Sail Campania.

Campania packs a lot into a short stretch of coast. From a base near Naples you can be anchored under the cliffs of Capri by lunch, tucked into a Procida fishing harbour by evening, and picking your way down the Amalfi Coast the next morning. The draw here isn't distance sailing — it's the density of good stops. Volcanic islands, a UNESCO-listed coastline, and towns that were tourist destinations before tourism was a word.

Be honest with yourself about what this is: it's a cruising ground, not a proving ground. The legs are short, the scenery does the work, and in July and August the popular anchorages fill early. If you want empty water and long passages, look elsewhere. If you want to swim off the boat below Positano and eat well every night, this is hard to beat.

The classic loop is the Bay of Naples and the three islands that guard it. Procida is the small one — pastel houses stacked over Marina Corricella, fewer day-trippers than its neighbours, a good first or last night. Ischia is bigger, greener, with thermal springs and quieter bays on its western side. Capri is the famous one, and it earns it — the Faraglioni stacks, the Blue Grotto, the walk up to Anacapri — but the small marina is expensive and books out, so plan to anchor or take a buoy and go ashore by tender.

South of the bay the Amalfi Coast runs from Positano through Amalfi to the point at Punta Campanella. It's dramatic and it's busy — the anchorages off Positano and Amalfi get crowded and the holding is patchy on a lee shore, so pick your weather. Keep going south past Salerno and you reach the Cilento coast, which most charters skip. That's the mistake and the opportunity: wilder, cheaper, near-empty anchorages, and the Greek temples at Paestum a short hop inland.

The charter season runs roughly May to October. June and September are the sweet spot — warm water, settled weather, thinner crowds than the peak. July and August are hot and full; expect to reach anchorages early and to book any marina berth well ahead.

Winds are typically light in summer, often under 12 knots, with a sea breeze that fills in through the afternoon and dies at dusk. Mornings are frequently calm — good for early motoring between islands, less good if you came purely to sail. The one to watch is the libeccio, a south-westerly that can build and make the Amalfi anchorages untenable, since they're open to exactly that direction. When it's forecast, base your day around the sheltered north sides of the islands or run for a marina.

Most of our Campania fleet is bareboat, for skippers who hold the right certification and want to set their own pace. Monohulls in the 38–50ft range are the common choice; catamarans suit families and groups who want deck space and shallower draught for the anchorages.

If you'd rather not skipper, crewed options are available — a skipper who knows which Capri buoy to grab and which konoba-equivalent trattoria to book. You can also hire a skipper by the day onto a bareboat if you want the freedom of the boat with a local hand for the first day or two. Boats work out of Procida, Naples, Castellammare, Marina di Stabia, and the Salerno marinas including Marina d'Arechi, with Agropoli giving direct access to the Cilento south.

Charter rates swing hard with the season. A week bareboat is at its cheapest in May and October and peaks through late July and August, when demand is highest and boats book months out. Catamarans and larger monohulls sit at the top of the range. Rather than quote a figure that'll be wrong for your week and boat, we'll give you a live price — message us on WhatsApp with your dates, group size and boat preference. Price on request.

Budget separately for the running costs: fuel, marina and buoy fees (Capri and the Amalfi marinas are the expensive ones), a tourist tax, end-of-charter cleaning, and provisioning. If you take a skipper, add their daily rate and food. Marina berths in peak season are both pricey and scarce, which is a good reason to anchor where you can and treat marina nights as a planned expense rather than a default.

Day 1 — Board at Procida or Naples in the afternoon, provision, and shake down with a short hop to a Procida anchorage. Dinner at Corricella.

Day 2 — Cross to Ischia, anchor off the western bays, swim, walk up to the Aragonese castle if you berth near the old harbour.

Day 3 — Sail to Capri. Take a buoy or anchor, tender ashore, ride up to Anacapri away from the crowds. Move to a quieter cove for the night.

Day 4 — Round Punta Campanella and run down to Positano. Pick your weather; if the libeccio's up, stay north. Swim below the town before the day boats arrive.

Day 5 — Amalfi and the coast towards Salerno. Go ashore for the cathedral and the paper museum, then find an anchorage clear of the crowd.

Day 6 — Push south to the Cilento coast or Agropoli. Empty water, clear anchorages, and Paestum's temples within reach.

Day 7 — Work back north with a stop, then return to base. Fuel up, tidy the boat, last dinner ashore.

Adjust freely — the loop shortens easily if you'd rather linger, and lengthens south if you want the quiet end.

Naples International (NAP) is the gateway and it's close in — a short transfer to the city marinas or a ferry across to Procida and Ischia. Trains from Rome to Naples take about an hour on the fast service, which makes a Rome-in Naples-out itinerary workable.

Give yourself margin around the base. Naples traffic is real, and the island bases mean a ferry leg you don't want to cut fine on handover day. Bring soft bags, not hard cases — stowage on a 40-footer is tight. Paperwork for bareboat includes your sailing certification and, in most cases, a VHF licence and crew list; we'll tell you exactly what your boat needs when you book. Any questions on arrival logistics, message us on WhatsApp and we'll sort it.