Portixeddu is a charming beach village, the main attraction is the huge stretch of sand, which is never too crowded. Buggerru ia a lovely harbour village with a history in the mining of granite. The old mines tours offer a glimpse into that history along with a chance to cool down!!
Fluminimaggiore a five to ten minute drive from the villa is a village where there are many traditional festivals, as is Iglesias which is the nearest larger town. Cagliari the island capital is just over 1hrs drive away and offers all the sophistication of a major Italian city, along with the fashionable nearby Poetto beach.
Local activities include snorkelling, fishing, trekking and rock climbing. The area is popular with cyclists who use the challenging roads (very good road surfaces) in and out of the valley for serious training. It is a favoured location for serious cyclists including professional teams for winter training. Off road cycling is also a major pursuit in the area, and motorcyclists and Enduro enthusiasts flock to the area. See mountain biking images at http://www.sardinianatour.com/EN/152-activ-holidays-pula-cagliari-sardegna.html. Windsurfing and surfing are popular at Portixeddu and the European surfing championships have been held in the area. For some superb photography of the coastline see http://www.gentedisardegna.it/pop_printer_friendly.asp?TOPIC_ID=5336
Eating out is very affordable as this area is not expensive like other parts of the island. Agriturismo's in the area offer high quality traditional home made and home produced fayre, evenings there are often very memorable.
There is an excellent fish restaurant and Pizzeria in Portixeddu, both with fantastic bay views. Portixeddu is a 20 minute walk from the villa. A little closer is the Hotel Il Golfo Leone, which is also a restaurant and Pizzeria. A new Pizzeria on the nearby main road is also in easy walking distance. The highly recommended Agriturismo Biologico Fighezia is also close by. Book a couple of days in advance (they have an English speaking partner there) and you will enjoy a feast and an evening to remember for around 20 Euros a head, when all food and wine is home made and included in the price. There are numerous other restaurants in Fluminimaggiore and Buggerru, both a ten minute drive away. Just 1km away and highly recommended by us and recent guests is Trattoria Sole della Luna located in easy walking distance halfway between the beach and our house. The owner Luca's local red wine is also the best in the valley and included in the incredibly low price of 22.5€. The restaurant is open for both lunch and dinner, and is closed Sunday and Monday.
Throughout the summer months, Buggerru, Fluminimaggiore and Portixeddu offer night-life, small concerts, traditional festivals and plenty of entertainment. See http://www.fluminimaggiore.org/eventi-e-manifestazioni.html for more info and some great pics of the area. The following link lists all the local folk festivals by date in English. http://www.sardegna.com/code/feste_popolari_int/subregion/3/LINGUA/EN. The following link has some detailed descriptions of Fluminimaggiore, some of the local attractions and areas of historical interest and in particular information about Iglesias, the nearest larger town with 100 churches!!!
http://www.tomysardinia.com/filen/501.htm. Outside summer like many areas of Sardinia, this location is very quiet and will appeal to those who wish to get away from it all.