Portisco - Long
Day 1
Portisco - Porto Cervo
Day 2
Porto Cervo - La Maddalena
Day 3
La Maddalena - Santa Teresa Gallura
Day 4
Santa Teresa - Bonifacio
Day 5
Bonifacio - Porto Vecchio
Day 6
Porto Vecchio - Cala Santa Maria
Day 7
Cala Santa Maria - Portisco
Detailed Itinerary by days
Day 1Portisco - Porto Cervo
Start in the sheltering embrace of Portigo, where the morning sun renders the harbor liquid gold. Go west to the sparkling crown of Costa Smeralda, Porto Cervo. Wander the geometric marble lanes of the Piazzetta after anchoring close to Cala Granu, a bay so clean you will find starfish on the seabed. Drink Prosecco at Phi Beach at evening while superyachts sparkle like floating palaces and the air hums with hints of secret coves.
Day 2Porto Cervo - La Maddalena
Hoist sails over the archipelago of La Maddalena, where granite islands tower like old sea monsters. At Porto Massimo, a naturally occurring amphitheater of pink-rock coves, Dock Kayak to Cala Francese, its waters a mosaic of jade and sapphire, or hunt for Napoleon-era shipwrecks with a mask and snorkel. Dine on fregola with clams in a harborside osteria; the catch hauled in that morning.
Day 3La Maddalena - Santa Teresa Gallura
Sail north toward Santa Teresa's honey-hued port from the seething drama of the Bonifacio Strait. After swimming ashore at Rena Bianca, a crescent of white sand so blinding it blinds, climb the Longonsardo Tower for Corsica's silhouette on the horizon. Join residents in Piazza Vittorio Emanuele for throaty folk tunes and porceddu (suckling pig), the square alive with clinking glasses and laughter.
Day 4Santa Teresa - Bonifacio
Run the Mistral to Bonifacio's limestone citadel first light. Enter from a fjord-like gorge, rocks as cathedral walls. Carved by prisoners into vertigo-inducing rock, Descend the King of Aragon's Steps then savor Corsican wild boer stew at U Castille, the port lights flickering like medieval torches.
Day 5Bonifacio - Porto Vecchio
Coast east to Porto Vecchio, where sea-kissing Alpine peaks greet each other. Moor under the shadow of Genoese bastions then gentle to Palombaggia Beach - powder sand, blood-red cliffs, water like liquid topaz. Search a hillside microbrewery for chestnut-flour beer, or lose the afternoon snorkelling meadows at Île de Cerbicale.
Day 6Porto Vecchio - Cala Santa Maria
Sail south to Cala Santa Maria, a lost cove where turquoise stillness is spilled from pine woodlands. Drop anchor then dive directly from the deck, floating weightless above parrotfish and anemones. Picnic under the gnarled arms of a stone pine eating fiadone (lemon cheesecake), the only sound the lap of waves on your little shore produces.
Day 7Cala Santa Maria - Portisco
Glide past Capriccioli's granite sentinels to Cala di Volpe, where the jet-set play hide-and-seek in billionaires villas, for your last cruise. One last dip in Liscia Ruja's warm embrace and back to Portisco. Toast with mirto liqueur as the lights of the Costa Smeralda blink farewell; your skin salt-crusted and soul imprinted with Corsican enchantment.
