Italy · Costa Smeralda & La Maddalena
Yacht Charter Sardinia
Crewed catamarans and sailing yachts from Olbia — the Costa Smeralda, La Maddalena and the Strait of Bonifacio.
Olbia is the largest base in this fleet — thirteen yachts, more than any port on the Amalfi Coast — and it exists because of what lies within a morning's sail of it. North-eastern Sardinia is granite, deep water and the clearest sea in the western Mediterranean, and the La Maddalena archipelago at the top of it is a national park of sixty-two islands that almost nobody lives on.
Why Sardinia is a week and not a day
The Amalfi Coast rewards a day out because everything worth seeing is within an hour of everything else. Sardinia does not work that way. From Olbia the first proper anchorage is under an hour, La Maddalena is three to four, and Bonifacio on the Corsican side is a full day with the tide and the strait to think about. Sail it in a day and you spend the day sailing.
Given a week the same distances become the point. A standard itinerary leaves Olbia, works north through the Costa Smeralda, spends two or three days inside the archipelago, and either crosses into Corsica or comes back down the inside of Caprera at a slower pace than it went up.
What the week usually looks like
Tavolara and the Golfo Aranci first — a limestone slab rising nine hundred metres straight out of the water, and the shakedown leg that lets the crew learn the boat. Then Porto Cervo and Cala di Volpe, which are the postcard and are also the most expensive berths in Italy in August; most charters look at them from the water and anchor elsewhere.
The archipelago is what people come back for. Spargi, Santa Maria and Budelli hold water that genuinely bears comparison with the Caribbean, and Budelli's pink beach is a protected reserve you may look at from the boat and not walk on. Cala Corsara and Cala Soraya take the afternoon and the swimming is the entire agenda.
Bonifacio is a day's sail further, and the arrival — a Genoese citadel balanced on a white cliff above a fjord you cannot see into until you are inside it — is one of the great entrances in the Mediterranean. The strait between the two islands has real current and deserves a skipper who has crossed it before.
Which boat suits these waters
Ten of the thirteen yachts at Olbia are catamarans, and that is not an accident. The good anchorages here are sand at four to six metres with granite either side; a catamaran sits over them at a draught a monohull cannot use, and the deck space matters when the boat is the only shade for a hundred miles.
The three monohulls are the answer when the mistral is in. It comes down from the north-west, it can blow for three days, and a keel boat crosses to Corsica in weather that would keep a catamaran alongside. If your week falls in early June or late September, this is worth discussing before you choose.
No motor yacht is based here. We can position one, and for most parties it would be the wrong boat: the distances are sailing distances and the anchorages are where you spend the day.
Practical notes
- Olbia is the fleet's largest base — thirteen yachts, and Costa Smeralda airport is twenty minutes from the berth
- La Maddalena is a national park: navigation and anchoring need a permit, which we arrange with the charter
- Porto Cervo and Cala di Volpe berths are spoken for months ahead in August
- The mistral builds from the north-west and can hold a boat in harbour for a day — leave slack in the itinerary
- Corsica is within a day's sail; crossing into French waters needs the paperwork done before departure
Reached from: Olbia, Portisco and the Costa Smeralda marinas
Where to dine
A table by the water
Phi Beach
Baja SardiniaBeach club and restaurant on the water — book a sunset table for aperitivo.
Ristorante Pedrinelli
PalauThe area's best lobster alla catalana. Uncompromising Sardinian cooking.
Il Belvedere
Porto CervoViews over Cala di Volpe — dentex carpaccio and seafood tagliolini.
Canne al Vento
NuoroInland Sardinian fare — malloreddus, suckling pig with myrtle, aged cheeses.
A Cantina di l'Orriu
BonifacioCorsican cooking on the old port — local charcuterie, fresh brocciu, Niellucciu wine.
What to do
Anchorages & excursions
Spiaggia Rosa, Budelli
Sea access only — the sand is pink from crushed coral. A protected reserve.
Cala Brandinchi
The 'Sardinian Tahiti' — fine white sand and two-tone turquoise water.
Su Nuraxi, Barumini
Sardinia's most important nuraghe, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Bonifacio old town
A Genoese citadel poised on the cliff — reached on foot via the stairways.
Strait of Bonifacio by sea
12km of currents and islands — technical sailing, unmatched scenery.
The fleet
Yachts available for Sardinia
Vessels that operate here, from flagship motor yachts to smaller crewed boats. Every rate is quoted on enquiry.
Itineraries
Yacht charter itineraries in Sardinia
What a week here actually looks like, day by day.
Good to know
Questions we are asked about Sardinia
- Where do charters in Sardinia start?
- Olbia, on the north-east coast, which is where thirteen of our yachts are based — the largest concentration in the fleet. Costa Smeralda airport is twenty minutes away, so most parties fly in and board the same day.
- Is a week enough for Sardinia and Corsica?
- For north-eastern Sardinia, the La Maddalena archipelago and Bonifacio, yes — that is the classic week and it is not rushed. Circumnavigating Sardinia is not a week; it is a delivery with swimming stops.
- Do we need a permit for the La Maddalena archipelago?
- Yes. It is a national park and both navigation and anchoring are regulated, with the zones around Budelli the most restricted. The permit is straightforward and we arrange it as part of the charter.
- Can we charter in Sardinia for a single day?
- It is possible and we would usually talk you out of it. The water that makes Sardinia worth the trip is three to four hours north of the base, which makes a day out mostly a passage. For a day on the water, the Amalfi Coast and Capri are the right answer.
- What does a yacht charter in Sardinia cost?
- Rates depend on the yacht, the week and whether you take a crew, so we quote on enquiry rather than publish a figure that would be wrong for most people. Tell us your dates and party size and we will send a proposal.
Destinations
Nearby destinations
Charter here
Enquire about a charter in Sardinia
Tell us your dates and how many of you there are, and we will come back with the right yacht and a full quotation.