100%
One channel apart, the same water, the same builders — and a 2x price gap. Here's what the Port Royal premium actually buys, and who's better served on the Aqualane side of the Jamaica Channel.
Updated July 3, 2026
Nearly every serious coastal-Naples buyer tours both, and the shorthand I use: Aqualane is the village; Port Royal is the estate. Aqualane Shores — Naples' first platted subdivision, dredged in 1949 — puts deep-water docks two to five blocks from Third Street South's restaurants. Port Royal, begun the same year next door, traded walkability for scale: grander parcels, wider water, the parcel-linked Port Royal Club, and America's residential record book. Same Gulf, same builder bench, two different theories of the good life.
| Aqualane Shores | Port Royal | |
|---|---|---|
| The vibe | Naples’ original water-lane village — walkable, human-scale | The estate enclave — grand parcels, record books |
| 2025 average sale | ≈$9.8M (~$1,992/sq ft) | ≈$23M (~$3,000+/sq ft) |
| Record sale | $31.5M (959 17th Ave S) | $225M assemblage · $133M single home (2025) |
| Scale | ~350 homesites · 1949 plat | ~640 homes · ~2 sq mi of peninsulas |
| Typical lots | ~0.3–0.8 acres | ~0.4–5+ acres |
| Boating | Bridge-free lanes, 8–16 ft (verify); narrower canals | Bridge-free bays & coves; 70+ ft yachts routine |
| Club | No club of its own (Naples YC at the north line) | Port Royal Club — parcel-linked eligibility |
| Walk to Third St S | 2–5 blocks from northern lanes | A drive (or long stroll) for most of it |
| Governance | Voluntary civic association (~$100/yr) | PRPOA deed restrictions + ACC review |
| The buyer | Boaters who want town at walking distance | Principals buying the irreplaceable parcel |
Figures are 2025–26 snapshots from small-sample markets — averages swing with mix. Verify current data, and price at the lane/cove level, not the neighborhood level.
Three attributes carry most of the gap. The Club: parcel-linked eligibility (with its 15–20% reported premium and the $100M clubhouse opening late 2026) attaches to Port Royal lots, not Aqualane ones. The water: Port Royal's dredged bays and coves berth the 70–100-foot class behind the house; Aqualane's narrower lanes top out lower except at its channel-mouth bay-front lots. The parcels: Port Royal's acreage and frontage simply don't exist on Aqualane's 1949 plat — which is why the record books diverge ($31.5M vs $225M).
What Aqualane keeps that Port Royal can't match: the walk. From the northern lanes you're 2–5 blocks from Third Street South's dining and galleries — an evening-stroll lifestyle Port Royal owners drive to. Add the lower entry, the Naples Yacht Club at the north boundary, lighter governance (a ~$100/yr voluntary association versus PRPOA deed review), and the same top-tier builders working both sides, and the value case writes itself.
On 2025 numbers: roughly half to 60% less on average sale price (~$9.8M vs ~$23M) and 30–40% less per square foot. The same builder bench works both neighborhoods at the same finish level, so the gap is substantially location attributes: Port Royal Club eligibility, parcel size, and the widest-water dockage. For many buyers that makes Aqualane the best value in coastal Naples; for others, those three attributes are precisely the point of Port Royal.
Close, with one structural difference. Both are bridge-free to the Gulf via Naples Bay and Gordon Pass, minutes from open water, with the same permitting regime. Port Royal’s dredged bays and coves offer wider water and room for the 70-to-100-foot class; Aqualane’s lanes are narrower — big cruisers and sportfish are routine, but the largest yachts need Aqualane’s channel-mouth bay-front lots or Port Royal. Match the vessel to the water before falling for a house.
Generally no — eligibility is parcel-linked and attaches to Port Royal lots (commonly cited as south of 21st Avenue South), plus a handful of Little Harbour parcels on the Gordon Drive stretch between the neighborhoods. An Aqualane address by itself does not carry eligibility. If the Club is central to your plans, that decides the neighborhood — verify any specific parcel with the membership office.
Both have performed exceptionally, and both run on scarcity. Port Royal owns the record books and the deepest-pocketed buyer pool; Aqualane has the walkability story, the lower entry, and a rebuild cycle still repricing lanes ($5–8M teardowns becoming $16–25M estates). Honest framing: Port Royal is the trophy market; Aqualane is the growth-and-livability market. Your holding period and how you’ll actually live decide it — not a chart.
Tell me the boat, the budget, and whether the Club matters — I'll shortlist the right lanes and coves in both, including what's quietly available.