Itineraries

What is a yacht itinerary?

A yacht itinerary is the day-by-day cruising plan that turns a charter contract or owner's trip into a concrete voyage. It names the cruising ground, the starting and ending ports, the daily anchorages or marina stops, the transit nights between regions, and the shoreside and onboard activities scheduled around each stop. On a typical seven-night Mediterranean charter, that means six to eight named locations, two to four hours of cruising per day, and one or two longer transit days where the yacht repositions overnight.

The itinerary is drafted collaboratively. The charter broker proposes a route that matches the client's wishlist - beach clubs, dining, diving, family swim spots, privacy - and the captain refines it against the yacht's cruising speed and range, draft restrictions at shallow anchorages, marina berth availability, port-state clearance windows and the prevailing weather pattern. Itineraries are intentionally flexible: weather, sea state, guest preference and last-minute marina openings all trigger revisions on the day.

Why it matters for yacht owners

For a charter client, the itinerary is what you are buying as much as the yacht itself. A polished route - the right beach club on the right night, a sunrise anchorage at Les Calanques, a quiet morning before St Tropez fills up - is what separates a memorable charter from an expensive one.

For an owner, the itinerary determines whether the yacht is the right tool for your cruising ground. Range, draft and beam decide which anchorages are reachable. Shoulder-season itineraries (May, June, September in the Med; November and early December in the Caribbean) deliver better berth availability, kinder weather and lower marina rates than the August or Christmas peaks.

Key facts

• Mediterranean charter season runs May to October; the Caribbean season runs November to April.
• A standard charter week is seven nights, with most successful Mediterranean charters in the seven-to-14-night range.
• Typical Mediterranean seven-day routes: French Riviera, Balearics, Sardinia/Corsica, Croatia, Greece, Turkey.
• Typical Caribbean routes: BVI loop, St Maarten-St Barts-BVI, and the Grenadines.
• Refuelling and provisioning days are normally built in at week one and at every major reposition.
• Captains plan two to three contingency anchorages per scheduled stop to absorb weather events.
• Shoulder months deliver better marina access, milder temperatures and lower rates than the July-August peak.