The Best Movie Locations to Visit by Superyacht

Fictional Setting: Few maritime stories capture the imagination as viscerally as the Mutiny on the Bounty. Acting Lieutenant Fletcher Christian set Captain William Bligh and 18 loyalists adrift in HMS Bounty’s open launch after Christian and the rest of the crew rebelled during a five-month stopover on the island of Tahiti.

True Location: In 1961 Marlon Brando would play Christian in the paradisiacal but very real location of French Polynesia – more than 100 islands scattered across 2,000 kilometres of the South Pacific. A portion of the Mutiny on the Bounty filming took part on Tahiti, the largest island in the group.

Nearby: After filming wrapped, Brando secured a 99-year lease on the small archipelago of Tetiaroa. Following his death in 2004, Brando’s family opened up his private paradise for others to explore. Less than 30 nautical miles or a 15-minute flight from Faa’a International Airport, The Brando resort is now home to 35 glass-fronted beach villas.

Fictional setting: Scorsese's film is set partially in New York, the hometown of infamous Wall Street stockbroker Jordan Belfort. In the movie, the luxury superyacht which Belfort gifts his wife, named Naomi, is berthed in the city before they depart for the high seas.

True location: Belfort's actual yacht was sunk off the Amalfi Coast, so the one used for filming was M3, a 44 metre motor yacht delivered by Intermarine in 2002. The yacht, which can carry up to 10 guests, was used for the scene in which stockbroker Jordan Belfort throws handfuls of cash overboard. The marina in which the scene was filmed can accommodate yachts up to 53m and sits on the Battery Park City shoreline at the doorstep of the financial district.

Nearby: North Cove is within walking distance from the famous Charging Bull statue, a symbol of Wall Street. If you want to retreat from the busy centre, head to the Four Seasons Downtown hotel, just a 10 minute stroll away.

Fictional setting: The action-packed movie Kong: Skull Island uses Hạ Long Bay as a prominent role in the new movie, where a secret organisation discovers a mysterious island that is described as the origin of new species.

True location: In reality, the island is the northern region of Vietnam. In addition to Hạ Long Bay in the Quảng Ninh Province, filming took place in Tam Cốc, Tràng An, Vân Long and at the entrance of Tú Làn Caves.

Nearby: Hạ Long Bay is best seen by boat and visitors can take a one, two or three night charter on board a private luxury junk boat from Hạ Long Harbour. Make sure to stop off at as many of the secret lagoons, deep-set caves and quiet beaches as possible while exploring this extraordinary part of Vietnam.

Fictional setting: In 1993 the first instalment of Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic sci-fi saga was released. In Jurassic Park, the eponymous theme park suffers a malfunction which results in the terrifying escape of its main attractions; the cloned dinosaurs created in its laboratories. Although the park’s fictional location of Isla Nublar is said to be near Costa Rica, it was actually Hawaii that served as the setting for the majority of the film’s shooting, and the Garden of Eden Arboretum and Botanical Garden makes an appearance in the opening sequence of the film.

True location: The same characteristic vistas seen at the beginning of the film can be viewed at the botanical garden, which is located along the scenic Hana Highway in Maui. The entire park is bursting with beautiful and rare botanical specimens indigenous to the island, including a century-old mango tree and the largest collection of purple Ti plants. The highlight, however, is the lookout point, which features the distinctive Keopuka “Jurassic” Rock.

Nearby: Maalaea Bay on the west side of the island provides a sheltered anchorage to base at overnight, in addition to the anchorage off Lahaina. While you are visiting the island you can also see the impressive dormant volcano Haleakala, and visitors should explore the rest of Hawaii for once-in-a-lifetime adventures.

Fictional setting: The anonymous South Pacific island in Robert Zemeckis’s 2000 film is a villain, crushing the sanity of Tom Hanks’s crash-stranded character. He has lonely crab barbecues on its powder-sand beach, finds a corpse in the turquoise shallows and tries to hang himself from a spectacular mountain.

True location: If you visit Monuriki for any reason other than a plane crash, it is rather lovely, with lagoons, pine forests, a 178 metre peak to climb, turtles and a teeming coral reef.

Nearby : The island resort of Matamanoa is a mile south; the Yava Spa Pedicure with lime, lavender and coconut cream will soothe Robinson Crusoe feet. Port Denarau Marina, Fiji’s only superyacht facility, is about 25 miles east.

Fictional setting: The climactic scene of Star Wars Episode VIII: The Force Awakens is set on an island where the remains of the First Jedi Temple lies.

True location: In reality, the filming location is much more down to earth but no less mystical. The world heritage site of Skellig Michael, seven miles off the western Irish coast, was once an ancient monastery and is still home to archaeological remains. Local press reported that the producers were so grateful for using the dramatic location that they made a sizeable donation to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI).

Nearby: The rock is approximately 45-minutes from Kerry or alternatively you can organise a helicopter tour to take in the island from above. The west coast of Ireland may not be the easiest destination to visit by superyacht but for the true Star War’s aficionado is could be a worthwhile pilgrimage.

Fictional setting: The lighthouse is one stop off during Forrest Gumps’ “very long run” in the 1994 classic. Gump runs down the long wooden gangway to the lighthouse before deciding “having got this far he might as well keep on going”.

True location: Unusually for movie locations the film was shot at Marshall Point in Maine. Located near the fishing village of Port Clyde there is also a museum on site, part of which documents the filming of the movie.

Nearby: The Maine Coastline extends more than 3,400 miles and has more than 4,000 islands so is perfect to explore by superyacht. Try and time your visit to coincide with the Rockland, Maine Lobster Festival (August 3-7).

Fictional setting: The 2008 musical based around Abba numbers is set on the fictional Greek island of Kalokairi. The hot, dusty island, with its whitewashed houses and bougainvillea, sums up the romance of the Greek islands.

True location: Most of Mamma Mia! was filmed on the Greek Sporades islands of Skopelos and Skiathos. Skopelos, more rugged and less developed, boasts fabulous beaches: Glysteri, a gorgeous protected cove with translucent-green waters and Kastani, a cliff-backed slip of sand to the west. For the Abba-themed sequel, filming of the fictional Greek island of Kalokairi was actually undertaken in Vis, Croatia. The former Yugoslav military base was cut off from visitors until 1989 but is now making up for lost time, with superyachts flocking to the island’s white sand shores.

Nearby: The Adrina Resort & Spa on Skopelos has a rooftop restaurant with spectacular views. Skiathos Marina in Skiathos town takes yachts of up to 65 metres.