Questions about chartering a yacht

A crewed yacht charter is a holiday on a private yacht with her own professional crew: a captain and, depending on her size, a chef, deckhands and stewards. You charter the whole yacht for your party, usually for a week. The crew sail her, cook, look after the cabins and the water toys, and know the bays and harbours. You decide how each day goes, within the weather and the cruising area in your contract. How a crewed yacht charter works follows a charter step by step.

No. On a crewed charter the captain is responsible for the yacht and the crew sail her, so guests need no licence and no experience. Some water toys, such as jet skis, have their own rules, which vary by country and by yacht; the captain tells you what applies on board. Many first-time guests have never been on a yacht before, and the crew are used to showing them how everything works.

It depends on the month and on who is coming. From May to October, the Mediterranean is the choice, and June and September are the best months almost everywhere. From December to April, the Caribbean, the Bahamas, the Indian Ocean and South-East Asia. Families do best with short hops and calm water; couples with quieter islands outside high summer. Our guide to where to charter, month by month sets it out, and our destinations go into each place.

There is no fixed rule, but the busiest weeks go first. For July and August in the Mediterranean, and Christmas and New Year in the Caribbean, many people start planning in the autumn or winter before. For June, September and the shoulder months, a few months ahead usually leaves a good choice. A late enquiry is always worth sending: we tell you plainly what fits.

Start with the people, not the yacht: how many of you, the children's ages, and what the week is for. That decides the cabins you need, the type of yacht (motor, sailing or catamaran) and the kind of crew that will suit you. Then the place and the budget narrow it down. We propose a short list with what each yacht is really like, what suits you and what may not, and the full cost of each week. You can also ask about any yacht you have seen.

A charter broker finds the yachts that fit your week, tells you honestly how they compare, checks the contract, handles the payments and stays your contact before and during the charter. We know the yachts and the crews we propose, and every enquiry is answered by a broker of ours, not a system. Using a broker adds nothing to the price of a charter: see "Who pays the broker?" below.

The cost is the yacht's weekly fee, plus VAT at the rate of the country where the charter starts, plus an APA of up to 40% of the fee for fuel, food, drinks and berths, plus a crew tip if you choose to leave one. Weekly fees run from around €10,000 for a small crewed yacht to about €3.5 million for the largest. Each yacht's page shows her lowest weekly rate, "plus VAT and APA". Our guide to what a crewed charter costs works through an example.

APA stands for Advance Provisioning Allowance. It is money paid in advance to the captain, who spends it on your instructions during the charter: fuel, food and drinks, berths, harbour dues and park fees. Budget up to 40% of the charter fee for it. The captain keeps the receipts and shows you the running total whenever you ask. If it runs low you top it up; at the end you receive a full account, and whatever has not been spent is returned to you.

No. Every price on this site is "from" a yacht's weekly fee, plus VAT and APA. VAT is charged on the charter fee, not on the APA, at the rate of the country where the charter starts: for example 13% in Croatia, 22% in Italy and 20% in France. Some routes change the figure. Your written quote states the VAT rate for your route before you sign. The full table is in our cost guide.

The yacht's owner. The broker's commission comes out of the charter fee the owner receives, so you pay the yacht's published rate whether you charter through us or not, and nothing on top for our work. Our job is to find the right yacht for you, not the one that pays most: we tell you plainly when a yacht is not right for your week.

In two parts, under the MYBA charter agreement we use. Half of the charter fee is paid when the charter contract is signed. The other half is paid about a month before the charter, together with the APA, the VAT, any delivery fee and any other agreed charge. Payments are made by bank transfer. At the end of the charter, the unspent APA is returned to you. The contract sets out the exact dates and amounts.

A tip is never in the contract and never required. It is how guests thank the crew when the week has gone well. Guests commonly leave 10–15% of the charter fee in the Mediterranean, and up to 20% in the Caribbean. It is usually handed to the captain on the last day, in cash or by transfer, and shared among the crew. It does not come from the APA unless you ask the captain to take it from there.

Every yacht has a base. If you join or leave her somewhere else, or end your charter in a different port from the one you started in, a delivery fee pays for the fuel, crew and berths of her extra passage. In some countries it carries VAT. It applies only on some routes, and we state it in the quote before you sign. A round trip from the yacht's base carries none.

The MYBA charter agreement, the standard contract for crewed yacht charters, signed by you and the yacht's owner or the company that manages her. It sets out the yacht, the dates and the ports where you join and leave her, the cruising area, the number of guests, the fee, the VAT, the APA and any delivery fee, and what happens if either side has to cancel or the charter is interrupted. We go through it with you, line by line, before you sign. Nothing is certain, and no yacht is held, until it is signed.

The contract decides. Under the MYBA terms, the later you cancel, the more of the fee the owner may keep: cancelling after the first payment can cost that payment, and cancelling close to the charter can cost the whole fee, unless the owner charters the yacht to someone else for the same dates. We explain the terms of your contract before you sign. For that reason we suggest travel insurance that covers cancellation and curtailment of the charter.

Bad weather changes the route, not the charter: the captain chooses sheltered water or waits in harbour, and the days are planned around the forecast. Whether a charter can go ahead in severe weather is the captain's decision, for safety. If the yacht breaks down and cannot be repaired quickly, the contract says what is owed to you, usually a refund for the days lost. We are your contact throughout, and we deal with the owner for you.

The yacht carries her own insurance, as a commercial charter yacht must. It covers the yacht and her operation, not your holiday. We suggest you take personal travel insurance, as for any trip abroad: medical cover, and cancellation and curtailment cover for the charter itself. Tell your insurer it is a crewed yacht charter, and check how the policy treats water sports.

A week is the norm, but many yachts accept a shorter charter, especially outside the busiest weeks. It is usually priced at one-sixth of the weekly rate for each day. Over Christmas and New Year, expect a minimum of 7 nights, up to 10 on some yachts, and a holiday rate up to about 18% above the winter rate. Longer charters are priced pro rata from the weekly rate.

The charter fee covers the yacht and her crew for the agreed days, with what she carries: the cabins and bathrooms, linen and towels, the tender, and the water toys and equipment listed on her page, such as snorkelling gear, paddleboards or a jet ski. Food, drinks, fuel and berths are paid from the APA, so you choose what you eat and drink and how far you cruise. Ask us about anything you need that is not listed.

Yes, within the cruising area in your contract and the weather on the day. Tell us and the captain what you would like to see, how much time you want at sea, and whether you prefer quiet anchorages or busy harbours. The captain plans the days around it and suggests changes when the wind or the sea call for them. A one-way route, ending in a different port, is often possible, with a delivery fee.

Yes. Before the charter you fill in a preference sheet with what everyone likes to eat and drink, any allergies and diets, and the children's ages. The chef shops and plans the menus from it before you arrive. Tell us about any serious allergy early, and we make sure the captain and chef have it in writing. Birthdays and anniversaries go on the sheet too.

Soft bags rather than hard suitcases, which are hard to stow on a yacht. Clothes are informal: swimwear, light clothes, a warm layer for the evenings, and something smarter if you plan dinners ashore. Most yachts ask guests to go barefoot on deck, so bring sandals for shore. The yacht has towels and beach towels. Bring sun protection, any medicine you need, and your passports, which may be checked when a yacht crosses a border.

Most yachts have Wi-Fi, often through a satellite or mobile connection. How fast it is depends on the yacht and on how far you are from the coast, and in remote areas it can be slow or absent. If you need to work during the charter, or stream a lot, tell us before we propose yachts: it changes which ones we suggest.