The Italian Riviera packs the Mediterranean's most photographed coastline into one relaxed week: the pastel harbour of Portofino, the five cliff-clinging villages of the Cinque Terre, and Porto Venere guarding the Gulf of Poets. Distances are short, so days are unhurried — there's always time to walk the villages, swim off the boat and linger over lunch. This circular route from La Spezia is scenery-dense, beginner-friendly sailing, with one caveat: this is a marina-and-mooring coast rather than a wild-anchorage one, and the Cinque Terre's protected waters have rules we'll brief you on before you go.
Day by day
The route
Day 1
Arrive La Spezia
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La Spezia's Porto Mirabello is a smart modern marina at the head of the Gulf of Poets — the bay named for Byron and Shelley, who swam and sailed these waters. Pisa Airport is about an hour away, Genoa a little more. Provision in town, pick up your briefing from the base, and if you have time explore the harbourfront before you slip lines.
Day 2
La Spezia → Porto Venere — 5nm
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A short shake-down hop across the gulf to Porto Venere, one of the loveliest arrivals in Italy: a row of tall pastel houses, the black-and-white striped church of San Pietro perched on the point, and Byron's Grotto below the cliffs. The island of Palmaria sits just opposite. Take a berth or lie in the bay and go ashore for dinner.
Day 3
Porto Venere → Vernazza & the Cinque Terre — 9nm
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Sail northwest along the Cinque Terre — Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza and Monterosso, five villages stitched into the cliffs and linked by ancient walking trails. Vernazza has the only natural harbour of the five and is the jewel of the coast. These are protected waters with mooring and anchoring restrictions, so we'll brief you on exactly where you can lie.
Day 4
Vernazza → Sestri Levante — 15nm
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Round Punta Mesco and carry on up the coast to Sestri Levante, set on a slim peninsula between two bays with two of the most charming names in Italy — the Bay of Silence and the Bay of Fairytales. A relaxed resort town with sandy beaches, good seafood and an easy overnight anchorage.
Day 5
Sestri Levante → Portofino — 9nm
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Cross the Gulf of Tigullio to Portofino — the most glamorous little harbour in the Mediterranean, a perfect horseshoe of pastel façades backed by wooded hills with Castello Brown above. Berths inside are famously few and pricey; many crews anchor in the bay or berth nearby at Santa Margherita Ligure. Don't miss San Fruttuoso, a medieval abbey in its own cove reachable only by boat or on foot.
Day 6
Portofino → Levanto — 14nm
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Round the wooded Portofino promontory and run back down the coast to Levanto, a laid-back beach town just north of the Cinque Terre with a long sandy bay and a good anchorage. It's a quieter counterpoint to Portofino and a fine spot for a last long swim and an easy evening ashore.
Day 7
Levanto → La Spezia — 11nm
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A final morning sail back past the Cinque Terre and Porto Venere into the Gulf of Poets, arriving at La Spezia to hand the boat back. Time your departure for one last look at the villages from the water — the best view of the Cinque Terre is always from the sea.