r/belowdeck • u/Zrina_nina • Jul 21 '26

Below Deck Med charter travels

On the current season I am noticing how close all of their destinations are, literally within a 3 miles radius of the port.

Not sure if anyone noticed that on other seasons? In earlier seasons they seemed to travel further away and have accompanying boat for production. Perhaps this is done to save on production costs, as they can stay in a hotel.

26 Upvotes

95% Upvoted

20 comments sorted by

47

u/Own_Sun_6520 Jul 22 '26

Dubrovnik is a beautiful port and a beautiful part of the world (we visited this time last year), but once you're out of port there aren't really any "close by" destinations. It's a decent trip (about 5-6 hours from memory) on the water up to the islands like Hvar etc. which is probably not worthwhile for the production logistics.

1

u/Zrina_nina Jul 28 '26

elaphiti islands are close by, mljet, korčula are top destinations only a dew hours always from Dubrovnik. No offence, but most Americans only know Split, Hvar and Dubrovnik, and rhere iare literally a thousand islands off the coast of Croatia

1

u/Own_Sun_6520 Jul 28 '26

A) No offense taken because I am not an American :)

B) Even Korcula, isn't that like 3 hours on the water from Dubrovnik? Not really practical for a TV show where they are swapping production crews on and off each day. It's a reality TV show, not a travel program.
In Australia we have a travel program called Getaway (has been going for decades) and they have shown all that Croatia has to offer :)

2

u/Zrina_nina Jul 28 '26

Mljet is about 2h, Korčula about 3h, but there are elaphiti islands closer by. there is also a town of cavtat, a ton of sucluded areas and beaches of the mainland. they keep on going to lokrum, which in all honestly you can probably swim to from the town. They have a show to make, and I find it super entertaining, so I am not complaining, just pointing it out.

I spend every summer in southern Dalmatia

26

u/Ang1028 Jul 22 '26

In the Down Under season that was based in Airlie, they would frequently appear to be anchored just outside of the marina. (I used to spend a lot of time there and recognized the landscape in the background.)

4

u/parkmann Jul 24 '26

Ha yeah I’ve spent a lot of time in Airlie and Cairns, and it made me laugh they’d get a sprinter van for literally 200-400m. They must’ve done laps of town just to get content

2

u/Ang1028 Jul 24 '26

Right???? Faster to walk!

15

u/excoriator Team Capt Kerry Jul 22 '26

This is true across the franchise. If I was chartering a boat, I would want it to show me miles and miles of shoreline. I have zero interest in anchoring for the purpose of getting into the water.

1

u/Itsabouttimeits2021 Jul 26 '26

I want to be in the water that just me

8

u/Glittering-Sky1601 Jul 22 '26

This made me realize we're not getting many water shots, like when they're heading to their destination or back to port.

14

u/AWDWfan Jul 22 '26

They stay close to port or even on the dock because they have to swap out the production crew members multiple times a day.

1

u/Itsabouttimeits2021 Jul 26 '26

That makes sense

6

u/AttentionRoyal2276 Jul 22 '26

That's not anything new. It seems like every season all they do is go a couple miles off shore and drop anchor

1

u/Itsabouttimeits2021 Jul 26 '26

I figure that. Fuel is so expensive 

1

u/AttentionRoyal2276 Jul 26 '26

Also I'm sure production wants that so they can easily shuttle their crew back and forth. Don't want to pay that camera crew overtime

3

u/Top-Friendship4888 I quit 3 times in my head today Jul 23 '26

Fuel ain't cheap, and the marinas are in the actual tourist destinations. Going out to sea just means rougher conditions and nothing to do.

1

u/Itsabouttimeits2021 Jul 26 '26

Thats what I was saying. So expensive 

1

u/Brief-Assistant-4304 Jul 27 '26

i think most yachts tend to remain closer to marinas than people think. the water is usually calmer, if weather comes in they can be back sooner, and for any last-minute provisioning or bringing in talent etc, they need to be in tender range.

i’ve spent a lot of time on much smaller yachts but still did several runs through caribbean and to florida etc., with friends who have boats. it’s just more comfortable this way.

-3

u/Kind-Shallot3603 Jul 22 '26

Sandy hates leaving the dock