Ultimate The Yacht Week Guide: Everything You Need to Know
The Yacht Week (TYW) is a floating festival with destinations all over the world that gives you the week-long vacation of a lifetime. I went on my first route in 2017 and have been on 6+ routes since then, have made friends all over the world, and cannot recommend it enough to anyone who is even remotely interested in a week in paradise! As a TYW vet, there are plenty of tips and tricks from understanding the booking process, to making sure you’re prepared while packing, to what to do to guarantee the best week ever.
How to Choose Your The Yacht Week Experience
The Route
The biggest decision you’ll probably make while booking The Yacht Week is picking your route. The number and locations of the destinations change slightly year over year but consistently expect to see two of the classic experiences with Croatia (the OG route) and Greece. All routes will give you the iconic circle raft and themed parties, it’s just the island backdrops will vary! To see what current routes are available, check out The Yacht Week Destination Guide.
For anyone looking for that fast-paced and iconic TYW experience with exploring during the day and dancing well into the night, the Croatia Original route is for you. Each year there are a few special weeks for Croatia, including music festival based Ultra route and tehcno Drumcode routes. If you book these specific routes you will not be following the traditional itinerary, but it will be altered to accommodate the festival. Typically you’ll spend a few more days docked at the festival locations so you can enjoy your VIP tickets. But as for the Croatia Original route, you’ll be sailing on the turquoise water in the morning, docked at an island to explore for the day, before having dinner with your crew, and dancing the night away in some of the best venues on the Adriatic Sea.
The Greece Athens route is mid-paced, meaning unlike the Croatia route, the route isn’t as go go go. That being said, it doesn’t mean you’re going to see any less. You’ll have more time to relax and enjoy the beautiful islands you’ll visit, and with more day parties you’ll have the energy to get up the next morning and explore. The Greece route is often more intimate with a smaller number of boats, but that means you get to know the others on your route really well!
Some of the other routes in the past include the British Virgin Islands (typically New Years route), Montenegro, Turkey or Sardinia (in late summer), and Tahiti (in Spring/Fall).
The Week
Depending on your route, you’ll be given a number of weeks to choose from. As mentioned before, there are special weeks like festival weeks or, new for 2022, a hip-hop route if you don’t think you can last a week of EDM. Peak summer weeks in July and early August can be pricier so if you’re looking for The Yacht Week experience for a steal, look for the weeks at the beginning and end of summer! Those cheaper weeks can sometimes mean weather complications, so keep that in mind. The Yacht Week keeps track of dates by the number that week is in the year. So if you’re booking in the summer 2023, instead of saying you’ll be sailing from June 24 - 30, you can say “I’ll be on W26”.
The Boat
When it comes to picking a yacht, you have two ways to book if you’re looking to book a full yacht. The Yacht Week has pre-determined and tiered packages laid out from Classic, to Premium with both monohull and catamaran options. Keep in mind that yacht availability will largely depend on which route and which week you’ll be booking. Below is a breakdown of what each package includes, using 2023 Croatia W26 options as a guide. These packages will include a licensed The Yacht Week skipper to get you from island to island!
These options are great if you’re a TYW newbie and/or you don’t know or care about what model of boat you’re on. If you care about size, capacity, and whether or not you’ll have a host, these are great options. For some boats, if you do decide to fill to a capacity of 10, keep in mind that 2 of those people will be sleeping in what is called “the Saloon” spot, or the living room of the boat. When deciding who pays what, these spots are typically discounted since those sleeping there won’t have the same closet space or privacy as the others with cabins!
The tier packages also include cabin and solo bookings if you’re just looking to adventure alone or with a friend.
Finally, you have the “Build Your Own Package.” This is for those who know what kind of yacht they want or want to pick a floating home with certain specifications in mind. A lot of TYW veterans who have been on a boat they enjoy in the past will go with this option to ensure they book those boats, especially if the yacht they’re after is larger than the luxury options (e.g. Lagoon 52 with 6 cabins).
Overall, I recommend a host unless you have someone who really loves to cook because although every boat has a kitchen space, they give studio apartments in New York City a run for their money with how tiny and cramped they are. The Yacht Week hosts are accustomed to the small spaces, are trained to cook in rocky water, and will help you book the best activities when you dock on each island.
Cost
The cost for The Yacht Week will largely depend on your flights from your home country and what type of yacht you’ll be on. Some other additional costs include will include refundable yacht deposit, port fees, yacht fuel/water/shore power, food for yourself and your skipper/host, water taxis, alcohol, table bookings (if you choose to book tables). The cost is usually around $200 per person for all of the fees (not including table bookings, food, and alcohol) and will sometimes be collected at the beginning of the week by your skipper in a fund called “the kitty.” Anything not used will be returned to you.
The deposit will depend on the type of boat you book, and will be refunded entirely if there is no damage to the yacht. Table bookings for the parties (think bottle service) will open one week before your week begins, and vary depending on minimum spend so chat with your crew if you think it’s what you’re looking for!
One thing to keep in mind is that you and your crew will be in charge of keeping your skipper and host fed throughout the week. That means keeping them in mind for meals and when you’re at the bar getting another round.
On The Yacht Week, cash is king. Make sure to hit an ATM at the marina before you set sail! I highly recommend a debit card with no ATM fees (e.g. First Republic, Charles Schwab) in general, but especially for cases like this. I
Other
Crew Finder: There is a Facebook group in case you’re looking to put together a crew or are looking for a spot on an already booked yacht or sold-out route. I’ve successfully both joined boats from crew finder and found additional crew from crew finder - all with success! If you want to verify a booking or need more information about the crew you are thinking of joining, you can always email info@theyachtweek.com OR ask the lead booker to add you to the booking before you make any payments!
What to Pack
Must Haves:
Travel Bag: I cannot emphasize enough to bring a duffel-style bag. The yachts don’t have a ton of storage space so maximize it by having something without a rigid shape! If you only have hardshell, see if your marina has luggage storage so that you can unpack, then store your luggage away for the week.
Themed Outfits and Props: The Yacht Week is known for its themed parties. Currently, Riviera Chic and Dockside Disco are on the itineraries, and they’ve been kind enough to put together some Pinterest Inspiration for you all! Additionally, The Yacht Week regatta is a themed sailing race where you and your crew get to pick your costume. In the past I’ve done costumes for hot dogs, penguins, Mario Kart, Peter Pan, and astronauts.
4-6x bathing suits
Outfits for exploring, dinners, dancing: Everything is very casual, don’t feel like if you need to dress up if you don’t want to!
Sandals and/or sneakers (if you’re feeling active): Your time on the boat will be barefoot and leave the heels at home!
Sunglasses and/or a hat
Earplugs and an eye mask
Toiletries: I recommend bringing body wipes (and bring anti-nausea medication if you have motion sickness!)
Travel documents
Good to Haves:
Floaties: The week prior will donate any unused floaties, if you don’t want to waste precious luggage space, you can always wait and see if there’s one there for you!
Country flag: Every yacht will have a bunch of flags strung up on them, bring your country or state flag to tell your yacht apart and see if you find any new friends.
European adapter: For my US friends, the boats will have EU plugs, meaning you will need EU adapters for your electronics.
Towel: although linens are provided, I like to keep my swimming and my shower towels separate so I bring my own quick dry towel
Small mirror: when you share a bathroom, sometimes it’s nice doing your hair or makeup in the bedroom or communal area - so bring a collapsible mirror!
Reusable Cup: to avoid single use plastics and to keep my drinks lidded and cold while on the water, my crew always packs insulated tumblers
Waterproof Phone Pouch: if you want to take videos and photos from the water or the raft days, consider bringing a phone pouch - but make sure it has a strap to go around your wrist or neck!
Speaker: although all the boats have speakers, some of them vary in quality. I like to bring a small speaker for when we’re hanging out outside on the deck. If you really want to be the life of the party, I recommend bringing a Soundboks speaker!
You can find items I brought with me on my routes on my Amazon Storefront linked [here].
The Week of:
I create a guide to the islands you’ll visit on the Croatia Original, Greece, and British Virgin Islands routes but be sure to ask your skipper or host what they recommend seeing and doing! They can help you make reservations for dinners or activities you may be interested in. Don’t forget to take a lot of photos and have so much fun!
