Three summer escapes that are just better by yacht

yacht holidays

There are so many reasons that a private yacht charter is the finest way to travel. The opulent interiors, palatial accommodations, and personalised, 7-star service by your yacht’s private chef and crew are only the beginning.

When you’re wanting to escape from the world, a Mediterranean superyacht charter offers a rare level of privacy, seclusion, and discretion. Each morning, you wake up to a new spectacular view.

Every evening you have the choice to dock in a luxury marina and step ashore to enjoy the fun, or dine out at anchor, hosting elegant dinner parties surrounded by moonlit sea. And when you want to have fun on the water, the yacht’s tenders, toys and crew instructors await.

It is no wonder that superyachts have become the ultimate vacation choice for the world’s elite.

Leaving aside the glamour and luxury for a moment (if you can), superyachts are also a practical way to travel. Unlike a hotel, your accommodation travels with you, so there’s no need for hotel changes or getting stuck in traffic as you move to a new location. As favourite yacht cruising grounds include the beautiful island chains of the Mediterranean, luxury yacht charter is the necessary choice, unless you want to spend your vacation on crowded ferries or in airport waiting lounges as you transfer between islands.

Certain Mediterranean destinations are particularly well suited to yacht charter, such as the yachting playgrounds of the French Riviera, Croatia’s Dalmatian Islands, and the dreamy archipelagos of Greece.

The French Riviera

You cannot say that you have truly ‘done’ the French Riviera until you have cruised along that splendid Mediterranean coastline on a superyacht charter admiring the French Alps towering behind Monaco and Nice, dropped anchor off Pampelonne Beach, and arrived at St Tropez port in the heady heat of midsummer.

The glamour is turned up high on a French Riviera yacht charter, with a stunning array of Michelin star restaurants, haute couture boutiques, luxury spas and swanky beach clubs scattered along the coast. And when it comes to celebrity presence and electric atmosphere, the Cote d’Azur dazzles during events like the Cannes Film Festival or Monaco Grand Prix, where there’s no better way to make your entrance than by yacht.

But when you want to have a break from the parties and paparazzi bulbs, simply step on board your luxury chartered yacht into a state of complete luxury and privacy, and drift away to a peaceful Mediterranean cove- perhaps dropping anchor off the tranquil Cannes Islands, the exotic island of Porquerolle, or in the blue-green depths of the Calanques.

Whether you’re lunching alongside Beyoncé at Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc or channelling your inner James Bond at Monte Carlo Casino, there’s nothing like exploring the French Riviera by yacht.

Croatia

On a Mediterranean luxury yacht charter in Croatia’s Dalmatian Coast, Dubrovnik’s magnificent city walls fall out of view as you float out into the spectacular Dalmatian Islands, a yachting paradise of turquoise coves, medieval villages, and deep pine forest.

Mljet enchants with its twin lakes and island monastery, whilst quiet, pristine Lavosto takes visitors back in time with its historic-feel. Korčula casts a spell with its magnificent UNESCO-listed capital and rolling vineyards by the sea, while glamorous Hvar is famous amongst the jet-set for its beach clubs, boutiques, and lavender fields.

Vis promises quiet beauty and swimming in abandoned submarine pens, while Bol Beach on Brač Island graces a thousand tourist posters with its long, thin arc of sand extending out into a vivid aquamarine sea. Back on the mainland, the city of Split stands eternal, the mighty Diocletian’s Palace still standing tall over the palm lined seafront.

Mediterranean superyacht charter in northern Croatia also promises many treasures, as you cruise through the spectacular Kornati archipelago, party by the beach in the surreal lunar landscape of Pag, and head inland to be awestruck by the cascading emerald waterfalls and pools at Plitvice Lakes.

Promising just the right mix of natural splendour and superyacht glamour, Croatia is truly a place that is better by luxury yacht.

Greece

With more than 2000 islands scattered like jewels across the Ionian and Aegean Seas, a superyacht charter in Greece is the obvious way to explore. Enter a world of whitewashed villages standing stark against blue sea and sky, of towering cliffs falling away into blinding blue water

In the Cyclades, a Santorini sunset is unforgettable, with clifftop infinity pools and windmills edging the sky. Party island Mykonos is dreamy by day with its beach clubs and boutiques on whitewashed lanes, and glitters at night as people dine and dance until dawn.

On charter in Delos, you’ll walk among ancient statues in the open-air museum, while the volcanic grandeur and sugar-cube villages of Folegandros is another Santorini in the making.

Another superb Greek archipelago for your Mediterranean luxury yacht charter is the Ionian Island chain, where you’ll drop anchor off the staggering Shipwreck Beach, swim with turtles off Meganisi island, and spend a never-to-be-forgotten beach day on the blinding white sand beaches of Antipaxos.

On an Ionian yacht charter you’ll explore the Venetian palaces and Parisian arcades of UNESCO-listed Corfu Old Town, kayak into Paxos’ glowing Blue Cave, and fall in love with mythic, pretty Ithaca.

And yet, for all that wonder, this is only a tiny fraction of what you might do on a superyacht charter in Greece. How else, but by yacht?