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The 7-day Monaco to Portofino route is the eastward Riviera variant most western-Med charters skip. The standard 7-day western-Med loop runs Cannes to Cap d'Antibes to Saint-Tropez and back, which keeps the yacht in French waters and inside the 50nm radius of Antibes. The eastbound version below covers 145 nautical miles from Monaco into the Italian Ligurian coast, with the Cinque Terre and Portofino as the route's two cultural anchors. Peak-July and peak-August rates on a 45m to 55m motor yacht run €240K to €420K plus 30 to 35% APA, as of May 2026.
The eastward route is also the version that demands a one-way reposition or a 10-day commitment. Most brokers sell Monaco to Portofino as a 7-day one-way with the yacht returning empty the following Saturday, which carries a reposition fee of €15K to €40K. The version below is the one-way Monaco-to-Portofino loop with the reposition handled as a separate broker line item.
The base case: Monaco to Portofino in seven nights
Boarding Saturday afternoon at the Hercule Port, Monaco (limited 40m+ berths, premium pricing), or repositioning the yacht to Cap d'Ail Marina or Beaulieu-sur-Mer for the actual embarkation. Most 50m+ Monaco charters use Cap d'Ail or Beaulieu as the embarkation port and the Monaco harbour as a daytime photo stop. The yacht clears port by 17:00 and runs 12nm east to Ventimiglia or Cap-Martin for night one.
Day 1 (Saturday): Monaco to Cap-Martin or Ventimiglia 8 to 14nm east. Soft opener. Anchor in the Cap-Martin bay on the French side or in the Bordighera area on the Italian side after the Italian customs check at Ventimiglia. The Italian Liguria entry is the first administrative bottleneck of the route and the captain processes the EU-to-EU coastal entry at the Ventimiglia or Imperia customs office. Dinner aboard. Yacht sleeps at Bordighera or Cap-Martin.
Day 2 (Sunday): Cap-Martin to San Remo to Imperia 22nm east. The first proper cruising day. Anchor in the San Remo bay for lunch (the harbour has 25m+ guest dockage), then run east to Imperia or to the Cervo and Diano Marina area for an afternoon swim. The Italian Liguria coastline east of San Remo is lower-density than the equivalent French Riviera stretch and the anchorages are more open. Yacht sleeps at Cervo or at the Diano Marina anchor.
Day 3 (Monday): Imperia to Alassio to Genoa approach 35nm east. Morning swim and tender exploration. Lunch underway. Afternoon at Alassio for the long-beach anchorage and the Isola Gallinara nature reserve. Run east to Genoa or to the Cogoleto and Arenzano area west of Genoa for the night. Yacht sleeps at Cogoleto or moves into the Genoa Marina Molo Vecchio for a town night.
Day 4 (Tuesday): Genoa to Camogli (Portofino approach) 22nm east-southeast. Morning move past Genoa into the Promontorio di Portofino headland approach. Camogli is the fishing village at the western edge of the Portofino promontory and the anchorage is a 1nm tender ride from the village. Lunch ashore at Camogli or at one of the village restaurants on the seafront. Afternoon swim at the Punta Chiappa anchorage. Yacht sleeps at Camogli or at San Fruttuoso, the small monastery cove on the south side of the promontory accessible only by sea.
Day 5 (Wednesday): San Fruttuoso to Portofino to Paraggi to Santa Margherita 6nm east. The route's signature day. Morning swim at San Fruttuoso (the underwater Christ of the Abyss statue is the dive and snorkel highlight). Mid-morning move to the Portofino bay. Anchoring is prohibited inside the protected zone, so the yacht picks up a buoy at Cala dell'Oro or Paraggi, or uses the Portofino-Pubblico daytime buoy. Lunch ashore at Portofino village or at Paraggi beach. Afternoon move to Santa Margherita Ligure or back to Paraggi for the night. Yacht sleeps at Paraggi or at Santa Margherita.
Day 6 (Thursday): Portofino to Cinque Terre (Vernazza and Monterosso) 24nm southeast. Morning departure for the Cinque Terre stretch. The five villages (Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, Riomaggiore) sit on the western Ligurian coast and only Monterosso has a workable harbour. Anchorages are exposed and limited to daytime buoys or temporary anchor in 14 to 25m off Vernazza and Monterosso. Lunch anchor off Vernazza for the photo stop. Afternoon repositioning to the more sheltered Lerici or Portovenere area. Yacht sleeps at Portovenere or in the Bay of Poets near Lerici.
Day 7 (Friday): Lerici to Portovenere to disembarkation 18nm west. Morning swim at Lerici. Tender visit to the Byron poets house at Portovenere or to the Palmaria island. Lunch aboard. Afternoon move to the La Spezia Mirabello marina or to Porto Venere for the final overnight. Disembarkation Saturday morning at La Spezia or at Portovenere.
This is the standard 7-day Monaco to Portofino version. It extends to 10 days by adding the Tuscan island chain (Elba, Giglio, Capraia), or by running the return reposition west to Cannes as a chartered final week.
What the brochure version gets wrong
The standard Monaco-Portofino brochure sells the route as a round trip in 7 days. The arithmetic does not work because the 145nm one-way distance plus the return mileage exceeds 290nm in seven days, which puts the yacht running 40nm legs daily and reduces the cultural-stop time to minutes. The version above is the one-way that ends in La Spezia, with the broker handling the reposition delivery separately.
The second mistake is over-allocating Portofino. The bay is closed to anchoring inside the protected zone, the buoys are capped at 26 in the Cala dell'Oro field, and the village walking street is 200m long and tightly priced. A morning visit to Portofino plus an afternoon at Paraggi covers the destination in one day. The brochure version that puts two nights at Portofino is overpaying for a daytime stop.
The third is omitting Camogli and San Fruttuoso. The west side of the Portofino promontory is quieter, more interesting, and the only sea-only-access landmark (San Fruttuoso monastery) is the route's most distinctive cultural stop. Brokers omit it because the anchorage is exposed in the Libeccio southwesterly. The version above commits to one night at San Fruttuoso when the wind allows and falls back to Camogli when it does not.
Yachts that work for this route
The Monaco to Portofino route is a 40m to 70m destination. The Ligurian sea is the western Med's most exposed cruising ground for at-rest stabilization (the Libeccio and Mistral both reach the Ligurian coastline regularly), and the route demands a yacht with effective at-rest stabilizers and meaningful range. The hulls running the route in 2026 are 45m to 60m Sanlorenzo SX, 50m to 65m Heesen FDHF, 50m to 70m Benetti FB, and 55m to 70m Lürssen. Italian-flag charters (CodVa or RINA-classed) clear the Italian customs faster than foreign-flag.
A yacht we would pass on for this route is a 45m motor yacht without effective at-rest stabilizers. The Portofino buoy field and the Cinque Terre anchorages roll meaningfully in 1.5 to 2-meter swell, and a yacht without effective stabilization makes the lunch anchor uncomfortable.
APA and the eastbound fully-loaded cost
APA on the Monaco-Portofino route runs 30 to 35% of charter fee, comparable to the standard western Riviera loop. Fuel for 145nm one-way is moderate. The largest APA line is dockage at Monaco and Portovenere or La Spezia. Hercule Port Monaco dockage runs €2,800 to €8,500 per night for 50m hulls in peak season. Portofino-Pubblico daytime buoys cost €600 to €1,800 per day. The La Spezia Mirabello dockage is more reasonable at €1,200 to €3,500 per night.
The fully-loaded delivered cost of a 50m Monaco-to-Portofino week in peak August 2026 is approximately €310K charter plus €100K APA plus €25K Italian VAT pro-rated, plus €20K to €35K one-way reposition, or €455K to €470K all-in. That is for 12 guests over 7 nights with at-rest stabilizers and a Mediterranean-experienced captain. The Italian VAT applies at 8% on charter fee pro-rated by Italian-water time, and Monaco does not apply VAT for the embarkation if the yacht clears immediately.
Passed on: variations we do not recommend
We do not recommend the round-trip Monaco-Portofino-Monaco in 7 days. The arithmetic is too tight and the trip loses texture to passage time. The one-way ending in La Spezia is the cleaner version.
We do not recommend the Cinque Terre as a single overnight on the route. The exposed anchorages of Vernazza and Monterosso are uncomfortable for at-rest stabilization. The version above treats Cinque Terre as a daytime anchorage and retreats to Lerici or Portovenere for the night.
We do not recommend the Genoa harbour as an overnight stop. Genoa is a commercial port and the Marina Molo Vecchio is the only acceptable 50m+ dockage. The Cogoleto or Camogli anchorages are the better overnights.
Booking lead time
The 50m to 65m motor yachts running the Monaco-to-Portofino route book July and August weeks 10 to 14 months ahead. As of May 2026, August 2026 availability on the booked hulls is gone. July has limited availability on shoulder-LOA hulls. June and the first half of September are the calmer windows with rates 20 to 30% below peak August. The Cannes Yacht Show in mid-September moves rates up for the second half of September.
FAQ
Can a yacht over 40m anchor inside Portofino bay? No. Portofino bay is closed to anchoring inside the protected zone, which covers the inner bay including the photogenic harbour. Yachts above 24m use the offshore buoy field at Cala dell'Oro or Paraggi, or pick up the daytime buoy at Portofino-Pubblico.
What is the eastbound Riviera advantage over the standard Cannes loop? Two reasons. First, the Italian Ligurian coast is 30 to 40 percent less booked than the French Riviera for July and August anchorages. Second, the eastbound route hits the Cinque Terre and Portofino as the second-week endpoint, which most Cannes-based charters skip due to distance.
Is Monaco a one-way departure base or a return base? Monaco is primarily a one-way departure base for charter clients. Hercule Port has limited 40m+ capacity and the marina is at premium for short overnights only. Most Monaco one-way charters embark Monday afternoon, depart east the same day.
Is the route safe in the Libeccio southwesterly? The Libeccio affects the route's exposed western anchorages (Cinque Terre, San Fruttuoso, the western Ligurian coastline). The captain monitors the wind forecast and routes inside the Portofino promontory or to the Bay of Poets at Lerici when the Libeccio exceeds 20 knots.
Best month for the Monaco-Portofino route? Late June or first half of September. July is busy with the Monaco Grand Prix orbit and the August 1-14 peak is the most crowded. Mid-September after the Cannes Yacht Show is quieter than August with similar water temperatures.