Italy · Gulf of Poets
Yacht Charter Spezia
A deep, sheltered gulf with Portovenere at one gate and the Cinque Terre round the corner.
The Gulf of La Spezia is the best natural harbour on the Ligurian coast — deep, wide and closed at its mouth by a breakwater and two islands, which means it holds in any weather that shuts the coast outside. Byron and Shelley both lived on it, which is where the Gulf of Poets got its name, and Portovenere stands on the western gate.
The gulf itself
Three kilometres across and sheltered from every direction, with Palmaria and Tino closing the western entrance. Lerici sits on the eastern shore under a Pisan castle, and Tellaro beyond it is a village of pink and ochre houses on a rock, with the church built into the water.
It is the all-weather base for this stretch: when the south-westerly gets up outside and the Cinque Terre anchorages become untenable, boats come inside and the evening carries on.
Portovenere and the islands
Portovenere closes the western gate — a wall of tall painted houses, a Genoese fortress above, and the black-and-white striped church of San Pietro standing on the point where a temple to Venus once stood.
Palmaria across the channel has the Grotta Azzurra on its seaward side and a coast reached only from the water. Tino, beyond it, is military and closed except one day a year, which is exactly the sort of detail that makes people want to see it.
Practical notes
- The nearest base is Cala de' Medici, a comfortable day south
- The gulf is sheltered from every direction and is the all-weather refuge for the whole Cinque Terre stretch
- Portovenere is at the western gate; the Cinque Terre begin twenty minutes beyond it
- Pisa airport is about an hour and a quarter, Genoa about an hour and a half
Reached from: Cala de' Medici
Where to dine
A table by the water
Locanda Lorena
PalmariaOn the island across the channel, with a boat that comes to fetch you from Portovenere.
Miranda
TellaroA room with eight tables above the village, and a kitchen that has been quietly serious for forty years.
Lerici waterfront
LericiUnder the Pisan castle on the eastern shore, where the gulf eats in the evening.
What to do
Anchorages & excursions
Portovenere
A wall of painted houses under a Genoese fortress, with the striped church of San Pietro on the point where a temple to Venus stood.
Palmaria
Across the channel, with the Grotta Azzurra on its seaward side and a coast reached only from the water.
Tellaro
Pink and ochre houses built onto a rock at the eastern end, with the church standing in the sea.
Lerici castle
A Pisan fortress of 1152 above the eastern shore, looking down the whole gulf.
The fleet
Yachts available for La Spezia
Vessels that operate here, from flagship motor yachts to smaller crewed boats. Every rate is quoted on enquiry.
Good to know
Questions we are asked about the Gulf of Poets
- Why base a Ligurian week on the Gulf of Poets?
- Because it holds in any weather. Three kilometres of sheltered water closed by two islands, with Portovenere on the gate and the Cinque Terre twenty minutes outside it.
- What is worth seeing inside the gulf?
- Portovenere at the western entrance, Palmaria across the channel with its sea cave, and Lerici and Tellaro on the eastern shore — the second built onto a rock with the church in the water.
- What does a yacht charter in the Gulf of Poets 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.
Destinations
Nearby destinations
Charter here
Enquire about a charter in the Gulf of Poets
Tell us your dates and how many of you there are, and we will come back with the right yacht and a full quotation.