Sardinia
Yacht Charters

Sardinia is one of the Mediterranean’s premier motor yacht destinations. The Costa Smeralda’s yacht infrastructure is highly developed, and Porto Cervo and the open water between the north coast and the Maddalena Archipelago suit a motor yacht’s strengths well. A motor yacht charter in Sardinia gives you the reach to cover the whole northeast circuit in a week without feeling rushed, including Porto Cervo, the Maddalena islands, the beaches of the Gallura coast, and the straits between Sardinia and Corsica. Luxury motor yacht charters in Sardinia start from €50,000 per week.

Sardinia is an exceptional sailing destination, and a sailing yacht charter delivers an experience that’s genuinely different from a motor yacht, not just in pace but in character. The Tramontane, the dominant north wind, is reliable and strong in summer, and the waters between Sardinia, Corsica, and the Maddalena Archipelago produce passages that reward a boat built to sail them. Guests who want to feel the wind and the movement of the sea, rather than arrive quickly, tend to find that Sardinia under sail is one of the more memorable weeks they’ve spent on the water. Sailing yacht charters in Sardinia start from €25,000 per week.

Catamarans suit Sardinia’s more sheltered anchorages well, like the Maddalena Archipelago, the bays of the south coast, and the calmer inlets of the west around Alghero. The wide beam and generous living space of a catamaran work particularly well for families who want days divided between sailing and time ashore. Catamaran charters in Sardinia start from €25,000 per week.

Porto Cervo – which has infrastructure that’s been purpose-built around the needs of large vessels – is one of the few places in the world where a superyacht feels entirely at home. The infrastructure, the social scene, and the expectation of scale make the Costa Smeralda a natural fit for the largest vessels on the Mediterranean. Sardinia also hosts the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup and Loro Piana Regatta in September, which draw significant superyacht presence. Private Sardinia superyacht charters start from €250,000 per week.

Cagliari is the largest city in Sardinia and, for guests whose itinerary covers the south of the island, the most useful departure point. The old city rises steeply above the harbor; the Castello quarter at the top has views across the Campidano plain and the salt lagoons where flamingos gather in summer. The Roman amphitheater, the Phoenician and Carthaginian remains at nearby Nora (accessible by sea), and a restaurant scene that operates largely independently of tourist demand make Cagliari worth a day ashore on any southern itinerary.

Porto Cervo was built in the 1960s by the Aga Khan as a resort for people who already had everything, and it has fulfilled that brief with remarkable consistency ever since. The marina is one of the largest and best-equipped in the Mediterranean; the boutiques and restaurants along the Piazzetta operate at a level that takes the fleet it serves as given. In July and August it is genuinely busy, with vessels arriving from across the Mediterranean for the social season. A private charter transforms the experience: you have a berth confirmed in advance, you arrive and leave on your own schedule, and the Maddalena Archipelago – just fifteen minutes by tender from the marina entrance – gives you a retreat from the main event whenever you want one.

Stintino sits on a narrow peninsula at the northwest corner of Sardinia, overlooking the Asinara Island National Park. La Pelosa beach, a shallow, white-sand bar with water the color of the Maldives, is the headline attraction and the most-photographed beach on Sardinia.  It’s best appreciated by arriving early by tender before the day-trippers arrive by road. The town itself is small and unpretentious, with good local seafood, a few bars, and the quiet of a place that hasn’t been entirely overtaken by its own reputation.

Alghero was a Catalan colony for three centuries, and the influence has never entirely left: the street signs are bilingual, the dialect is closer to Valencian than Italian, and the old city within its medieval walls has a character that sets it apart from anywhere else on the island. The Riviera del Corallo, named for the red coral harvested offshore since antiquity, offers some of Sardinia’s best diving, and Neptune’s Grotto, a stalactite cave accessible only by sea or a long staircase cut into the cliff, is one of the more memorable shore excursions on a western Sardinia itinerary.

Carloforte occupies the island of San Pietro off Sardinia’s southwest coast, and its origins are genuinely unusual: it was settled in the 18th century by Ligurian coral fishermen from the Tunisian island of Tabarka, and the Tabarchino dialect they brought with them is still spoken today. The town is well-preserved, pastel-colored, and unhurried. The surrounding waters are a tuna migration route, and the mattanza, the traditional tuna hunt, has been practiced here for centuries. Tuna in every form is the local specialty and the correct thing to order.

Costa Verde is the stretch of Sardinia’s southwest coast that development largely passed by, protected partly by its relative inaccessibility by road and partly by topography. This means that green macchia-covered hills drop to dunes and beaches without the infrastructure that the northeast coast has accumulated. Piscinas beach, backed by some of the highest sand dunes in Europe, is the defining stop. The abandoned mining complex at Montevecchio, visible from the coast, adds an unexpectedly industrial note to an otherwise entirely natural landscape.

Set at the base of the Cape Caccia headland about 15 miles from Alghero, Neptune’s Grotto is a stalactite cave where the cliff drops directly into the water. Discovered by local fishermen in the 18th century, the cave extends several hundred meters into the rock, with formations that have been growing since long before the Romans arrived. You can reach it by climbing 654 steps cut into the cliff face, or by tender from the yacht – we think it’s the more sensible approach, and the one that puts the setting in proper context.

It depends on which part of Sardinia you’re planning to cover and what kind of experience you want. Motor yachts suit the Costa Smeralda and Maddalena circuit well, since the infrastructure supports them, the distances work, and for guests who value arrival in the right places at the right times, a motor yacht gives you that control. Sailing yachts are the better choice for guests who want to actually sail: the Tramontane is one of the most consistent winds in the Mediterranean, and the water between Sardinia, Corsica, and the Maddalena islands is demanding. Catamarans work well for the south and west coasts, where the anchorages are calmer and the emphasis is more on exploring than on making passages.

June through September is the season. July and August are peak season on the Costa Smeralda, when the social scene is at its most intense, the berths are most in demand, and the weather is reliably hot and dry. Sailors tend to prefer June and September, when the Tramontane is at its best and the anchorages are quieter. The south and west coasts are good from May and often overlooked in favour of the northeast’s reputation.

Sailing yachts and catamarans run from around €25,000 per week; motor yachts from around €50,000; superyachts from €250,000 and up. All prices are quoted on an MYBA basis, with an APA of 25-30% covering fuel, marina fees, and provisioning. Italian VAT applies. Costa Smeralda peak season commands a premium across vessel types, and Porto Cervo berths for large vessels need to be secured well in advance.

It’s one of the defining yacht charter destinations in the Mediterranean. The combination of exceptional water clarity, a world-class marina infrastructure at Porto Cervo, and a social scene that draws an international fleet every summer makes the Costa Smeralda genuinely unique. The Maddalena Archipelago, a national park immediately to the north, adds protected anchorages and some of the best snorkeling in Italy to a part of the island that already has everything else. For guests who want to be at the centre of the Mediterranean summer, there is nowhere quite like it.

Among the best in the Mediterranean, for the right kind of guest. The Tramontane, the north wind that funnels through the Strait of Bonifacio between Sardinia and Corsica, is reliable and strong in summer, producing conditions that bring out the best in a sailing yacht. The experience is genuinely different from a motor yacht charter: It’s slower, more connected to the sea, and more dependent on the weather in a way that most guests who choose it consider a feature rather than a drawback. Crew participation is welcome on most vessels for guests who want it, at captain’s discretion. Sailing yacht charters in Sardinia start from €25,000 per week.

Yes. Sardinia is one of the best-equipped motor yacht destinations in the Mediterranean. Porto Cervo was effectively purpose-built around the needs of large vessels, with berth infrastructure, provisioning, and shore-side services that match the fleet it attracts. The open water between the Costa Smeralda and the Maddalena Archipelago suits a motor yacht’s range and speed, and the full northeast circuit, including Porto Cervo, the Maddalena islands, and the Gallura coast, is comfortably achievable in a week. Luxury motor yacht charters in Sardinia start from €50,000 per week.

Olbia is the most convenient departure point for the Costa Smeralda and the northeast, with a well-equipped marina and direct flight connections from most major European cities. Porto Cervo itself is the departure point for guests whose itinerary centres on the superyacht scene. Cagliari suits southern itineraries covering the archaeological sites, the beaches of the south coast, and the islands of San Pietro and Sant’Antioco. The departure port can usually be arranged to suit your travel plans.

The base charter fee covers the vessel, the full crew, and all onboard equipment. The Advance Provisioning Allowance (25-30% of the charter fee, paid upfront) covers meals prepared by the onboard chef, beverages, fuel, and marina fees, including Porto Cervo berth arrangements where applicable. Italian VAT applies to the base charter fee and varies by vessel flag; Worldwide Boat’s team confirms the applicable rate at the time of booking. Any unspent APA balance is returned at the end of the charter.