Guide · Porto San Paolo
Updated November 2026 · Written by the Vesta team
Everything you need to know to rent out a home in Porto San Paolo: what the market is like, which areas, when demand peaks, what the law requires and how the tourist tax and taxes work.
We manage it for you, from the listing to the monthly payout. Free, no-obligation assessment.
Why Porto San Paolo
It is a small but growing market, with longer stays than average: in 2024 the municipality of Loiri Porto San Paolo recorded 148,776 overnight stays, 17.69% more than in 2023, with an average stay of 5.05 nights against 3.31 in Olbia, according to the 2024 report of the Sardinia Region's Tourism Observatory (in Italian). Around it lies one of the strongest tourist areas on the island: in 2025 the Province of Gallura Nord-Est Sardegna, which the municipality belongs to, passed 7.6 million overnight stays (+11.52%), according to the Observatory's 2025 figures by province (in Italian).
The municipal figure is for 2024, provisional and extracted in May 2025: it is the latest published, because in the 2025 report Loiri Porto San Paolo is no longer among the thirty most visited municipalities. The provincial figure also covers Olbia, Arzachena and the Costa Smeralda, so it describes demand in the area, not in the village alone. In Gallura around six stays in ten are by foreign visitors, with Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Switzerland and the Netherlands as the leading markets, and among Italians more guests come from Lombardy than from any other region.
For owners, five-night stays mean fewer changeovers and a minimum stay to set with care, week by week. Porto San Paolo is one of the three places in Sardinia where we have homes under management, together with Stintino and Teulada: the picture for the whole island is on our page about short-term rental management in Sardinia.
We manage it for you, from the listing to the monthly payout. Free, no-obligation assessment.
Where we operate
We cover the village of Porto San Paolo and the coast around it, with Porto Taverna, Costa Dorata, Cala Girgolu, Cala Finanza, Sconcatu and Punta Don Diego, as well as Vaccileddi and Loiri. A little further north, in the municipality of Olbia, we also look after Porto Istana, Capo Ceraso and Murta Maria.
This whole stretch of sea lies inside or next to the Tavolara - Punta Coda Cavallo Marine Protected Area, which according to Sardegna Turismo (in Italian) runs for 76 kilometres along the coast of Loiri Porto San Paolo, Olbia and San Teodoro, from Capo Ceraso to Punta s'Isuledda. But each area needs a different listing.
Boats to the island of Tavolara leave from the harbour of Porto San Paolo. In the village, guests look for a home they can get around from without a car: beach, shops, restaurants and the boats.
Here guests look above all at the distance to the beach and at outdoor space. In the listing what counts are photos of the terrace or garden and precise directions to the sea.
From here the sea is reached by car: the listing has to say exactly how many minutes it takes, and outdoor space and parking are worth highlighting.
This is the part of the coast closest to Olbia: a selling point for guests who land in the city and want to be on the beach soon after.
Do you have a home in another part of Loiri Porto San Paolo? Get in touch anyway: we assess every case.
Gallura
Yes: as well as Porto San Paolo we serve the coast from Olbia, with Pittulongu, Bados and Murta Maria, down to San Teodoro and Budoni. We always start with a free assessment of the individual home, because demand changes a lot from one area to the next.
In 2025, according to the Regional Observatory's annual report (in Italian), Olbia recorded 1,161,262 overnight stays (+7.60%), San Teodoro 1,002,013 (+12.09%) and Budoni 924,377 (+19.02%). They are three different markets in length of stay too: in the same report the average stay is 3.20 nights in Olbia, 5.36 in San Teodoro and 6.68 in Budoni, and prices and minimum stays have to be set accordingly. In these areas we assess every home with the same method we use in Porto San Paolo.
Making the most of your home
The things a five- or six-night seaside stay needs: an outdoor space to eat in, air conditioning, a parking space and a washing machine. Before publishing we tell you which of these are missing and which improvements are worth the cost, looking at what homes in the area offer.
You don't need a seafront villa: an apartment in a complex with a pool or a house in Vaccileddi with a garden each have their own guests, as long as the listing says so clearly. Often shade on the terrace, an outdoor shower, a cot and high chair for families, and photos that really show the way to the sea are enough. A seaside home left closed for months also needs attention to damp, air conditioning and the water heater before every season: it is part of maintenance management.
Who it is for
It is for people with a home in or around Porto San Paolo who cannot look after it in person for the whole season. Many owners want two things at once: to rent in the peak months and to keep a few weeks of summer for themselves.
We hear from owners who live in another region or abroad and come to Gallura only on holiday, from people with a family home that stays empty from October to May, and from people who bought in a resort with a pool with renting in mind too. And from those who tried to manage on their own and found that between changeovers, keys and guest messages the season becomes a second job.
Pricing and seasonality
From June to September: in 2025 these four months accounted for about 83% of overnight stays in Gallura, with August the strongest month and September almost level with June, according to the Regional Observatory's figures by province (in Italian). May and October together account for about 13%, April for less than 3%.
For a home in Porto San Paolo this means the real season lasts four months, not seven. With dynamic pricing we push rates in July and August, treat September as high season rather than the tail end, and in May and October we work on price and minimum stay to fill dates that would otherwise stay empty. These calculations also take seasonal facilities into account, such as the Sea Retreat pool, open from 1 June to 30 September.
Compliance
You need the IUN from the Sardinia Region and the national CIN, to be displayed and shown in every listing, before welcoming any guest. Then, for every stay, guests have to be reported to the police, statistical data sent to the Region, and the tourist tax of the Municipality of Loiri Porto San Paolo applied.
| Requirement | What it involves | Who handles it |
|---|---|---|
| IUN (regional code) | Requested on the Region's platform after notifying the Municipality (Municipality of Loiri Porto San Paolo, in Italian); displayed at the entrance and shown in listings (Sardinia Region, in Italian) | Vesta, code registered to Vesta |
| CIN (national code) | Requested on the Ministry of Tourism's BDSR database; displayed outside the building and shown in every listing | Vesta, code registered to Vesta |
| ISTAT statistics | Arrivals and stays reported for statistical purposes to the Region on SIRED/Ross1000 | Vesta |
| Guest registration | Details of every guest sent to the police through Alloggiati Web | Vesta, for every stay |
| Safety devices | Gas and carbon monoxide detectors and fire extinguishers | Vesta, which checks them before bookings open |
| Tourist tax | Regulations of the Municipality of Loiri Porto San Paolo, in force since 1 January 2026 | Vesta |
| Flat-rate rental tax | Calculated on your net share, as explained below | Vesta, as withholding agent |
The penalties are not symbolic: according to the Ministry of Tourism's FAQ on the BDSR (in Italian), renting without a CIN costs from €800 to €8,000, failing to display it or show it in listings from €500 to €5,000 for each unit, and each breach on safety devices from €600 to €6,000. With the IUN and CIN in Vesta's name, the penalty for a mistake in the paperwork is on us, not on you.
If you hand us your home, we take care of it: the codes are registered to Vesta.
IUN
If you entrust your home to us, we apply for the IUN and CIN and they are registered to Vesta: you don't have to prepare any paperwork. Private owners renting on their own must instead first send the notice of start of short-term rental to the Municipality's certified email (PEC), as explained on the Municipality of Loiri Porto San Paolo's page on IUN and CIN (in Italian), then apply for the IUN on the Sardinia Region's platform with SPID, CNS or CIE, and only after that apply for the CIN.
The steps are described by the Sardinia Region on its page on occasional rentals (in Italian): since 1 February 2025 the IUN can only be requested through the regional platform, and for the CIN you have to wait 24 hours after receiving the Ross1000 credentials before accessing the Ministry's database. Those renting as a business submit a SCIA on the SUAPE instead. If your home already has codes in your name, we discuss it during the assessment.
Tourist tax
The tax is applied by the Municipality of Loiri Porto San Paolo, under new regulations in force since 1 January 2026, approved by the Town Council on 23 December 2025. If we manage your home, we take care of it: collection, payments and returns on the Municipality's portal.
On the Municipality's tourist tax portal (in Italian), private owners renting on a non-business basis notify the start of the activity and pay through PagoPA, logging in with SPID or CIE; the same portal lists the exemptions. Rates are approved by the Town Executive and can change: that is why we don't give amounts on this page, and in the assessment we explain how they apply to your home.
What's new in 2026
From 1 January 2026, short-term renting of more than two units, even in different municipalities, is presumed by law to be a business activity, with the obligation to register for VAT. The Municipality of Loiri Porto San Paolo (in Italian) points this out, with reference to the 2026 Budget Law (Law 199/2025).
In Sardinia there is one more rule: for businesses, with more than two units in the same municipality or in neighbouring ones the rental has to be run as a holiday home (CAV), as the Sardinia Region (in Italian) states. If you have several homes between Porto San Paolo, Olbia or San Teodoro, before publishing any listing we check with you which case applies.
Free assessment
Request a free, no-obligation assessment. Tell us where the home is, in the village, along the coast from Porto Taverna to Punta Don Diego or towards Vaccileddi, and how many beds it has: we send you an estimate built on the Gallura season and a suggested calendar.
Where we operate
Thanks! We will get back to you as soon as possible, usually within 48 hours.