What You Are Buying
Let's start with what an Amalfi Coast yacht charter really is, because the brochures get this wrong too. The coast runs roughly 40 kilometres from Salerno to Positano, with Capri and Ischia across the bay. Distances between stops are tiny: Capri to Nerano is under 10nm, Nerano to Positano another 8. You will barely unfurl the sails. This is a motoring trip between floating restaurants, and once you accept that, it is one of the best weeks available anywhere in the Mediterranean.
The food alone justifies it. No other stretch of coastline has this density of restaurants you arrive at by tender: Lo Scoglio in Nerano, La Fontelina below the Faraglioni, Da Adolfo on Positano's Fornillo beach, Il Riccio near the Blue Grotto. A yacht here is less a vessel than a hotel room with a tender garage.
What It Costs in 2026
| Charter type | Weekly rate | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Gozzo day charter | €800-1,500/day | Captain included, no cabins worth sleeping in |
| Bareboat catamaran/sail | €4,500-13,000 | You need a proper licence; see our licence guide |
| Crewed motor yacht, 15-20m | €15,000-30,000 | Captain plus chef; the sweet spot for first-timers |
| Crewed sailing yacht | €25,000-40,000 | Captain and chef |
| Motor yacht ~35m | €105,000-140,000 | Early June vs July pricing |
| Superyacht 30m+ | €250,000+ | And the coast will fight you; read the size section |
Now the part the headline rate hides. On a €140,000 July quote for a 35m boat, add APA at 30% (€42,000), Italian VAT at 22% on the base (€30,800) and a 10% gratuity (€14,000). Total: roughly €227,000, and some crews calculate VAT on APA disbursements too. Book the same boat in early June and the headline drops toward €105,000, pulling the all-in figure down to around €180,000. The coastline does not change between those months. The price of occupying it does.
Marina nights are extra within reason: expect €50-150 nightly at standard marinas, Ischia pushing €250 in August. Most Amalfi weeks sleep at anchor anyway.
The Size Rule Nobody Puts in the Brochure
Here is the constraint that shapes everything else, and the one brokers mention last: this is a coast for yachts under 50 metres.
Capri's usable anchorage off Marina Grande holds perhaps 25 yachts above 40m when everyone arrives for the season. By mid-July, demand exceeds capacity and boats get pushed to the exposed western side, which turns ugly when the wind swings south. Positano is worse: there is no marina at all, just an open roadstead where you anchor and tender guests into a busy public beach. Restaurant jetties along the coast take small tenders, not 60m-yacht toy garages.
A 70m superyacht can technically run this itinerary. We have heard enough accounts of those trips to say plainly: the same group on a 45m boat has a better week. If your group needs twelve-plus guests and multiple decks, consider the Costa Smeralda instead, which we cover in our Sardinia guide.
Where You Sleep Each Night
Capri. Overnight on the Marina Grande side where holding is decent. The Faraglioni anchorage is the photograph but holding there is variable; use it for a swim stop. Marina Piccola is tender-only. La Fontelina and Da Luigi handle lunch; book ahead or accept the queue.
Positano. Open roadstead, exposed to south-easterlies, so check the forecast rather than trusting luck. Tender into Spiaggia Grande early or eat at Da Adolfo across the beach where the boat shuttle runs all day. Dinner at La Sponda if the budget allows.
Nerano (Marina del Cantone). The lunch engine of the whole coast. Lo Scoglio and Quattro Passi sit at opposite ends of the bay, and most itineraries route through here twice in a week. Arrive before noon or the anchorage raft-ups beyond recovery.
Praiano. The quiet pocket between Positano and Amalfi. One calm cove at Marina di Praia with a fishing harbour that takes tenders. Worth a night when everywhere else is rolly.
Ischia and Procida. The weather fallback and the underrated stop. Sant'Angelo and Lacco Ameno hold well when Capri does not, the thermal parks at Negombo and Poseidon are tender-access, and Procida's Marina Corricella is the prettiest working harbour on this coast. Locals holiday here; that tells you something.
Two things we advise against: overnighting in Naples (tender security has been a recurring problem) and trying to bolt the Pontine Islands onto an Amalfi week. Ponza deserves its own trip out of Rome.
A Week That Works
Saturday: board at Naples or Sorrento, reposition to Capri. Sunday and Monday: Capri days, Faraglioni swim, Fontelina lunch, Nerano dinner. Tuesday and Wednesday: Positano, with a Praiano or Amalfi-town day between. Thursday: Amalfi and Ravello by taxi from the small harbour. Friday: cross to Ischia for the thermal afternoon and a quiet final night. Saturday: back to Naples, gone by ten.
Total distance: about 65 nautical miles. Ambitious sailors find this funny until they spend the week eating zucchini pasta at Lo Scoglio and change their minds.
The Restaurants Are Half the Trip
No other coastline concentrates tender-access dining like this, so plan meals the way you would plan dives.
Nerano: Lo Scoglio, built on a jetty over its own kitchen garden, serves the zucchini pasta people fly in for; Quattro Passi holds a Michelin star at the far side of the bay. Both need bookings days out in season, made through your crew, not your hotel concierge.
Capri: La Fontelina below the Faraglioni for long seafood lunches; Il Riccio near the Blue Grotto when the budget stretches to its sea-urchin pasta. Da Luigi balances both on price and queue length.
Positano: Da Adolfo on Fornillo, reached by its own blue fishing boat flying a fish flag, for grilled mozzarella and mussels under lemon trees; Chez Black on Spiaggia Grande for the scene; La Sponda at Le Sirenuse for the candlelit splurge.
Ischia: Da Peppina in Forio for whole fish after the thermal parks. Conca del Miramare e Il Manto at Sant'Angelo sit right at the waterline.
A practical note on all of the above: yacht crews book these tables weeks ahead through repeat relationships, which is part of what you are paying for on a crewed charter. Bareboat groups should reserve before leaving home, not from a dinghy on Tuesday.
The VAT Nuance Worth Knowing
Italian charter VAT sits at 22%, applied to the charter fee, and how much applies can depend on itinerary structure: charters that include international legs or non-EU segments can qualify for apportioned rates under the correct structuring, which legitimate brokers arrange with the yacht's commercial team rather than improvising. Ask specifically how the quote handles VAT before comparing prices across brokers, because a headline that looks €8,000 cheaper sometimes just assumes you will never ask.
APA accounting deserves equal scrutiny. Insist on the itemised end-of-charter statement, keep fuel receipts where the captain provides them, and expect genuine money back if the week ran light on fuel and marina nights. Our APA explainer covers the mechanics.
Getting There
Naples airport sits 30-45 minutes from the marinas and has a proper business-aviation terminal, so flying private direct works cleanly; our aviation team arranges this regularly. Salerno's small airport handles limited scheduled traffic. From Rome the drive takes two and a half hours, then the coastal road slows to a crawl precisely where you least want it to. One more argument for letting the boat do the work.
If a week aboard the Amalfi sounds right but the research feels heavy, that is literally our job: three vetted options with real totals inside 48 hours. Message us on WhatsApp or Telegram. For how Italian pricing compares across the country, see our Italy sailing guide.