Rome, Amalfi Coast & Naples Bay by Luxury Yacht Charter

Spend half of the day today on a private guided tour taking in some of Rome's ancient sights; Ancient Appian Way, Catacombs & St Paul Outside the Walls. The Appian Way was one of the earliest and one of the most important Roman Roads that connected Rome to Brindisi, an important port situated in the South of Italy, from where merchants and the crusaders left Italian shores for the far East. The construction of the road started in 312 BC and the main part was completed that same year.

Walking along the Appian Way, your guide will lead you to the Catacombs. In the first century, Rome's Christians did not have their own cemeteries. If they owned land, they buried their relatives there, otherwise they resorted to common cemeteries, where pagans were also buried. This explains how Saint Peter came to be buried in the great public "necropolis" ("city of the dead") on Vatican Hill and how Saint Paul was buried in a necropolis along the Via Ostiense. In the first half of the second century, as a result of various grants and donations, the Christians started burying their dead underground and hense the catacombs were created. Many of them were developed around family tombs, whose owners, newly converted Christians, did not reserve them to the members of the family, but rather opened them to their brethren in the faith. With the passage of time, these burial areas grew larger by gifts or by the purchase of new properties, sometimes on the initiative of the Church itself. 

In the course of time, landslides and vegetation obstructed and hid the entrances to the other catacombs, so that the very traces of their existence were lost. Indeed, during the late Middle Ages they didn't even know where they were. The exploration and scientific study of the catacombs started, centuries later, with Antonio Bosio (1575-1629), nicknamed the "Columbus of subterranean Rome". In the last century the systematic exploration of the catacombs, and in particular of those of Saint Callixtus, was carried out by Giovanni Battista de Rossi (1822-1894), who is considered the father and founder of Christian Archaeology.

Leaving the catacombs, make your way to St Paul Outside the Walls - one of Rome’s four Basilicas and which was founded by the Roman Emperor Constantine over the burial place of St Paul. The seat of the Latin Patriarch of Alexandria from 1215 to 1964, it was badly damaged in 1823 due to the negligence of a worker who was fixing the roof. For this reason the Viceroy of Egypt sent pillars and alabaster, while the Emperor of Russia sent precious malachite and lapislazuli which are a part of the tabernacle.  The basilica has been declared a national monument. In 2006 the archaeologists discovered a sarcophagus and it has been finally confirmed that it is the tomb of St Paul, originally buried two miles away from the place of his martyrdom.

Meet your private driver for a marina transfer (approximately 2 hrs).

Welcome aboard!

Take a moment to get settled in to your luxurious cabin, and join the captain and hostess for a tour of the ship, prior to departure. You'll set sail for the island of Ponza arriving in the afternoon anchoring one of its beautiful crystal clear bays for a nice swim prior to entering the port of Ponza. You’ll have the opportunity to stroll around the town laid out like an amphitheatre around the port and is the island's main tourist and seaside resort, eat in some of its excellent local restaurants, purchase gifts.. spending the remainder of your day here.

Port charges are included in your multi-day yacht charter.

Sail out in the morning to nearby Palmarola, a beautiful place to go snorkelling, while anchoring in some of the most famous crystal clear bays. Alternately, relax on the lovely beach, before returning to Ponza in the afternoon for another nice evening before heading off toward the Amalfi Coast the next morning.

Sailing in the morning you’ll stop off one of the crystal clear bays off the island of Ventotene with lunch on board. After lunch continue sailing towards Amalfi along the Amalfi coast with another swim stop in the afternoon in a nice hidden bay. The Amalfi Coast is a beautiful and much-praised stretch of mountainous coastline south of Naples, in Campania. The southern end of the Bay of Naples stretches out in a peninsula that reaches towards the isle of Capri and Sorrento, another major tourist destination, looks back towards Naples from the north coast of the peninsula. The southern side of the peninsula is dotted with picturesque villages and towns clinging giddily to cliffs; this is what is known as the Amalfi Coast. For decades these fishing villages, stacked precariously above the sea, have been one of Italy's major tourist attractions. Well-accustomed to catering for affluent foreign tourists, the area offers a generous selection of restaurants, bars, boutiques, boat trips – just about anything self-indulgent that you can spend money on. The town Amalfi itself is small, but you can easily stroll away an afternoon exploring the narrow white alleyways and browsing in the shops for souvenirs.

Set sail in the moring towards Positano with anchoring off one or more bays for a refreshing swim & lunch on board prior to arriving in the afternoon in Positano. Positano is located in the Campania region of Italy, on the Amalfi Coast. Once a wealthy maritime power, it began the last century as a fishing settlement, and ended it as a popular, and rather chi-chi resort, famous for its hotels and boutiques as well as for the winding stairways that connect the town and the towering cliffs above. Every inch of land is prized; buildings are stacked up one above the other on the steep slopes and open areas are intensively cultivated with fruit and vegetables thriving in the fertile volcanic soil. The mountainous interior of the peninsula rises above the town, and Positano boasts one of the world's few "pierced" mountains; a giant shoulder of rock with a hole punched through it!

Today you'll set sail for the island of Capri. The islands off Naples are so different from each other that you wonder how they can possibly be in the same bay – indeed, some would say they are not true water mates, as they lie just beyond the bay's outer fringes. The contrast goes beyond mere geology and vegetation. They all occupy different niches in the traveller's mind, with Capri pandering to the whims of the international greatand- good. Chosen by the Greeks, the supreme connoisseurs and aesthetes of antiquity, as their first base in Italy, the islands of Capri, Ischia, and Procida combine a broad gamut of experiences. The town of Capri is a Moorish stage-set of sparkling white houses, tiny squares and narrow medieval alleyways hung with flowers, while its hillsides are spectacular settings for luxurious seaside villas.

Head for Grotta Azzurra and enjoy excursions around the island. See the Grotta Bianca, the Natural Arch, the Faraglioni rocks, and the bay of Marina Picco from the sea and reach parts of the island completely inaccessible by other means. This bold Arch is what remains of a large grotta that penetrated the mountain. The waves of the sea extended its aperture and washed away its debris. After the uplifting of the island during the Palaeolithic era, the grotto was freed from the erosive action of the waves and the wind and the rain transformed its surface. On returning from the Natural Arch, a flight of steps descending to the valley below leads to the Matermania Grotta, an impressive natural cavern transformed during Roman times into a luxurious Nymphaeum. Today few remains of the wall, which were originally lined with mosaic "tesserae" made of glass paste and decorated with multi-coloured plaster, shells and marine valves, have survived. With your vessel at your complete disposal, your captain will sail you to various hidden areas today, only reachable by boat, for great swimming. Now this is secluded luxury.

Depart from Capri and set sail toward Naples, enjoying the last moments of your luxurious yacht experience.

Back in Naples, you'll disembark from the yacht and bid farewell to your captain and crew.

Enjoy a private airport transfer with a private vehicle and professional driver.