Going to the beach for a quick refreshing dip is about to get more complicated on one Mediterranean island this summer, where officials are set to launch an online reservation system for a popular sandy cove in an attempt to reduce overcrowding.
Tuerredda Beach faces southeast on the southern tip of the Italian island of Sardinia has long attracted crowds of holidaymakers thanks to what Sardegna Turismo calls its “crystal clear water, fine sand and Mediterranean fragrances”. A destination for swimming, canoeing, and snorkelling, the “jewel of the southwestern coastline” is considered to be among the island’s top ten beaches.
But although Tuerredda stretches for over half a kilometre, it is so beloved that authorities had to introduce a visitor cap of 1,100 people a day in 2020. That has now escalated into plans for an online booking system that is due to come into force by July 2025.
Angelo Milia, the mayor of the local commune, Teulada, announced to press that the proposal had been discussed at a recent crisis summit on the subject of overtourism, where more than two dozen civic representatives from all over Italy came together to share strategies for managing tourist numbers.
Other approaches to the problem of overtourism put forward by fellow burgmasters included looking again at the numbers of people brought to the island by boat. The mayor of Capri, which sits in the Bay of Naples and is tiny at just 10km2 compared to Sardinia’s 24,090km2, suggested an hourly cap on the number of ferries arriving on such islands could help to reduce tourist surges that overwhelm roads, beaches and resources.
“It is essential that our municipality has a say in the hourly timetable of maritime connections, currently established only at the regional level,” he said in a statement, adding: “On Capri, we want to protect to the fullest those who come to visit us and ensure a quality experience for all.”
That quality experience is exactly what is in jeopardy at Tuerredda. While the tourism agency says visitors “will find a locality that will leave you feeling like you have experienced a holiday in an ocean, tropical or Caribbean paradise”, Sardinian Beaches website notes that it “can get crowded in high season (July and August), so go early.”
That advice is echoed in online reviews. On Tripadvisor some visitors have refused to give the beach a top rating because of problems with crowds. “Being very crowded, despite limited entry, it loses that “paradise on earth” impact,” says commenter Salvatore P on Tripadvisor, who went there in July 2024. Pesenti Anita meanwhile described the situation as “bedlam” by as early as 10:00 am, despite the high cost (€10) for parking which appears to have failed to put visitors off.
Details are yet to be confirmed about how the online booking system will work but not all tourists agree that organising the fun is the way to go. Luisasb on Tripadvisor has already complained that the beach has been “raped” by the presence of concessions and that the 1,100-person limit has failed to prevent the site becoming “carnage.”
