Yacht Charter Pricing Guide
How much does a yacht charter cost & how to get the best value for money
The price of chartering a yacht has many variables including:
- Size and type of boat
- Time of year
- Age of boat
- Destination
- Early booking discounts
- Long term discounts
- Last minute discounts
- Promotional discounts in advance of season
- Promotional discounts during season for fleets with surplus capacity
- Repeat client discounts
- Cancellations
- Exchange rate
- Strategy of the charter operator in that destination
- Volume of trade Sail Connections places with charter operator
On top of the charter cost for the boat you also need to consider:
- Cost of living while cruising
- Cost of travel to the destination
- Cost of mooring fees while cruising
Size of Boat
It is important to consider the amount of space and accommodation required for you and your crew. Space, the desired layout and level of private facilities all affect price. Catamarans offer a larger platform with the living areas on the same level. This living area is equivalent to a much longer monohull so you pay more but they can take more people in comfort so the cost per person may be comparable. Given your brief Sail Connections will make recommendations to ensure you get maximum value from your budget.
Time of year
Obviously charter companies base their prices on demand but holiday periods where demand is high are not usually the best time to sail. Mid or low seasons can be the best or at least as good times to charter saving you money and making your holiday more enjoyable.
Age of boat
New boats book out first and there are obvious reasons for this. Production Boats have become progressively cheaper to buy keeping the charter costs down. What you may not realise is the price of a new boat is sometimes only marginally more than an older boat. Quite often new boats are cheaper than comparable older boats in other fleets where the charter operator has fixed contracts on their older boats and are forced to charge a premium for new boats.
Destination
If the Table below demonstrates anything it is that destinations affect charter prices. This is mostly driven by competition and the length of season. The Caribbean operates all year round and can be very cheap in the low season but invariably when the high season arrives prices are raised to represent the demand in this desirable cruising ground. Eastern Mediterranean does not have a full season with 6 months of winter so their list prices are higher but are also subject to greater discounts especially when there is surplus capacity. Tahiti is cheap at the moment as there is a new operator who is vying for business. There have also been issues with beds exceeding the local airlines capacity to fly people in to the outer islands so operators are keen to get people booked early. Asia is a new charter ground and tends to be middle of the road for boat prices but travel to this destination and cost of living is usually considerably cheaper keeping the overall cost low. As this market develops the charter boats will get cheaper.
Early booking discounts
Varies from company to company but can be as much as 15% in the Mediterranean. Charter operators like to get their books full early so they can assess demand and resource accordingly. The early booking discount is one incentive to plan your holiday in advance the other is new boats and catamarans book out first. The most valuable advice I can give you is book early to get the best boat at the best price with the best operator.
Long term discounts
Again these vary with companies but as a general rule 2 weeks is 5%, 3 weeks is 10% and more than 3 weeks is open to negotiation.
Last minute discounts
These are published monthly and Sail Connections keeps a file on surplus short term capacity. If you find yourself with some time to kill in an exotic part of the world you may be surprised what we have on offer. Charter companies don’t like boats tied up costing money in the season and many will issue last minute specials when on spare capacity. The problem with this is it is usually the lower quality boats remaining and they may not be suitable to your needs. There is also the reverse situation where bookings are above what is expected and some companies will ramp up the price for last minute bookings. Book early rather than hope there is a good deal waiting for you when you arive.
Promotional discounts in advance of season
As mentioned before charter companies like to get their boats booked well in advance and will issue promotional discounts for bookings made before a given date. Sail Connections is aware of current specials and we can even anticipate when specials will be released based on the strength of bookings and will promote these savings to our clients.
Promotional discounts during season for fleets with surplus capacity
If the boats are not booked there is bound to be a special deal on the way and even if there is not we know who is short on bookings and will ask for a discount that reflects the surplus capacity.
Repeat client discounts
Sail connections keeps a record of who clients have sailed with and wil identify and claim any repeat cleint discounts that may apply. There is a practice with some companies of having extra margin built in to offer discounts so we will show other charter companies boats in the quote for comparison.
Cancellations
It does not happen often but in the unfortunate event when someone cancels this invariably releases a good boat that can be offered at a lower price. We do our best to rebook the boat which helps the client who cancelled as well as giving the client rebooking a good value boat.
Exchange rate
Charter company rate sheets get issued annually and currencies move over the year. Sail Connections is able to quote in multiple currencies which can at times be cheaper to quote in a foreign currency rather than using the sovereign currency of the client.
Strategy of the charter operator in that destination
There are often business dynamics in a market that can artificially lower the price. We are aware of this and will sometimes work proactively to book the boats being offered at a lower price providing it is with an operator we consider to be professional and will look after our clients. Lower cost should never be at the cost of poor service.
Volume of trade Sail Connections places with charter operator
Sail connections has been booking charters for over 20 years and now books a considerable amount of charters per year. Naturally we have developed strong relationships with suppliers and have our preferred charter operators. They in turn cement our loyalty by making us competitive when quoting their boats.
Cost of living while cruising
The cost of your bare boat charter is only a part of the holiday cost. The benefit of chartering is your boat provides you with a hotel and transport and there are fewer opportunities to spend money while on a boat. Some destinations are cheaper such as Asia offering cheap cost of living, little or no marina fees and is accessible to get to as a major hub for airlines promoting cheap flights from most parts of the globe. As a rule of thumb the further east you go in the Mediterranean the cheaper the cost of living and marina fees. In the Caribbean the US dollar is proving attractive to some people but as a general rule you will spend more money ashore. In the Pacific there are some great deals on boats but the cost of living can be high especially if you like imported processed goods. Local produce and the lack of any marina fees can keep the cost of living low while on charter in the Pacific. Sail Connections have a good understanding of what onshore costs to expect from any destination and will be happy to discuss this in the planning stages of your sailing holiday.
Yacht Charter Pricing Guidelines
This price guide is based on the average standard charter for one week during the 2012 season using 2010 or later model yachts as a benchmark. Low season is not off season which is cheaper again. The discounts mentioned above would come off this price when we quote. Pricing is in US$.
Asia
| Yacht Size | low season | mid season | high season |
|---|---|---|---|
| 36ft monohull | 2900 | 4200 | 6300 |
| 44ft monohull | 3500 | 4700 | 6900 |
| 47ft monohull | 3900 | 5200 | 7500 |
| 52 ft monohull | 4400 | 6000 | 8700 |
| 38ft Catamaran | 4200 | 6200 | 7300 |
| 42ft Catamaran | 4900 | 7300 | 8800 |
| 46ft Catamaran | 5600 | 8400 | 10900 |
| 50ft Catamaran | n/a | n/a | n/a |
Carribbean
| Yacht Size | low season | mid season | high season |
|---|---|---|---|
| 36ft monohull | 2000 | 2900 | 3800 |
| 44ft monohull | 2200 | 3200 | 4500 |
| 47ft monohull | 2900 | 4000 | 5200 |
| 52 ft monohull | 3300 | 5300 | 6700 |
| 38ft Catamaran | 3900 | 4900 | 6900 |
| 42ft Catamaran | 4300 | 5700 | 8100 |
| 46ft Catamaran | 6700 | 7300 | 10000 |
| 50ft Catamaran | 5400 | 9000 | 12000 |
Eastern Mediteranean
| Yacht Size | low season | mid season | high season |
|---|---|---|---|
| 36ft monohull | 2300 | 2700 | 3400 |
| 44ft monohull | 3400 | 4200 | 5100 |
| 47ft monohull | 4100 | 5000 | 6200 |
| 52 ft monohull | 4400 | 6500 | 8100 |
| 38ft Catamaran | 4600 | 5600 | 6400 |
| 42ft Catamaran | 6400 | 7800 | 9700 |
| 46ft Catamaran | 7900 | 9700 | 10700 |
| 50ft Catamaran | 13500 | 16000 | 18000 |
South Pacific
| Yacht Size | low season | mid season | high season |
|---|---|---|---|
| 36ft monohull | 2400 | 2800 | 3600 |
| 44ft monohull | 2500 | 3100 | 4000 |
| 47ft monohull | 2700 | 3300 | 4200 |
| 52 ft monohull | 3200 | 3600 | 4700 |
| 38ft Catamaran | 3800 | 4300 | 5800 |
| 42ft Catamaran | 4200 | 4600 | 6600 |
| 46ft Catamaran | 4900 | 5900 | 7300 |
| 50ft Catamaran | 5400 | 6500 | 8000 |
As you can see there are a lot of factors affecting the price of a charter holiday.
Sail Connections has the experience and systems in place to get you the best boat with the best operator at the best price.
Talk to us today about your sailing holiday plans and we will help make your holiday more affordable and enjoyable.
