Italy · Liguria
Yacht Charter Italian Riviera
Portofino, Santa Margherita, Portovenere and the Cinque Terre — the shortest, steepest coast in Italy, and the one with the deepest water.
Liguria is a narrow shelf of coast with mountains directly behind it, which is why the villages are vertical, the harbours are small and the water goes deep within metres of the rock. It is a different proposition from the Amalfi Coast, which it superficially resembles: fewer boats, colder sea, better food, and a season that runs later into the autumn than anywhere else in the north Mediterranean.
Portofino, and the reason it is small
Portofino is one bay, one square and about four hundred residents, and the harbour holds a few dozen boats — which is the whole point of it and the reason the anchorage outside matters more than the berth inside. Anchoring off Paraggi, the small bay just before the point, is what most crews do, and the tender ride in takes five minutes.
The promontory behind it is a regional park with a marine reserve around its tip: San Fruttuoso sits on the seaward side, a tenth-century abbey on a pebble beach reachable only by boat or on foot, with a bronze Christ standing on the seabed seventeen metres below the surface off the point.
Santa Margherita and Rapallo, either side, are the working towns — real harbours, provisioning, and restaurants that are not priced for the view. Most weeks berth in one of them and visit Portofino by tender.
South to the Cinque Terre and the Gulf of Poets
The five villages are the postcard, and the honest advice is to see them from the water and go ashore at one rather than all. They are built into cliffs with no harbour worth the name, so the boat anchors off and the tender does the work — which is also the only way to arrive that avoids the train and the queue.
Portovenere at the southern end is the better night: a Genoese fortress, a black-and-white striped church on the headland, and the island of Palmaria across a narrow channel. The Gulf of La Spezia behind it is deep, sheltered and the best all-weather refuge on this coast.
West of Genoa the coast turns into the Riviera di Ponente — Sanremo and the run to the French border — which is a different week and pairs naturally with the Côte d'Azur rather than with the Cinque Terre.
How the yacht gets here
No yacht in this fleet is based in Liguria. The nearest is at Cala de' Medici, below Livorno, which is a comfortable day south of Portovenere — everything else is positioned for your dates from the western Mediterranean.
It means booking earlier than for the Amalfi Coast and a narrower choice of boat, and we would rather write it than let a form imply a fleet waiting in Portofino. What it does not mean is a lesser week: this is deep, sheltered water with a short season of northerly wind and some of the best eating in Italy at the end of every leg.
Practical notes
- No yacht is based in Liguria — the nearest base is Cala de' Medici in Tuscany, and everything else is positioned
- Portofino's harbour is tiny and booked far ahead; most crews anchor off Paraggi and go in by tender
- The Cinque Terre have no usable harbour: you anchor off and land by tender, which is the good way to arrive anyway
- Genoa and Pisa airports both serve the coast; Genoa is closer to Portofino, Pisa to Portovenere
- The season runs later here than further south — September and early October are reliably good
Reached from: Santa Margherita Ligure and Cala de' Medici
Where to dine
A table by the water
San Fruttuoso
San FruttuosoTwo tables on a pebble beach beside a tenth-century abbey with no road to it. Fish, and nothing that needs explaining.
Portovenere waterfront
PortovenereUnder the tall painted houses at the foot of the fortress, with Palmaria across the channel.
Santa Margherita Ligure
Santa MargheritaThe working town beside the famous one, which is where the prices and the cooking both make sense.
What to do
Anchorages & excursions
San Fruttuoso abbey
Reachable only by boat or on foot. The bronze Christ stands on the seabed seventeen metres down off the point.
Paraggi
The small bay before Portofino, and where almost every week anchors instead of fighting for a berth.
The Cinque Terre from the water
Anchor off and land by tender at one village rather than all five. It skips the train and the queue.
Palmaria
The island across the channel from Portovenere, with the Grotta Azzurra on its seaward side.
The fleet
Yachts available for the Italian Riviera
Vessels that operate here, from flagship motor yachts to smaller crewed boats. Every rate is quoted on enquiry.
Itineraries
Yacht charter itineraries on the Italian Riviera
What a week here actually looks like, day by day.
Good to know
Questions we are asked about the Italian Riviera
- How does the Italian Riviera compare with the Amalfi Coast?
- Fewer boats, colder water, better food, and a season that runs later. The Amalfi Coast is warmer and more dramatic; Liguria is quieter and easier to move around, and the anchorages are deeper. If you have done Amalfi and want the same idea without the traffic, this is it.
- Can we berth in Portofino?
- Rarely, and never at short notice in season — the harbour takes a few dozen boats and they are spoken for months ahead. Almost every week anchors off Paraggi or berths at Santa Margherita and goes in by tender, which takes five minutes and costs nothing.
- Are the Cinque Terre worth it from a boat?
- From the water, very much. Ashore, pick one village rather than all five — they are small, steep and full by mid-morning. Arriving by tender skips the train and the queue, which is most of what makes them hard work.
- Do you have yachts based in Liguria?
- No. The nearest base is Cala de' Medici in Tuscany, a day south, and everything else is positioned here for your dates. It means deciding earlier than for a Campanian week and a narrower choice of boat.
- What does a yacht charter on the Italian Riviera cost?
- It depends on the yacht, the season, the crew and the positioning, so we quote on enquiry rather than publish a figure that would be wrong for most weeks. Send us your dates and party size.
Destinations
Nearby destinations
Charter here
Enquire about a charter on the Italian Riviera
Tell us your dates and how many of you there are, and we will come back with the right yacht and a full quotation.