“The Costa Smeralda is thirty miles of granite and pale sand that made Sardinia a superyacht coast: the berths, the beach clubs and the dinner reservations of an Italian week.”
In short. The Costa Smeralda runs roughly 30 nautical miles of north-east Sardinia between Porto Cervo and Cala di Volpe. It holds the densest luxury berthing in Italy outside the Amalfi Coast, and the La Maddalena archipelago is an hour or two north. A crewed week in Italy starts near €80,000.
This is the glamour half of a Sardinian charter. The Aga Khan’s consortium built it from almost nothing in the 1960s, and it now packs the highest concentration of luxury berthing, beach clubs and Michelin-level dining anywhere in Italy outside the Amalfi Coast, with prices in August to match.
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.
Must-dos on the Costa Smeralda
- A berth or a night off Porto Cervo, the Promenade du Port and the old village above it
- A settled night in Cala di Volpe, the most reliable overnight anchorage on the coast
- Sunset at Phi Beach at Forte Cappellini
- Capriccioli and Baja Sardinia, shorter shallower bays with better swimming and less traffic
- A regatta week, if the dates land in June or September
On this page: Porto Cervo · Cala di Volpe and Liscia Ruja · the smaller bays · the beach clubs · where yachts tie up · what it costs · distances · when to go
Porto Cervo: the anchor point
Porto Cervo is the anchor point of the whole coast. The marina takes yachts well over 100 metres, the 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 harbour in June and September, which is the best and the most difficult time to want a berth. The full Porto Cervo page covers the marina, the prices and how far ahead a berth has to be asked for.
Cala di Volpe and Liscia Ruja: the nights at anchor
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, which is why most weeks here use it as the base rather than paying for a berth every night.
Liscia Ruja, the long sand bay just south of it, is the other one we rely on for a settled night. Between them they cover most summer conditions, and the hotel at Cala di Volpe runs a pool and a restaurant that work as a quieter lunch than the beach clubs.
Baja Sardinia, Capriccioli and Porto Rotondo
Baja Sardinia and Capriccioli give you shorter, shallower bays with better swimming and far less traffic than the two big anchorages. They are the day stops rather than the nights.
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. The smaller notches around Capriccioli are lovely by day but tight and exposed once the afternoon breeze fills in, so the crew moves before dinner rather than after.
Porto Rotondo, just south towards Olbia, is the other village of the coast: smaller, quieter and with a marina that is the practical alternative when Porto Cervo is full.
The beach clubs
The beach clubs are the reason a lot of guests pick this coast. Phi Beach at Forte Cappellini is the sunset one, built into an old fort on the headland. Nikki Beach at Cala Petra Ruja is the louder daytime option. The Cala di Volpe pool is the quieter lunch.
All three need booking in July and August, and we handle that as part of the charter rather than leaving it to the day. The same applies to the restaurants in Porto Cervo village, where a table in August is arranged with the berth, not after it.
Where yachts actually tie up on the Costa Smeralda
- 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 has to be requested when the yacht is booked, not on the day.
- Cala di Volpe and Liscia Ruja are the two bays we rely on for a settled night at anchor, with the tender in for dinner.
- Porto Rotondo and Marina di Olbia are the practical alternatives, both a short run south and both far easier to get into.
Our guide to marina and anchor nights in Italy covers how crews balance the two across a week. On this coast the honest plan is usually one or two berth nights and the rest at anchor.
What a week on the Costa Smeralda costs
A crewed week in Italy starts around €80,000 for a motor yacht, with most weeks between €150,000 and €300,000 and the top of the market at €300,000 to €500,000 and above. On top come an advance provisioning allowance of roughly 25 to 35 per cent, Italian VAT at 22 per cent and a gratuity of usually 5 to 15 per cent. See our Italy charter cost guide, APA and VAT.
The Costa Smeralda is where the extras live. August berthing at Porto Cervo is the single most expensive line a Sardinian week can carry, and the beach clubs and restaurants are priced accordingly. A week weighted towards La Maddalena and anchored more often costs materially less for the same boat and the same water.
Fitting the Costa Smeralda into the week
The Costa Smeralda is the southern half of a northern Sardinian week, with Olbia the usual airport.
| From Porto Cervo | Distance | At 12 knots |
| Cala di Volpe | 3 nm | 15 min |
| Porto Rotondo | 6 nm | 30 min |
| La Maddalena | 8 nm | 40 min |
| Spargi | 11 nm | 55 min |
| Olbia | 13 nm | 1 h 05 |
| Bonifacio, Corsica | 23 nm | 1 h 55 |
Our eight-day Sardinia and Corsica itinerary runs Olbia, Porto Rotondo, Cala di Volpe, Porto Cervo, then across to Bonifacio and back through the archipelago. See also where to start an Italy charter and how long the week should be.
When to go
- June and September are the best weeks, and they are also the regatta months, so berths are hardest exactly when the sailing is best.
- July and August are the full season: every berth spoken for, the beach clubs booked out and prices at their Mediterranean peak.
- May and October are quiet and lovely, with some of the clubs and restaurants shut.
Our guide to Italy without the crowds recommends northern Sardinia first for privacy with luxury, and the month-by-month view is in the best time for an Italy charter.
People also ask about the Costa Smeralda
Where do yachts berth on the Costa Smeralda?
Porto Cervo is the main marina and takes yachts well over 100 metres. Porto Rotondo and Marina di Olbia are the practical alternatives and much easier to get into. Most weeks berth once or twice and spend the other nights at anchor in Cala di Volpe or Liscia Ruja.
How expensive is Porto Cervo in August?
The highest in the Mediterranean. Berths sell out for the peak weeks and for regatta dates, so a berth has to be requested when the yacht is booked rather than on the day. A week anchored in Cala di Volpe with tender runs ashore costs a great deal less.
What is the best anchorage on the Costa Smeralda?
Cala di Volpe for a settled night, with Liscia Ruja as the other reliable one. Holding is sand over rock, so it is good where there is clear sand and poor where there is not. The smaller bays around Capriccioli are lovely by day and exposed once the afternoon breeze fills in.
Costa Smeralda or La Maddalena?
Both, in the same week. The Costa Smeralda has the berths, the beach clubs and the dinners; the archipelago eight miles north has the swimming and the quiet. Most weeks we plan start here for the flights and the restaurants and run north for the water.
Do the beach clubs need booking?
In July and August, yes, all of them. Phi Beach at Forte Cappellini for sunset, Nikki Beach at Cala Petra Ruja for the day, the Cala di Volpe pool for a quieter lunch. We arrange them as part of the charter.
How far is the Costa Smeralda from Olbia airport?
Porto Cervo is about 13 nautical miles from Olbia by sea and roughly 40 minutes by road from the airport, which makes this the easiest embarkation in northern Sardinia.
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