A morning round, an afternoon tasting and a day at anchor in a swimming cove: in the right Italian region, all three fit into a long weekend without hours in the car. It suits couples where one plays and one does not, small groups of golfers who want more than golf, and anyone who would rather spend a day on a skippered boat than on a sun lounger. The regions differ more than you might expect. Sardinia and Sicily are strongest on the water, Lake Garda and the Tuscan coast put serious wine closest to the first tee, Liguria trades resort golf for historic courses and the Portofino coast, and Puglia combines a tour-level course with sea caves and Primitivo.
This article contains affiliate links. If you book through them, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Read our affiliate disclosure.
Quick answer: which region for yacht, wine and golf?
- Best for links golf: Sicily, where Verdura East Links (18 holes, par 73, Kyle Phillips) runs with sea views near Sciacca. Puglia’s San Domenico, open and links-like among olive trees, is the alternative.
- Best for wine: Lake Garda, where Lugana, Bardolino and Valpolicella (home of Amarone) all lie within an hour of Sirmione.
- Best for sailing: Sardinia, with the La Maddalena archipelago a short boat ride from Porto Cervo and Cannigione.
- Best short break from Rome: the Tuscan coast, about 1 hour 30 to 1 hour 50 minutes from Fiumicino to Monte Argentario. From the north, Lake Garda is about 30 minutes from Verona airport to Sirmione.
- Best late season: Sicily, where early October is still in the sweet spot and the Etna harvest starts in late September.
If golf is the main event, start with our hub on the best golf resorts and golf hotels in Italy. For the wider wine map, see our guide to Italian wine regions.
Check prices and availability
Taormina is the easiest Sicilian base for golf on Etna, north slope wineries and boat days from Giardini Naxos. May, June and September fill first.
The six regions at a glance
Each region below has an 18-hole course that welcomes visitors, estates that take bookings and a harbour with skippered day charters. Green fees for 2026 were rarely published, so ask each club.
Sicily: Verdura links and Etna wine
Sicily has two natural bases. In the southwest, Verdura near Sciacca has two Kyle Phillips courses on site: East Links (18 holes, par 73, 6,763 metres), with narrow fairways and sea views, and West Shore (par 70), which finishes on the shoreline. In the east, Il Picciolo (18 holes, par 72) plays among lava stone and vines on Etna’s north slope. Wine follows the courses: Cottanera and Donnafugata on Etna, and Planeta at Menfi, about 30 minutes from Verdura. On the water, take a skippered half day from Giardini Naxos around Isola Bella and Capo Sant’Andrea, or a full day to the Aeolian Islands from Milazzo. Best months are May, June, September and early October. Verdura Resort is the only hotel in Sicily with both championship courses on site; it is seasonal, so check opening dates.
Read our full guide to yacht, wine and golf in Sicily
Sardinia: Pevero, Vermentino and La Maddalena
Northeast Sardinia packs all three into a short radius. Pevero Golf Club, by Robert Trent Jones Sr., is 18 holes, par 72, routed over a granite headland between the bays of Pevero and Cala di Volpe. Visitors need a home club certificate with a limit of 36. Gallura behind the coast grows Vermentino di Gallura, Sardinia’s only DOCG, a saline, mineral white; Vigne Surrau near Arzachena is about 15 minutes from Porto Cervo. The water day is the reason to come: a skippered boat to Caprera, Spargi, Budelli and Santa Maria in the La Maddalena national park; your skipper usually arranges the park authorisation. Go in late May, June or September. Hotel Cala di Volpe sits a few minutes by car from Pevero; its 2026 season opened on 16 April.
Check rates at Hotel Cala di Volpe
Read our full guide to yacht, wine and golf in Sardinia
The Tuscan coast: Argentario and the Maremma
Monte Argentario gives you a tournament course and two marinas within minutes of each other. Argentario Golf Club in Porto Ercole is 18 holes, par 71, the PGA National Golf Course Italy and host of the Italian Open on the DP World Tour in June 2025, open every day. The Maremma inland pours Morellino di Scansano, its local name for Sangiovese: Le Pupille is about 50 minutes away, and Bolgheri makes a full day. For the water, take a skippered boat from Porto Santo Stefano or Cala Galera to Giannutri, inside the Tuscan Archipelago National Park, or to Giglio. May, June and September are best. Argentario Golf & Wellness Resort sits on the course, with a large spa and no published winter closure.
Check rates at Argentario Golf & Wellness Resort
Read our full guide to yacht, wine and golf on the Tuscan coast
Lake Garda: 36 holes, Amarone and a lake day
Garda is the region where all three sit closest together. Garda Hotel San Vigilio Golf in Pozzolengo, formerly Chervò, has 27 championship holes by Kurt Rossknecht plus a nine-hole executive course, and hosted the Italian Open in 2020. Three appellations meet here: Lugana around Sirmione, Bardolino and its Chiaretto on the eastern shore, and Valpolicella for Amarone. Masi Tenuta Canova at Lazise lists a four-wine experience at 30 euros. The southern basin is motorboat country, with private days past the Sirmione peninsula towards Isola del Garda, while the northern end around Riva and Torbole is for sailing, since motor navigation is banned on the Trentino waters. Best months are May, June and September. Villa Cortine Palace in Sirmione has a private pier and its own boat, and is open roughly April to late October.
Check rates at Villa Cortine Palace
Read our full guide to yacht, wine and golf on Lake Garda
The Italian Riviera: Portofino by boat, historic golf
Liguria is the boat-first option. Its courses are historic and reward accuracy over length. Golf Club Garlenda, an 18-hole, par 72 among olive groves inland from Alassio, is the most complete test, while Circolo Golf e Tennis Rapallo (par 70) is about ten minutes from Santa Margherita and pairs easily with a morning at sea. The wines are small-production and steep: Sciacchetrà, the Cinque Terre passito, Pigato around Albenga, and Vermentino from the Colli di Luni. The classic sea day runs from Santa Margherita past Paraggi and Portofino to San Fruttuoso and Punta Chiappa, inside the Portofino Marine Protected Area, where buoys must be booked by app. May, June and September work best. Grand Hotel Miramare in Santa Margherita Ligure is near the marina and about ten minutes from Rapallo golf.
Check rates at Grand Hotel Miramare
Read our full guide to yacht, wine and golf on the Italian Riviera
Puglia: San Domenico, Primitivo and sea caves
Puglia’s anchor is San Domenico Golf at Savelletri di Fasano, an 18-hole, par 72 by Andy Haggar with European Golf Design, open and links-like among old olive trees, and host of the Challenge Tour Grand Final for eight years. The published handicap limit is 36. Locorotondo, about 30 minutes inland, makes crisp whites; further south come Primitivo di Manduria and Negroamaro around Salice Salentino. The water day starts at Monopoli harbour, about 15 minutes from Savelletri, heading north to swim below the Polignano sea caves; Santa Maria di Leuca adds a full day where two seas meet. Go in May, June or September. Borgo Egnazia is next door to San Domenico, with two beach clubs and a spa; it closes for a winter break.
Read our full guide to yacht, wine and golf in Puglia
Check prices and availability
Porto Cervo puts Pevero, the marina and the Gallura wineries within half an hour. June and September book up early, so compare dates now.
Comparison table: the six regions
| Region | Signature course | Wine style | Best water day | Best months | Nearest airport |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sicily | Verdura East Links (18, par 73); Il Picciolo (18, par 72) | Etna DOC from the volcano’s north slope; Menfi in the southwest | Isola Bella and Capo Sant’Andrea, or the Aeolian Islands | May, June, September, early October | Catania (about one hour to Taormina) |
| Sardinia | Pevero Golf Club (18, par 72) | Vermentino di Gallura DOCG, saline and mineral; Cannonau | La Maddalena archipelago | Late May, June, September | Olbia (40 to 45 minutes to Porto Cervo) |
| Tuscan coast | Argentario Golf Club (18, par 71) | Morellino di Scansano (Sangiovese); Bolgheri blends | Giannutri or Giglio from the Argentario | May, June, September | Rome Fiumicino (1 hour 30 to 1 hour 50 minutes) |
| Lake Garda | Garda Hotel San Vigilio Golf (27 + 9 holes) | Lugana whites, Bardolino Chiaretto, Amarone | Sirmione peninsula, Manerba and Isola del Garda | May, June, September | Verona (about 30 minutes to Sirmione) |
| Italian Riviera | Golf Club Garlenda (18, par 72) | Sciacchetrà, Pigato, Vermentino | Portofino to San Fruttuoso | May, June, September | Genoa (about 40 minutes to Santa Margherita) |
| Puglia | San Domenico Golf (18, par 72) | Primitivo, Negroamaro, Locorotondo whites | Monopoli to the Polignano sea caves | May, June, September | Brindisi (45 to 50 minutes) or Bari (50 to 60 minutes) |
How to plan a combined trip
Golf runs on tee sheets, wine on reservation lists and boats on the weather. A few steps keep them from colliding.
Handicap certificate
Italian clubs commonly ask visitors for a valid handicap certificate from their home club. Pevero, Argentario and San Domenico publish a limit of 36; some directories list 54 at clubs such as Bogliaco on Lake Garda and the Saturnia course in the Maremma. Verdura and Il Picciolo do not publish their rule, so carry your certificate and home club card for every round. Plan on collared shirts, soft spikes and no denim.
Travelling with clubs
Check your airline’s sports equipment fees. Hire a car with a large boot, or tell your hotel about golf bags so it sends a big enough vehicle; taxis are scarce on the Argentario. On tasting days, use a driver: Italy’s limit is 0.5 grams per litre. Our Italy travel planner covers transfers and car hire.
Booking order: tee times, tastings, boat
- Tee times first: they are the scarcest slot in high season, especially at Pevero from June to September.
- Tastings second: almost every estate in these guides needs a reservation, and some ask for a day’s notice. Plan no more than two a day. To sleep among the vines, see our hub on vineyard hotels and wine resorts in Italy.
- Boat last, with a spare day: the maestrale, libeccio and scirocco can all cancel a crossing. Ask the skipper to hold two possible dates, and get a written list of what the charter includes, as fuel, lunch, mooring and park fees are often extra. For route ideas, see the best yacht spots in Sicily.
Seasons
May, June and September are the sweet spot everywhere: warm sea, comfortable golf and open estates. July and August bring heat, peak rates and busy anchorages. April and October suit golf and wine, but many boats and seasonal hotels run reduced schedules or close; most skippered charters run from about April or May to October.
Charlotte’s tip: put the boat in the middle of the trip
Book the boat for the second or third day, not the last, and keep golf and tastings flexible around it. If the wind turns, you swap the sea day for a round or a winery instead of losing it. Confirm the boat 24 hours ahead.
For boat days in more regions, see our hub Yacht Charter in Italy.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which Italian region is best for yacht, wine and golf in one trip?
It depends on your priority. Lake Garda and Puglia put all three within about half an hour of one base, Sardinia has the strongest boat day, and Sicily’s Verdura has the most golf on one site.
Do I need a handicap certificate to play in Italy?
Usually, yes. Italian clubs commonly ask for a valid certificate from your home club, and limits of 36 or 54 are typical. Check each club’s rule when booking.
How many days do I need?
Four days covers one region: a round, a boat day, a tasting day and a spare day for the weather. Two bases in one region take five or more.
When is the best time to go?
May, June and September in every region, with early October still good in Sicily. July and August are hot and busy, and from late October many boats and seasonal hotels close.
Planning more yacht, wine and golf in Italy?
