7 Off the Beaten Path Yacht Charter Destinations

Perhaps you’ve already done the Mediterranean and Caribbean yachting “milk runs” — cruising the glittering French Riviera or the stunning Amalfi Coast, the lush BVIs or the dreamy Windward Islands. You’ve loved every minute of it too — but you want something really different for your next luxury yacht charter. Something off the beaten path.

Or perhaps the idea of crowded summer anchorages and glamorous ports has never really appealed to you: your idea of yachting heaven is floating through tropical archipelagos in Southeast Asia, or discovering the immense, wild beauty of the Alaskan fjords.

Perhaps you want to see the vast penguin colonies and eerily beautiful icy wastes of Antarctica, or watch humpback whales and Andean Condors from your yacht in breathtaking Patagonia.

Or maybe you want to tick a few unusual activities off your bucket list, like skiing back to your superyacht under Norway’s Northern Lights or kayaking through bioluminescence in Puerto Rico’s Islands of Enchantment.

The wonderful thing about luxury yachting in the 21^st century is that you can go pretty much anywhere your heart desires, with superyachts now spread across the world’s oceans, waiting to offer you the vacation experience of a lifetime.

Here are some of our planet’s most astonishing superyacht destinations, far from the madding crowd.

The Americas

Alaska is an awe-inspiring yachting destination of majestic snow-capped mountains looming over deep fjords and glaciers marching toward the sea.  In the warm summer months Alaska erupts in a riot of life, with whales breaching in glassy bays, wildflowers painting the meadows, and grizzly bears fishing for salmon in snow-melt streams.

On your Alaska yacht charter, hike through fragrant pine forests, summer ski on untouched snow, kayak through icebergs and relax in the yacht’s Jacuzzi under the midnight sun.

Puerto Rico is rising as a yachting destination, with its colorful cities undergoing a renaissance of food, culture and art. Offshore, the deliriously pretty Spanish Virgin Islands are opening up to yacht charter, their quiet fishing villages and lush Caribbean coves offering a glimpse of what the BVIs were before they were developed.

Anchor off one of the most beautiful beaches on earth at Playa de Flamenco, swim with turtles and relax in the natural Jacuzzi pools at Bahia Tortuga, and kayak through the bioluminescence at night at Bio Bay.

Patagonia is a landscape of haunting, ethereal beauty at the end of the world, and a yacht charter in Patagonia reveals our planet in all her glory. Cruise down silent fjords, scanning the skies for albatross and mighty condors, and watch the sea for minke and humpbacks, dolphins and sea lions.

On a Patagonia yacht charter you can heli-ski the Andes, and white water raft down mighty rivers, deep green forest all around. Soak in hot springs, horseback ride through silent landscapes, and watch mighty icebergs calve from glaciers in the Tierre del Fuego archipelago. Patagonia is the land where giants were once thought to roam, and there are moments where you almost believe it could be true.

Europe

Norway is the dream European destination for nature lovers, with immense landscapes of snow-capped mountains and crystal clear fjords, and thousands of islands to explore under the midnight sun. This ancient land of Vikings legend and troll myths offers yacht charterers plenty to do with glacier hiking, summer skiing, incredible fishing and whale-watching, and colorful fishing villages and cosmopolitan cities to explore. 

For those wanting to see the Northern Lights in the cooler months, this is an incredible yacht charter opportunity to cruise through lonely archipelagos under glimmering green and purple skies, go dog-sledding with a team of huskies through the forest, or ski fresh powder back to your yacht before warming up with a spell in the yacht’s Jacuzzi and a hot meal cooked by the private chef.

Southeast Asia

In Thailand’s heavenly Krabi province, brightly painted long-tail boats skim past limestone pinnacles that are scattered through the turquoise sea, before pulling up on powder-soft beaches edged by jungle and thatched bungalows under the coconut palms.

On a Thailand yacht charter you can dive coral reefs, swim in sapphire lagoons, and visit elephants and their calves deep in the jungle. Thailand is a growing yachting destination, with the celebrity chefs and A-list hotels of Phuket contrasting wonderfully with vibrant local experiences of delicious curries, colourful temples, and blissful Thai massages by the sea.

Thailand is also the jumping-off point for cruising the stunning Mergui Archipelago in neighbouring Myanmar-  a region of 800 pristine islands in a sapphire sea.

Indonesia is less well-known for yacht charters than Thailand, but probably not for much longer. Indonesia has more than 17,000 islands, of which only 6,000 are inhabited. This vast archipelago creates a yachting paradise of desert islands ringed by coral reefs.

The diving and snorkelling opportunities on an Indonesian yacht charter are some of the best in the world, particularly around Raja Ampat and Komodo — the home of the mighty Komodo dragons.

For those who like the luxury life, Bali offers world-renowned restaurants and decadent spa hotels, while astonishing Borneo is a jungle paradise of mountain hiking and tranquil beaches, with shaggy orangutans hanging from the trees.

The Southern Ocean

Antarctica is the last frontier, and it has only opened up to private yacht charter recently, providing guests on ice-class charter yachts with one of the most spectacular luxury experiences known to mankind. On an Antarctica yacht charter, curious penguins waddle up to say hello, vast seabird colonies roost on towering cliffs, and blubbery sea lions bask on ice shelves, safe from the killer whales who patrol the icy depths.

The landscapes are desolate in their beauty — vast icebergs carved by wind and water into curving waves and pinnacles, their luminous blue shapes often marked by breathtaking stripes of black and green, like works of art under a polar sky. An Antarctica yacht charter is like falling inside a nature documentary, and it is the ultimate experience for those with adventure in their souls.

The world is opening up to luxury yacht charters like never before, and you’re only limited by your imagination. To learn more about luxury yacht charters in exotic destinations, contact Ali Kaufmann, Jackie Guenther or Natalia Clarke: