Middle East and Red Sea · Abu Dhabi · Formula 1
The season finale, from a berth inside the circuit
Abu Dhabi is a one-weekend yacht charter for us: the Formula 1 season finale at Yas Marina Circuit in early December, where the marina sits inside the track and a yacht berthed there is the best seat at the race. The Gulf is calm and warm from October to April, Sydney and London both fly in direct, and Saadiyat's beaches and the Louvre Abu Dhabi fill the days either side. Berths inside the circuit are allocated months ahead; ask us in the northern summer.
The weekend
Formula 1 season finale, Yas Marina Circuit, early December
Fly into
Abu Dhabi (AUH): 14 hours direct from Sydney, 7 from London
Berth at
Yas Marina, inside the circuit. Dubai's marinas are an hour and a quarter away by road
Season
October to April for the Gulf. Summer is 40°C and not for us
Water
Flat, warm, 24 to 26°C in December
Also on the water
Saadiyat Island beaches, the Louvre Abu Dhabi, Sir Bani Yas wildlife reserve
We will be honest about Abu Dhabi: it is not a cruising ground we would send a family to for a week in the way we would the Whitsundays or the Riviera. It is a race weekend, and one of the best in the calendar for doing from a yacht. Yas Marina is built into the circuit, so a boat berthed there has the cars passing metres from the aft deck and the paddock a walk away, with the twilight start putting the whole thing in golden light.
The formula is the same one we run in Monaco every May: the yacht as the base, the hospitality on deck, and the crew handling the transfers. Because the finale often decides the championship, the weekend fills early and the berth allocation is done long before December. If this is the plan, the conversation should start in the northern summer.
How we'd do the weekend
Thursday
Board at Yas Marina
Arrive on the Thursday of race week, settle in on the berth and watch the circuit come alive from the deck. The Yas Marina hotel straddles the track next door.
Friday
Practice from the aft deck
Two practice sessions, a long lunch on board between them, and the marina's own restaurants and the after-race concerts a walk from the passerelle.
Saturday
Qualifying, then Saadiyat
A morning on the water off Saadiyat Island's beach, back in the berth for qualifying at dusk, dinner on deck with the grandstands lit.
Sunday
The race
A twilight start under lights, the podium in view from the marina, and the season decided a few metres from where you are standing.
Monday
The Louvre, or the desert
The Louvre Abu Dhabi's dome an hour from the marina, or a night in the dunes at Sir Bani Yas or the Empty Quarter before the flight home.
Questions we get asked
Abu Dhabi race week, answered
Common questions
Can you watch the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix from a yacht?
Yes. Yas Marina sits inside the Yas Marina Circuit, so yachts berthed there have the track a few metres from the deck and the paddock within walking distance. It is the closest thing in Formula 1 to Monaco's harbour berths. Berths for race week are allocated months in advance.
When is the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and when should we book a yacht?
The race is the Formula 1 season finale in early December. Because it often decides the championship, yacht berths at Yas Marina are allocated well ahead; we recommend starting the conversation by June or July of the same year.
Is Abu Dhabi good for a week-long yacht charter?
Not in the way the Mediterranean, the Whitsundays or the Caribbean are. The Gulf is calm and warm from October to April, but the cruising is limited. We treat Abu Dhabi as a race-weekend charter, with Saadiyat's beaches, the Louvre Abu Dhabi and a desert night either side, rather than a cruising destination.
How far is Abu Dhabi from Dubai for a yacht charter?
About an hour and a quarter by road between Yas Marina and Dubai Marina, or roughly 70 nautical miles by sea. Most race-week guests fly into Abu Dhabi directly, which has non-stop flights from Sydney in about 14 hours and from London in about 7.
Does Ahoy Club run Formula 1 hospitality?
Yes. Ahoy Club runs race-week hospitality from its own yacht CORAL OCEAN at the Monaco Grand Prix each May, including McLaren's programme in 2025, and arranges yachts and packages for the Abu Dhabi finale in December and the Melbourne Grand Prix in March.
Want a yacht for the finale?
Tell us how many are coming and whether you want to sleep on board or host from it. We come back with the yachts that can take a Yas Marina berth that weekend.