Ghost Elite Charters, Rose Bay in SydneyCredit: Ghost Elite Charters
Cruise Sydney Harbour in style on the Ghost Elite Charters superyacht Ghost II.
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Soak up mesmerising views of Sydney aboard a privately chartered boat on its iconic harbour. Discover hidden coves and beaches, or simply relax on deck as you navigate Sydney Harbour’s sparkling waters with a crisp glass of wine in your hand and fresh local seafood at your fingertips. Whether you’re keen to take charge yourself or would prefer an expert crew handle everything, you’ll find a range of operators headquartered along the Sydney waterfront. Here’s a selection of the most luxurious vessels to hire.
Live it up on a skippered vessel
Feel spoilt for choice with Sydney Harbour Yacht Charter’s gleaming fleet of superyachts and motor yachts for up to 110 guests. These are some of Sydney’s best-equipped boats, whether you prefer formal dining, fishing with state-of-the-art gear or spending the night in five-star digs. Slip into the role of a film star — or royalty — as you head out on the water. After all, the company has hosted British royalty, celebrities such as Robert de Niro, and US Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.
Revel in a sense of style as you cruise Sydney Harbour, or up and down the east coast, with Ghost Elite Charters, a boutique outfit with two luxurious yachts to choose from. Feast on fare from the company’s in-house culinary team or its stable of renowned freelance chefs. Make the most of your time on the harbour by staying the night on the Ghost II superyacht, which accommodates 12 guests overnight.
Take your pick from Sydney Luxury Cruise’s veritable flotilla of opulent vessels ranging from a classic wooden speedboat to sleek cruisers and a superyacht. Or cast away on a voyage of discovery with Sydney Harbour Boat Tours, which specialises in half-day cruises on small boats to some of the harbour’s lesser-known corners. Thrill to the discovery of secluded beaches and national parks as well as Sydney’s most exclusive waterfront neighbourhoods on its private Sydney Harbour Discovery Cruise, and learn something new about Sydney from the local crew, who share their insider knowledge throughout the charter.
Be privy to some of the harbour’s best-kept secrets with My Sydney Boat, which offers private eco-certified luxury charters for small groups. Feel the romance on a 90-minute Sydney Harbour Twilight Cruise, when the harbour is bathed in golden light, or make a longer booking to revel in the opportunity to explore secluded national park waterways and hidden beaches.
Enjoy the independence of self-drive options
Step into the captain’s (boat)shoes for a day, or even a full weekend, on a bareboat charter, which comes minus the skipper and crew. Booking one in Sydney is quick and easy: generally, all you need to do is produce a valid boat licence or sign a statutory declaration confirming your ability. Companies specialising in bareboat charters include EastSail, located at Darling Point in the city’s east, and Eastcoast Sailing, which offers pick-ups in Rushcutters Bay and Lavender Bay, also on the harbour’s eastern shores.
Get a thrill driving a boat for the first time with operators such as Salty Boat Hire in Rose Bay and Manly Kayak Centre in Manly, which will let you hire a small boat after undertaking a basic training session. You can also enjoy an eco-friendly self-skippered jaunt on the harbour behind the wheel of Danish-designed electric GoBoat, based at Cabarita Point in Sydney’s Inner West, which can fit up to eight people, as well as your pooch. Keep in mind that these vessels are speed-limited, so you won’t be able to travel as far as you might on a skippered boat.
Sydney Luxury Cruise, Sydney Credit: Destination NSW
Sydney Luxury Cruises operates on Sydney Harbour exploring the harbour beaches, waterfront mansions and icons.
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Sydney Luxury Cruise, Sydney Credit: Destination NSW
Sydney Luxury Cruises operates on Sydney Harbour exploring the harbour beaches, waterfront mansions and icons.
Eastsail, Darling Point in Sydney Credit: Eastsail Pty Ltd
Experienced sailors can hire one of EastSail’s luxury yachts to explore Sydney Harbour.
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Eastsail, Darling Point in Sydney Credit: Eastsail Pty Ltd
Experienced sailors can hire one of EastSail’s luxury yachts to explore Sydney Harbour.
Leave the legwork to a cruise agent
Tap into the expert knowledge of an online cruise agent to book your next luxury harbour cruise. Any Boat brings together dozens of independent operators providing skippered services on Sydney Harbour. If only the biggest and best will do, check out Any Boat’s luxury hire section, which spotlights 18 of Sydney’s most lavish superyachts.
International broker Ahoy Club also caters to the top end of the market, with more than 100 skippered luxury yachts available for hire in Australia. Splash out on a four-hour harbour cruises or a weeklong jaunt along the New South Wales coast, departing from and returning to Sydney. (Note that prospective clients must register to access Ahoy Club’s features.
Arrive at your harbourside destination in style
Lean into the convenience of flitting between waterfront hotspots on in your own water taxi. If you’re overnighting at one of Sydney’s dazzling waterfront luxury hotels, like the Park Hyatt Sydney or Pier One Sydney Harbour, stay in your luxury bubble by walking out of the lobby and straight into a water taxi to zip around the harbour. What better way to arrive at a waterside restaurant such as Catalina in Rose Bay? Speedy vessels from the likes of Majestic Water Taxis, VIP Water Taxis and Aquanox Water Taxis are a thrill to ride and, thanks to their compact size, can get into places on the shoreline that many larger boats can’t.
The Gantry Credit: Dave Wheeler
The Gantry restaurant offers contemporary dining in a newly renovated Dining Room, with a covered outdoor Terrace and al fresco dining on the pier.
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The Gantry Credit: Dave Wheeler
The Gantry restaurant offers contemporary dining in a newly renovated Dining Room, with a covered outdoor Terrace and al fresco dining on the pier.
The Dining Room by James Viles, Park Hyatt Credit: Destination NSW
The Dining Room by James Viles, Park Hyatt.
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The Dining Room by James Viles, Park Hyatt Credit: Destination NSW
The Dining Room by James Viles, Park Hyatt.
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Auriga Spa Credit: Timothy Kaye
Auriga Spa Capella Sydney
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Set aside some time for self-care and feel the tension melt from your body as you’re pampered from head to toe in opulent surroundings in one of the many luxury day spas in Sydney. Whether you want an indulgent treatment in a five-star hotel spa or detoxify in a specialist salon, you’ll find a range of incredible treatments across the city.
Soak up the calm in the city
Revel in the exclusive spaces of the hotel’s guest-only Auriga Spa when you stay at Capella Sydney, one of the most recent additions to the city’s luxury hotel offering. The grand proportions of the former Department of Education sandstone building carry through to the stunning spa, with contemporary cubes inserted into the heritage space to form a series of treatment rooms, and a serene swimming pool flooded with natural light from banked skylights. Auriga’s signature two-hour New Moon Renewal and Reflection treatment features a scent journey and somatic intention setting ritual before a body polish and peel wrap, and a massage with bioenergetic oil.
Step inside QT Sydney’s SpaQ and you’ll feel like you’re a world away from the busy retail precinct in the city streets below. Spoil yourself with the Metamorphosis package, which includes around six hours of pampering, including lunch, that will leave you feeling transformed, renewed and ready to take on the world.
Surrender to the serene underground sanctuary of The Day Spa by Chuan, available to guests and visitors at The Langham, Sydney hotel in the city centre. Sense your busy mind calming as you enter the Roman-style heated pool space, and feel stress leave your body as the highly qualified team provides holistic treatments featuring luxe Babor skincare products. Go all out with the Champagne & Gold Indulgence, a 4.5-hour top-to-toe pampering experience that starts with a full-body massage, followed by a 90-minute facial, deluxe manicure and pedicure, a light lunch and a glass of champagne.
Relax down by the water
Feel like you’re on top of the world when you arrive for your treatment at the luxurious Crown Spa at the Crown Towers Sydney, which anchors one end of the Barangaroo waterfront precinct on the fringe of the city centre. Lean into La Prairie facials and Subtle Energies treatments, or indulge in a three-hour Restoration treatment, which begins with an invigorating body exfoliation and Crown’s signature marma massage before an age-defying facial leaves you feeling radiant and revitalised.
Float over to the other side of Darling Harbour to discover Sofitel Sydney Darling Harbour’s calming Sofitel SPA Darling Harbour, which has seven spacious treatment rooms, including a suite featuring a large freestanding tub overlooking the water. Alongside bespoke facials and body therapies, the spa also offers a five-hour wellness journey adapted to the season.
Reconnect body, mind and soul at The Darling Spa at The Star Sydney in nearby Pyrmont. Linger in the spa’s Moroccan hammam chamber, steam room and Jacuzzi before blissing out with a Dihlbi facial, which features age-defying serums incorporating ancient Aboriginal knowledge of native botanicals by Australian brand Li’Tya.
Auriga Spa Credit: Timothy Kaye
Auriga Spa Capella Sydney
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Auriga Spa Credit: Timothy Kaye
Auriga Spa Capella Sydney
The Darling Spa Credit: The Darling
A couples treatment room at The Darling Spa in Pyrmont.
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The Darling Spa Credit: The Darling
A couples treatment room at The Darling Spa in Pyrmont.
Bliss out in a boutique salon
Sense a calming energy from the moment you enter the astonishing space at Venustus, a 10-minute drive east of the city centre in leafy Paddington, where owner Jeannie Bourke has laid a grid of healing crystals beneath the floor. Embrace the cocooning vibe in one of the tall egg-shaped treatment pods and surrender to a replenishing treatment using a range of luscious aromatherapy-based products.
Arrive early at Sol Spa Vaucluse, a luxe salon offering facials, massage and body treatments to nourish the mind and body in the inner-eastern suburb of Vaucluse, to relax with a cup of herbal tea and look out over the spa’s lush garden. Rejuvenate with a Native Botanical facial using Indigenous Australian botanicals, or stretch out with a five-hour Ultimate Sol Spa Signature Package that includes a nourishing meal and a glass of champagne.
Take a deep breath of salt air before stepping into an immune-boosting infrared sauna at one of several salons around the beachside suburbs in Sydney’s east. Emerge calm and detoxified after an infrared sauna at Self by The Parlour Room in Clovelly, which also offers a range of bespoke facials and indulgent body treatments, or at Slow House at Bondi Beach, which has both small and large infrared sauna rooms to soak up the heat in private or with a friend.
Go west to be pampered
Bond with your partner during an Urban Release couples ritual at the Inglis Day Spa, on the top level of The William Inglis Hotel in Warwick Farm, a 40-minute drive southwest of the city centre. Soak up the equine theme of the spectacular hotel, which celebrates Warwick Farm’s horseracing history (there’s a racecourse right next door), before sequestering in a modern spa suite and relaxing in a cabana facing the rooftop pool. Or come alone for a pampering 150-minute Crystal Healing treatment, which includes a muscle-melting hot-stone massage, rejuvenating facial and soothing head massage.
Sofitel Sydney Darling Harbour Spa Credit: Sofitel Sydney Darling Harbour
Sofitel Sydney Darling Harbour Spa
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Sofitel Sydney Darling Harbour Spa Credit: Sofitel Sydney Darling Harbour
Sofitel Sydney Darling Harbour Spa
QT Sydney, Sydney Credit: QT Sydney
The spaQ at QT Sydney
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QT Sydney, Sydney Credit: QT Sydney
The spaQ at QT Sydney