Where to Go on Your First Charter
Every destination on this page is beautiful, which is exactly why the question which one is nicest gets you nowhere.
The decision that actually matters
Three questions shorten the list of eight to two: the week you can take off, the flight you are willing to sit through, and how many miles you want to spend under way rather than at anchor.
Then there is the fourth question, the one people ask last and should ask first: what the quoted number actually includes. It is not the same in the Caribbean as it is in the Mediterranean, and that difference is explained further down this page.
We have chartered and visited all of them. Below is how we walk first-time clients through the choice, written down.
The whole decision on one screen
The mileage column is not a marketing figure. It is the distance of our own published itinerary for that cruising ground, so you can see before you commit how much of your week is spent sailing and how much is spent at anchor.
| Destination | Best months | Miles in a week | Suits you if | The rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| British Virgin Islands | Dec–Apr | 60 nm 8–10 h under way | You want short, sheltered passages and a new anchorage every day | All-inclusive |
| US Virgin Islands | Dec–Jul | ~60 nm as the BVI | The travel day matters most: direct flights, no passport for US citizens | All-inclusive |
| Bahamas and the Exumas | Dec–May | 152 nm ~25 h under way | You will trade convenience for empty cays and luminous water | All-inclusive |
| St Martin and St Barts | Dec–Apr | Short one open hop | Dinner reservations matter as much as the snorkelling | All-inclusive |
| St Vincent and the Grenadines | Dec–May | Longer real sailing | You want the Tobago Cays and far fewer yachts around you | All-inclusive |
| Greece — the Ionian | May–Oct | 116 nm ~17 h under way | It is high summer and you still want it calm | Base + VAT + APA |
| Greece — the Cyclades | May–Oct | 243 nm ~30 h under way | You came for Mykonos and Paros and will sail for them | Base + VAT + APA |
| Croatia | May–Oct | 142 nm sheltered channels | You want to step off the yacht into a walled old town | Base + VAT + APA |
| Italy, Turkey, the Riviera | Apr–Oct | 88–225 nm varies by coast | You are following a coastline, not hopping islands | Base + VAT + APA |
In the Caribbean, the rate is the rate. An all-inclusive week covers the crew, all meals, most drinks, fuel and the water toys, with dockage and premium wines settled at the end. In the Mediterranean the advertised figure is only the first of three numbers.
How a Mediterranean rate is built
Base charter rate
Flat for the season, and the figure you see advertised. It buys the yacht and her crew for the week, and nothing else.
Plus VAT
Set by the country you cruise in and by the licence the yacht holds, so two similar yachts on the same week can carry different VAT. We confirm the rate for your yacht before you sign.
Plus APA
The Advance Provisioning Allowance: a share of the base rate, paid up front, that the captain spends on your behalf on fuel, food, drinks, dockage and port fees. A sailing catamaran sits nearer 25 per cent, a motor yacht nearer 40, because the spread is about fuel.
So compare the Caribbean rate against the Mediterranean base plus VAT plus APA. Put side by side without that, a Mediterranean yacht looks about a third cheaper than it is. We will do the arithmetic for you on any two yachts you are weighing up. Just ask.
British Virgin Islands
Sixty islands inside one sheltered channel. Passages are short, the anchorages come one after another, and you rarely lose sight of land — which is why this is where most first charters happen, and why it is the easiest week to sell to a nervous passenger.
Season December to April, with November and early summer quieter · Under way about 60 nm across the week
A first week in the British Virgin Islands
Seven nights, 60 nautical miles, eight to ten hours under way. That is the number worth holding on to: on a first charter you are at anchor far more than you are sailing.
- Day 1 — Tortola to Norman Island. Out of Sopers Hole, snorkelling at the Caves and the Indians, anchored in the Bight.
- Day 2 — Norman to Peter Island. Dead Mans Bay, the water toys out, a barbecue on the beach.
- Day 3 — Peter to Cooper Island. The reef at Cistern Point, and the wreck of the RMS Rhone off Salt Island if anyone dives.
- Day 4 — Cooper to Virgin Gorda. The Baths early, before the day boats arrive.
- Day 5 — the Baths to North Sound. Lunch on the water, an evening at Leverick Bay.
- Day 6 — North Sound to Anegada. The flat coral island: Loblolly Bay, Cow Wreck Beach, and the lobster dinner it is known for.
- Day 7 — Anegada to Jost Van Dyke. The Bubbly Pool, Foxys, and the last sunset of the week.
Your crew will rearrange any of it around the weather and around you. The route is a starting position, not a timetable.
US Virgin Islands
The same protected water as the British Virgin Islands, reached on a direct flight to St Thomas — and, for US citizens, without a passport. St John and its national-park beaches are an hour from the base. If the journey is the part of the holiday your group dreads, this is the answer.
Season December to July · Under way comparable to the BVI
Bahamas and the Exumas
Under three hours from Florida, and then a different kind of week: the legs between anchorages are longer than in the Virgin Islands, and what you get for them is water that glows over the banks, sandbars that appear at low tide, and cays with nobody on them. More passage-making, far fewer people.
Season December to May, most settled March to June · Under way about 152 nm across the week
St Martin and St Barts
Direct flights from the US East Coast, one open-water hop between the two islands, and day sails after that. This is the Caribbean week people dress for: Gustavia’s harbour, restaurants worth planning a day around, and shopping that is not an afterthought.
Season December to April · Under way short — one open hop, then day sails
St Vincent and the Grenadines
The longest routing of any Caribbean option, usually two connections — and the payoff is real sailing between islands and an anchorage inside the reef at the Tobago Cays that people remember for years. Choose it when you want fewer yachts around you and do not mind working a little harder to get there.
Season December to May · Under way longer legs, genuine passages
Caribbean charter yachts
Tranquila
BEACHFRONT II
Epiphany
MARGATE
MUCHO GUSTO
ANGELEYES
LOCATION 5.4
OUTTA TOUCH
INDABLUE
NAUTI NICKEL
PRINCESS MILA
MARIA THERESE
Greece — the Ionian
Corfu, Lefkas and the islands below them: light afternoon breezes, short hops and sheltered water. When a first charter falls in high summer and the group wants Greece, this is where we route it — the Cyclades are blowing hard at exactly that time of year.
Season May to October, best in June and September · Under way about 116 nm across the week
Greece — the Cyclades
The islands everyone pictures, and the honest arithmetic that comes with them: a Cyclades week covers around 243 nautical miles against the BVI’s 60. Add the meltemi, which blows through July and August, and this becomes a sailing holiday rather than a floating one. Worth it — but know which you are buying.
Season May to October, the wind peaks in July and August · Under way about 243 nm across the week
Croatia
The Dalmatian islands sit in channels that stay sheltered, the marinas are close together, and the towns — Hvar, Korcula, Dubrovnik — start where the passerelle ends. It is the Mediterranean option that asks least of you, and the one to pick when history and evenings ashore matter as much as the swimming.
Season May to October · Under way about 142 nm across the week
Italy, Turkey and the French Riviera
Amalfi, Sardinia, Sicily, the Turkish coast and the Riviera are coastal cruising rather than island hopping: you follow a shoreline, and the sea is the way between towns, ruins and dinner. Mileage varies more than anywhere else on this page — from 88 nautical miles along the Amalfi Coast to 225 on the Riviera.
Season April to October · Under way 88 to 225 nm, depending on the coast
Mediterranean charter yachts
ENDLESS SUMMER
SBK
AMBER ONE
EVEREAST
ALTEYA
ZEUS
ANKA
ALE II
PRINCESS KARLA
IRAMA
AGATA BLU
EXPLORION
Choose by what matters most to you
| The shortest possible travel day | US Virgin Islands Direct flights, and no passport for US citizens |
| Someone in the group is nervous about open water | British Virgin Islands You are inside a sheltered channel nearly the whole week |
| Small children on board | British Virgin Islands Short hops, calm anchorages, everything within an hour |
| You want anchorages with nobody else in them | the Exumas or the Grenadines Both trade convenience for emptiness |
| Dinner reservations matter as much as the snorkelling | St Martin and St Barts The one Caribbean week people dress for |
| You are travelling in July or August | Greece or Croatia Caribbean charter season is over. This is Mediterranean summer |
| First time, in July or August, and you want it calm | the Ionian or Croatia The Cyclades get the meltemi. Ask us to route you around it |
| History and towns, not just beaches | Croatia You step off the yacht straight into a walled old town |
| A large group or two families together | Turkey or Croatia The widest choice of yachts that sleep a large group comfortably |
| Christmas or New Year | the Caribbean, and book early Holiday weeks run to fixed dates and a seven-night minimum |
Five things first-timers get wrong
Planning too many miles
A classic BVI week covers 60 nautical miles. A Cyclades week covers 243. Neither is wrong, but they are completely different holidays, and people routinely pick the second while imagining the first.
Leaving the holiday weeks too late
Christmas, New Year and the February school weeks are the first to go, they run to fixed dates, and they carry a seven-night minimum.
Comparing a Caribbean rate with a Mediterranean one
A Caribbean all-inclusive rate is the whole cost of the week. A Mediterranean rate is the base only, before VAT and before an APA of 25 to 40 per cent.
Choosing the yacht before the cruising ground
A catamaran that is perfect in the Exumas may be the wrong boat off the Amalfi Coast. Destination first, then the yacht that suits it.
Being polite with the preference sheet
The form asking about allergies, coffee, drinks and how you like your days is not a formality. The crew shops to it before you land. Vague answers produce a vague week.
Week-by-week itineraries
Athens to Athens: Cyclades Itinerary with Mykonos and Paros
Athens to Athens: Saronic Gulf Itinerary
Athens to Athens: The Volcanic Soul of the Cyclades
Belize City to Belize City: Central & Southern Itinerary
Belize City to Belize City: Central, Glover’s & Southern Itinerary
Belize City to Belize City: North & Central Itinerary
Belize City to Belize City: North & Central Itinerary, 4 or 5 Nights
Belize City to Belize City: Northern Itinerary, 4 or 5 Nights
Belize City to Placencia: Southern Itinerary, 4 or 5 Nights
Belize City to San Pedro: Northern Itinerary, 4 or 5 Nights
Lefkas to Lefkas: Ionian Islands Itinerary
Monaco to Monaco: French Riviera Yacht Charter Itinerary
Naples to Naples: Amalfi Coast Itinerary with Ravello
Naples to Naples: Amalfi Coast Itinerary with Sorrento
Nassau to Nassau: Bahamas Yacht Charter Itinerary
Olbia to Olbia: Sardinia Yacht Charter Itinerary
Palermo to Palermo: Sicily & Aeolian Archipelago Itinerary
Split to Split: Croatia Yacht Charter Itinerary
Tortola to Tortola: BVI Yacht Charter Itinerary
Questions we are asked first
None. On a crewed charter the captain sails the yacht and the chef cooks. Your only job is to say what kind of day you want.
A week is the standard charter and it is enough. Ten days lets you go further without rushing; anything under five nights starts to feel like travel rather than holiday.
The same water, a different travel day. The USVI wins on flights and, for US citizens, on paperwork. The BVI wins on the number and variety of anchorages. Many charters take in both.
For Christmas, New Year and the February school weeks, as far ahead as you reasonably can, because those weeks fill first. For the rest of the season there is usually more room, but the best crews go early.
In the Caribbean, an all-inclusive rate covers the crew, all meals, most drinks, fuel and the water toys, with dockage and premium wines settled at the end. In the Mediterranean the advertised figure is the base rate only.
The Advance Provisioning Allowance is a share of the base rate, paid up front, that the captain spends on your behalf on fuel, food, drinks and dockage. It is driven by fuel: a sailing catamaran sits nearer 25 per cent, a motor yacht nearer 40.
A catamaran gives you more deck and living space at anchor and sits flatter. A motor yacht gets you there faster and suits longer legs. For a first charter in the Caribbean, most families end up on a catamaran.
In the sheltered Virgin Islands, rarely. The passages are short and you are in protected water. If it is a real worry, say so early, because it changes which cruising ground we recommend.
Tell us the week, we will tell you the destination
Send us your dates, how many of you there are and the ages of anyone under twelve. That is enough for us to say which of the two is the better week for your group, and to show you what is actually free on those dates.
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