There is a version of the Riviera charter that never leaves the stretch between Cannes and Pampelonne, and it is a good week. And there is this one, which uses the boat for what it is actually for: crossing a border at lunch, waking up in a different country, and arriving at Portofino from the water rather than down the road behind eight hundred other people.
Day one — Saint-Tropez to the Îles d’Hyères
Board mid-afternoon in Saint-Tropez and leave the gulf promptly; there is no reason to spend the first evening on a berth. Ninety minutes west lie Port-Cros and Porquerolles, and the anchorages on their southern sides are among the clearest water in mainland France. Dinner on board, early night, and the week has begun properly.
If your group would rather begin with a night ashore, reverse it: dinner in Saint-Tropez on the Saturday, leave at eight on Sunday morning. The port is at its best before nine and worst between six and midnight in August.
Day two — east to the Îles de Lérins
A longer passage, three hours or so, along the Estérel with its red rock falling into the water. Anchor between Sainte-Marguerite and Saint-Honorat for the afternoon: shallow, protected, and quiet by six in the evening once the day boats have gone. Lunch at anchor, a walk on Saint-Honorat if the monastery hours suit, and the night either on the hook or on a berth in Cannes.
- Day 1 — Saint-Tropez → Porquerolles / Port-Cros. 1h30.
- Day 2 — → Îles de Lérins, Cannes. 3h.
- Day 3 — → Cap d’Antibes, Villefranche. 1h30.
- Day 4 — → San Remo or Imperia, Italy. 2h.
- Day 5 — → Genoa or Camogli. 2h30.
- Day 6 — → Portofino and Paraggi. 45min.
- Day 7 — Portofino, San Fruttuoso, disembark or return leg.
Day three — the Cap and Villefranche
A short morning leg to the Cap d’Antibes, where the anchorages on the eastern side are calm in a westerly and the water is deep close in. Then on to Villefranche in the late afternoon — the deepest natural harbour on the coast, flat as a plate, and the best night at anchor of the whole itinerary. Tender ashore for dinner in the old port if you want it; most guests do not.
This is also the natural point to add or drop guests, since Nice airport is fifteen minutes from the quay. Our guide to the Cap d’Antibes covers what is worth going ashore for.
We plan cross-border itineraries with the captain, not around him.
Day four — into Italy
Two hours east and the coast changes character entirely: steeper, less manicured, considerably less expensive. San Remo makes a straightforward first Italian night, with a proper marina and a town that has not been rebuilt for visitors. Imperia is quieter still. Either way, the shift is immediate — dinner costs half what it did the night before and is frequently better.
Formalities are light within Schengen, but the yacht’s agent will handle port clearance and the captain will keep the paperwork in order. The one thing to settle before departure is the cruising area written into your contract: not every charter agreement permits Italian waters, and adding them afterwards is not always possible.
Day five — Genoa and the Golfo Paradiso
Genoa deserves more than a charter week gives it — a dense, working, unpolished city with the best aquarium in Europe and a historic centre that most visitors to Italy never see. Berth in the old port for the afternoon and evening, or press on to Camogli and anchor in the bay, which is the more beautiful option and the less interesting one.
Day six and seven — Portofino
Forty-five minutes from Camogli, and the approach from the sea is the whole point: the harbour opens between two headlands with the village stacked around it, and you see it as it was designed to be seen. Berths inside are scarce and booked months ahead; most yachts of any size take a buoy or lie off Paraggi and tender in.
Go ashore early or late, not at midday. Walk up to the Castello Brown for the view, take the path to San Fruttuoso — reachable only on foot or by boat, which is exactly why it is worth the effort — and swim off the abbey beach before the ferries arrive. The last night is best spent at anchor in the bay rather than alongside.
Practicalities and cost
This itinerary is one-way, which matters. Either you disembark in Italy — Genoa is the practical airport — and pay a repositioning fee for the yacht’s return, or you plan a ten-day charter and cruise back, which is the better week if the calendar allows. Expect the one-way arrangement to add the cost of the delivery leg to your invoice.
Budget also for a fuel-heavy APA: roughly 300 nautical miles across the week means the allowance will run at the upper end of its range. The full arithmetic is in our note on charter costs, and the shorter alternatives in our day cruise itineraries.
Do it in June or September. Portofino in August is a different and much less pleasant proposition, and the Ligurian sea is kinder either side of high summer.