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By the close of the 2025 Med charter season on 31 October, the broker desks we cross-check with had already started softening their forward briefings on 6 specific destinations. Two of those destinations were Mediterranean. Three were Caribbean shoulder windows. One was an Indian Ocean season that did not deliver. The aggregate utilisation gap against 2024 ran from 8 percent at the mildest to 22 percent at the worst. This piece names those 6 destinations, walks through what we think drove each shortfall, and covers what we expect for 2026 bookings. The aim is not to write any destination off. It is to say where the brokers are quietly less aggressive in their 2026 pitches, and why.
How we define underperformance
A destination "underperformed" in 2025 if at least two of these conditions held against 2024.
First, broker-side aggregate week-utilisation on yachts above 30m was at least 8 percent below the 2024 figure for the same destination, measured as confirmed charter weeks divided by available weeks across the active fleet. We pull this from broker desk commentary, central agent debriefs, and the post-season data Fraser and Burgess publish.
Second, late-season rate cards softened. Either through unpublished discounts in the last 8 weeks of the season, or through APA-side concessions, or through unbundled extras quietly included to close bookings.
Third, the broker community moved its 2026 pitch language. A destination that brokers were pushing aggressively in early 2025 and now mention more tentatively in the 2026 inquiry conversations counts as softened.
We are not naming destinations that are structurally unattractive. We are naming destinations where the 2025 number missed and where the broker confidence shifted. These can be excellent charter weeks. The market is just less crowded.
Croatia Dalmatian middle coast: Sibenik through Trogir
The single largest 2025 disappointment among Med destinations, by our read. Charter weeks on yachts 30 to 50m operating out of the Trogir, Split, and Sibenik corridor ran 12 to 18 percent below the 2024 utilisation figure. The fleet itself grew slightly, with around 6 new charter hulls based out of ACI Marina Split and the Trogir-side marinas. The combination of static demand and growing supply was unkind to the central agents.
The drivers, in our view. First, the boravisna pristojba (tourist tax) increase from 2025 added line-item friction we covered on the Croatia charter tax piece. Second, broker-side rotation toward Albania, Montenegro, and Greek eastern Aegean alternatives gave clients an exit ramp for the same week budget. Third, Hvar marina capacity and the Pakleni anchorage permit regime made the middle-coast itinerary feel administratively heavy compared to the Dubrovnik south-coast loop or the Kornati-Zadar north-coast loop.
What we think will happen in 2026. The middle coast will recover partially. Rate cards have softened by 4 to 7 percent on a number of 32 to 42m hulls based in Trogir. The post-tax friction has been absorbed into broker quotes. Operators who run a Trogir-Hvar-Vis loop with permits pre-secured are doing better. Operators who run a north-coast Kornati loop from Sibenik are doing better still. The destination is not broken, the supply just needs to find equilibrium.
Turkish Aegean: Bodrum, Gocek, Marmaris corridor
The second Med softening. Charter weeks on the Turkish Aegean fleet ran 8 to 14 percent below 2024 across the gulets and the 30 to 50m motor fleet that bases out of Bodrum-Yalikavak, Gocek-Marmaris. The 2025 number missed despite a strong shoulder window (October was good) because the peak August booking lagged.
The drivers. Currency volatility on the lira pushed some clients off Turkey-based pricing comparisons even though the contracts are denominated in euro. The 2024 wildfires near Bodrum lingered in client memory and broker conversations. Operator-side capacity in Gocek and Marmaris had grown ahead of the demand. Broker-side rotation toward Greek eastern Aegean (Dodecanese, Kos, Rhodes) gave clients a substitute that did not require Turkish-cabotage paperwork on foreign-flag charters, a regulatory friction we cover on the Turkey blue cruise piece.
What we think will happen in 2026. Bodrum and Gocek will recover unevenly. The gulet operators are running tighter rate cards and we expect 2026 utilisation to come back to 2023 levels but not 2024. The 30 to 50m motor segment is being repositioned, with several hulls moving to Greek bases. Clients targeting Turkish charter for 2026 should book by April. The post-August inventory will be discounted but the early-season inventory will firm.
Greek mainland coast: Saronic, Argolic, Western Peloponnese
A subtler softening. The eastern Aegean (Cyclades, Dodecanese, Crete) held up well in 2025. The mainland-side itineraries operating out of Athens base into the Saronic Gulf, the Argolic, and the western Peloponnese underdelivered against early-season broker confidence by an estimated 6 to 11 percent on weekly utilisation. The drop is smaller in absolute terms but it changed how brokers pitch this destination.
The drivers. The Athens-base 7-day route we cover on the Saronic Gulf charter piece historically reads as a "safe" choice, with calm waters and short hops. In 2025, several mid-tier brokers explicitly steered first-time clients away from it in favour of the western Cyclades or the Ionian. The reasoning, half-articulated, is that the mainland-side itinerary lacks the visual variety that justifies the rate to a first-time client. Saronic anchorages are good. They are also less photogenic than the Cyclades. Brokers worry about the post-trip client review.
What we think will happen in 2026. The Saronic route will remain a sound choice for second-time clients and families with young children. It will continue to lose share among first-time clients to the western Cyclades. Brokers will adjust pitch language but rate cards will not move materially. The 4 to 7 percent rate softening on Athens-base 35 to 50m hulls is the floor.
Eastern Caribbean April: Antigua to St Barths
The largest Caribbean miss of 2025. The post-Easter window, weeks 16 to 20, ran 15 to 22 percent below 2024 utilisation on the Eastern Caribbean fleet. Antigua-, Sint Maarten-, and St Barths-based hulls saw confirmed bookings fall against the same window the year before.
The drivers. Easter 2025 fell on 20 April, late. The 3-week pre-Easter window that usually carries booking momentum was structurally short. The early Easter in 2024 had pulled volume forward. The actual post-Easter shoulder window competing for the same client mind-share was crowded by the Med pre-season inquiry building from late April onward. We cover the dynamics on the Caribbean shoulder April piece. The structural problem of the post-Easter weeks is that the Caribbean is competing with the imminent Med season for the same client's attention.
What we think will happen in 2026. Easter 2026 falls on 5 April, much earlier. The post-Easter window in 2026 is structurally longer, weeks 15 through 20. The 2024 pattern should partially recover. Brokers we cross-reference with are pitching Antigua-St Barths April 2026 actively. Rate cards on the strongest hulls are firm. The shoulder hulls have softened by 5 to 8 percent. Clients can find genuine value in this window for 2026 in ways they could not in 2025.
Bahamas Exumas: April through May
A specific Caribbean over-supply situation. The Nassau-to-Staniel Cay loop we cover on the Bahamas Exumas charter piece saw 9 sub-50m hulls competing for the same April-to-May booking window in 2025. The booked-week conversion was 10 to 14 percent below 2024 on the same itinerary class.
The drivers. The Exumas grew its 2024-2025 winter charter fleet faster than the demand. The post-Pig Beach demand pull that ran through 2022-2023 has plateaued. Operators who positioned hulls in Nassau for the April-May shoulder were exposed when the booking did not show up. The wider Caribbean shoulder weakness compounded.
What we think will happen in 2026. Two hulls have already announced they are leaving the Bahamas Exumas charter rotation for 2026. This restores some supply discipline. The strongest Exumas operators (we cover the rankings on our destination pages) should hold rate cards. The marginal operators will discount. Clients targeting Exumas 2026 in the April-May window should expect a 5 to 10 percent negotiating room on the second-tier hulls.
Maldives: 2025 winter season
The Indian Ocean miss. Maldives charter for the November 2024 to April 2025 season ran an estimated 14 to 19 percent below the 2023-2024 season on the active charter fleet. The Maldives fleet is relatively small (15 to 20 active charter yachts in any given winter window) so the absolute numbers are small. The trend is what matters.
The drivers. Air-connection cost from Europe and US to Male rose materially in late 2024. Charter clients comparing a Maldives 10-day to a Caribbean 10-day at similar dollar figures saw the all-in cost gap widen. Operator-side, the Sri Lanka-style cruising restrictions did not materialise but the broader Indian Ocean security read-across did soften the family-charter conversation. The Mozambique Channel insurance picture stayed difficult, which is adjacent but informs the same risk read for the Indian Ocean clients we cover on the Madagascar charter piece.
What we think will happen in 2026. Maldives demand will recover partially. Rate cards on the Maldives fleet have softened by 4 to 8 percent for the 2025-2026 season starting in November. Air connections from Europe have improved. Clients targeting Maldives for 2026 winter should expect more negotiating room on shoulder weeks (November and April) than on peak Christmas-New Year. The peak weeks will hold.
What underperformance does and does not mean for 2026 clients
A 2025 underperforming destination does not automatically mean 2026 bargain rates. The reason is structural. Charter rate cards are set by the central agent based on a 2 to 3 year operating model. A single weak year does not flip the rate card. It might shift APA flexibility, soften the negotiation on shoulder weeks, or allow extras to be folded into the base rate. The base rate movement is rarely more than 5 percent in any single year on a hull that is otherwise performing.
What the 2025 underperformance does mean is that brokers are quieter about these destinations in 2026 pitch language. Charter clients who specifically ask about Croatia middle coast, Turkish Aegean, or Bahamas Exumas in 2026 will get more attentive brokering. The desk is keen to convert and will work harder.
What we would do differently
For 2026 charter targeting any of the above 6 destinations, we would ask the broker for the 2025 utilisation data on the specific yacht you are looking at. If the yacht ran 18 weeks in 2024 and 11 weeks in 2025, the central agent has a calendar problem and will be more flexible. If the yacht ran 16 weeks in 2024 and 15 weeks in 2025, it weathered the soft year and the rate card will be firm.
We would prioritise the strong shoulder weeks in the underperforming destinations. April Croatia, October Greek mainland, March Turkish Aegean. Shoulder rate cards have softened more than peak. The value is real.
We would not ask brokers to pitch "the cheap year." The brokers we trust will not play that game. They will quietly route clients into the destinations where rate value exists. The brokers who do play the cheap-year game tend to send clients to operators whose 2025 weakness reflects something structural about the operator, not the destination.
What we said no to
Booking the absolute cheapest 2026 option in any of the soft 2025 destinations. The cheapest options are cheap for a reason. The yacht has a calendar problem because it is being shopped against a fleet of better hulls at marginally higher prices. Look one tier up.
Booking a 2026 Maldives charter without confirming the airline schedule first. The Maldives charter math only works if the air-connection cost is contained. A €120K weekly charter that requires €40K of jet positioning to make work is not a value charter no matter how soft the rate card.
Booking a 2026 Eastern Caribbean April week before the post-Monaco show data is in. The 2026 Eastern Caribbean April window is firming. By November 2025 the data will be clearer. Anyone signing in May or June on the assumption of 2025 weakness pricing is taking on calendar risk.
FAQ
Which Mediterranean charter destinations underperformed in 2025? Croatia Dalmatian middle coast softened 12 to 18 percent. Turkish Aegean softened 8 to 14 percent. Greek mainland softened 6 to 11 percent on Athens-base itineraries.
Which Caribbean destinations missed 2025 forecasts? Eastern Caribbean post-Easter April ran 15 to 22 percent below 2024. Bahamas Exumas April-May ran 10 to 14 percent below 2024.
Does an underperforming 2025 mean better rates in 2026? Partially. Rate cards have softened 3 to 6 percent in most cases, less than the underperformance would suggest. APA structure and shoulder weeks are where the negotiating room shows up.
What does this list miss? We are not naming destinations that are structurally weak. We are naming destinations where the 2025 booking number missed and where brokers have softened their pitch. The list will change for 2027.
Should I deliberately target these destinations for 2026? If you want value and you are flexible on itinerary, yes. The brokers will work harder. The shoulder weeks have softened. The destinations themselves are not the problem.
Related reading
The inverse piece is charter destination rate leaders, covering where rates moved up the most. The broader rate environment is on charter rate trends 2026 H1. For timing tactics, last-minute availability and the shoulder vs peak rate piece. For the post-show booking dynamics that shaped 2025, Monaco show charter bookings.
On the destination side, the Croatia charter pillar and the Turkey charter pillar cover the verified detail. The best Mediterranean charter yachts for 2026 ranking flags which hulls weathered 2025 well, and the MYBA contract explainer is where the APA-flexibility conversation lives.
For destination-side lodging when guests do not stay aboard, HotelsForKings covers the hotels that book with the charter operator network.