Campania
by catamaran.

Geographic overview

The classic Campania charter starts in Naples or Salerno, loops the Bay of Naples (Procida, Ischia, Capri), then drops south along the Amalfi Coast to Positano, Amalfi, and Salerno. Distances are short — Naples to Capri is 18 miles, Capri to Positano is 14 miles, and most days you motor or sail no more than 2–3 hours. The longer optional add-on is the Pontine Islands (Ponza, Palmarola, Ventotene), 35-50 miles north of Ischia and quieter than the Amalfi side.

For a full week with realistic time at each stop, pick either: (A) the classic Bay-of-Naples-to-Amalfi loop, or (B) Naples + Pontines (a quieter, more remote week). Both fit a 7-day charter; combining them comfortably needs 10-14 days. The whole region sits inside two marine reserves of note — the AMP Punta Campanella (between Sorrento and Positano) and the smaller Riserva Marina di Capri which enforces no-anchor zones around the Faraglioni and the southern coast of the island.

The Amalfi Coast does not reward improvised arrivals in August. Positano fills its mooring field by 11:00, the Capri Marina Grande slip waitlist clears at 16:00, and the AMP Punta Campanella inspectors are out every weekend. We radio ahead at 08:00 every morning — without that call your week looks very different from the photographs.

Key destinations within the area

Procida

The smallest, quietest, and most colourful island in the Bay of Naples. The pastel fishermen's houses of Marina Corricella climb the slope above the harbour. Anchor at Chiaiolella on the south side or stern-to in Corricella. Da Mariano is a long-running family trattoria for raw fish. Procida is small enough to walk in a morning — leave the boat and explore. The 2022 Italian Capital of Culture status added a handful of small galleries and slower restaurants worth a stop on the side streets above Corricella.

Ischia

Larger and more developed than Procida, with thermal hot-spring beaches like Sorgeto (waterfront thermal pools you can swim into directly from the sea) and the medieval castle on the islet of Castello Aragonese. The northern coast around Lacco Ameno has the upscale beach clubs; the southern coast at Sant'Angelo is quieter and walkable. Anchor at Sant'Angelo or stern-to in Casamicciola. The Negombo thermal park at Lacco Ameno is the high-quality option for a half-day off the boat; entrance €38 in peak season.

Capri

The marquee stop. Cap the morning at the Faraglioni sea stacks (the three rocks off the southeastern coast — anchorage just outside the swimming buoys), take the dinghy to the Blue Grotto early before the queue, anchor in Marina Piccola for the day, and avoid the Marina Grande harbour unless you are tied up overnight. Capri town is a 15-minute funicular ride above; book dinner at Da Paolino (the famous lemon-tree restaurant) at least a week ahead in summer. Anchoring inside the Riserva Marina Punta Campanella–Capri zone is restricted to designated mooring buoys — €40–€55 per day for a 42 ft cat. Rangers on a RIB patrol daily in season.

Positano and the Amalfi Coast

Positano has no marina. You anchor in the bay or take a managed mooring field — book ahead in summer through the Capitaneria di Porto. The town itself climbs vertically above the beach; bring shoes for the cliffside steps. Marina del Cantone (north of Positano) and Praiano are the calmer alternatives. Lunch at Da Adolfo in Marina del Cantone is a tradition — the boat-only restaurant under the cliffs flies a red-fish flag at 12:30 when the catch comes in, and most charter guests dinghy across rather than walk down the cliff path.

Amalfi and Atrani

The medieval town of Amalfi is more walkable than Positano and has a small harbour for stern-to mooring. Don't miss Atrani — the tiny village just east of Amalfi, less crowded than its famous neighbour, with a pebble beach and a square that fills with locals after sunset. Up the cliff from Amalfi, the village of Conca dei Marini has the family-run trattorias most guests remember from the week. Fiordo di Furore — the narrow fjord-like inlet between Amalfi and Praiano — is a memorable lunch anchorage in calm weather but exposed in any southerly.

The Pontine Islands (optional)

Ponza and Palmarola are the wilder, quieter alternative to the Amalfi Coast. 35-50 miles north of Ischia, with deep-blue water, secret coves, and far fewer day-tourist boats. Palmarola is largely uninhabited — three small fish restaurants on the beach, anchorage on sand at Cala del Porto. If your group has done the Amalfi Coast before, the Pontines are the next-level Campania week. Ventotene is the historical detour — the small island where Augustus exiled his daughter and the Roman fish-farm cisterns are still visible underwater.

Best catamarans for Campanian waters

The Bay of Naples and Amalfi Coast favour catamarans built for comfort at anchor — you spend more time on managed moorings than under sail. Lagoon 42, Lagoon 46, Bali 4.6, and Fountaine Pajot Astrea 42 are the common choices. For the Pontines, where you motor more between islands, faster sailing cats or power catamarans (Lagoon Sixty 5) work better. Generator and full AC are non-negotiable for July and August nights at anchor — request both at booking time.

Where to start — marina bases

Naples (Mergellina or Castellammare)

The standard departure point. Mergellina is closer to the city centre (and Naples airport, 20 minutes). Castellammare di Stabia is south of the city, quieter, with a bigger charter fleet and easier provisioning. Both feed straight into the Bay of Naples loop. Saturday turn-around at Castellammare is smoother if you arrive before 17:00 — the marina office closes at 19:00 and provisioning deliveries cut off at 18:00.

Salerno

The southern entry point. Salerno gets you straight onto the Amalfi Coast without crossing the Bay of Naples. Useful for one-way charters Naples-Salerno or Salerno-Naples — most weeks finish at the opposite end from the start. Marina d'Arechi has the catamaran capacity. Naples airport to Salerno is 60 minutes by taxi (~€100); a shared shuttle through the marina is around €35/person.

Sorrento and Procida

Less common as charter bases but useful for specific itineraries. Sorrento works for guests combining a hotel stay before the charter. Procida is small but feasible for shoulder-season departures. Both have limited spare capacity in July and August — if you want a Sorrento start, book by January.

Season and weather

Charter season runs late April to October. Peak summer (July-August) is busy and expensive — Capri and Positano fill by 11:00 most days, and managed mooring fields require advance booking. Book six to nine months ahead for prime peak weeks. Mooring buoy prices rise 25–40% from mid-July to mid-August on the Amalfi Coast.

Best months: June (warm sea, settled weather, manageable crowds) and September (peak conditions, smaller queues, water still 25°C). Prevailing wind is a thermal northwest 8–14 knots, settling by sunset. Watch for Scirocco events in spring and autumn — hot southerlies sometimes 25–35 knots, more unpleasant than dangerous on a catamaran but uncomfortable on the Amalfi Coast where the southerly fetch builds chop. The northwest Maestrale dies off the coast by sunset most evenings, giving long quiet anchorage nights.

Sample 7-day Campania catamaran route

Saturday — Naples (Castellammare). Check-in 17:00, briefing, dinner at one of the trattorias on Via Cesario Console. Sunday — Procida. Anchor Chiaiolella, dinghy to Corricella for sunset. Monday — Ischia (Sant'Angelo). Sorgeto thermal beach in the morning, anchor Sant'Angelo for the night. Tuesday — Capri. Faraglioni morning, Marina Piccola for the day, dinner ashore in Capri town. Wednesday — Marina del Cantone & Da Adolfo. Anchor on the mooring field, lunch under the cliffs, sail to Positano in the afternoon. Thursday — Positano & Conca dei Marini. Town in the morning, lunch in Conca dei Marini, overnight on a managed mooring outside Positano. Friday — Amalfi & Atrani. Stern-to in Amalfi or anchor outside, Atrani for the last-night dinner ashore. Saturday — return Salerno by 09:00.

The Blue Grotto trick is timing. Tender at 09:00, in the queue by 09:15, inside by 09:40 — you ride a rowboat under a metre-high arch when the swell is below 0.3 m. After 11:00 the queue is 90 minutes and afternoon swell often closes the entrance entirely. Lose one morning in the week to it — never gamble on the second visit.

Food, wine and local culture

Campania eats hard. Pizza napoletana in Naples (Da Michele or Sorbillo if you want the famous spots; almost any pizzeria in the Spanish Quarter is excellent). Spaghetti alle vongole with the local clams. Caprese salad— actually invented on Capri — buffalo mozzarella, garden tomatoes, basil, olive oil. The Amalfi lemon (sfusato amalfitano) features in everything from delizia al limone dessert to a glass of limoncello after dinner. Drink Greco di Tufo or Falanghina with seafood, Aglianico del Taburno with anything richer. The volcanic soils of Vesuvius produce Lacryma Christi — a wine worth ordering at least once.

Families and licence requirements

Campania works for families with school-age kids and up — the Amalfi Coast has too many mooring transitions for under-3s but the Bay of Naples loop (Procida, Ischia, Sorrento) is gentler. For bareboat, Italian charter bases on this coast read the licence rules strictly — Italian Patente Nautica oltre 12mn or an ICC with explicit coastal endorsement, and a recent crewing logbook for the skipper. The buoy-mooring traffic on the Amalfi Coast in July and August defeats most new skippers — we recommend a hired captain for first-time Med-mooring crews on this coast.

Ready to plan? Browse the Campania catamaran fleet, see our Amalfi Coast sailing itineraries, or send us your trip details and our team will reply with available catamarans and a transparent quote.