Rules for yachts in Italy: Liguria, Tuscany, Sardinia and Campania – what captains need to know

In Italy, the hardest limits for large yachts come from marine protected areas: yachts over 24 metres may not navigate in the Portofino area at all, nor in Zones B and C of the Cinque Terre. Nationally, 8 knots apply within 500 metres of the coast and 3 knots in harbours. Local coastguard orders, not checked here, add more.

Each rule below links to the Italian or EU source. Italian law calls pleasure vessels over 24 metres navi da diporto; smaller craft are natanti and imbarcazioni (Portofino regulation, Art. 2).

What is missing from this guide?

The local orders of the coastguard (ordinanze of the Capitaneria di Porto) are missing, and they matter. They set bathing zones, distances and speeds off beaches, jet ski corridors and anchoring bans outside the protected areas. The coastguard, customs (Agenzia delle Dogane) and tax authority (Agenzia delle Entrate) websites blocked automated access, so we could not read them. Before anchoring or launching toys, ask the local Capitaneria di Porto or your agent.

Where can a yacht over 24 metres go in marine protected areas?

Italy's marine protected areas (Aree Marine Protette, AMP) are divided into zones A, B and C, strictest first. Several close their waters to large yachts:

The zoning regulation for Regno di Nettuno exists only as an image in the official gazette, and the park's website blocks automated access, so its zones and anchorages are not covered here.

What applies in the national parks?

• Tuscan Archipelago: in the marine Zones 1, navigation, access and anchoring are banned for all vessels (Decree 1996, Annex A, Art. 4); in Zone 2 mooring is free (park FAQ). Around Pianosa, a one-nautical-mile strip is closed to all ships (D.M. 19.12.1997). Montecristo needs a permit from the Carabinieri per la Biodiversità and a park ticket. At Giannutri there is currently no approved buoy field; the earlier arrangement was revoked on 25 February 2026 (park page).
• La Maddalena (Sardinia): within 300 metres of the coast, navigating, stopping, anchoring and mooring need a park ticket; checks without one bring a fine plus a 40 % surcharge (park page). The limit there is 7 knots (Decree 1996, Annex A, Art. 1). The park's anchoring ban in Zones Ma (order 1/2024) may have been changed by a 2026 coastguard order that we could not read.

Where is anchoring on Posidonia banned?

Anchoring on Posidonia and other seagrass meadows, or on coralligenous reef, is banned throughout the Tavolara area (Art. 21), in Zones B and C of Meloria (Art. 17) and at Punta Campanella, where Zone C also excludes 100 metres off beaches and 50 metres off cliffs (Art. 16). In Portofino's Zone C, marked areas protect the meadows (AMP page). Natura 2000 rules for Tuscany and Liguria could not be read.

How fast may you go near the coast?

Under motor, 8 knots within 500 metres of the coast, breakwaters and harbour entrances, and 3 knots in harbours and in bays with anchored boats, unless the harbour authority orders otherwise (D.M. 146/2008, Art. 91-bis). Distance limits from the shore are set locally by the harbour authority (Art. 91-ter), in exactly the orders we could not read.

Stricter inside protected areas: 5 knots in displacement mode in Portofino (Art. 16(8)); for smaller craft, 5 knots up to 300 metres and 10 knots beyond in Zone C of the Cinque Terre and Tavolara, and the same for yachts over 24 metres in Zone C of Punta Campanella. In the Cinque Terre during the bathing season, keep 100 metres off cliffs and 200 metres off beaches (Art. 15(2)).

How do you clear in and out?

The EU Schengen handbook lists Italy's sea border crossing points, including Portofino, Santa Margherita Ligure, Sanremo and La Spezia in Liguria; Livorno, Viareggio and Portoferraio in Tuscany; Olbia, Porto Cervo and La Maddalena in Sardinia; and Naples, Capri and Sorrento in Campania. Monte Argentario, Amalfi and Positano are not listed (Annex 4). This is a list for border checks on people, not a customs list. The customs procedure, crew lists, the difference between EU and non-EU flags and temporary admission are not covered, because the customs website was blocked.

What about waste and sewage?

Every protected area covered here bans dumping waste and polluting discharges; Portofino and Punta Campanella name untreated bilge and on-board waste water explicitly (Portofino, Art. 16(9); Punta Campanella, Art. 14(8)). At anchor in Tavolara, nothing liquid or solid may go overboard (Art. 21(6)). No source we found names grey water explicitly.

Drones, noise and tenders

• Drones: register in the D-Flight portal, fix the QR code to the drone and carry liability insurance (ENAC UAS-IT regulation). Overflying the Tuscan Archipelago park needs authorisation (Decree 1996, Art. 3). Local drone rules were not found.
• Noise: no disturbing noise within 500 metres of the coast, under way or at anchor (Art. 91-bis(3)). At anchor in Tavolara, fossil-fuel generators exhausting into the water may run one hour at most, and sound above 45 dB by day or 35 dB at night is banned (Art. 21(6)).
• Fireworks: in Sardinia, fires and fireworks on beaches and in bathing zones need authorisation (regional bathing order 2026, Art. 3). Elsewhere we found no rule.
• Tenders: tenders registered with the mother ship's identifier need only personal life-saving equipment within one nautical mile of the coast or the yacht (D.M. 146/2008, Art. 56). In Sardinia, the 5-metre strip at the waterline must stay clear of boats. Tender rules in harbours were not found.

What are the penalties?

Breaches of protected-area regulations are prosecuted under Art. 30 of Law 394/1991 (Cinque Terre, Art. 37); in Portofino, the operator can also order environmental damage repaired at the offender's cost. Speeding near harbours, buoy fields, beaches or anchored boats costs €414 to €2,066, and passing within 100 metres of a diver buoy can suspend your licence for one to three months (Codice della nautica, Art. 53). Punta Campanella's 2025 rules set €300 to €1,031.91 for anchoring where not allowed (Disciplinare 2025); a 2026 version was not found.

Charter, VAT and water toys

These have their own articles: Chartering in Italy and Jet skis and water toys in Italy. In brief, foreign-flagged yachts chartering permanently in Italy file a declaration with the STED and carry a validated copy on board (Codice della nautica, Art. 2(3)). The VAT articles on charter in D.P.R. 633/1972 are repealed from 1 January 2027 (Normattiva). Jet skis may go only within one nautical mile of the coast (Art. 27) and are banned in Portofino, Cinque Terre, Meloria, Tavolara and Punta Campanella. For comparison: rules for yachts on the Côte d'Azur and in the Balearics.

What else could we not verify?

• The Cinque Terre rules for buoy fields and anchoring areas in Zone C, and the zones of Regno di Nettuno.
• The Tuscan Archipelago park plan of 2017; the decree of 1996 and the park FAQ are cited instead.
• Whether non-EU-flagged yachts may charter between Italian ports; the law does not say.
• VAT flat rates for charter, temporary admission, and customs procedures for duty-free fuel.

Sources

All sources were checked on 4 October 2026. Each rule above links to the legal text or official page. Coastguard, customs and tax authority sources were not accessible. Annual rules valid only for 2025 (the Meloria and Tavolara disciplinari) are not cited; the Punta Campanella disciplinare 2025 is cited only with that caveat; the D.P.R. 633/1972 charter VAT articles apply only until 31 December 2026.