Yacht Charters

A bareboat monohull in the Mediterranean starts around €1,800–€2,500 per week in low season for a boat sleeping six to eight. Catamarans typically start near €3,200 and fully crewed yachts from around €6,500. High season in July and August routinely doubles those figures, and the Caribbean and Indian Ocean sit above Mediterranean pricing year round. Every destination guide on this page lists its own seasonal rates.

Bareboat means you sail the yacht yourself, so you need a recognised qualification and recent experience. Skippered adds a professional skipper who sails the boat and plans the route, with no licence required from you. Crewed adds a host and often a chef, so meals and provisioning are handled too. Cost rises in that order, and so does how little you have to think about.

For bareboat charter, yes: almost always. Most countries accept an ICC or an RYA Day Skipper certificate, and Croatia and Greece additionally require a VHF radio licence. Requirements vary by flag state, so check the individual destination guide. If you do not hold a qualification, book skippered or crewed instead. There is no licence requirement and the price difference is smaller than most people expect.

The Mediterranean season runs April to October, with the most settled weather in June and September and the highest prices and busiest anchorages in July and August. The Caribbean season is the northern winter, December to April, outside hurricane season. The Indian Ocean and South Pacific are broadly year round with regional wet seasons. Northern Europe is a short June to August window.

The advertised rate covers the yacht itself, its standard equipment and insurance. Expect to add fuel, end cleaning, a security deposit, tourist tax and marina fees along the way, plus food and drink. Skipper and crew are charged separately unless you have booked a crewed yacht. We show these extras clearly on any quote we send you rather than at checkout.

A typical 45–50 foot monohull sleeps six to eight in three or four cabins. A catamaran of the same length sleeps eight to ten far more comfortably, because the cabins sit in the hulls and the saloon is much larger. Sleeping capacity and the number of people a boat is licensed to carry are not always the same figure, so confirm both before booking.

For July and August in the Mediterranean, or Christmas and Easter in the Caribbean, book six to nine months ahead. The best boats in the popular bases go early. Outside peak weeks, two to three months is usually comfortable. Late availability does appear when operators reshuffle their fleets, so it is always worth asking.

Neither. We are a comparison service. We hold no yachts of our own, so we have no inventory to push and no incentive to send you somewhere that does not suit you. Tell us where and when you want to sail and we compare matched availability across vetted operators, then hand you the options. Using SailScanner costs you nothing.