Charter Planning: How to Get the Most out of Your Itinerary

by Kim Kavin

One of the most consistent mistakes that yacht charter clients make is believing that they have to step onboard with a pre-organized itinerary. When you're in charge of your own itinerary, it can be far more flexible and fun.

A flexible itinerary will allow you to linger anywhere that seems like paradise to you.

The best way to organize a private yacht charter itinerary is to decide on the start and end ports, and then have no more than a basic outline of where you hope to go in between. Your charter broker or the yacht’s captain can provide suggestions, or you can request spots that you’ve heard about and are keen on visiting. Don’t pack the week with back-to-back ideas for three or four places to see each day. Instead, figure out three or four places you’d like to see during the entire week, and then let the rest work itself out.

After you get onboard, you can sit down with the captain every morning over breakfast or coffee and determine the best route for that particular day. Which way is the wind blowing? What time are rain showers expected to arrive? Are there cruise ships around that need to be avoided? All of these factors can be a part of your planning, so that you not only get to see what you want, but so that you also get to do so at the best possible time.

You’ll also be able to see things you may not even have known were there, because you’ll have extra time in your schedule to take advantage of opportunities that arise with the weather.

Having a flexible itinerary also allows for extra time in places that you really enjoy. Unlike with cruise ships, crewed charter yachts don’t have to go anywhere at a specific time, except to the airport when it’s time for you to catch your flight home. If you end up someplace that seems like the epitome of paradise to you, then a flexible itinerary will allow you to stay there longer.

Best of all, you can also leave a place sooner than anticipated if you decide you’d like to go somewhere else. With a flexible itinerary, you'll never feel like you’re stuck anywhere that you don’t want to be.

Photo courtesy Neil Rabinowitz