Rent a boat and enjoy sailing holidays Italy

About Italy

Italy is a country located in southern Europe. It comprises long, boot-shaped Italian Peninsula, large plain of river Po valley, southern side of Alps and big Mediterranean islands Sicily and Sardinia. Italy has a coastline of 7600 km along Adriatic Sea, Ionian Sea, Tyrrhenian Sea, Ligurian Sea and Sea of Sardinia, all of them parts of Mediterranean Sea. Almost 40% of Italian territory is mountainous, with Alps in the north and Apennines as the backbone of Italian Peninsula.

Total area of Italy is 301340 km² and capital city is Rome, old center of Roman Empire, situated in the center of Italian Peninsula. There are two enclave countries within Italy, Vatican City inside Rome and San Marino in the north. Important cities along Rome are Milan, Naples, Turin, Venice and Florence. Italy is famous touristic country, with millions of visitors coming every year. Nautical tourism is important part of Italian tourism, with Sardinia, Sicily, small volcanic islands and island of Capri as most attractive destinations for navigators.

Requirements for bareboat charter

There are two important licenses you need to have if you want to sailing in Italy without skipper. You need to have a valid skipper license, and best thing to obtain is International Certificate of Competence (ICC) and the license to use the VHF radio. This applies to those who sail over 6 miles offshore. You must have these original permits with you on board during your charter. Also, with you on board you must have a valid crew list, verified by the local Port Authority. If some changes to your crew list occur during your charter, you must notify the nearest Port Authority of these changes as soon as possible.

Catamaran sailing in Italy

Italian coast is big and there are lot of regions with different kinds of winds and weather. It is safe to say that islands of Sardinia and Sicily tend to enjoy more wind than the Bay of Naples and the Riviera (area around Gulf of Genova) but, in general, there is a lot less during the summer months than other times of the year and yachts tend to have to motor more here than elsewhere in the Mediterranean. Generally, if you want more calm sea to sail with your catamaran, you’ll stick to Tyrrhenian Sea and areas like Gulf of Sorrento near Naples or Calabria with its beautiful ports like Tropea or Vibo Valentia. One of the most beautiful parts of Italy and places ideal for catamaran sailing is the coast of Tuscany, region known for its beauty. You can start from Livorno or Cecina and explore long Tuscan coast along with the island of Elba, place of historic importance and one of the last abodes of Napoleon. If you want to enjoy more sun you can go all the way to the south and enjoy mystical Apulia, with its great medieval history and charming little towns. You can hire your boat in Santa Maria di Leuca or some other Apulian marina.

Italian coast

If you have an idea to rent a yacht in Italy, think also about the diversity and beauty of its coast. Italian coast has so many faces and so much interesting places to visit that it is really hard to pick ten, twenty or even 100 best destinations for sailing and enjoying summer. Sicilian coast is full of history and natural beauties, so there’s no wonder that destinations like Cefalu near Palermo, or Taormina, attract hundreds of thousands visitors every year. Maybe the most popular coast for sailors is one of Sardinia, with beautiful and luxurious Porto Cervo as its crowning jewel.