Top Yacht Charter Trends in 2024: Insights on Popular Destinations and Must-Have Toys

Denison charter specialists share this year’s trends for yacht charter vacations.

2024 has begun with a great start in the yacht charter market. Clients are asking for more destinations, more excursions, more toys. We sat down with the Denison charter team to find out what guests are currently asking for on their yacht vacations. Denison charter brokers Kristina Gagliardi, Jennifer Saia, Megan Cashmore, and Nadia Martinez shared the scoop.

This year, chartering is all about the toys. Charter guests have been requesting all sorts of toys, but two in particular have been making the top of the list. “A lot of people have been asking for e-foils or slides,” Kristina says. “Toy lists are pretty specific sometimes. I have clients who have chartered in the past and have shared that they spent five hours on the e-foils, so they really want an e-foil. Those are probably the two most desired toys right now.”

Nadia and Megan have seen this trend, too. “People love e-foils,” Megan beams. “And definitely slides. The main thing when I ask clients what they’re looking for in a yacht–it’s the toys. You could offer anything on a yacht: the crew, whatever. They want the toys, they want the slide, they want everything. It’s so funny, because sometimes I wonder, how many times are you going to use the slide? Often clients choose the yacht because of the slide and end up using it once.” But slides are a big request this year, and the team is here to make it happen, whether you use yours once, twice, or a hundred times!

“Many clients are looking for toys like sea bobs,” Nadia adds. “E-foils are huge. I had a request for a jet pack. But a lot of toys that are special requests, the captains can always provision from wherever they are. So if we have a charter in our listings that may not offer a toy that a client wants, they should not get discouraged because we can always get it for them.” The beauty of the Denison charter team is that they can customize your yacht vacation exactly how you dream it should be.

Another element to note with charter requests lately is more unique destinations. “I’m seeing a lot of the obvious places like the South of France, Italy, but also Croatia has been super popular as of late,” Kristina shares. “Just because it’s a little bit more off the beaten path than the hustle and bustle, it’s become more popular in recent years. Also, the VAT isn’t super high. It’s 13%, so that’s also a little bit of a savings. Greece is always popular. And right now, we are also seeing a big increase in Caribbean inquiries. Specifically, the British Virgin Islands have been really popular because there’s no tax there. It’s a relatively small cruising ground, so you can cover a lot of ground really quickly. But there’s so much to see and do. They have some of the best scuba diving in the world. Jet skis are not allowed there because it’s very much protected. So it’s all pristine. It’s National Park law to the area. So that’s a really big one. Really people are having an appetite for more off the beaten path. I have a lot of inquiries of late randomly for Norway. We’ve seen some in Fiji. I think people are getting a little more adventurous.”

Jennifer seconds that notion. “As I look at our bookings and inquiries, Greece is the word–there are more in this country than others this summer. It is easy to work with yacht managers, there is less VAT than other countries in the region (5.2-6.5% compared to 13-22%), and it is truly an island-hopping experience. There are lots of options, whether the Ionian, the Peloponnese, Cyclades, and more. These requests tend to go from inquiry to booking quicker than other charter destinations in the Mediterranean.”

“And, then the ‘extreme’,” she continues. “I’ve been asked to find yachts in the Faroe Islands, Norway, Iceland, the Seychelles, the Galapagos, and more. This requires a lot of time-consuming research which lends to a learning curve for all parties, but they can be hard to book. Plus, Starlink communications packages are getting better, stronger, faster, and clients want the latest and greatest. Even when I was in Coastal Ecuador and the Peruvian Amazon, we had internet! Once SatNav and VSAT were key to bookings, now Starlink packages are the trend.” It seems that as the horizons are broadened, so are the technologies that come along with them.

“Lately we’ve been experiencing a flurry of last-minute inquiries for spring break, Memorial Day weekend,” Nadia shares. “And a lot of those have been specifically asking for the BVIs, the Caribbean, and New England. That has been a shift in the previous years that had a major focus on the Bahamas. So we’re excited to bring those charters.”

In terms of destinations, Nadia emphasizes the importance of water temperature, which guests may not necessarily think about when considering where to cruise. She finds that guests are requesting more activities in the water. “There are a lot more options, a lot more beach setups, a lot more toys for the aft deck that can create pools and all this cool stuff that’s out there. I have also noticed that a lot of requests are for water activity or that they want to be out on the water. That would mean to me that, wherever they’re going, if the water’s cold–like say in New England–it’s probably not a good option. Even the Med, it’s too cold.” These are the things charter specialists keep in mind when trying to find the perfect charter yacht and destination for their clients, who sometimes may not know these nuances.

There are plenty of other add-ons that make charter yachts more appealing. Many clients request a Jacuzzi onboard, to no surprise. However, since not every yacht has one, Nadia recommends not to be hard set on one. She admits that many charter guests who are adamant about having a hot tub sometimes don’t even use it. With that said, her advice is to not be particular on that feature, since sometimes you can find a bigger or better boat that doesn’t necessarily have a Jacuzzi. “The way to kind of offset not having a Jacuzzi is by adding some sort of a swimming area,” like in the aft deck, for example, as mentioned. That way, guests can still enjoy wading in the water and soaking in the surrounding views…sometimes on an even more impressive yacht than they were initially considering.

The possibilities don’t end there. “A very cool new thing that I just learned about is a new trend called chef provisions. The concept of it is kind of like HelloFresh, where it’s like a prepared meal by a gourmet five-star Michelin chef. That helps owners and clients pick their meals and it then helps the chef or whoever’s on board quickly prepare the meal. So that cuts down on the time of getting the food ready. There are a lot more solutions and innovations when it comes to chefs and meals. We look forward to that. I happen to be working with the only company that’s out in the market right now focusing on charters and boats. I’m excited for it!”

The charter market has been steadily growing to offer more options, more customizations, and more fun. Denison is proud to be paving the way in these unique vacations that truly allow you to get away from it all.

Interested in a charter yacht vacation? Speak with a charter specialist for any questions you may have about chartering with us.

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