There are some places on this earth so captivating that we put ourselves through regular near-death experiences just to see them with our own eyes. The Amalfi Coast is one of those destinations – somewhere so otherworldly and stunning that tourists hug winding roads with sheer, plummeting drops on one side and precipitous cliff faces on the other just to visit, dodging wayward pedestrians and speeding locals in a high-stakes game of chicken. At least, that’s how I got to Positano last time, on a formative trip to the town when I was 19 and backpacking through Europe with an ill-advised boyfriend and my childhood best friend. We arrived via car, with said boyfriend – a veritable madman when he drives – behind the wheel, clutching on for dear life at every vertiginous turn. It was one of those trips that, despite the beauty of the place, was ultimately ruined by subpar company. The Amalfi Coast, and Positano in particular, beguiling as they are, remained tainted for me and I exiled them to the list of places I had seen but didn’t need to return to.
That is, until I got the call-up from Helm Yacht Charters. They had a spare week on one of their superyachts, Gatsby. Did I want to come and give the experience a trial? I’ll give you two guesses as to the speed and enthusiasm of my response. I’m not unfamiliar with being at sea, and have done multi-day boat trips a few times, but superyachts have remained firmly outside of my income bracket.
The superyacht industry is projected to reach £8 billion by 2026, with the overall yacht charter industry being valued at more than £9 billion. During our four days aboard Gatsby we saw boats on every end of the spectrum, from dinky sailboats bobbing in the waters of Capri, to truly gargantuan floating palaces, including the £185 million Ulysses. You can charter from Helm across that entire spectrum, too. There are yachts like Gatsby which start at £73,680 per week, but there are also six-person sailing yachts that start at a few hundred pounds per week, alongside cruise ship-sized vessels that will set you back at least half a million.
Positano at sunrise
Sleeping 12 guests across six cabins with six crew members to do everything from driving the tender to take you to town or pouring out copious glasses of wine and cooking up incredible meals, the 30.4-metre yacht has everything you need for an incredibly comfortable trip on the Mediterranean. Powerful air con in the rooms keep things cool during the day. There’s enough outdoor seating areas that you don’t need to see your fellow guests at all if you’re so inclined, and jet skis, ski bobs, paddle boards and more level up your dips no matter where you’re swimming.
And so it was that I found myself back in Positano, looking at the town from an entirely new perspective both literally and figuratively. Physically, this time I was seeing the town from the water, having taken a leisurely cruise up the coast from Naples, where we boarded Gatsby. It was a far more pleasant and far less terror-inducing way to arrive than navigating the coast’s gnarly roads. Mentally, I was struck by how satisfying it was to return somewhere that had held so much negative real estate in my brain for so long, and to come back on a superyacht and be able to call it work. It was one of those moments in time that you wish you could bottle up and send back to the younger version of yourself to let them know that everything will be ok in the end.
Our arrival into Positano earlier that day felt like a journey in itself. Having anchored in the town of Amalfi overnight, we were driven up to the picturesque, filmset-perfect town of Ravello for lunch, before heading along to the trailhead for the Path of the Gods, which winds nearly 7km through the hills above the Mediterranean from the village of Bomerano to Nocello. Named because it was believed to be carved out for gods travelling down to the sea from the heavens, it’s a challenging, undulating path that, at times, seems to almost hover above the earth. At least, that’s how it felt as I clung to the side of a boulder, trembling as I attempted to find a foothold to climb up and over it. The path oscillates between a range of terrain: paved road, dirt paths, terraced fields, root-strewn forest and, as is the case with my vertigo-inducing perch, enormous boulders.
If you can tear yourself away from the steep drops, the views are some of the best in the world. The whole of the Amalfi Coast seems to unfurl; multicoloured towns with sherbet-hued cupolas, tumbling down stone houses peppered among luminous cultivated terraces, and below it all, the ocean, luring you down like the sirens supposedly did the gods all those centuries ago. As we get closer to Positano, we see our floating home bobbing among the boats, dwarfing the wooden gozzos that come and go regularly from the bay. The promise of a swim off the back deck and a cold beer is just about all that gets me down the 1700 steps back down to sea level. We arrive back on board Gatsby dusty, in pain, and deliriously joyful.
Hiking the path of the gods is just one example of the excursions Helm can organise as part of your trip. In fact, the itinerary seemed so seamless that it was at times surprising we weren’t on a tightly run tour. The captain and crew were constantly editing our schedule to tailor to our needs to the weather, traffic, and more. Take, for example, our arrival in Capri the following day. Rather than anchoring along the far busier north coast, our captain navigates us to a southern bay with uninterrupted views of the iconic Faraglioni rock arch. A quick commute to shore and a taxi up a series of switchback, pin-turn roads deposits us in Capri town for window-shopping, celeb-spotting and sunset cocktails. On our return journey, as the sky quickly turns from dusky blue to indigo, the team decides to navigate under Faraglioni, the early evening sky giving it a haunting, mythical quality.
Capri's Faraglioni rock arch
This is the Amalfi Coast that many don’t see. While, much like my 19-year-old self, most of the 5 million visitors to this slice of Italy have to tackle heaving crowds and increasingly dangerous roads, arriving by boat offers more than just freedom and flexibility; it claws back a sense of peace from an otherwise frantic destination that is under extreme stress from overtourism. It gives you the luxury of an ever-changing view and the ability to travel with your whims, while your every possible need is taken care of.
There is no doubt that cruising the Amalfi aboard a vessel like Gatsby is a luxury experience. And while she was a glorious base from which to see this coastline, the beauty of Helm is that you don’t have to be in the top 0.1% to do it too. For those who want a glass of water to materialise before even realising they were thirsty, or decadent meals to appear almost out of thin air, then this is the boat for you. But for those working with smaller budgets, the Helm collection can cater to almost any level. Because, really, the true luxury of our four days was the freedom and serenity that came with being on the sea.
On our evening in Positano, we had an impromptu dance party on the boat, fuelled by one too many glasses of rosé and the serotonin boost that arrived post-hike. At one point, as the town sparkled in front of us and ABBA pulsed through the speakers, I peeled off to the top deck for a solo, contemplative moment to soak it all in. Perspective is such a big part of travel, and the one you get from a boat is powerful. There’s something about looking out at a town – rather than from it – that can provide so much context. But, maybe most crucially, whether you’re on a boat that costs a few hundred or a small fortune, the view is always the same.
