Nothing says luxury, adventure and relaxation like chartering a yacht or boat for a daylong excursion on the open sea. Boating charters let you take to the open water in your own vessel, without the bustle of tourists or feeling like a sardine packed onto a tiny deck. Boating charters are part private party, part guided tour and part recreation. Depending on your budget, your seamanship and your party’s needs, there are a couple different kinds of boat charters that may work best for you.
A bareboat charter is an arrangement where you rent the boat from the owner without the crew or captain. That means that you’ll be in charge of taking care of the boat, including steering it, obeying maritime laws and maintaining it for the time that it’s under charter. When you get a bareboat charter, you can often take courses from the boating charter company so you are prepared for handling the boat.
A crewed charter, also known as a skippered charter, means the boat or yacht comes with a brew. The size of the crew depends on the size of the boat, and can range anywhere from a captain and a chef to a crew of 30 or more, including deckhands, stewardesses, engineers, mates and other crew members.
In a crewed or skippered charter, you can rent out the entire boat or a portion of the boat. Larger boats may have distinct private areas that can be divided among several parties to lower the overall costs.
For more information on boating charters, check out some of our links below.