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The 10-day Corsica and Sardinia loop is the western Med charter that brokers undersell to clients who default to the Costa Smeralda alone. 410 nautical miles, both coasts of the Bonifacio Strait, and four anchorages that hold in a 5 Beaufort westerly. Peak-season rates on a 50m to 60m motor yacht run €450K to €720K per week plus 30 to 35% APA plus VAT, as of May 2026. The 10-day version costs roughly 1.43 times a 7-day quote, with the same fixed delivery charges spread across more days.
The reason to do 10 days instead of 7 is the western Corsican coast. Most 7-day Sardinia weeks bounce around Costa Smeralda and the Maddalena, then loop back. That misses Girolata, Calvi, and the Scandola reserve. The 10-day version below covers both coasts properly and does not feel rushed at the Maddalena.
The base case: Porto Cervo to Porto Cervo in 10 nights
Boarding Saturday afternoon at Porto Cervo or Olbia. Most charter clients fly into Olbia (OLB) which serves both. The yacht clears port by 17:00 and runs 12nm northeast to Cala di Volpe for night one.
Day 1 (Saturday): Porto Cervo to Cala di Volpe 12nm. Soft opener. Anchor in the bay outside the Cala di Volpe hotel, in 8 to 14m, sand. Holding is good. Stabilizers on at rest. Tender to the hotel pier for an aperitif at the Atrium Bar, dinner at the Beach Club or on board. The yacht sleeps here.
Day 2 (Sunday): Cala di Volpe to Maddalena Archipelago (Spargi) 22nm north. Enter the Maddalena via the eastern entrance with permits in hand. Anchor at Cala Corsara on Spargi for the morning. The water at Cala Corsara is the cleanest in the Maddalena. Holding is good in 6 to 10m, sand. Lunch on board. Afternoon move 4nm to Budelli or Santa Maria for a swim. The Spiaggia Rosa beach on Budelli is closed to landing, but the anchorage off the channel is open. Anchor for the night at Cala Lunga on Razzoli or at Porto della Madonna between Razzoli and Budelli. Holding is fair. Dinner aboard.
Day 3 (Monday): Maddalena to Bonifacio 14nm north through the Bonifacio Strait. This is the navigation day of the trip. The Strait is 7nm wide at its narrowest, and the wind funnels through at force 5 or 6 in summer westerlies, sometimes 7. Captain plans the crossing for morning calm or evening lull. Arrive Bonifacio harbour for lunch, alongside in the inner harbour if the broker has booked a slot. Bonifacio inner harbour in August requires 90 to 120 days lead time on a 50m+ slot. The Bonifacio mooring fee for a 55m yacht is €1,800 to €2,800 per night in peak season. Afternoon ashore in the citadelle. Dinner at La Caravelle or Stella d'Oro. Yacht sleeps alongside.
Day 4 (Tuesday): Bonifacio to Roccapina to Campomoro 30nm northwest along the Corsican south coast. Anchor at Roccapina for a long lunch and swim. The Roccapina anchorage is the most photographed Corsican south-coast bay, with the lion-rock formation on the headland. Holding is good in 5 to 12m, sand. Afternoon push 12nm to Campomoro on the Valinco Gulf. Anchor in 8 to 14m, sand and weed. Holding is acceptable. Dinner ashore at U Spuntinu or aboard.
Day 5 (Wednesday): Campomoro to Ajaccio 24nm north. Morning swim stop at Cala di Roccapina if it was missed yesterday, otherwise direct to Ajaccio Gulf. Anchor inside the Sanguinaires islets for lunch. Afternoon ashore in Ajaccio for guests who want the Napoleon museum, otherwise stay aboard. The yacht sleeps at anchor off Capo di Feno or moves into Porto Charles Ornano marina. The Charles Ornano dockage is cheaper than the Bonifacio inner harbour and easier to book.
Day 6 (Thursday): Ajaccio to Scandola to Girolata 40nm northwest along the Corsican west coast. This is the day the trip pays for itself. The Scandola Nature Reserve, a Unesco site, runs from Punta Palazzu south. The yacht cannot anchor inside the reserve and the captain confirms the route with the Office de l'Environnement de la Corse before the day. The standard play is to traverse the reserve slowly between 11:00 and 14:00, then anchor at Girolata for the night. Girolata is reachable only by sea or by a 2-hour walk from the road. The bay holds 25 to 40 yachts in peak season. Anchor in 12 to 20m, sand and weed. Holding is fair. The land contingency is to move to Capo Rosso just south if Girolata is full. Dinner ashore at Le Cabanon de Colombo or aboard.
Day 7 (Friday): Girolata to Calvi 22nm north. Morning swim stop at Capo Rosso or the Anse de Topiti. Afternoon arrival Calvi, alongside the citadel quay or at anchor in the bay. The Calvi citadel is the photogenic closer to the Corsican west coast. Dinner ashore at A Stunda or A Candella. Yacht sleeps in the bay.
Day 8 (Saturday): Calvi to Cap Corse to Macinaggio 50nm. The long sea day of the trip. The Cap Corse rounding is exposed and the captain runs it in morning calm. Lunch underway. Afternoon arrival Macinaggio on the northeast Cap Corse. Macinaggio marina is modest. Most 50m+ yachts anchor in the bay just south. Holding is fair. Dinner aboard.
Day 9 (Sunday): Macinaggio to Maddalena (Cala Coticcio) 55nm south, recrossing the Bonifacio Strait. The yacht runs a more easterly course to put the swell behind. Lunch stop at Lavezzi if conditions allow. Lavezzi is the southernmost Corsican island and the third-best Maddalena-adjacent swim of the trip. Late-afternoon arrival at Cala Coticcio on Caprera, the Caribbean-water anchorage on the east side of the Maddalena. Holding is good in 6 to 10m, sand. Anchorage permit confirmed. Dinner aboard.
Day 10 (Monday): Coticcio to Porto Cervo via Cala di Volpe 22nm south. Morning swim at Coticcio. Slow run south past the Maddalena to a final lunch at Cala Brandinchi on the Sardinian east coast or at Porto Liscia. Afternoon return to Porto Cervo for the final dinner ashore at Quattro Passi, Phi Beach, or Beach Club. Yacht overnights in port. Disembark Tuesday morning.
What the broker brochure version gets wrong
The standard 10-day Corsica-Sardinia brochure puts Bonifacio on night six or seven. The arithmetic does not work. Bonifacio inner harbour books out, and the only way to secure a 50m slot in August is to commit to a specific date 4 months ahead. Putting Bonifacio early in the trip means committing to a date the broker has confirmed, not a date that conforms to weather.
The second mistake is over-allocating Costa Smeralda. Two nights in Cala di Volpe and a Porto Cervo dinner is the standard. The Costa Smeralda is one good night, not three. The west Corsican coast is two good nights at minimum, three if Calvi works.
The third is omitting Scandola. Scandola is the Unesco site and the single most distinctive part of the western Mediterranean charter geography. Brokers omit it because the no-anchor rules add complexity. The complexity is worth it.
Yachts that work for this route
This is a 45m to 70m destination. The Costa Smeralda anchorages are deep enough for 70m+ hulls. The Maddalena and the west Corsican anchorages are not. Cala Corsara, Coticcio, and Girolata all reach their limits at 65m. Above 65m you spend two of the most interesting days holding deeper and tendering further.
The hulls running this route in 2026 are Sanlorenzo 57m and 62m SD/SX, Benetti 65m Mediterraneo and Retreat, Amels 60m and 65m, Heesen 55m FDHF, and Lürssen 65m to 75m hulls on charter. The Lürssens at 70m+ are the over-allocated case here. They work, they just under-use the anchorages.
A yacht we would pass on for the Corsica-Sardinia 10-day is anything without at-rest stabilizers. The Maddalena anchorages have enough wind chop and ferry wake that an unstabilized 50m hull rolls noticeably at dinner. The Heesen FDHF hybrid at 55m, the Sanlorenzo SX with Vector stabilizers, and the Amels 188 with Quantum Zero Speed are the comfortable picks.
APA and what 10 days costs at delivery
APA on the 10-day version runs 32 to 35% of the charter fee, slightly higher than the 7-day equivalent because the Bonifacio dockage, the Maddalena park permits, and the Scandola transit fees compound. The Bonifacio inner harbour is the single biggest non-fuel APA line at €1,800 to €2,800 per night for a 55m yacht. Maddalena park anchorage permits run €60 to €280 per day. Scandola transit is a permit, not a fee, but the captain pays an agent if the yacht stops outside the reserve.
The fully-loaded delivered cost of a 60m Corsica-Sardinia 10-day in peak August 2026 is approximately €820K charter plus €280K APA plus €164K VAT, or roughly €1.26M all-in. That is for 12 guests over 10 nights in a yacht with at-rest stabilizers, a Mediterranean captain with at least three seasons on the route, and an itinerary that uses Bonifacio inner harbour for one night and Maddalena park for three.
Passed on: variations we do not recommend
We do not recommend running this as a one-way Olbia-to-Calvi or Calvi-to-Olbia. The one-way creates a delivery debit on the next charter and most brokers pass that cost to the client. The loop is the cleaner commercial structure.
We do not recommend the 7-day version that drops Bonifacio. A Corsica-Sardinia week without the Strait crossing is two destinations connected only by sea miles. The Strait is the trip.
We do not recommend booking Costa Smeralda in mid-August. The Cala di Volpe and Porto Cervo nights work in late June, July, or mid-September, but mid-August in 2026 is so crowded that the anchorages have ferry wake from the Olbia-Civitavecchia route running through dinner.
Booking lead time
The 55m to 65m motor yachts running this route in July and August book 10 to 16 months ahead. As of May 2026, the second half of July is gone on the best hulls. Early September has the widest availability and is the better Corsica-Sardinia month for swimming.
FAQ
Why 10 days for Corsica and Sardinia and not 7? The two coasts plus the Maddalena and Bonifacio crossings are 410 nautical miles. A 7-day version forces you to choose between Corsica west coast and Maddalena, which are the two best parts of the trip. 10 days does both.
Where should the yacht pick up for this itinerary? Olbia or Porto Cervo on the Sardinian side, Ajaccio or Calvi on the Corsican side. Olbia is the most-used base. Porto Cervo offers the YCCS Marina and a Saturday-to-Tuesday turnaround that fits flights into Olbia airport 25km away.
What permits are needed for the Maddalena Archipelago? The Maddalena National Park requires a daily anchorage permit and lists protected zones where anchoring is forbidden. Captains book through park authority. Fees in 2026 run €60 to €280 per day depending on yacht LOA.
Can the yacht anchor inside Scandola? No. Scandola is a strict no-anchor reserve. Captains transit slowly, on a designated route, with no swimming or tender deployments inside the reserve boundary. Anchorage starts again at Girolata, just south.
Is Bonifacio worth the dockage cost? For one night, yes. The town is the only walled medieval port on the route and the cliff approach by sea is the photograph of the trip. Two nights in Bonifacio is one too many.