Monaco Yacht Show 2025: Explorers and Catamarans We Saw and Loved

The Monaco Yacht Show has always been about glamour — mirror-polished hulls, champagne on the aft decks, and an unmistakable scent of privilege drifting over Port Hercules. But this year, among the floating palaces and super-sleek profiles, something tougher caught our eye. The explorers — and their wide-hulled cousins, the catamarans — took the spotlight.

Maybe it’s all because of Feadship Valor, which set the tone, or Tribu, moored among the newest yachts, reminding everyone where the explorer story began. As for the catamarans, that spirit was definitely fuelled by Royal Huisman and Sunreef.

The Explorers

Feadship Valor
79.5 m

Hybrid explorer with polar ambitions

Valor drew crowds from day one — a brand-new Feadship always does. Although this year the yard had planned to show two yachts, the second one dropped out at the last moment for the best possible reason: it was sold with Edmiston, marking one of the biggest deals in yachting ever.

Valor isn’t just another example of Dutch perfection — she’s a true go-anywhere machine, designed to fulfil her owner’s ambition of transiting the Northwest Passage. The yacht was recognised with the Technology & Innovation Award at the 2025 YCM Explorer Awards in Monaco. The use of HVO biofuel further confirms her role as a credible step forward in the energy transition.

After You
60 m, Xplorer Yachts

First of Damen’s new generation of hybrid explorers

Emotional
Yacht Support

Adventure logistics with superyacht comfort

Damen Yachting came with not one, but two serious statements: Emotion and After You. Both fit right into Damen’s SeaXplorer philosophy — yachts that look as if they could steam to Antarctica tomorrow but still host a Monaco cocktail party tonight.

After You is the first hull of the Xplorer 60 series. She has a hybrid power and propulsion system with battery banks, a fully certified helideck, and Ice Class with IMO Polar Code-compliant engineering — all wrapped in a striking profile with unmistakable presence on the water.

Acala
43 m, Cantiere delle Marche

A compact and proven world cruiser

Delivered by CdM in 2022, Acala remains one of the best examples of what the Ancona shipyard does best: compact, muscular, and entirely purpose-built. She’s been cruising hard since launch, and her presence in Monaco was a reminder that an explorer’s beauty lies in use, not just design.

Oscar
37XP, Numarine

Turkish-built strength with global reach

Oscar stood out with its powerful lines and unapologetic explorer stance. The Turkish builder continues to prove that you don’t need 80 metres to make a statement.

King Benji
Dunya Yachts

Adventure with indulgence

Launched in 2024, King Benji showed how a true explorer can still look glamorous. Designed for global range but with all the indulgence of a superyacht, she’s proof that adventure and luxury are no longer opposites.

Tribu
Mondomarine

The one that started the explorers’ tribe

A yacht from 2001 that practically defined the term “explorer” long before it was fashionable. Seeing Tribu among today’s fleet felt like meeting an icon among her descendants.

Carinthia VII
Lürssen 

The legend on a new world tour

Not an explorer by appearance, but one by soul. With her sleek Lürssen pedigree and decades of history, it was announced right after the show that she joined a world tour. A yacht with her own agenda — and a global one at that.

The Catamarans

The multihull wave — or catamaran craze — has reached Monaco, and it was felt everywhere. Catamarans no longer lurk on the periphery; they’re taking centre stage.

Sunreef 65-metre Concept

The future of hybrid catamarans, writ large

Sunreef led the charge, presenting their most ambitious concept yet — a 65-metre hybrid-powered catamaran that looks like something out of a futuristic harbour dream. Big, bold, and distinctly Sunreef.

Lagoon Eighty 2

The Cannes debut makes a confident Monaco appearance

Lagoon wasn’t shy either, unveiling the new Lagoon 82, fresh from its world debut at the Cannes Yachting Festival. Spacious, polished, and ocean-ready, it continues the brand’s mission to bring superyacht comfort into the multihull world.

Royal Huisman Aera

A sailing catamaran concept that redefines scale

The real surprise came from Royal Huisman, who unveiled their most audacious concept ever: Aera, a vast sailing catamaran that merges performance, silence, and sculpture-like design. If built, she could redefine what “super catamaran” means.

From steel giants ready for the Northwest Passage to vast twin-hulled dream homes, Monaco 2025 showed that the industry’s eyes are set far beyond the Riviera. The explorers and the cats are no longer niche — they’re leading the future of yachting. And if there’s one thing the show proved, it’s that adventure is the new luxury.

Writing by Rocco Siliotto and Aleksandr Kovalenko, editing by Anastasia Romanova