Region · yacht charter
Pacific.
Long-form Pacific cruising: French Polynesia, the Galápagos, and the routings between for owners willing to commit the time.
- French Polynesia
- Galápagos
Overview
What to expect.
The Pacific is a long-stay cruising ground for owners willing to commit the time, built around two distant destinations rather than a single coast: French Polynesia, in the South Pacific, and the Galápagos, off the coast of Ecuador. They are an ocean-crossing passage apart, each planned as its own brief, and both reward longer itineraries than a Mediterranean week allows.
French Polynesia is reached through Papeete on Tahiti, with the Society Islands (Bora Bora, Moorea, Raiatea and Taha’a) as the core cruising ground and the lagoons and atolls of the wider archipelago beyond. The Galápagos is a strictly regulated national park: cruising requires licensed vessels, permits and a naturalist guide aboard, and routes are set by the park authorities rather than freely planned. Its draw is the wildlife and the protected islands, not open cruising. The two grounds share only the ocean between them.
Seasons differ by ground. French Polynesia cruises best May through October, its dry season, with settled trade winds. The Galápagos is cruisable year-round, with a warmer, wetter window and a cooler, drier one that shift the wildlife and the water. Both are planned well ahead, around the permits, the licensed vessels and the long transfers.
A Pacific yacht charter is planned further ahead than a Mediterranean one, around the permits and the passages, and run end to end by one advisor. The regulatory requirements of the Galápagos in particular are handled in advance, and cross-ocean repositioning between the grounds is arranged on owner request through the same operational team.
Destinations
Where we cruise in the Pacific.
2 destinations curated through our network of brokers, owners and management firms.
Season
When to cruise.
- Best months
- Year-round (region-specific)
- Prevailing winds
- Trade winds
- Base ports
- Papeete · Galápagos · Cabo
The Pacific is the longest-form cruising in the charter calendar. French Polynesia runs year-round with a quieter shoulder April through October; the Galápagos operates on a permit-controlled framework with a defined liveaboard season.
Most Pacific charters are two-week-plus engagements. The repositioning time is significant, the operational lead-time is long, and the regulatory compliance is more involved than the European market. The brokerage handles this directly.
Frequently asked
Practical questions.
- When is the best time for a Pacific yacht charter?
- It depends on the ground. French Polynesia cruises best May through October, in its dry season; the Galápagos is cruisable year-round, with warmer-wet and cooler-dry windows that shift the wildlife and the water.
- Which areas does a Pacific charter cover?
- Chiefly French Polynesia (the Society Islands of Bora Bora, Moorea, Raiatea and Taha’a and the wider archipelago) and the Galápagos off Ecuador. The two are an ocean passage apart and each is planned as its own brief.
- How long should a Pacific charter be?
- Longer than a Mediterranean week. The distances and the transfers reward extended itineraries, and shorter briefs leave too little time for the passages and the ground. The advisor sets the length to the destination.
- How do you reach a Pacific charter?
- French Polynesia through Papeete on Tahiti; the Galápagos through mainland Ecuador and on to the islands by connecting flight. Both involve long international connections, and the advisor arranges the transfers as part of the brief.
- Are there special rules for the Galápagos?
- Yes. The Galápagos is a strictly regulated national park: cruising requires a licensed vessel, permits and a naturalist guide aboard, and routes are set by the park authorities. These requirements are handled by the advisor well in advance.
- What does a Pacific yacht charter cost?
- Pacific charters are quoted to the yacht, the length of the brief and the ground, rather than from a fixed list. Long itineraries, ocean range and the Galápagos regulatory requirements carry higher rates. The advisor sets out the full figure, including transfers, before anything is signed.
- Can a charter combine French Polynesia and the Galápagos?
- Only on a long brief, and as an ocean-crossing passage rather than a short hop. The two are planned separately and combined on owner request, with the repositioning legs arranged by the operational team.
Plan your charter
Guides and charter services.
Elsewhere
Other cruising grounds.
Plan a charter
Plan a charter in the Pacific.
A private advisor will return a short, curated proposal within the hour.