Secrets To the Best Italian Charter Experience: the Ultimate Italy Hack on a Private Yacht

3 sailboats lined up at anchor on the Amalfi coast of Italy.

The Magnificent Coast of La Bella Italia from the Deck of your Private Yacht

Putting things in proportion, Italy has a coastline of about 2,200 nautical miles (including Sardinia). Which is a really, really long way in boat terms. It’s like crossing the United States from Los Angeles, CA to Savannah, GA.

Especially if you take into consideration that boats or yachts travel at about 5 or 6 mph if you’re sailing, and 10 to 15 mph on an average if you’re on a motor yacht. So you can see it’s not just a matter of choosing a yacht and winging it.

Suggestion: be very careful which regions you’d like to explore and pick and choose specific areas for your yacht charter.

If you’re not sure which region to choose, well, that’s where our expertise comes into play.

Allow us to provide a quick Italian itinerary 101.

  1. The Italian Riviera that spans the Northern Coast from Monaco to La Spezia. This nice charter itinerary takes you along the Ligurian Coast and includes incredible little ports and towns like San Remo, Porto Maurizio, the city of Savona, the great port of Genoa, Sta Margherita Ligure, Portofino, the Cinque Terre and finishes up in La Spezia.
  2. Naples and the Amalfi Coast. The Amalfi Coast of Italy includes the iconic cities of Sorrento, Castellmare, Positano, Salerno and the historical islands of Capri and Ischia. This is Italy at its finest, the beauty of the Amalfi coastline has to be on your bucket list. Not to mention the food…!!
  3. Sicily and the Aeolian Islands. Sicily is a superb stand-alone charter destination. Itineraries can include the little villages, and ports along the coastline like Trapani, Marsala and the island of Favignana.
  4. Sardinia and its sister island Corsica (which is French) are also excellent stand-alone destinations. The Maddalena islands, and Olbia in Sardinia and Porto Vecchio and Bonifacio in Corsica are the “in” places to see and be seen during the summer months.
  5. Venice, Trieste and Croatia, (which of course is not exactly Italy). Generally speaking, there’s not a whole lot to see on the East side of Italy (the Adriatic side) or write home about EXCEPT VENICE. Venice of course is a must see in its own right and incidentally a great place to start a Croatia charter. Venice needs no introduction and is one of the great cities of the world that should be on everyone’s bucket list, but the surrounding areas are flat and low-lying and somewhat uninteresting. A shore excursion to Padova (Padua) which is close by are interesting and the Cathedral of St. Anthony is amazing.
If you’re on a longer vacation, say two weeks or more on a motor yacht, you can join or mix and match some of these itineraries together. For example, you can start in Genoa and check out the Cinque Terre and La Spezia. Continue South past the Island of Elba, to Civitavecchia (the port of Rome) and on down to The Amalfi, continue southwards through the Aeolian Islands and the Straits of Messina to Taormina and then fly back from Catania in Sicily.
View of the bay in Cinque Terre looking at the sunset from a cliff.

Chartering a private yacht in Italy is always an amazing experience., but remember that the distances are deceptive, if you want to see it all in one trip, you’ll need a fairly fast motor yacht. Of course I always suggest that our clients experience this beautiful country, the cradle of our Western Civilization if you will, in bite-sized chunks. A week or two this year, a week or two next year and so on.

This way you can experience Italy at its fullest, sampling the wines and the food, (glorious food..!!) that always sets Italy apart from its peers.

Luxuryachtvacation.com is always a good place to start if you’re thinking about touring Italy from the water or on a yacht. We do have some spectacular vessels at good price-points.

More Italy Islands

Amalfi Coast

One of the most romantic destinations on the planet has to be Italy’s Amalfi coast. This is the heart and soul of Italy. Inextricably Italian, unbelievably beautiful and a place to enjoy the finest wines and flavors of Italian cuisine.

Italian Riviera

While the French Riviera is commonly known and very popular, Italy’s Liguria Coast is the OTHER RIVIERA where we will spend our days exploring the coastline and delightful towns frequented by the rich and famous.

Portofino & Cinque Terre

Italy’s Liguria Coast, also known as the Italian Riviera, all the way from San Remo, passing through Savona, Genoa, Portofino, Sta. Margherita Ligure, the Cinque Terre and La Spezia represent a very special area in Northern Italy.

Sicily & Aeolian Islands

To those of you who visualize a country of sun-baked rock dotted with dazzling whitewashed houses, the Ionian comes as a gentle surprise. This is not the Greece of the popular travel brochure but a shaded green country, sheltering…

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