Six regions worth the flight
Where the water, the harbors and the season all line up. The Mediterranean through summer, the Caribbean and the Americas through winter.
Greece
Three different holidays, and the water you pick matters more than the yacht does.
The Ionian is the gentle one: short hops, an afternoon breeze that arrives on schedule, and somewhere to eat within walking distance of wherever you tie up. The Cyclades are open water and white villages — Milos, Folegandros, Amorgos — and the meltemi through July and August is the price of having them. The Saronic sits between the two, quiet islands within easy reach of Athens, at their best in May, June and September.
- Best forFirst charters, families, groups who want to swim more than they sail
- SeasonMay to October
Croatia
Sail from Split or Dubrovnik and the coast does the work. Hundreds of islands close together, passages short enough that nobody gets restless, and a walled town at the end of most of them. The water is cooler and clearer than the Aegean and the wind is kinder.
- Best forFirst charters, mixed groups, anyone who wants towns as well as bays
- SeasonMay to October, at its best in June and September
Italy
Three distinct weeks under one flag. The Amalfi Coast for a group who want the shore as much as the water — Positano, Capri, and moorings that need arranging well ahead. The Aeolian Islands for better sailing, volcanic and quieter, with Stromboli putting on something most evenings. Sardinia's Maddalena archipelago for the clearest water in the country.
- Best forShore time, food, short passages between places you already know by name
- SeasonMay to October
The Balearics
Four islands close enough that one week takes in all of them without a long day. Northern Mallorca and Menorca are the quiet half — pine, limestone and calas you can have to yourself in June. Ibiza and Formentera are not quiet, and for most groups that is the point.
- Best forShort flights, calas, groups who want both halves of the week
- SeasonMay to October, best wind in June and September
The Caribbean
December to April, when the Mediterranean is closed. The British Virgin Islands are the most forgiving cruising ground anywhere: you can see the next island from the one you are on, most anchorages have mooring balls, and there is somewhere to eat ashore at the end of nearly every passage. The Grenadines are emptier and reward a crew that can sail, with the Tobago Cays at the end of it.
- Best forNorthern-hemisphere winter. The BVI for first charters, the Grenadines for crews with miles behind them
- SeasonDecember to April
The Americas
Warm shallow water without a transatlantic flight in front of it, mostly on Motor Yachts. The Exumas are easy in a way the Mediterranean rarely is: no tide to speak of, sand you can read from the flybridge, and cays a short run apart.
- Best forMotor Yacht weeks, shallow-water cruising, groups traveling from the US
- SeasonNovember to May
Ask about anywhere
Turkey, the Seychelles, Thailand, the Adriatic in September. Tell us where you have in mind and we will tell you what the week would actually look like.
“The hull shapes your holiday more than the length does.”