a car, at the airport.
Can we have a private chef for the whole group? Yes, on request, including a dinner by Francesco Stara of Fradis Minoris or a family-style dinner by Marzia Aroffu.
Does Il Polpo Nero work for three generations? Yes: three floors, a pool you can see from the table under the pergola, and quiet corners, such as the library with its coffee corner.
Lola
The house
Il Polpo Nero, in the macchia at Perd'e Sali, near Pula. Five bedrooms for up to ten guests, a pool, and a rooftop with a table for sixteen facing the sunrise. Vespa scooters complimentary for direct bookings. Ask us for dates.
