Amalfi Coast Yacht Charter Season

Private Amalfi Coast yacht charters for the summer season. Why the best boats and peak weeks go early, how a day from Positano to Capri actually runs, and which of our boats fits your group.

An Amalfi Coast summer is decided in winter. The boats people want for the peak weeks of June, July, August and early September are a short list, the crews that run them are a shorter one, and the families and groups who charter them every year tend to lock their dates between January and March. By the time the coast is warm enough to swim, the question is rarely whether a boat exists but which boats are still free on the day you wanted. A private charter is the best way to see this coast, because the coast was never built for cars. The road between Positano and Amalfi is one of the most beautiful drives in Europe and one of the slowest, and in high summer it is often at a standstill. From the water, Positano, the Li Galli islands, Nerano and Capri sit in a single sweep, and a good captain can put a group in front of all of them in one day without anyone sitting in traffic. Our Amalfi Coast fleet runs from twelve-metre classic day boats for a couple or a family of six, through fast open sportboats, to twenty-metre sport cruisers and a twenty-four point seven metre motoryacht for sixteen. Every boat carries a captain, the larger ones carry a full crew, and five of them can keep guests aboard overnight. What follows is how the season works, how a charter day actually runs, and which boat fits which group, so that the booking you make in the new year is the right one.

Why the Amalfi charter season is booked in winter

The swimming season on the Amalfi Coast runs roughly from late spring into October, and the demand inside it is uneven. June, July, August and the first half of September carry most of it, and the weekends inside those months carry the most of all. The supply is fixed: a coast of this length has only so many private boats of charter quality with licensed captains, and the best-known hulls are the same few every summer. That combination is why the good dates go early rather than late. The booking wave for a summer on this coast runs from January to March. That is when families set school-holiday weeks, when wedding parties fix the days either side of the ceremony, and when repeat clients call to secure the same boat and the same captain as last year. A request made in January usually gets a choice of boats. The same request made in June often gets whatever is left, and on a peak Saturday that can mean nothing of the right size. The practical advice is simple. Decide the week, decide the group size, and then decide the boat, in that order. If the villa is booked first, fix the charter days at the same time rather than after arrival, because a Positano villa for a week and a boat for two or three of those days is the combination most of our summer clients end up wanting. Shoulder weeks in late May, June and late September are easier to secure and the water is still good.

How a charter day on the Amalfi Coast runs

Most charters here are day charters. The boat collects you at the pier nearest your stay, Positano, Amalfi or Praiano most often, and the day is shaped around the sea and the light rather than a fixed route. A common day runs west from Positano past the Li Galli islands toward Nerano and the Punta Campanella headland, crosses to Capri for the Faraglioni rocks and a swim in the clearer water on the south side, and returns along the coast in the late afternoon when the villages turn gold. The sea decides more than any plan. The Tyrrhenian is usually calm in summer mornings and the afternoon breeze builds on many days, which is one reason good captains start early and cross to Capri first. On days when the wind or swell is up, the captain will keep the boat on the sheltered side of the coast, choose a different anchorage, or shorten the crossing. Sea caves such as the Blue Grotto on Capri depend on the sea state and can close with little notice. We would rather tell you that plainly now than promise a stop the weather can cancel. Lunch is the other half of the day. The classic Amalfi charter lunch is ashore, at a beach restaurant reached by tender or by the restaurant launch, and in summer those tables need booking in advance just as the boat does. Every boat in our fleet carries dry snacks and soft drinks, towels and a shower aboard, and the larger boats have shaded cockpits set for eating aboard if the group would rather stay at anchor. We plan the lunch stop with the charter, not on the morning.

Classic day boat, fast sportboat or sport cruiser

The first choice is style, and on this coast there are three. The classic day boat descends from the Sorrento and Neapolitan working boats, with a wide deck, a low profile and a relaxed pace. Our Apreamare 35 and Gagliotta are this kind of boat: twelve metres or a little under, a captain aboard, a cabin or two below for changing and shade, and a feel that suits a slow day between swims. They are the right choice when the day is about the water rather than the distance. The fast open sportboat is the second style. The Pershing 37, the Tullio Abbate, the Tornado 40 and the Riva Rivarama 44 are twelve to thirteen and a half metre hulls built for speed and presence, with sunpads fore and aft and the kind of lines that people photograph at anchor off Positano. They carry six to eight guests, they cross to Capri quickly, and they suit couples, small groups and anyone who wants the run itself to be part of the day. The Riva carries a hostess as well as a captain. The sport cruiser and motoryacht is the third. The Azimut 16.5, the Princess V65, the Riva Vertigo, the Alfamarine 60 and the Princess 81 are sixteen and a half to twenty-four point seven metres, with proper cabins and bathrooms, shaded dining, and a crew of two or more. They take up to twelve guests for the day, or sixteen on the Princess 81, and they are the boats for a celebration, a multigenerational family, a long day with a real lunch aboard, or a night on the water.

Staying ashore and chartering from the villa

The strongest Amalfi week combines a villa and a boat. A week ashore gives the group a base, a pool and a kitchen, and two or three charter days give it the coast. Our three Amalfi villas are all set up for exactly that week, and all three take a seven-night minimum stay, which is the rhythm the charter days fit into best. In Positano, Villa Oliviero sleeps twelve across six bedrooms, with layered cliff terraces dropping toward an infinity pool that lines up with the Li Galli islands, which is the same view the boat will give you on the way to Nerano. A coastal road elevator lands fifty metres from the main gate, so the group reaches the house without the village staircase climb. Villa Mon Repos, a 1906 family villa in central Positano, also sleeps twelve across six bedrooms, arranged as three apartments over three levels for multigenerational families, with a salt-water pool, an internal elevator and a resident chef for breakfast. In Praiano, a short run east, Villa Ferida sleeps ten across five double bedrooms in a restored seventeenth-century family home, with an indoor pool held at thirty-five degrees under a frescoed ceiling, an outdoor sea-salt pool, a hammam suite and direct access from the coastal road. Praiano is quieter than Positano and closer to Amalfi, which suits a group that wants the boat to do the travelling. For any of the three, we plan the pier, the collection time and the transfer with the charter so the boat day starts at the villa gate.

When is yacht charter season on the Amalfi Coast?

The charter season runs roughly from late spring into October, with the busiest weeks from June to early September. Late May, June and late September are the easier weeks to secure and the water is still warm enough to swim. Winter charters are rare because sea conditions are less reliable.

When should we book an Amalfi Coast charter for the summer?

Between January and March for peak weeks in July and August, and as soon as the dates are fixed for anything tied to a wedding or a school holiday. The best-known boats and the peak Saturdays go first. A later request can still work, particularly midweek or in the shoulder weeks, but the choice narrows.

Where does a charter start and finish?

Usually at the pier nearest your stay, most often Positano, Amalfi or Praiano. We fix the pier and the collection time with the charter, and we can arrange the transfer from the villa to the pier so the day starts at the gate rather than at the bottom of a staircase.

Can we go to Capri on a day charter?

Yes, and most full-day charters from Positano include it: the Faraglioni rocks, a swim on the south side and often lunch. The crossing depends on the sea, and the captain may reorder or shorten the day if the wind or swell builds. Sea caves such as the Blue Grotto can close at short notice when the sea is up.

Can we sleep aboard?

On five boats. The Princess 81 sleeps six, and the Riva Vertigo, the Princess V65 and the Alfamarine 60 sleep four. The Azimut 16.5 takes two to four overnight. The smaller day boats, including the Apreamare 35, the Gagliotta, the Tullio Abbate and the Pershing 37, run day charters only.

Is a captain included?

Every boat in our Amalfi fleet carries a captain. The Azimut 16.5 and the Riva Rivarama add a hostess, and the twenty-metre boats and the Princess 81 run with a full crew of two or more. You do not need a licence to charter any of them.

What is aboard for food and drink?

Every boat carries dry snacks and soft drinks, towels and a shower. Lunch on this coast is usually ashore at a beach restaurant reached by tender or launch, and those tables need booking in summer. The larger boats have shaded cockpits set for eating aboard, and we plan the lunch with the charter rather than leaving it to the morning.

Which boat is right for a family with children?

For six to nine people, the Azimut 16.5 or the Apreamare 35, which are steady, have shade and space to move, and do not need to go fast to have a good day. For a larger family or two families together, the Princess V65 or the Princess 81, which add cabins, bathrooms and air conditioning for the hottest hours.

Can we combine a villa stay with a charter?

That is the week most of our summer clients book. Villa Oliviero and Villa Mon Repos in Positano each sleep twelve and Villa Ferida in Praiano sleeps ten, all with a seven-night minimum. We fix the charter days, the pier and the transfers at the same time as the villa.

From the operator, Cameron Elder

Book the week first, then the boat, then the lunch table, and do all three before the spring. The coast in August is wonderful from the water and very hard from the road, and the people who enjoy it most are the ones who sorted the boat in January.

Princess 81

A twenty-four point seven metre Princess 81, the largest yacht in our Amalfi Coast fleet, for up to sixteen guests by day and six overnight across three cabins with three bathrooms. Air conditioning throughout, a large opening roof, a submersible hydraulic swim platform, alfresco dining and a full crew. The boat for a large family or a milestone day.

Riva Vertigo

A twenty-metre Riva Vertigo sportyacht for up to twelve guests by day and four overnight, with three cabins and three bathrooms. A teak cockpit, bow sunpads and a full crew, and one of the most recognisable profiles between Positano and Capri.

Princess V65

A twenty-metre Princess V65 sport cruiser for up to twelve guests by day and four overnight, with three cabins and three bathrooms, deep sunpads and a shaded cockpit set for lunch. Fully staffed, and a natural choice for a celebration or an unhurried day between Capri and Positano.

Azimut 16.5

A sixteen and a half metre Azimut for up to twelve guests by day and two to four overnight, with three cabins, two bathrooms, an air-conditioned salon, a proper dining table and a hydraulic bathing platform. Captain and hostess aboard. The most versatile boat on the list for a mixed group.

Riva Rivarama 44

A thirteen and a half metre Riva Rivarama, the mahogany-and-chrome open boat, for up to six guests with a captain and a hostess, a confirmed thirty-eight knot cruise, teak decks and hand-finished woodwork. For a couple or a small group who want the classic Riva day.

Apreamare 35

A brand-new 2026 Apreamare 35 walkaround in classic Sorrento-coast style, for up to twelve guests and best with eight. A front sofa, a removable sun shade and one cabin below for changing. The relaxed classic day boat for Positano, Capri and the Li Galli islands.