Where in the world to charter?
1 CARIBBEAN Where: Windward Islands - St Lucia, Grenada, Martinique; Leeward Islands Barbados, Dominica, Antigua, St Kitts & Nevis, BVI, US VI; Jamaica, Cuba, Bahamas When: November – March
Cost: ££ Experience level: Beginner Don’t miss: Dominica, the most ecologically diverse (and still largely unspoilt) island
2 CENTRAL AMERICA Where: Brazil, Colombia, Belize, Mexico When: April – November Cost: £££ Experience level: Intermediate
Don’t miss: Ilha Grande, a relaxed and undeveloped Brazilian island paradise
3 ATLANTIC ISLANDS Where: Azores, Madeira, Canary Islands, Cape Verde Islands (all year)
When: April – August
Cost: ££ Experience level: Intermediate Don’t miss: Peter’s Café Sport bar in Horta. A legendary mid-atlantic sailor’s pit-stop with a ceiling festooned with flags
4 WESTERN MED Where: France, Spain, Sardinia, Corsica, Balearics
When: April – October
Cost: ££ Experience level: Beginner Don’t miss: Sailing through the dramatic entrance to Corsica’s capital, Bonifacio
5 EASTERN MED Where: Turkey, Greece, Croatia, Montenegro, Italy, Cyprus, Crete
When: April – October
Cost: £ Experience level: Beginner
Don’t miss: A transit through the Corinth Canal is possible on many discounted one way charters when operators move their yachts at the start and finish of the season
6 UK Where: Kent, Solent, Plymouth, Falmouth, Pembrokeshire, North Wales and Anglesey; Ireland - Cork & Waterford, Galway, Wicklow, Sligo, N Ireland; Scotland - Clyde, Argyll, Highlands, Skye, Shetland and Orkney When: May – October
Cost: ££ Experience level: Intermediate Don’t miss: Idyllic Dartmouth and a day sail to Salcombe
7 NORTHERN EUROPE Where: France (Brittany), Germany, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Poland
When: April – September
Cost: £££ Experience level: Beginner to Intermediate Don’t miss: Picture-perfect Marstrand. Sweden’s fortified sailing haven just a few hours north of Gothenburg
8 ASIA Where: Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines, Hong Kong When: November – April Cost: £££ Experience level: Intermediate Don’t miss: Koh Phi Phi
9 INDIAN OCEAN Where: Goa (India), Madagascar, Seychelles, Maldives When: March – October
Cost: £££ Experience level: Intermediate Don’t miss: Nossy-be and its crystal clear waters brimming with sealife make for some of the world’s best snorkeling and diving, without the crowds.
10 AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND Where: Australia - Freemantle, Melbourne, Whitsunday Islands, Sydney, Brisbane;
NZ - Bay of Islands, Auckland & Hauraki Gulf, Wellington, Marlborough, Christchurch, Abel Tasman, Fiordland
When: August – October
Cost: £££ Experience level: Intermediate Don’t miss: Whitehaven beach on the Great Barrier Reef. Easy on a yacht, hard to get to for everyone else
11 PACIFIC Where: Tahiti, Fiji, Hawaii, Canada When: June – August Cost: £££ Experience level: Intermediate
Don’t miss: The downwind sail through the Punaeroa Pass to Bora Bora