Not every boat tells the same story. In recent years, the Italian Riviera has seen an explosion of impromptu operators — anyone with a vessel and a WhatsApp number setting up as a tour company, competing on price alone. But a quality luxury boat tour isn’t defined by what you pay. It’s defined by what you remember.

A fleet built for those who don’t do things halfway

Viaggi di Mare’s fleet has been selected for comfort, safety and character. The Nimbus Weekender 9 is a Scandinavian cruiser with clean Nordic lines, spacious sundecks and premium finishes — built for unhurried coastal navigation. The Fairline 39 Targa is a British sportcruiser that pairs performance with elegance: well-appointed cabins, a generous cockpit and the kind of presence in the water that turns heads in every marina. And then there’s the Maiora 20 Fly — a 20-metre Italian motor yacht with flybridge, air-conditioned saloon and a level of on-board comfort that belongs to a different category entirely.

Maintenance, safety and the details you’ll actually notice

Every vessel undergoes regular checks, is kept in full mechanical order and carries all safety equipment required by Italian maritime regulations. The on-board materials — from the sunbed upholstery to the dining area fittings — are chosen with the same attention to detail you’d expect from a boutique hotel. It’s not a minor point. It’s the difference between a day out on the water and an experience worth travelling for.

Captains and guides who know what they’re doing

On board, you won’t find a driver. Viaggi di Mare’s captains have spent years navigating these waters, speak multiple languages and know how to read sea conditions to bring you exactly where it’s worth being — at exactly the right moment. The same standard applies to the guides who lead the land experiences: the Cinque Terre hike, the Carrara marble quarry tour, the wine tasting in Montecarlo di Lucca hills.

Exclusive permits to go where others simply can’t

One of the clearest distinctions between Viaggi di Mare and the improvised operators crowding the coast is the set of special authorisations and permits that allow access to protected marine areas and restricted navigation zones. Along a coastline as beautiful — and as regulated — as the stretch between Versilia and the Ligurian Riviera, these permits aren’t a formality. They’re the difference between a standard tour and an experience that takes you somewhere genuinely few people ever reach.

The Cinque Terre Marine Protected Area, the Gulf of Poets and the waters around Portovenere are subject to strict navigation rules that limit access for vessels without the appropriate licences. Viaggi di Mare operates with the full set of authorisations required to navigate these zones — which means your tour can include anchorages, snorkelling spots and coastal perspectives that simply aren’t available to the majority of boats you’ll see crowding the main routes in July and August.

What protected area access actually means for your experience

In practical terms, it means the difference between watching the Cinque Terre from a distance and drifting quietly beneath the cliffs of Manarola with almost no one else around. It means anchoring in a sheltered cove off Portovenere while the day-trip boats have already turned back. This means a captain who knows which stretches of coastline are worth the detour — and who has the clearance to take you there.

It also means you’re travelling with an operator who has skin in the game. Maintaining these permits requires consistent compliance with maritime regulations, regular vessel inspections and ongoing relationships with the relevant port authorities. An improvised operator with a small boat and no licence doesn’t carry that weight — and doesn’t offer that access.

Efficiency is a competitive edge, not just compliance.

While informal operators cut corners — on licences, on safety equipment, on crew qualifications — Viaggi di Mare holds a full operating licence. This isn’t background detail. It’s the foundation that makes everything else possible: the permits, the insurance, the ability to operate in protected zones, the accountability if something goes wrong.

Every departure — whether from La Spezia or Bocca di Magra — follows a consistent protocol: a briefing with your captain, a safety walkthrough, a clear itinerary and the kind of attentiveness throughout the day that you don’t get when someone is running their third back-to-back trip on a vessel that hasn’t been properly serviced. The experience begins at the dock. The standard doesn’t drop until you’re back on shore.

This is what luxury looks like before you even leave the harbour. Not a glass of prosecco handed to you as you board — though that may come too — but the quiet confidence of knowing that every permit is in order, every safety check has been completed, every crew member is qualified and every detail has been handled by people who take this seriously. You’re not finding out halfway through the day that the vessel isn’t authorised to anchor where you were promised. You’re not explaining to your family why the coastguard has pulled alongside.

Choosing Viaggi di Mare is a deliberate act. It’s what people do when they’ve decided that the experience matters — when they’re travelling with friends or family and they want the memory to be the view from the flybridge of the Maiora at golden hour, not the story of what went wrong. It’s the choice of guests who expect excellence as a baseline, not as a selling point. People who know that real quality isn’t loud. It’s simply consistent — from the first message to the booking team to the moment the captain brings the boat back to dock, perfectly on time.

The coastline rewards those who know it — and who are allowed to explore it

There’s a version of the Italian Riviera that most visitors never see — not because it’s hidden, but because accessing it properly requires time, knowledge and the right paperwork. The quieter anchorages between Lerici and Portovenere. The approach to the Cinque Terre from the sea, early in the morning, before the crowds. The stretch of protected water off Palmaria island where the light hits differently and the silence is almost complete. These are the moments that Viaggi di Mare is built around — and that no discount operator, however cheap the ticket, can reliably deliver.

The experiences that stay with you: our favourite routes

From the sheltered waters of the Gulf of Poets — Lerici, Portovenere, Palmaria island — to the painted cliffs of the Cinque Terre and on to Portofino, every route is designed to give you the best of the Ligurian and Tuscan coast. Sunset cruises with aperitivo on board, private dinner charters on the Nimbus anchored in a quiet bay, bespoke tours for anniversaries and proposals: these aren’t experiences you’ll find on any budget booking platform.

Departures from La Spezia and Bocca di Magra

Embarkation points cover the full stretch of the Apuan-Ligurian coastline. Each departure includes a briefing with your captain, an introduction to the vessel and — on request — a coordinated private transfer from Pisa, Lucca and Florence or airports.

Your questions about on-board experience, answered