Italy · Costa Smeralda
Yacht Charter Porto Cervo
The marina the Costa Smeralda was built around — forty minutes from where the fleet actually keeps its boats.
Porto Cervo is a marina, a piazzetta and a set of prices, and it was designed as all three in the 1960s by a consortium that wanted somewhere for large yachts to be seen. It works: the berths are excellent, the service is serious, and in August it holds more length of hull than anywhere else in Italy. What it is not is a place to keep a boat for the year, which is why this fleet keeps its thirteen at Olbia and comes here for a night.
What the berth actually buys
Deep, sheltered water, a fuel dock that works, provisioning that will find what you ask for, and the shortest walk from a passerelle to a good dinner on this coast. In season it also buys company: the marina is the reason a certain kind of week comes to Sardinia at all.
Around it, within twenty minutes under power, are the anchorages the coast is famous for — Cala di Volpe, Liscia Ruja, Romazzino, Capriccioli — and they are quieter than the marina by an order of magnitude.
How to use it, and how not to
Most weeks that come here spend one or two nights alongside and the rest at anchor, which is the right ratio. Berths in August are booked from spring and priced accordingly; in June and September both facts soften considerably.
The honest version: if the marina is the point of the holiday, come in August and book early. If the water is the point, come either side of it and use Porto Cervo as a shower, a dinner and a fuel stop.
Practical notes
- No yacht is based here: the fleet sits at Olbia, forty minutes south, and comes up for the night
- Berths are booked from spring for August and are the single biggest constraint on a Costa Smeralda week
- Cala di Volpe, Liscia Ruja and Capriccioli are all within twenty minutes and far quieter
- Olbia airport is fifty minutes by road; the transfer is usually made to the boat, not to the marina
Reached from: Olbia
Where to dine
A table by the water
The Piazzetta
Porto CervoThe terrace above the marina, which is where the evening happens and where the boats are looked at.
Cala di Volpe
Cala di VolpeAt the head of the next bay, and the anchorage in front of it is better than the berth behind it.
Liscia di Vacca
Liscia di VaccaFive minutes round the point, doing Gallurese cooking rather than Riviera cooking.
What to do
Anchorages & excursions
Cala di Volpe
A long, shallow, sheltered inlet twenty minutes south, and the anchorage the coast is actually famous for.
Liscia Ruja
The largest beach on the Costa Smeralda, south-facing and shallow a long way out.
Romazzino and Capriccioli
Granite, white sand and water that reads turquoise even under cloud. Both are ten minutes from the marina.
The Maddalena archipelago
An hour north, and the reason a Costa Smeralda week does not stay on the Costa Smeralda.
The fleet
Yachts available for Porto Cervo
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 Porto Cervo
- Can you get a berth in Porto Cervo in August?
- Only if it was booked months ahead. It is the tightest berth on the Italian coast in that month and we would rather tell you now than in July. Either side of August it is straightforward.
- Is Porto Cervo worth a night?
- A night or two, yes — the service is genuinely good and the walk ashore is the easiest on this coast. A week alongside would be a waste of the water you came for.
- What does a charter to Porto Cervo cost?
- It depends on the yacht, the season and the crew, and berthing here is quoted separately because it varies more than anything else on the coast. Tell us your dates and we will set it out.
Destinations
Nearby destinations
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Enquire about a charter at Porto Cervo
Tell us your dates and how many of you there are, and we will come back with the right yacht and a full quotation.