Mediterranean cruising berth cost

Hi Le mirage
you start in the most expensive area of the Med i.e. the western Med
the eastern part is a lot cheaper like Greece Turkey the eastern side of the Adriatic
good luck in your search
nahum

Yes, I would look at Greece, Turkey and Croatia first. Palma, the Riviera and Italy are sky-high prices. Some of the grottier parts of Spain, France and Italy are cheaper but lack infrastructure or the yachting lifestyle.

There is also a legal problem with anchoring in some bays or off beaches, better check that out first too. Croatia would be my choice.

Check this out, to start with.

Great site and often has more information than the marina's website plus some marina's don't even have websites. Also the reviews are very helpful.

While we don't generally anchor, I love their three anchor symbols, green for good anchorage, yellow for ok, and red for bad.

A couple of questions so we can all advise you well. Do you currently have a boat or what previous experience? Are you planning on full time crew?

Some considerations that come to mind as you said 90 and I assume meant 90', although could be 90 meters. There's the magical mystical mystery 24 meter set of rules. It's a complex rule and is "load line length" but it changes the requirements for licensing and in other ways. Now, although 24 meters is just over 78', some 90' boats are, for these purposes, under 24 meters and others are not. Just something to be fully aware of and I'd think in Ireland likely something you're already familiar with.

Then back to your question. I would absolutely not select a home marina or port during the first year of ownership. So cruise the entire area, which will include some marinas Fishtigua has called "sky-high" and some less expensive but find out all the pros and cons. Then ultimately you may decide on one as a winter home but never truly to settle in year round. Even your winter marina may change year to year. You will experience things you like and don't like. For this summer, we'll likely hit 50 marinas and they'll be all over the place but we're only on number 2 right now.

Price is a personal issue. If Monaco is where you want to be then it's going to be expensive. If a day from there is ok, then slightly less. If Croatia is perfect for you, then fine. We're going to spend time soon at Croatian marinas. However, before you get too excited, the ACI Marinas are very nice but the nightly rate for ACI Umag for 90' is 2304 HRK which is $380 USD so it over $4 per foot still. Now I'm sure there are less expensive marinas in Croatia. Just checked Rovinj and higher. Others about the same or slightly less. Boating is booming in Croatia.

Only you can ultimately determine what location, quality and amenities are worth.

Not a big fan of sherry to be honest, but I'm never short of some fine Italian wines onboard.
If you'd like to try some whenever you would be around southern Sardinia - whose coastline is well worth seeing regardless of any drink preferences - just drop me a pm.
It's always a pleasure to catch up with any boater who isn't impressed by places like Monaco!
In the meantime, all the best for your vessel selection.

PS: in any case, if by chance you would fancy seeing also the "Principauté", personally I like Fontvieille better than Port Hercule.
Conveniently located at walking distance from the center, and (imho) with a more nautical feeling than the very posh main harbour.

I like Fontvieille better than Port Hercule.

Fontvieille was always full of wannabes who didn't quite fit in, good Pub for Fish and Chips though.

Not sure if you mean that you agree with my sentence or you don't.
Regardless, if you are not interested in wannabes and in people who (as Jeremy Clarkson of Top Gear fame said) "drive cars bought with money they should have paid in taxes", you'd better skip Monaco altogether.

Which is what I would suggest, mind.
In fact, from a boating viewpoint, not only Monaco, but the whole Côte d'Azur is pretty far from being one of the most attractive areas that the Med has to offer.
It's no coincidence that I call home a very different part of the Med, where the worst of my anchorages is nicer than the best one of the French Riviera.
I simply mentioned my preference for Port Fontvieille just in case someone really should visit the place for some reason, nothing else.

You might want to look for a boat that is not only <24m Load Line Length, but is also < 24m "LH" (= hull length). Very broadly, the first one dictates manning and what licence you require as captain; the second dictates what equipment the boat needs. Going above either of these 24m limits complicates life a lot. The measurements for the two 24m rules are different; LH is a tougher rule., so usually a boat that is <24m LH is comfortably <24m LLL, but not the other way around. As you say, most 90-95 footers and some 100 footers (at least recent-ish designs) are under both of these 24m measurements, .

The Med is full of beautiful anchorages and ports, including (imho) on the Cote 'Azur. (I've been based in Antibes 20 years). However a lot of the French anchorages now have a "no anchoring if over 24m" rule, and in this case the 24m is LOA, not LLL or LH. This applies to most of Cote D'Azur and to important parts of N and S Corsica. Around Cap Ferrat the rule is 20m not 24m. Doesn't apply in Italy. In Spain the rule tends to be "drop your anchor only on sand not Posidonia weed". Anyway, it's worth researching this imho. The rules were most enacted October 2020 onwards, so we need to wait to see how hard they are enforced in summer 2021.

Hi J, nice to see you around here.
Must admit to have been a bit radical in my previous post.
Some anchorages are lovely also in SoF, even if mostly a bit busy for my tastes.
And Antibes is indeed a bijoux.
I'd rather be there than in Monaco in a heartbeat!

We just stayed in 7 different ACI Marinas on our trip through Croatia. All were great. If we return, we'll choose ACI again and go through a different set of marinas. Expensive, but worth it.

Yep, I was based in Antibes for almost 15 years, we have family there. Then one Boss wanted to be in Monaco, 3 years of drudge. It was a fun ride on the big bike but never, ever take a car.