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Positano is the most photographed single anchorage on the Amalfi Coast and the most marina-free major Mediterranean charter stop. There is no harbor here. There is a 400 metre pebble beach, a vertical village stacked above it, and an exposed anchorage in 25 to 40 metres of water that every yacht uses for two nights of a typical Amalfi week. A 40m motor yacht working the Amalfi corridor in mid-August runs €165,000 to €215,000 per week before APA. The Spiaggia Grande anchorage holds 60 to 90 yachts on an average August night with another 30 to 50 anchored south at the Li Galli islets. The picture you have seen of Positano was almost certainly taken from one of those yachts.
The point of Positano on a charter week is the view from the water, the Li Galli archipelago two nautical miles south, the Nerano lunch run another 4 nautical miles west, and the evening dinner ashore at La Sponda or Il Tridente. The point is not berthing, marina dinner walks, or convenience. Positano is the stop where the yacht is the hotel.
Positano is also one of the two or three Amalfi stops where shoulder season changes the product. The first 10 days of September and the second half of June deliver the same coastline at 25 to 35 percent off August rates and at half the anchorage density.
When to charter Positano
May. Water 18 to 20 degrees. Restaurants ashore opening from May 10. Anchorage quiet, often fewer than 20 yachts at Spiaggia Grande on a midweek night. Rates 30 to 40 percent below August. The cleanest Positano window for clients who want the village without the August load.
June. Water 22 to 23 degrees by mid-June. La Sponda, Il Tridente, and Lo Scoglio at Nerano fully open. Anchorage density rises through the month. Rates 20 to 30 percent below August. Mid-to-late June is the technical peak for value.
July. Peak begins around July 5. Water 24 degrees. The anchorage tightens to 80+ yachts on Friday and Saturday nights. Restaurant bookings ashore run 1 to 2 weeks ahead. Day-tripping ferry density rises from July 15.
August. The dense month. Spiaggia Grande absorbs 80 to 100 yachts on weekend nights, Li Galli another 30 to 50. The tender congestion at the Positano pier runs 9 to 11 a.m. and 18:00 to 20:00. Restaurant ashore (La Sponda, Il Tridente, Lo Scoglio in Nerano) need 3 to 4 week lead times. Headline rates.
September. The window. Water 24 to 25 degrees through September 15. The first 10 days are the strongest charter week of the Amalfi year, full value with a quieter anchorage. Rates fall from September 10 onward.
October. First two weeks workable. Most restaurants close by October 20. Water 22 degrees, viable swimming.
The Positano anchorage and approach
Spiaggia Grande (the primary anchorage). Directly off the village beach. Holding is sand to mud in 25 to 40 metres of water. Swell builds from the southwest in August and the anchorage opens to weather from west through south. The captain shifts to the Fornillo side or to Praiano when the wind clocks south. Spiaggia Grande absorbs 30m to 70m yachts cleanly; above 70m the anchor radius pushes outer yachts into 50 metre water and the holding deteriorates.
Fornillo and the western anchorage. West of Spiaggia Grande, smaller bay, holds 8 to 12 yachts. Quieter than the main anchorage and used as the overflow on dense August nights.
Li Galli islets. Two nautical miles south. Three small islets (Gallo Lungo, La Rotonda, La Castelluccia), Rudolf Nureyev's former property on the largest. The Li Galli anchorage is the daytime swim stop for almost every Amalfi week and the standing photograph of a Positano charter. Anchor in 15 to 25 metres on the lee side depending on wind. Holding is sand to rock.
The Nerano coastline. Four nautical miles west of Positano around the Punta Campanella headland. The Marina del Cantone bay holds Lo Scoglio and Don Alfonso 1890's pier-side restaurant operations. The single best lunch run on the Amalfi week. Anchor offshore at 20 metres and tender in.
The Praiano and Furore corridor. East along the coast to Furore (4 nautical miles) and Amalfi town (8 nautical miles). Anchor stops at Marina di Praia, the Conca dei Marini Emerald Grotto, and Amalfi anchor outside the harbor.
A standard 7-day Amalfi week with Positano at the center
| Day | Anchorage | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Sat | Naples or Salerno board | Boarding, short hop, overnight Sorrento or Capri |
| Sun | Positano (Spiaggia Grande) | Approach Positano, lunch at Li Galli, evening at La Sponda |
| Mon | Positano (Li Galli day) | Li Galli swim day, lunch at Lo Scoglio in Nerano, dinner ashore at Il Tridente |
| Tue | Capri (Marina Piccola side) | Cross to Capri, Faraglioni daytime, dinner at L'Olivo or Da Paolino |
| Wed | Capri to Ischia | West run to Ischia, Sant'Angelo thermal, dinner at Umberto a Mare |
| Thu | Praiano and Furore | Back east, anchor Conca dei Marini, swim at the Emerald Grotto |
| Fri | Amalfi and Atrani | Down the coast, anchor outside Amalfi, dinner at Don Alfonso |
| Sat | Salerno disembark | Disembarkation morning |
This is the Amalfi rotation with Positano as the western anchor and it works on 30m to 60m yachts cleanly. Above 60m the structure shifts the overnight nights to Marina di Stabia or Capri's outer slots and treats Positano as a daytime anchor only.
Positano yacht size guidance
30m to 45m. The clean fit. Spiaggia Grande anchor direct, Li Galli swim direct, Nerano tender run direct. The 7-day Amalfi rotation works without compromise.
45m to 60m. Workable. Spiaggia Grande absorbs at this size but the August anchor density pushes outer yachts onto 40 metre water and the holding tightens. Li Galli day stop works cleanly.
60m to 80m. The week compromises. Spiaggia Grande absorbs 4 to 6 yachts at this size on any given night. Most weeks at this size overnight at Marina di Stabia or Sorrento and run daytime to Positano for the swim and the evening.
80m and above. Daytime only at Positano. The overnight base shifts to Salerno or Sorrento. The anchor radius is too large for the Spiaggia Grande bay to hold more than 1 to 2 yachts at this size.
Positano charter cost math
| Line item | Range (40m motor yacht, August peak) |
|---|---|
| Weekly rate | €165K to €215K |
| APA (32% to 35%) | €53K to €75K |
| VAT (22% Italian) | €36K to €47K |
| Marina berthing at Positano | €0 (no marina) |
| Marina berthing Marina di Stabia (overflow, per night) | €1.5K to €4K |
| La Sponda and Il Tridente dinners (per visit) | €1K to €3K |
| Lo Scoglio Nerano lunch (per visit) | €1K to €2.5K |
| Gratuity (10% to 15%) | €17K to €32K |
| Full check | €275K to €380K |
The 22 percent Italian charter VAT applies. APA across the Amalfi corridor runs 32 to 35 percent because the daily passages (Positano to Capri, Positano to Ischia, the eastern Amalfi runs) push fuel burn. Positano carries no marina line item because there is no marina; the saving against a Capri-only week is €15K to €30K across the week.
What we passed on
We pass on Positano as a standalone single-base charter. The cruising radius runs out after two days and the anchor exposure to southwest weather costs one to two nights of any week on average. The Amalfi-Capri-Bay of Naples rotation is the correct structure.
We pass on the Spiaggia Grande August second week as a sleeping anchorage on weekends. The anchor density runs 80 to 100 yachts and tender congestion at the village pier on Friday and Saturday nights makes the evening dinner-ashore run a 40 minute round trip with waits. Overnight at Praiano (5 nautical miles east) on these nights and tender back for dinner ashore at Positano, or take the night ashore at Furore.
We pass on the Conca dei Marini Emerald Grotto as the photographic anchor it is sold as. The grotto is small, the queue is real in August, and the visit takes 25 minutes. Worth one visit on a calm morning; not worth structuring a day around.
We pass on the eastern Amalfi corridor (Amalfi town to Vietri) past the second week of August. The day-tripping cruise-ship traffic at Amalfi town concentrates ferry density to the point that swim anchorages within 1 nautical mile of the town close to ambient noise. Anchor west at Conca dei Marini or push to Marina di Praia.
Multi-region pairings
The Amalfi-Capri 7-day rotation (Positano-Capri-Nerano-Amalfi-Praiano) is the standard week with Positano at the western anchor. We cover the Capri side on the Capri charter page.
The Amalfi-Aeolians 10 or 14 day one-way (Naples board, Positano overnight, Capri, Ischia, cross south to the Aeolian Islands and Sicily, disembark Taormina) is the strongest long-form Tyrrhenian charter, particularly in the first half of September when both ends carry their best weather windows. We cover this on the Sicily charter page.
The Amalfi-Costa Smeralda structure runs technically (Positano to Olbia, 290 nautical miles) but pulls into a 12-day charter with two passage days. Most clients pick one or the other.
The cross-pillar question (villa or charter)
Positano has the deepest villa inventory of any Amalfi village, much of it cliff-side with private access to the water. For clients who want the Positano evenings without the tender congestion or the August anchorage density, a Positano villa stay plus a day charter from Maiori, Sorrento, or Salerno works at €5K to €15K per day. The yacht charter answers when the trip wants the Amalfi corridor breadth (Capri, Ischia, Nerano), when the group prefers the Li Galli swim rhythm to a beach club routine, or when 4 to 5 nights of the week sit outside Positano itself.
The rest of the trip
VillasForKings covers the Positano cliff-side villa inventory plus the Praiano and Nocelle hillside options. HotelsForKings covers Le Sirenuse, Il San Pietro, Hotel Marincanto, Villa TreVille, and the Hotel Poseidon. RestaurantsForKings covers La Sponda, Il Tridente, Chez Black, Lo Scoglio at Nerano, Don Alfonso 1890, and La Tagliata in Montepertuso. BarsForKings covers the Franco's Bar terrace, the Music on the Rocks club, and the Le Sirenuse Champagne Bar.
FAQ
What size yacht works best at Positano? 35m to 50m motor yacht. Spiaggia Grande anchorage holds cleanly at this size, Li Galli swim direct, and the Nerano lunch run works without overflow logistics. Above 60m the trip moves the overnight base to Marina di Stabia.
When is Positano at its best for a charter week? The last two weeks of June and the first 10 days of September. Both windows deliver the warm water and the open restaurants without the August anchorage density. Mid-September edges June for the cleanest single-week Amalfi window.
Can I berth at Positano? No. There is no marina capable of berthing a 30m yacht alongside. Anchoring offshore is the only option and the closest berthing is Marina di Stabia (18 nautical miles north), Salerno (22 nautical miles east), or Maiori (8 nautical miles east).
Is the Spiaggia Grande anchorage exposed? Yes. The bay opens west through south and southwest weather builds 1 to 2 metre swell in the anchorage in August. The captain shifts to Praiano or Marina del Cantone overnight when the weather forecast turns south.
Should I include Nerano in the week? Yes. The Marina del Cantone lunch run to Lo Scoglio (4 nautical miles west) is the single most consistent meal on the Amalfi week. Book 2 to 3 weeks ahead in August.