Private boat transfers · Bay of Naples
Boat Taxi & Private Transfers
Naples, Pozzuoli, Procida, Ischia, Capri — crossed on your own schedule, in a boat that carries only your party. No timetable, no queue, no connection to miss.
What a private boat transfer is
A private boat transfer — a water taxi — is a boat booked for your group alone to cross between two points in the Bay of Naples. We run them between Naples, Pozzuoli, Procida, Ischia and Capri, with a licensed English-speaking skipper, at a fixed price agreed before you travel.
It is not a tour and not a scheduled service. You choose the departure time, we confirm the berth, and the boat waits for you rather than the other way round. Bookings are made on WhatsApp; there is no online checkout and no ticket to collect.
Boat transfer routes across the bay
| Route | Most often booked for |
|---|---|
| Naples ↔ Procida | Arrivals and departures that do not fit the ferry timetable, late flights, and guests travelling with a lot of luggage. |
| Pozzuoli ↔ Procida | The shortest mainland crossing to the island, and the easiest if you are coming from the north or west of Naples. |
| Pozzuoli ↔ Ischia | The quickest way onto Ischia from the mainland, useful for early spa mornings and late returns. |
| Procida ↔ Ischia | The shortest hop in the bay. Hotel arrivals, dinners on the other island, and evening returns after the last public sailing. |
| Naples ↔ Ischia | Direct crossings when the public service has finished for the day or is fully booked in high season. |
| Procida ↔ Capri | Direct, without the change at Naples or Sorrento that the public route usually requires. Also as a day return. |
| Naples ↔ Capri | Private arrivals on Capri without the queue at Molo Beverello, luggage handled from car to boat. |
Other combinations across the bay are possible — Sorrento, Baia, Bacoli and the marinas around them included. Tell us where you are starting and where you need to be, and we will tell you honestly whether the sea route is the sensible one.
When a boat transfer beats the ferry
The public boats across the bay are good and we tell people to use them when they fit. They stop fitting in four situations, and those are the ones we exist for.
Your times do not match theirs. An early flight out of Naples, a dinner reservation on Ischia, a late arrival at Capodichino — the timetable thins out at exactly the hours when you most need it. A private crossing leaves when you say.
The route needs a change. Getting from Procida to Capri on public services usually means going back through Naples or Sorrento and waiting for a connection. By private boat it is one direct crossing.
You are carrying luggage, or people who find queues hard. Suitcases, small children, elderly parents: on a private transfer the bags go from the car to the deck and nobody queues in the sun at Molo Beverello.
High season is full. In July and August the popular sailings sell out and the quaysides are crowded. A boat held for your name at an agreed hour removes the whole problem.
What is included
You need no boating experience and no licence. The skipper handles the boat, the route and the berthing at both ends.
Clear communication from the first WhatsApp message to the last mooring line.
The boat carries your party only. No shared seats, no other bookings, no waiting for stragglers.
Agreed in writing before you travel and quoted for the crossing, not per person.
Suitcases loaded and unloaded for you. Tell us how many bags so we send the right boat.
We can add the road legs — airport, cruise terminal, hotel or villa — so the whole journey is one booking.
Safety decides. If the sea or the forecast makes a crossing unsuitable we reschedule or refund rather than sail, and we will tell you the night before wherever the forecast allows.
Arrivals, departures and the awkward hours
Most of our crossings carry people arriving on holiday or leaving at the end of it, at hours the public service does not cover. After that come guests moving between islands for a night or a dinner, and yacht crews putting clients ashore and collecting them again.
We also work steadily with hotels, villa managers, concierge teams, DMCs and wedding planners across the bay, who need someone who answers, confirms in writing and absorbs a delay without a chain of phone calls. If you are arranging a crossing on behalf of a guest rather than yourself, say so in your first message and we will deal with you directly.
Once you are on Procida we also handle the land side — taxi and private transfers across the island — and if you would rather spend the day on the water than simply cross it, see our private boat charters.
Boat taxi and water taxi crossings in detail
Naples and Pozzuoli to the islands
Pozzuoli is the closest mainland harbour to Procida and Ischia, which makes it the shortest crossing and usually the easiest if you are coming from the north or west of the city. Naples suits arrivals landing at Capodichino or stepping off a cruise ship, since the car meets you there and the boat leaves from a berth a short drive away. Both work at hours the public service does not cover.
Procida to Ischia transfers
The shortest hop in the bay, and the crossing we are asked for most. Guests use it to reach a hotel on the other island, to go over for dinner or a spa morning, and above all to come back afterwards — a private boat has no last sailing, so the evening return is simply whenever you are ready. Naples to Ischia works the same way when the public boats have finished for the day.
Procida and Naples to Capri transfers
Reaching Capri from Procida on public services normally means going back through Naples or Sorrento and waiting for a connection, which turns a short distance into half a day. A direct private crossing removes the change entirely, and can be booked as a return so the boat is waiting when you have finished on the island. From Naples the appeal is different: no queue at Molo Beverello and luggage carried from the car to the deck.
Every route runs in both directions, and can be combined — a crossing out to Ischia in the morning and back from Capri in the evening is a normal request, not an unusual one.
Boat transfers: frequently asked questions
Is there a boat taxi from Naples to Procida?
Yes. We run private boat transfers between Naples and Procida on your own schedule, so you are not tied to the ferry timetable. The boat is yours alone, luggage is handled on board, and you leave at the time you agree with us rather than the time the next public sailing departs.
Do you run a water taxi between Procida and Ischia?
Yes. Procida to Ischia is the shortest crossing in the bay and one of the transfers we are asked for most, both for hotel arrivals and for evenings out. Because it is a private boat, an evening return is possible long after the last public sailing has gone.
Can you take us from Procida to Capri by boat?
Yes. We run private transfers from Procida to Capri directly, without the change at Naples or Sorrento that public routes usually require. The same crossing works in reverse, and can be arranged as a return on the same day.
Do you offer boat transfers from Pozzuoli?
Yes. Pozzuoli is the closest mainland departure point to Procida and Ischia, which makes it the quickest crossing and often the most practical option if you are arriving from the north side of Naples.
How long does a private boat transfer take?
It depends on the route, the boat and the state of the sea, so we confirm the crossing time when we quote your transfer rather than publishing a figure that may not hold on the day. As a rule the mainland-to-island crossings from Pozzuoli are the shortest, and Capri is the longest run.
Is a private boat transfer faster than the ferry?
Sometimes, but speed is not the main reason people book one. The real gain is that you leave when you want, from and to the berth that suits you, with no queue, no check-in and no connection to miss. On routes where the public service requires a change, such as Procida to Capri, a direct private crossing is also considerably quicker door to door.
What happens if the ferries are cancelled for bad weather?
The same conditions that stop the ferries usually stop us, because the sea does not distinguish between boats. If the crossing is unsafe we say so and reschedule or refund rather than sail. Where the weather allows only a road route, we can often rearrange the journey by car and public sailing instead.
How many passengers and how much luggage can you take?
Boats are matched to the group, from couples to small parties. Tell us the number of passengers and how many suitcases you are carrying when you write to us, and we will confirm the right boat — luggage volume matters as much as passenger count on a transfer.
Can you meet us at Naples airport or the cruise terminal?
We can coordinate the whole journey: a car meets you at the airport or the cruise terminal and brings you to the berth, then the boat takes you across. Tell us the flight or ship and we build the timing backwards from it.
How do I book a private boat transfer and how do I pay?
Message us on WhatsApp with the route, the date, the time and the number of passengers and bags. We reply with the boat, the meeting point and a fixed price for the crossing. Nothing is charged through this website — the price is agreed in writing before you commit.
From where, to where, and when
Send us the route, the date and time, and how many of you there are with how much luggage. We come back with the boat, the berth and a fixed price — usually within the hour.
Request a crossing on WhatsAppOr see our boat tours in Procida