France · South Corsica
Yacht Charter Porto-Vecchio
White sand and shallow turquoise on the south-east corner, with a Genoese old town above the gulf.
Porto-Vecchio sits at the head of a long gulf on Corsica's south-eastern corner, with a Genoese walled town on the hill and the island's best-known beaches either side of it. Palombaggia and Santa Giulia are the reason most weeks come this far north-east from Bonifacio: white sand, red granite outcrops, and water shallow enough to read the bottom through a long way out.
The beaches
Palombaggia runs along the southern side of the gulf's entrance, backed by umbrella pines, with granite boulders breaking the sand into bays. Santa Giulia, a few kilometres further south, is a near-enclosed lagoon of very shallow water.
Both face east, which means they are sheltered from the prevailing westerlies and the anchorages off them are calm on the afternoons when the strait further south is not.
The town and the interior
The old town is inside sixteenth-century Genoese walls at the top of the hill, with a square of plane trees and a gate looking down the gulf. The salt pans below it worked from Roman times until the twentieth century and gave the town its Corsican name.
Inland, the Ospedale forest climbs to a thousand metres in twenty minutes of road: cork oak, laricio pine and granite, and a temperature drop that is welcome in August.
Practical notes
- Palombaggia and Santa Giulia face east and are sheltered from the prevailing westerlies
- Figari airport is twenty-five minutes by road, Bonifacio forty-five minutes by sea
- The gulf is deep at its mouth and shallows towards the town; the marina sits at the head
- Olbia is under two hours south across the strait, where thirteen of this fleet's yachts sit
Reached from: Olbia
Where to dine
A table by the water
Le Belvédère
PalombaggiaOn the beach under the pines, with the granite outcrops in front and the anchorage beyond them.
A Cantina di l'Orriu
Porto-VecchioIn the old town, a cellar of Corsican charcuterie and cheese with the wine to match.
Tamaricciu
PalombaggiaTables on the sand at the southern end, reached by tender, open at lunch through the season.
What to do
Anchorages & excursions
Palombaggia
White sand and granite outcrops under umbrella pines, east-facing and sheltered from the prevailing westerlies.
Santa Giulia
A near-enclosed lagoon of very shallow water a few kilometres south, and the calmest anchorage on this corner.
The Genoese old town
Sixteenth-century walls at the top of the hill, with a square of plane trees and a gate looking down the gulf.
The Ospedale forest
Cork oak and laricio pine at a thousand metres, twenty minutes inland, and considerably cooler than the coast.
The fleet
Yachts available for Porto-Vecchio
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-Vecchio
- Which beach is worth the anchorage?
- Palombaggia for granite outcrops and pines, Santa Giulia for very shallow water in a near-enclosed bay. Both face east and stay calm when the strait further south does not.
- What is worth seeing ashore?
- The Genoese walled town at the top of the hill, and the Ospedale forest twenty minutes inland — cork oak and laricio pine at a thousand metres, with the temperature to match.
- What does a yacht charter at Porto-Vecchio 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
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Enquire about a charter at Porto-Vecchio
Tell us your dates and how many of you there are, and we will come back with the right yacht and a full quotation.