Where Do Billionaires Spend Their Summers? Europe's Most Exclusive Destinations
Every summer, the same stretch of European coastline lights up. The marinas fill with superyachts. The airfields at Nice, Olbia, and Mykonos handle record private jet movements. The best tables at Club 55 in Saint Tropez and Nammos in Mykonos are booked months in advance. The ultra-wealthy have been returning to a handful of European destinations every summer for decades, and the reasons have less to do with novelty than with something harder to manufacture: an established social ecosystem, a standard of service that has been refined over generations, and a combination of natural beauty and discretion that very few places in the world can replicate.
Privacy and anonymity have become prime commodities for today's most affluent travellers, and the destinations that endure at the top of the billionaire summer circuit are those that deliver both alongside everything else. At Private Flights, we fly clients to all of these destinations throughout the summer season. Here is where the world's wealthiest go, what draws them back year after year, and how we can help you experience the same this summer.
The French Riviera: The Original Billionaire Summer Playground
The French Riviera has anchored the European summer calendar of the ultra-wealthy for over a century, and its position remains unassailable. Nice Cote d'Azur is one of Europe's busiest private jet airports during the summer season, reflecting a concentration of high-net-worth arrivals that no other European coastal destination comes close to matching.
The attraction is a combination that has proved impossible to replicate elsewhere. Saint Tropez offers Club 55, the legendary beach restaurant that has been drawing billionaires, royalty, and celebrities since the 1950s, alongside a harbour scene and villa culture that defines summer luxury at its most established. Monaco, a forty-minute drive along the coast, adds a further dimension: home to a harbour anchoring multi-million dollar megayachts, grand hotels, Michelin-starred restaurants, and opulent casinos along the French Riviera, all within a jurisdiction that has attracted the world's wealthiest residents for generations.
For private jet clients, the best arrival point for Saint Tropez is La Môle Airport, one of the few European airports dedicated almost exclusively to private aviation, just fifteen minutes from the port of Saint Tropez, eliminating the long transfers from Nice that commercial travellers endure. For Monaco and the eastern Riviera, Nice Cote d'Azur handles private aviation through dedicated FBO facilities. The private terminal at Nice processes arriving passengers in under ten minutes, a contrast that is particularly striking during peak July and August when the commercial terminal is at capacity.
Sardinia's Costa Smeralda: Where Superyachts and Private Jets Converge
Porto Cervo on Sardinia's Costa Smeralda is the definitive destination for the European super-rich in summer, a place where the concentration of private wealth is unlike anywhere else on the continent. The Emerald Coast in Sardinia is one of the most exclusive summer destinations in the Mediterranean, so much so that Olbia Costa Smeralda airport requires private jet landing slots June through August.
Many billionaires arrive by private yacht to dock at Porto Cervo, enjoying bespoke concierge services and unparalleled seclusion. The combination of the island's extraordinary beaches, the Costa Smeralda's established luxury infrastructure, and the particular quality of Sardinian light in midsummer creates an environment that clients return to reliably every year.
Olbia Costa Smeralda Airport has an FBO of excellence, Eccelsa Aviation, with VIP lounges, fast handling, and direct transfers to Porto Cervo and Porto Rotondo, ensuring that the transition from aircraft to the destination is seamless. For clients travelling from London, the sector takes approximately two hours and forty minutes, making Sardinia one of the most accessible ultra-luxury destinations in the Mediterranean.
Advance booking of landing slots for Olbia is essential for peak summer dates. Available private jet slots at Olbia in July and August are among the most competitive in European aviation, and clients who leave this until late risk being diverted to alternative airports with longer ground transfers.
Mykonos: The Cyclades at the Centre of European Summer Culture
Known for its iconic whitewashed houses and luxury beach clubs, Mykonos is a favourite summer spot for billionaires. The island has evolved from a bohemian retreat into one of the most concentrated expressions of European summer luxury, with a beach club and dining scene that draws names from music, sport, fashion, and finance every July and August.
Greece is one of the quintessential summer destinations for European private aviation. Mykonos, Santorini, Rhodes, and Crete concentrate huge demand each summer, with airport slots selling out very quickly in peak weeks. For clients whose priority is Mykonos specifically, the private jet journey from London takes approximately three hours and twenty minutes, and the island's airport handles private aviation through dedicated facilities that separate arriving private clients from the commercial terminal entirely.
The shift in how the ultra-wealthy use Mykonos is worth noting. The front-row lounger at Nammos Beach has largely been overtaken by influencers, which means anonymity and discretion have become prime commodities for the most affluent travellers. The billionaire crowd has responded by gravitating toward private villa experiences, members-only venues, and the northern parts of the island that offer the quality without the visibility.
Ibiza: The Quiet Luxury the Wealthy Actually Choose
The public perception of Ibiza as a mass-market party destination obscures the reality of how the ultra-wealthy actually use the island. While Ibiza is famous for its party scene, its northern regions offer tranquil luxury for the ultra-wealthy. Billionaires frequent private estates, luxury wellness retreats, and members-only beach clubs far from the tourist crowds. Villas in Es Cubells and Talamanca offer panoramic sea views, 24/7 staff, and elite security.
This dual character is precisely what makes Ibiza one of the most enduring destinations on the billionaire summer circuit. The island accommodates the full range of what wealthy clients want from a summer break: genuine seclusion for those who want it and the best beach clubs in Europe for those who do not. The private jet journey from London to Ibiza takes just over two hours, and the dedicated private terminal at Ibiza Airport processes arrivals independently of the commercial terminal, which is critical during peak summer when the main terminal handles several million passengers a month.
For clients considering a multi-stop Mediterranean summer itinerary, more and more clients are choosing multi-stop itineraries such as Ibiza, Saint Tropez, and Mykonos, or opting for one-way flights that allow them to leave from one city and return from another with no constraints. This kind of routing is one of the most natural applications of private aviation, and our team designs these itineraries regularly.
Monaco and the Emerging Destinations Worth Knowing
Beyond the established circuit, a new generation of European destinations is drawing ultra-wealthy travellers who want the quality of the classic locations with a lower profile. Porto Montenegro is having its moment, with a coastline rivalling the glamour of the Cote d'Azur. Built on the site of a former Austro-Hungarian naval base along the spectacular Bay of Kotor, this sophisticated marina village is a yachting paradise, host to stylish dining and a vibrant social calendar.
The Alentejo coast in Portugal, the lesser-known Greek islands including Paros and Folegandros, and the Croatian island of Hvar are all drawing high-net-worth clients who want the experience of the established destinations without the visibility that July in Saint Tropez or August in Mykonos inevitably involves. Each of these destinations is accessible by private jet into regional airports that put clients within minutes of their property, and each represents the kind of discovery that the best private travel clients are actively making right now.
How Private Flights Can Get You There This Summer
The destinations on this list share one characteristic beyond their obvious appeal: they are served almost exclusively by private aviation at the level their clients require. Commercial connections into Olbia, La Môle, and Mykonos are limited, seasonal, and overwhelmed during peak weeks. The infrastructure that makes these destinations work for ultra-wealthy travellers, the FBOs, the slot-controlled airfields, the direct transfers to private properties, is private aviation infrastructure.
Our team is booking summer itineraries across all of these destinations now. Whether you want a single week in Sardinia, a multi-stop circuit combining the Riviera and the Greek islands, or a flexible summer calendar that responds to where you want to be week by week, we can design the aviation around the trip you actually want to take.
Peak summer slots at Olbia, Mykonos, and La Môle are limited and move quickly. The clients who travel best to these destinations are those who confirm their arrangements before the competition for available aircraft and landing slots intensifies in June.
Explore our European private jet destinations guide for more detail on airports, routes, and what to expect at each destination.
Book your private flight with Private Flights now and secure your European summer before the best options are gone.
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Photo by Yavuz Solgun via Pexels, used under Pexels License.
