Wealthy travelers are chartering yachts for millions of dollars a week to see extreme destinations like Antarctica

But traveling to extreme destinations doesn’t have to be a life-threatening adventure.

“There’s really no substitution for experience and expertise,” he said, adding that clients need to understand which companies are taking a more responsible approach to extreme travel.

Before starting his role at EYOS, Lyons was an officer and captain on the Queen Mary 2 and several expedition ships going to the Arctic, he told Insider.

EYOS’ clients can charter a full yacht with their friends and family to explore desirable and remote destinations. No need to travel with strangers when you have an entire luxury vessel to yourself.

As Lyons says, EYOS is in the business of “selling dream vacations and once-in-a-lifetime experiences.”

“There’s something more fundamental about it,” he said. It translates to a deeper experience and greater interconnectedness with a group.

EYOS can bring guests to places like Antarctica, Vanuatu, and small islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans.

But these aren’t exactly cheap. In 2022, Insider’s Taylor Rains paid $5,700 for an interior cabin she had to share with two random women on her nine-day cruise to Antarctica.

But travelers aboard these ships still have to share the experience with hundreds to thousands of other guests.

Instead of bunking with strangers or sharing a ship with hundreds of travelers, EYOS focuses its attention on smaller travel groups and ships via these exclusive yacht charters.

As a Conde Nast Traveler headline read in March, “Everyone, it seems, is cruising to Antarctica.” 

But according to Lyons, this destination “is not a fad.”

“I always say that going there affects our clients more than any other destination I’ve ever seen,” he said. “It’s like going to another planet.”

He predicts this will only continue to grow, noting that EYOS will still expand its destinations outside of these icy regions in destinations like Papua New Guinea and Melanesia.

Instead, these vessels are privately owned and chartered out to the travel company, although EYOS does manage several of the vessels. This generally entails representing the yacht to other agencies or individuals and managing the operations.

Vessels like the Nansen Explorer — designed to accommodate 12 guests across seven staterooms — were originally built to be research ships while ones like the Legend — with a capacity of 22 guests —  have amenities like a five-person submarine.

EYOS has not listed the cost of its trips aboard the Octopus. But in 2022, the 12-guest yacht was available for charter starting at $2.2 million a week with yacht firm Camper and Nicholsons. 

“Our clients are busy folks trying to be as efficient as possible without feeling that they’re ticking the boxes,” Lyons said. 

Most clients spend seven to 12 days on the vessels.

For those on a tighter budget, the EYOS team will soon announce a significantly cheaper option — a breezy $ 95,000-a-week charter for 10 guests.

If you want a private helicopter, submarine, or a personal photographer, EYOS can provide it. Planning these vacations is a collaborative effort between EYOS and the travelers. 

EYOS uses a client’s expectations for the trip to design their curated itinerary. From there, the traveler and EYOS can go back and forth tweaking the itinerary until it meets the traveler’s (and their party’s) demands.

For example, guests who are interested in photography will be accompanied by professionals who’ve worked with National Geographic. Or if travelers plan on venturing into frozen regions, the company will provide an ice pilot to assist the captain. 

For these travelers, EYOS brings aboard science and conservation experts, some of whom will work on these trips.

Compared to a group of 10 people who all have the same interest, it’s not exactly easy to plan a curated vacation for a large group of 40 guests who all have conflicting activity interests and a need to travel on separate yachts.

And they’re much cheaper than these week-long charters: These scheduled trips range from around $15,000 to $60,000 per person.

But yacht charters will still remain its bread and butter. In comparison, it operates 50 to 60 charters annually. 

 “Five or 10 years ago, people didn’t quite realize what you could do with a private yacht,” Lyons said. “We’re seeing this tremendous growth in expedition yachting that people are now realizing is possible.”