What is the magic of a private luxury superyacht charter? It’s really all about privacy, attentive service, absolute relaxation, delicious food, water-sports if you like and no fixed itinerary. And depending upon the yacht you charter the level of service, standard of accommodation and facilities of the boat can range from the comfortable to extreme luxury.
Chartering is an ideal vacation for many different groups of people such as families, groups of friends or just couples wanting a peaceful and romantic getaway.
While some performance sailing yachts will give even the most experienced sailing enthusiasts the ultimate sailing thrill, you don’t need to be a keen or experienced sailor to enjoy this type of vacation – it’s the whole experience of being out on the water. A typical day could be breakfast on deck, a short sail to another island or busy harbour for time ashore or to a quiet anchorage for an hour or two swimming or other water-sports, lunch and then a snooze maybe as the yacht sets off to another quiet anchorage. On arrival time to go ashore if you like, back in time for sunset cocktails and dinner aboard under the stars.
Taking a vacation on a fully crewed yacht is very much like staying in an exclusive villa with first rate staff to look after you and make sure you have everything you want. The yacht crew will sail the yacht, cook, pour drinks and take extremely good care of you. The advantage is that the yacht moves to a new anchorages or new islands or even a different country on your charter. You decide where to go, when, what you want to eat and who to take with you.
The Yacht Captain will generally recommend the best itinerary and will know the cruising area very well, the prettiest harbours, quietest beaches and best places for different water-sports. But you get to choose as the itinerary is always flexible: if you discover a place you particularly love, then you can spend extra time there, if possible, bearing in mind port of disembarkation.
You decide on each day’s activities; if all you really want to do is relax in a shady cockpit or hammock, sunbathe, read a book, swim and snorkel or chat with friends, that’s fine. Or perhaps you want to go ashore and explore little villages, visit famous historic sites, walk or shop in local markets – the Captain will make sure you set off in the right direction. If you’re party people, the crew will be happy to arrange theme party nights or recommend fun bars and restaurants ashore. A member of the crew will always have special cocktail recipes.
Catering aboard the yacht will be of an extremely high standard. The menu is planned to suit your taste in food and if you have any special dietary needs these can usually be catered for too. Many superyachts have professionally trained chefs on board who work in top restaurant-standard kitchens.
Water-sports. As a minimum, charter yachts always carry snorkel gear and generally much more as well. Floating mats, water-skis, fishing gear, towable rings and kneeboards etc, sea kayaks and beach games. Most motor yachts carry jet-skis, although in most Mediterranean countries you will need a licence to drive one and some islands in the Caribbean do not allow them at all. But there’s loads more to do and a crew member will always be around to help or even offer training in the use of some water-sports equipment even scuba-diving on some.
Nearly every yacht will have a good entertainment system and impressive music and movie library. Some of the larger superyachts will have on-demand systems in all cabins and some will even have a fully equipped private cinema. But on a balmy evening watching a movie on deck is an experience in itself.
I hope this begins to paint a picture of what chartering is all about. Please do get in touch if you would like to hear more.
