What better time to think about your top yacht charter destinations for 2014 than in the slow season between Christmas and New Year. If you are thinking about a spring-break or any early spring thing, OR a summer thing, this is probably right the time to look for the right boat and book it.
As the world economy continues to pick up steam, the earlier the private charter yachts and catamarans are getting booked; some of our Christmas and New Year clients were really scrambling to find boats at the last minute, we shared their scramble… trust me! Our new charter calendar is filling up quickly and we already have several high season Med charters booked for August and September.
So, in a rather roundabout way I’m kind of insinuating that if you have charter plans for this year, let’s talk about them NOW.
First lets do a quick destination check-list:
The Mediterranean
The Mediterranean is best early in the season, second half of May to Late June have the best pricing and fewer crowds. The major action, of course, happens in July and August when the Europeans take their summer Vacations.
The late Med season of September and October is arguably the best because the waters are still warm from the summer heat. The Mediterranean top charter destinations this year are the French Riviera with the major May highlights being the Cannes Film Festival and the Monaco Grand Prix. Of course, Corsica and Sardinia offer more seclusion, The Italian Riviera and Sicily are classic destinations, Croatia, the Greek Islands and Turkey will also be top yacht charter destination you will want to research.
The Caribbean
This is great any time of year, the BVI being the most versatile destination is the least weather dependent and well protected during the Winter so it is definitely possible to charter here during the Winter months of January through March. Spring is great in the Caribbean with my favorite months being May and June.
It gets pretty hot in July August and September so yachts with a good a/c system are recommended. November and early December are “shoulder months” and usually very pleasant. St Martin is a great starting point for Leeward Island charters to the islands of Anguilla, St. Bart, St Kitts and Nevis and even Antigua. The Grenadines are best in the Late spring to Summer months. You can do one-ways from North to South down the Windwards starting in St. Lucia all the way down to Grenada. The Bahamas, although not technically in the Caribbean, is a great Summer destination, the Exumas and the Out-Islands.
Out Of The Way Destinations
Let’s talk about some of the more out-of-the-way places that are less common yachting destinations but offer an incredible vacation experience.
Alaska and The Pacific North West are fascinating destinations usually best in July and August. The Inside Passage, Desolation Sound, Juneau and Sitka are great cruising areas if you are looking for wilderness.
New England offers great cruising in the Summer as well, Newport RI is an excellent starting point. Again July, August and September are best.
The top South Pacific destinations are French Polynesia’s Tahiti and Bora-Bora and New Zealand’s Bay of Islands.
If you REALLY want to get away from it all, don’t forget the Seychelles and the Maldives in the Indian Ocean.
Chile’s southern archipelagos and fjords are among the worlds greatest adventures and Ecuador’s Galapagos are a must for your bucket list.
Give us a shout anytime you are ready to start seriously planning your next trip. You’ll find us to be helpful and knowledgeable with most boating destinations. Call us at (877) 759-8263 or use our handy contact form.
