3 regions
Three very different worlds
The Amalfi Coast, Sardinia and Sicily each have a character entirely their own. By sailing between them you can experience in a single week what would take months to discover on land: coves that appear on no map, villages reachable only by sea, and horizons that shift with every mile.
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UNESCO World Heritage Sites
The Amalfi Coast, the historic centre of Palermo, the Valley of the Temples at Agrigento, the Aeolian Islands and the Baroque towns of the Val di Noto are all on the UNESCO World Heritage list. Sailing southern Italy means sailing between monuments to human civilisation.
24–27 °C
Wonderfully clear water
The Tyrrhenian Sea and the Strait of Sicily reach ideal swimming temperatures from June through October. The Emerald Coast of Sardinia and the volcanic seabeds around the Aeolian Islands offer underwater visibility that regularly surprises even experienced divers.
Second to none
The food
Italian coastal cooking is quite simply the finest in the Mediterranean. Pasta alle vongole in a Positano trattoria, arancini from a Palermo street stall, bottarga on fresh pasta in Cagliari, limoncello on the Amalfi Coast and wine from the slopes of Etna. Every harbour is a new reason to go ashore.
Positano from the water: pastel-coloured houses stacked up the cliffside — one of the most recognisable views in the Mediterranean
The Emerald Coast of Sardinia: a shade of blue that gives the Caribbean a run for its money
The Aeolian Islands: a volcanic archipelago with a landscape that looks as though it belongs on another planet
Trapani and the Aegadian Islands: a stretch of coastline that feels like it belongs on another planet
The Italian coast combines untouched nature, world-class food and a concentration of art and history that is unrivalled in the Mediterranean. These are the experiences that can only really be had from the water.
Stromboli has been erupting continuously for more than two thousand years. From the deck of your boat at night you can watch rivers of lava slide down the hillside into the sea — a sight that stays with you long after you've sailed on. Around Vulcano you can smell the sulphur before you even sight land.
Spaghetti alle vongole at a Positano trattoria, lemon granita from a Palermo bar at eight in the morning, Sardinian bottarga grated over freshly made pasta, Sicilian caponata and the world's finest pistachios from Bronte, in the shadow of Etna. Southern Italian coastal cooking is a journey within the journey — and the smaller the port, the better the food.
The Blue Grotto at Capri, the Faraglioni sea stacks seen from the water, the pink granite coves of the Emerald Coast, Cala Goloritzé in Sardinia (accessible only by sea or after hours of hiking), the bay of Mondello in Palermo. The Italian coast contains some of the cleanest and clearest water in the Mediterranean.
The Valley of the Temples at Agrigento, the Greek theatre at Segesta set in open Sicilian countryside, the Roman baths beneath Palermo, the mosaics of the Villa Romana del Casale or the Phoenician ruins of Mozia on the Stagnone lagoon. Sailing around Sicily means navigating through three thousand years of layered civilisation.
The underwater landscape around the Aeolian Islands, shaped by volcanic activity, supports a richness of marine life that is exceptional even by Mediterranean standards. The waters around Filicudi and Alicudi — the quietest islands of the archipelago — are consistently rated among the best snorkelling and diving spots in the western Mediterranean.
Amalfi was a medieval maritime republic to rival Genoa and Venice; Cefalù has a Norman cathedral wedged between a great crag and the sea; Bosa in Sardinia has rows of painted houses reflected in the River Temo; Santa Marina Salina feels like a village that quietly decided to stop at some point in the mid-twentieth century. Each harbour has its own history and its own food, and both are worth the detour.
From the cliffs of the Amalfi Coast to the volcanoes of the Aeolian Islands, via the wild coves of Sardinia: three routes that show you the best of Italy under sail, in seven days each.
Practical information for planning a sailing holiday along the Italian coast, whether you're joining a shared cruise, chartering a private yacht or booking a catamaran.
For the Amalfi Coast, the second half of May and the first half of October are the ideal window: reliable weather, calm sea and the villages to yourself compared with August.
In Sicily, the local aperitivo isn't a spritz — it's a granita with brioche: a granular ice (almond, lemon or coffee) with a soft brioche roll to dip into it. Try it for breakfast and you'll understand why Sicilians don't feel the need for much else.
For the Aeolian Islands route, consider flying to Catania and embarking at Milazzo (40 minutes by road) rather than Palermo — you save a day's sailing and arrive right at the doorstep of the archipelago.
Bring a soft holdall or rucksack rather than a hard-shell suitcase. Storage on board is limited and hard cases genuinely cause problems in smaller berths and lockers.
