The Best Yacht Charter Destinations for Sport Lovers

It’s common knowledge that superyachts and sports are a brilliant combination- you only have to see the massive fleet of luxury yachts gathered at the Monaco Grand Prix to know that. And with Super Bowl 50 recently held in San Francisco, there’s all the more reason to cruise past Alcatraz and under the Golden Gate Bridge on your charter yacht.

What other yacht charter destinations are great for sports enthusiasts? Whether you love getting out there and playing sports yourself or prefer hearing the roar of the crowd at a game, we’ve put together a list of exhilarating superyacht destinations for the sports fan in all of you.

6 Yacht Charters for Sports Fans

1. New York & Boston: Sports-Crazy Cities

Dock your yacht under Manhattan’s skyscrapers to see the ‘boys of summer’ bat ‘em out of the park at Yankee Stadium or Citi Field. It’s not just the Yankees and the Mets that hold an intracity rivalry in the city that never sleeps – the onset of Fall brings cool, comfortable yachting weather to the Big Apple, as well as the kickoff of the regular season for both the Giants and the Jets. If you’re more of a basketball fan, tick an item off your bucket list with a trip to Madison Square Garden to watch the crowd raise the roof for the New York Knicks.  You can also head to Harlem’s historic Rucker Park for the summer basketball league. In the cooler months, it’s Madison Square Garden again to see the New York Rangers take to the ice and crash the boards amid roars and chants in the crowded arena.

On your sports-themed yacht charter cruise down through the gloriously stunning islands of New England to Boston, where your first stop must be to enter the hallowed ground of Fenway Park to watch the Red Sox. Of course, that’s not all for the Boston sports fanatic – this region is also home to the Celtics, Bruins, New England Patriots and the New England Revolution.

2. San Francisco: The Home of the ‘Splash-Hit’

This city on the Bay is an astonishing place for sports – whether you love playing them, watching them, talking about them….or all three.  The start of 2016 drew everyone’s focus to the 50^th incarnation of the big game, but if you missed out on a Bay Area yacht charter during the start of February, a San Francisco yacht charter is brilliant for sports year-round. AT&T Park is right on the water, so you anchor your just outside the park and head to your box seat to watch the Giants, or jump in the yacht’s kayaks to get up close and wait for one of those ‘splash-hits’ to come soaring over the wall into McCovey Cove.

Other Bay Area sports teams include the 49ers, Oakland Raiders, Golden State Warriors, San Jose Sharks and the San Jose Earthquakes. Motorsports are big here too – head to a Monster Truck rally or Nascar race at the incredible Sonoma Raceway.

Meanwhile, if you want to participate in sports as well as watch them, San Francisco is also prime territory. California is the place to climb, hike, ski, fly a fighter jet, sail, kiteboard or learn to surf. If you can think of a sport, you can probably do it here, returning to the yacht each day to cruise the stunning California coastline.

3. Norway: Skiing to your yacht under the midnight sun

Thinking that yachting and skiing don’t belong together? Think again. In northern Norway, you can ski under the Northern Lights down towards to your yacht, lit up against the darkness. Carve through untouched powder on your snowboard, heading down from the mountains to snow-covered beaches, before getting back on board to warm up with a stiff drink or a hot chocolate. Toboggan along snow-covered beaches and hike through deep green forests, climb high summits, go dog-sledding, or try ice-climbing. Norway is paradise for a nature-sports lover, whether you want to cruise the Arctic Circle under the midnight sun, or enjoy the warm temperatures and long days of summer.

Back on the boat, cruise through a pristine wilderness of fjords and quiet mountains, visit pretty fishing villages, and relax tired muscles in hot springs.

4. London: Medieval city, modern sporting metropolis

This entry may come as a bit of a surprise – after all, England is rarely known for its warm seas and summer yachting weather. London, however, is home to spectacular sporting events throughout the year, so it’s common to see superyachts cruising slowly up the Thames and under the Tower Bridge to dock right in the heart of this historic city. Between eating cucumber sandwiches at Wimbledon, watching the cricket at Lord’s, following rugby at Millennial Stadium or hearing the crowd chant at a soccer game at Wembley Stadium, this is a wonderful choice for a sports-themed yacht charter.

Meanwhile, just down the coast, Plymouth will be hosting the America’s Cup World Series in July 2016, which will be a truly magnificent event to watch close up from your luxury yacht.

5. New Zealand: White-knuckle adventure sports

Head deep into the South Pacific to the emerald isles of New Zealand, adventure sport capital of the world (and home of the truly sports-mad). Dive the fjords, white water raft through narrow canyons, bungee jump off towering bridges, mountain-bike down alpine slopes, sail the Bay of Islands, hangglide off tremendous cliffs, and off-road drive through ancient glacier valleys.

Oh, and did someone say rugby? Go to see an All Blacks game – the most formidable Rugby Union team on earth. Watch them perform the mighty Haka, a legacy of the Maori’s warrior past.

Back on the boat, prepare to be wowed by the sheer, haunting beauty of these remote southern isles – the soaring mountains, the mighty glaciers and the deep fjords. The marine life alone will astonish you – killer whales breaching and colonies of sea lions, seals and penguins lounging on the beaches.

6. Monaco: Home of the Grand Prix (and other stuff)

No visitor to the Monaco Grand Prix can ever forget the whine of the F1 cars as they speed around the narrow city bends of Monte Carlo, down through the port past the numerous superyachts all carefully lined side by side. This is the big daddy of all sports-themed yacht charters, as thousands gather on the yachts to watch the race close-up and enjoy the electric atmosphere.

Monaco also has swanky sporting clubs, including the Golfe de Monte Carlo and the Monte Carlo Country Club – home of the annual Rolex Masters tennis tournament. In the hills surrounding Monaco you’ll find excellent climbing, cycling and hiking, while nearby Nice hosts major international soccer and basketball games. From your yacht you can also indulge in every watersport imaginable while cruising along the French Riviera – from paragliding to diving to wakeboarding and flyboarding. As a sporting destination for yacht charters, Monaco has serious pedigree.

This is just a small selection of the places where a sports fanatic can charter a yacht for a trip of a lifetime. Florida could just as easily feature on this list, Dubai has some immense stadiums and horse races, and Melbourne Australia has a pretty intense sporting culture as well. And this sampling is just the beginning.

So many great sporting events, so many great destinations, so little time. Call Denison Yachts (and your friends) to start planning your first of many sports yacht charters.

Contact Yacht Charter Manager Jackie Guenther for more information: