Yacht Charter Marbella

Yacht Charter in Marbella

Marbella is Spain's most glamorous resort city — a sun-drenched enclave of luxury hotels, designer boutiques, excellent restaurants, and some of the finest golf courses in Europe, set on the Costa del Sol between the Sierra Blanca mountains and the Mediterranean Sea. The city's reputation for wealth and celebrity has attracted the international jet set since the 1960s, when Alfonso von Hohenlohe established the Marbella Club Hotel and put the city on the social map of the European aristocracy. For yacht charter, Marbella is the main base on the Costa del Sol and the gateway to the Strait of Gibraltar, the unique marine environment of the Alboran Sea, and the challenging but rewarding sailing grounds of the Atlantic coast of southern Spain.

Puerto Banus

Puerto Banus, 7 kilometres west of Marbella, is one of the most famous yacht harbours in Europe — a purpose-built marina of extraordinary luxury opened in 1970 by Jose Banus, who invited Francisco Franco to cut the ribbon at the inauguration. The harbour is surrounded by restaurants, designer shops, and nightclubs, and the quay facing the boats is lined each summer with an extraordinary parade of superyachts, sports cars, and fashionable visitors. The spectacle of Puerto Banus in summer — the yachts, the restaurants, the people-watching — is one of the signature experiences of the Costa del Sol, and the marina facilities for charter yachts are among the best-maintained on the Spanish Mediterranean coast.

The Old Town of Marbella

Behind the coastal strip of hotels and apartment blocks, the old town of Marbella (Casco Antiguo) preserves a medieval Andalusian character of cobblestone alleys, whitewashed houses adorned with flower boxes, and small plazas with orange trees and gurgling fountains. The Plaza de los Naranjos (Orange Tree Square), the heart of the old town, is one of the most beautiful small squares in Andalusia, lined with terrace restaurants serving traditional Malaguena cuisine. The old town's Moorish castle walls and the town hall (a 16th-century building of considerable elegance) provide the historic context for the modern resort that has grown around them.

Gibraltar and the Strait

One of the unique aspects of chartering from Marbella is the proximity of the Strait of Gibraltar — the narrow channel between Spain and Morocco where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Mediterranean Sea. The Rock of Gibraltar, 60 kilometres west of Marbella, is one of the most strategically significant and visually dramatic landmarks in the world, and the passage through the strait — subject to strong currents, heavy shipping traffic, and unpredictable wind conditions — is a genuine sailing adventure. The waters around the Strait are famous for whale and dolphin watching: orcas, sperm whales, fin whales, pilot whales, and striped and common dolphins are all regularly sighted in these waters, making the Marbella charter base uniquely positioned for wildlife-focused sailing excursions.