Who they are
O' Sole Mio Charter is a family-run business on the Sorrento peninsula built around a single gozzo and its captain, Fabrizio, who appears in practically every line of its reviews. The website gives no founding year and says only that a love of the sea has been in the family for generations - a story rather than a fact, and worth reading as such.
One point deserves clearing up straight away, because it circulates confusingly online: the company is not based in Amalfi. Its registered office is at Via Petrulo 63 in Piano di Sorrento, VAT number IT10630951217, and its TripAdvisor listing sits under Sorrento. Amalfi appears only as an optional pick-up point. Watch out for the namesakes too: several businesses in Sorrento trade as O Sole Mio - music shows, restaurants - with no connection to this charter, and alongside the official Instagram profile there is a similarly named Facebook page whose relationship to the company is unconfirmed.
Where they leave from and how to get there
The main departure point is Sorrento, but the operator also offers Piano di Sorrento, Massa Lubrense, Capri, Positano and Amalfi. The exact berth is not published; it is agreed when you book.
Leaving from Sorrento, boarding is typically at Marina Grande, the fishing village below the old town, reached on foot down the lane. Piano di Sorrento has its own small landing at Marina di Cassano, at the bottom of a steep descent best taken by taxi. From Amalfi you board at the harbour moles beside the ferry terminal, and in Positano at the Spiaggia Grande jetties.
The Sorrento gozzo: slow, steady, made for a day of stops and swims.
The fleet
One boat, a traditional Sorrento gozzo. The site shows photographs of it but states neither its name, nor its length, nor its engines, nor its maximum capacity. That is this operator's most serious information gap, because without a passenger number you cannot tell whether the boat suits a party of six or ten. According to the tour pages there is a toilet, Wi-Fi, towels, snorkelling equipment and a cool box of drinks on board.
Asking for these details on WhatsApp before fixing a date is not fussiness; it is the only way to know what you are chartering.
Tours and prices
Five itineraries are published: an Amalfi Coast day, a Capri day, Capri with Positano, Capri with Nerano, and a sunset trip. Full days run around eight hours, the sunset outing two to three.
On the official website, no price appears at all. The only figures available come from the TripAdvisor listing, quoted in dollars for the whole boat: private Capri tour with the Blue Grotto from USD 1,475 for six hours or more, Nerano and Positano day from USD 1,593, Amalfi Coast day from USD 1,711, sunset from USD 649. Treat those as indicative and ask for a quote in euro.
The price is said to include an English-speaking captain, fuel and taxes, water, soft drinks, prosecco, beer, limoncello, snacks, fruit, towels, sun cream, snorkelling gear, a toilet and Wi-Fi. Lunch is excluded, as is entry to the Emerald Grotto at 10 euro per person.
Booking and cancellation
You book by email, telephone or WhatsApp: there is no basket and no payment page on the website. We found no cancellation policy on any channel - not on the site, and not in the third-party listings either.
What reviewers say
On TripAdvisor the listing holds 5.0 out of 5 from 71 reviews; we found no Google listing we could attribute to the company with confidence.
The recurring themes are clear. Captain Fabrizio is described as professional, warm and above all flexible, with guests recounting routes changed mid-day according to the wind or the mood of the group. Food and drink on board are judged generous for the level. Local history and stops in quiet caves come up often, as does the care taken with families and children, the cleanliness of the boat, and help booking restaurants ashore.
No recurring criticism appeared in the reviews we read. The usual caution applies: seventy-one reviews is a useful sample but still a small one, and with a single-boat operator the verdict rests almost entirely on one person.
The Emerald Grotto is charged separately, at 10 euro per person.
Booking direct or through GetYourGuide
With an operation this small, dealing direct has an obvious advantage: you talk to the captain, the route is built together and the price is negotiable. The disadvantage is equally obvious and concerns everything that is not written down.
On GetYourGuide most products carry free cancellation up to 24 hours before, reserve-now-pay-later, support in your own language and an archive of verified reviews. If you want a private day on standard terms, the platform offers for instance the private Amalfi Coast boat trip with prosecco and snorkelling at 715 euro per group for six hours, 5.0 out of 5 from 31 reviews, and the four-hour private tour from Positano at 680 euro per group, 4.8 out of 5 from 30 reviews. Booking direct may cost less, but here the comparison is less about price than about contractual certainty.
Alternatives
To stay on the same coast with an operator that does publish its rates, Limoncello Charters puts prices and penalties in writing; for a cheaper group day, SalBoat leaves Marina Grande with tours from 49 euro per person. For the same private spirit on the Amalfi side, see Premium Boat Charter. To weigh up the formats, our guide to private boat tours and the departures from Sorrento page explain what to expect, while boat rental covers the self-drive and skippered hire options.