Routes Less Traveled
Follow in the footsteps of Captain Cook in the South Pacific or see the Northern Lights from the deck of your own mega yacht. A luxury charter is your ticket to those places you’ve always dreamed of – and a few you never even considered.
Traveling on board a private crewed charter yacht, you have the luxury of a one-of-a-kind hotel that can take you anywhere. Explore the world without having to pack and unpack, enjoy fine cuisine in the most remote outposts, and reach areas inaccessible to cruise ships and common travelers.
In the past few decades, yacht owners with a taste for the unusual have pushed the envelope by creating luxury yachts capable of venturing into areas that remain untouched and mysterious. Ice-classed yachts can cut through the ice floes to surprise you with the Aurora Borealis above the Arctic Circle. Long-range expedition yachts can cross great open stretches of ocean to reach uninhabited islands and distant reefs just waiting to amaze you with their colors. Yachts with shallow draft can cruise up steamy jungle rivers. Even sailing yachts have set out on ambitious round-the-world itineraries.
These adventurous yacht owners have created an entirely new opportunity for charterers to visit areas far from the beaten path. Several yacht owners have sent their sailing and motor yachts to literally circle the globe and, since the owners aren't aboard for every destination, the opportunity is ripe for charterers to get aboard for segments of the adventure. The mega yacht may be transiting the Pacific Ocean, for instance, but you can join the yacht for voyages in Tonga, Fiji or the Solomon Islands.
Take New Caledonia, which you won't find on most charter itineraries. First explored by Captain Cook in the 1700s, much of these French islands remain just as when he first stepped ashore. With one of the largest barrier reefs in the world stretching for more than 1,600 nautical miles, the diving and snorkeling among the 74 islands are spectacular, and many of the small islets are deserted so you can play Robinson Crusoe for a day.
The South Pacific has been the stuff of dreams for centuries, and a growing fleet of superyachts based in the area now make your dreams come true. The Solomon Islands are a paradise of more than 1,000 islands and atolls, and experienced divers say the sunken graveyards of ships are the best diving in the world.
Tonga is a sovereign state in the heart of Polynesia, and only 52 of its 177 islands are inhabited, so it remains the Polynesia first seen by explorers. Stretching for more than 500 miles, it could take you years to visit all the islands, let alone swim over the untouched reefs.Vanuatu is another island paradise, this time in Oceania, with 82 islands, rich sea life, and active volcanoes to provide fireworks at night.
Looking for a non-tropical getaway on your luxury charter yacht? Desolation Sound has been called the most beautiful destination in Canada's British Columbia, offering forested mountains and deep inlets to explore. Venture far up Princess Louisa Inlet to Chatterbox Falls that spills into your anchorage, or fish for salmon at Powell River for your chef to grill for dinner.
But if you're looking not just for a getaway but to literally "get away," how about Fernando de Noronha. Who, you ask? This tiny archipelago of 21 islands just 200 miles off the Brazilian coast is surrounded by tropical waters so warm you don't even need a wetsuit. And the island is famed for its wildlife, from dolphins to sea turtles. A protected World Heritage site and marine park, you many find yourself completely alone in this island paradise.
Want another distant outpost to explore? It doesn't get much outer than Svalbard, once called Spitsbergen. Midway to the North Pole from Norway, this is the real Arctic, where you'll see polar bears and reindeer, and marvel at the spectacular beauty of the Magdalena Fjord from onboard your superyacht.
New Zealand's South Island is less populated but larger and wilder than its larger sister, North Island, with the capital of Auckland. Here you'll find fjords to rival those of Scandinavia and, when it comes to wildlife, you can count on seeing everything from dolphins to penguins.
To paraphrase Star Trek, do you want to go where few men have gone before? Then the Northwest Passage is for you. Once considered an impassably icebound connection between the North Atlantic and North Pacific, men have dreamed for years of a trade route over the top of the world. Changes in pack ice in recent years make this a reality and, given the right weather conditions, you can cross the roof of North America and explore Canada's Arctic islands onboard your luxury crewed yacht.
As Robert Frost wrote in his poem, The Road Not Taken: "I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference." Taking the route less traveled will make your luxury charter all the more special.
For further information about "off-the-beaten-track" destinations and the luxury yachts available for charter there please contact the experts at the Luxury Charter Group.
