The Costa Smeralda is the stretch of northeast Sardinia that made the island a superyacht destination. Roughly 30 miles of granite headlands and pale sand bays between Porto Cervo and Cala di Volpe, it packs the highest concentration of luxury berthing, beach clubs and Michelin-level dining anywhere in Italy outside the Amalfi Coast.
For charter guests this is the glamour half of a Sardinia yacht charter. Most weeks we plan start here for the flights and the restaurants, then run north into the wilder La Maddalena Archipelago for the swimming. It works in the other direction too, but the Costa Smeralda is where you want your dinner reservations.
What to see and do on the Costa Smeralda
Porto Cervo is the anchor point. The Marina di Porto Cervo takes yachts well over 100m, the old village above it is genuinely attractive rather than just expensive, and the Promenade du Port is where the boutiques and the people watching are. The Yacht Club Costa Smeralda runs the regattas that fill the harbor in June and September.
Cala di Volpe is the wide, sheltered bay a few miles south, named for the hotel at its head. It is the most reliable overnight anchorage on this coast and an easy tender ride to dinner. Baja Sardinia and Capriccioli give you shorter, shallower bays with better swimming and far less traffic.
The beach clubs are the reason a lot of guests pick this coast. Phi Beach at Forte Cappellini for sunset, Nikki Beach at Cala Petra Ruja, and the Cala di Volpe pool for a quieter lunch. All three need booking in July and August, and we handle that as part of the charter.
Anchorages and mooring notes
The holding through most of the Costa Smeralda is sand over rock, which is good where you find clear sand and poor where you do not. Cala di Volpe and Liscia Ruja are the two bays we rely on for a settled night. The smaller notches around Capriccioli are lovely by day but tight and exposed once the afternoon breeze fills in.
Berthing is the real constraint, not anchoring. Porto Cervo sells out for the peak weeks and for regatta dates, and prices in August are the highest in the Mediterranean. If a berth matters to your week, it needs to be requested when the yacht is booked, not on the day. Porto Rotondo and Marina di Olbia are the practical alternatives and both are a short run away.
The prevailing summer wind is the mistral from the northwest. It funnels hard through the Strait of Bonifacio and can make the exposed north-facing bays uncomfortable for a day or two at a time. Your captain will simply move you to the lee side of the headlands, which is one of the advantages of cruising a coast this indented.
Fitting the Costa Smeralda into an itinerary
Almost every week we sell here starts at Olbia (OLB), which has direct summer flights from most major European cities and puts guests aboard in under 30 minutes. From there the standard shape is two nights on the Costa Smeralda, three or four in the Maddalena islands, and an optional hop across to Bonifacio in southern Corsica if the strait is behaving.
See our 8-day Sardinia and Corsica itinerary for how that runs day by day, or our guide to where to start an Italy yacht charter if you are still comparing embarkation ports.
