Italy Yacht Charter

Reviewed by Adrian Sneed, Charter Broker at Sneed Charters — a family brokerage arranging crewed yacht charters in the Mediterranean since 1992.

Where to charter in Italy

Five grounds, and they do not cruise alike. The Amalfi Coast and the Aeolians are short-hop island circuits. Sardinia is a permit regime as much as a cruising ground. The Ligurian Riviera is a day-trip coast with a protected area in the middle of it. The Tuscan archipelago is the quietest and the least visited.

Five cruising grounds at a glance

• Capri

  Amalfi Coast & Capri

  Best monthsMay–Jun, Sep

  Very short hops and heavy ferry traffic. A first Italian charter, and the best shore programme.

• Porto Cervo

  Sardinia — Costa Smeralda & La Maddalena

  Best monthsJun, Sep

  Short passages inside a national park with paid permits. Anchorages, water, larger yachts.

• Siracusa

  Sicily & the Aeolian Islands

  Best monthsJun, Sep

  Compact island group, long legs to reach it. Volcanic scenery and fewer crowds.

• Portofino

  Ligurian Riviera & Portofino

  Best monthsJun, Sep

  A day coast, and the protected area limits mooring. Restaurants and towns, not anchoring.

• Isola del Giglio

  Tuscan archipelago

  Best monthsMay–Jun, Sep

  Seven islands inside a national park. Quiet weeks, sailing yachts.

“Best months” is our own recommendation, not an industry standard.

The trade-off worth saying out loud: Italy gives you the best coastline in the Mediterranean and charges you 22% for it. If the shore programme is the point, that is money well spent. If you mainly want to be at anchor, Greece and Croatia deliver a comparable week at 13%.

If Italy turns out not to be the right water for you, we broker the whole basin — see our Mediterranean yacht charter guide.

Amalfi in August or September?

September, and it is not close. The water is as warm, the ports have emptied, and you pay shoulder rates. August buys you one thing only: school holidays. If you are not tied to them, do not charter Italy in August. The season runs May to October. A useful objective marker: the marina at Capri prices its high season as 16 May to 15 September, with shoulder rates in the first half of May and from mid-September to mid-October. That is the industry's own read on when demand peaks, expressed in money rather than opinion.

Around Naples, air temperatures average roughly 18–28°C in June and 17–27°C in September, with sea temperature peaking near 27°C in August and holding well into September.

A sample week on the Amalfi Coast

The most requested Italian week, as we would plan it in June or September: a round trip from Salerno, about 70 nautical miles in all, with no leg longer than a couple of hours on a motor yacht. It is a starting point, not a fixed route — the captain sets the final plan around weather and berths.

What an Italian charter costs, and what the tax adds

Weekly rates track the rest of the Mediterranean — roughly €15,000 for a crewed catamaran to €500,000 and beyond for a large superyacht, quoted on MYBA terms — the Mediterranean Yacht Brokers Association contract that is the industry standard for crewed charter — plus an APA of 25–35%: an Advance Provisioning Allowance, a float the captain spends on your fuel, food and berthing and reconciles with receipts at the end. What is specific to Italy is the tax on top.

Want to see real yachts in these bands? Browse our fleet, or ask for a shortlist of yachts free on your dates.

Charter VAT in Italy is 22%, applied to the charter fee. On a €60,000 week that is €13,200, against €7,800 for the same yacht boarding in Greece or Croatia. That gap — about €5,400 — is the single largest line item you can move by changing where the week starts.

The old 6.6% rate is gone. Italy used to tax yachts over 24 metres at an effective rate of around 6.6%; that regime ended on 1 November 2020, so any quote still citing it is out of date. Relief for the part of a week spent outside EU waters still exists, but the yacht has to evidence it with tracking data or logs — we confirm whether it applies to your yacht before you sign.

What is included, and what is not

The charter fee buys the yacht, her crew, and her insurance. Everything you consume on board is billed separately through the APA — fuel, food, drink, berthing and park permits — and Italian VAT sits on top of the fee. On MYBA terms that split is standard and not negotiable.

Water toys are the one line that genuinely varies — on some yachts they are in the fee, on others they are an APA item. Confirm it on the specific vessel before you assume.

The part people misread is the APA. It is not a service charge and it is not profit — it is your own float, held by the captain, spent on your week and reconciled with receipts at the end. If you underspend it, the balance comes back to you. If you run a lot of air conditioning at anchor and eat ashore rarely, you will spend more of it than you expected, because fuel and provisioning are the two lines that move most.

Where your week starts

Most Italian charters board at Naples, Salerno, Olbia, Palermo or Genoa. The starting port fixes Italian VAT at 22% for the whole charter, so a week that begins in Italy is taxed at 22% even if most of it is spent elsewhere.

Two practical notes. Capri takes yachts up to 60 metres with 8 metres of depth, but access requires a prior call under the harbour ordinances, commercial ferry traffic has priority, and there is a two-knot speed limit inside. It is not a port you turn up at. Salerno's Marina d'Arechi is the practical superyacht base for the Amalfi Coast — a dedicated quay for yachts from 32 to 100 metres, 8 metres of depth, a 170-metre entrance, bunkering and a helipad, close to Salerno Costa d'Amalfi airport.

The marine parks decide where you can actually moor

Italy has 32 marine protected areas, zoned A, B and C: Zone A is an integral reserve where navigation and anchoring are both prohibited, Zone B is regulated, Zone C is a buffer. On an Italian charter these zones do more to shape the itinerary than the weather does.

Portofino — the one nobody mentions

The Portofino marine protected area publishes a mooring tariff that stops at 24 metres, and most of its buoys are limited to vessels under 7.5 metres. In Zone A, navigation, anchoring and mooring are all prohibited. In Zone B, yachts above the eco-compatibility thresholds may transit only perpendicular to the shore at five knots, to reach the San Fruttuoso moorings. In Zone C, anchoring is permitted only 100 metres or more from shore.

The honest version: a charter yacht of any real size cannot moor inside the Portofino MPA. You visit Portofino by tender from Santa Margherita Ligure, which is a couple of miles away and where the yacht can actually lie. Brokers who put Portofino on an itinerary without saying this are setting up a disappointing afternoon.

La Maddalena — a permit, priced by the metre

Sardinia's La Maddalena National Park charges for access by length of the vessel. For 2026 the daily permit runs €4.50 per metre for yachts of 24 to 35 metres and €5.00 per metre above 35 metres; a seven-day permit for a yacht in the 40-metre-plus band is €760. Buying online takes 5% off, and sailing vessels get 40%.

New rules for 2026 also cap commercial activity inside the park: charter permits have been cut to 450, day-boat rentals are limited to 700 units a day in the marine areas, and tender landings on beaches are prohibited — landings are permitted only at docks and piers, and only between 17:00 and 09:00. Operating without a permit carries fines of €1,032 to €3,098.

Your brokers

You get a named broker, not a call centre. The same person takes your first message, negotiates the contract and is reachable while you are aboard.

Italy yacht charter FAQs