A 7-day Italian Riviera yacht charter itinerary: Portofino berthing and costs, the Cinque Terre marine park rules for charter yachts, and a sample week.
A 7-day Italian Riviera charter itinerary runs the Ligurian coast between Genoa and Portovenere. It is a short coast with an outsized reputation: Portofino's harbour is one of the most photographed in the world, and the Cinque Terre villages are among the few places in the Mediterranean that genuinely look better from the water than from the land.
An Italian Riviera yacht charter is usually built around Portofino and the Cinque Terre, and pairs easily with the French Riviera to the west.
It is also the most berth-constrained ground in the Med, and the marine park rules do not work the way most crews assume. This guide covers both, plus how to sequence the week, and where Guest Trip removes the spreadsheet stage.
The season runs May to September, peaking in July and August when the coast is at its busiest and hottest. September holds good weather with thinner crowds. This is a short coast — Genoa to Portovenere is around 50 nautical miles — so a week here is deliberately unhurried, with more time ashore than on most Mediterranean grounds.
Two things shape the cruising. The Ligurian coast is steep-to with few large sheltered bays, so anchoring options are limited and the yacht spends more nights alongside than at anchor. And the coast is exposed to the south and west, so a libeccio can make the anchorages off Portofino and the Cinque Terre uncomfortable at short notice.
1. Solve Portofino before anything else
Portofino is the reason most guests book this coast, and it is the hardest berth in Italy. The harbour holds roughly 40 to 50 berths inside the moles with a rotating buoy field outside, and high-season rates for yachts of 25 metres and above run from around €2,000 to €6,000 a night. Reservations are essential from June to September, and without one the options are the buoy field or anchoring off. A 55-metre yacht paying comparable rates elsewhere on this coast can expect Portofino to be at the top of the range.
Santa Margherita Ligure, five miles south with around 200 berths, is the standard fallback and a perfectly good one — the tender run to Portofino takes minutes and the town is arguably more pleasant to walk. Rapallo and Genoa's Porto Antico are the wider alternatives. Plan the fallback at the same time as the booking, not after it falls through.
2. Understand the Cinque Terre permit position
The Cinque Terre Marine Protected Area is zoned, and the park issues daily permits for navigation and mooring in Zone B and for mooring and anchoring in Zone C, priced at around €8 for vessels up to 10 metres and €13 from 10 to 24 metres. The critical detail for crew: that permit system applies to boats used for recreational purposes only and explicitly excludes charter and rental activity. A commercial charter yacht therefore cannot simply buy the online day permit — the access route has to be established with the park authority or through a local agent before the itinerary promises the Cinque Terre.
In practice many charter yachts view the villages from outside the restricted zones and land guests by tender or arrange a shore excursion from Portovenere or Levanto. That is a perfectly good day; it is just a different day from the one guests may be imagining, so set the expectation early.
3. Use Portovenere as the southern anchor
Portovenere at the entrance to the Gulf of La Spezia is the practical base for the southern end of the coast: a genuinely beautiful town, an anchorage in the lee of Palmaria island, and the Cinque Terre a short run north. Porto Mirabello in La Spezia takes larger yachts. From here the Gulf of Poets — Lerici, San Terenzo — gives a quieter day or two.
4. Add the Tuscan archipelago if the week allows
Elba, Capraia and Giglio sit 40 to 70 miles south of Portovenere and turn a coastal week into a proper cruising one, with real anchorages and clear water that the Ligurian coast lacks. It is a genuine extension rather than a detour, and it suits guests who want to swim as well as walk. On a seven-day charter it means choosing: the Ligurian towns or the islands, not both.
In Guest Trip: custom saved locations with draggable pins let the crew keep their own library of Ligurian and Tuscan anchorages and reuse them across the season.
5. Respect the Portofino marine protected area
The waters around the Portofino promontory are a marine protected area, home to the Christ of the Abyss statue and some of the best diving on this coast. Like all Italian marine parks it is zoned, with restrictions on anchoring and access that change by zone. Check the current rules for the specific bay and the yacht's size before promising an anchorage under the headland.
6. Layer the onboard programme onto the route
Provision in Genoa, which has the best supply on the coast and excellent Ligurian specialities on the doorstep. Plan the ashore evenings for Portofino or Santa Margherita and Portovenere, the excursions for the Cinque Terre villages and the coastal walks, and the spa for the days in the Gulf of La Spezia. This is a walking and dining coast more than a watersports one; set that expectation.
7. Publish it as a live page
A Ligurian week turns on berths, and berths change. Publish the itinerary as a guest site the crew can edit so that a night moved from Portofino to Santa Margherita reads as a plan rather than a disappointment.
Day 1. Embark Genoa; short run east to Camogli or the Portofino promontory; dinner aboard. About 2 hours. Day 2. Portofino: berth or buoy, the village, San Fruttuoso abbey by tender; dinner ashore. Under 1 hour. Day 3. Santa Margherita and Rapallo; diving on the Christ of the Abyss; evening ashore. Under 1 hour. Day 4. South-east to the Cinque Terre coast; villages viewed from the water, tender or shore excursion. About 2 to 3 hours. Day 5. Portovenere and Palmaria; swim in the lee, evening in the town. About 1 hour. Day 6. Gulf of Poets: Lerici and San Terenzo; spa afternoon, quiet night. Under 1 hour. Day 7. Return north or disembark at La Spezia; disembarkation brief. Flexible
Total steaming is around 60 nautical miles — one of the shortest weeks in the Mediterranean. Extending south to Elba and the Tuscan archipelago adds 40 to 70 miles each way and changes the character of the charter entirely.
Yes. Portofino to Monaco is a manageable passage, so a week can cover both coasts. Agree where the charter starts and ends early, because it affects flights, berths and paperwork.
High-season rates for yachts of 25 metres and above run from roughly €2,000 to €6,000 a night. The harbour has around 40 to 50 berths inside the moles plus a rotating buoy field outside, and reservations are essential from June to September.
Not through the standard route. The Cinque Terre Marine Protected Area issues daily navigation and mooring permits — around €8 up to 10 metres and €13 from 10 to 24 metres — but those permits are for recreational use only and explicitly exclude charter and rental activity. Charter access must be arranged with the park authority or a local agent in advance.
Santa Margherita Ligure, five nautical miles south, with around 200 berths and a short tender run to Portofino. Rapallo and Genoa's Porto Antico are the wider alternatives, and the Portofino buoy field is an option when the inner harbour is full.
Genoa to Portovenere is around 50 nautical miles, making this one of the shortest Mediterranean weeks. Extending south to Elba and the Tuscan archipelago adds 40 to 70 miles each way and turns it into a genuine cruising itinerary.
Berths, fallbacks, park access and restaurant bookings attached to the day.
Custom pins for the few good Ligurian anchorages and the Tuscan islands.
A Cinque Terre day described honestly reads as a plan rather than a substitution.
Move a night from Portofino to Santa Margherita without re-sending a PDF.
Hold berths and their fallbacks against the day, describe each day honestly, and publish a guest-ready site under your own brand.