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FAQs


What about my sailing qualifications? Do I need any and which of them?

If you are not an inexperienced or first time sailor requiring a Skippered or a Fully Crewed Charter, but you look into a Bareboat charter, please keep in mind that sailing qualifications vary from sailing region to sailing region and from country to country. A general rule says that the Mediterranean Sea (Greece, Croatia, Turkey, Spain, Italy) requires at least a RYA Day Skipper license or an ICC (International Certificate of Competence) – sometimes requiring a VHF license as well (Croatia) – while the Caribbean, the Exotics and the Americas mainly require a competitive Sailing Resume instead, mainly for company Insurance reasons. In any case, please feel free to check with us prior to your booking, should you have any possible enquiries you would like us to assist you with.

Does Yacht4Less organise flights?

We do not organise or book flights, as we are not Tour Operators. We pride ourselves in successfully organising Yacht Charters, but we would be more than pleased to provide you with suggestions based on our personal experience or suggest you websites to facilitate your search.

What is the price inclusive of?

  1. Yacht and Crew (if chosen) fee for the contractual period.
  2. Any extras confirmed with Yacht4Less (payable in advance through invoice or on spot in cash at the base)

  3. Standard Navigation, Charter and Safety equipment. Within the additional equipment provided you should expect auxiliary equipment like dinghy, GPS, plotter, nautical charts, stereo and cockpit speakers, bed linen and towels (mainly provided, but there might sometimes be a local charge for this)

  4. Mooring fees of the first and last night in the pontoon.

Can I hire a skipper and/or a hostess?

A skipper or a hostess can be added to any bareboat or skippered charter. The skipper will mainly be responsible for the navigation of the boat, while the hostess will keep the communal areas of your yacht clean, prepare drinks and snacks, breakfast and/or lunch, but might also take care of the provisioning. The cost of a skipper varies between 150 – 200 EUR/day, while for the cost of a hostess you should expect 100 – 150 EUR/day. You should also consider that each crew member requires its own cabin + food.

Do you organise Airport transfers?

Airport transfers are not included in the charter fee, but we will be happy to order and organise a One Way or Round Trip transfer for you based on your flight arrangements. We would however like to reassure you that all charter destinations are served by Airports with taxi ranks, so it should be really easy for you to grab a taxi on spot and make your own way to the marina.

Boat Insurance or Security Deposit vs. Damage Waiver.

You can either pay a non-refundable damage waiver and go for a reduced security deposit, or choose to go for a full Security Deposit option. This decision might be based on your experience you possess and confidence. Instead of buying a damage waiver option from the yacht management or yacht owning company, you can also insure your full security deposit using an external insurance company. We will be happy to provide you with suggestions and advice on this topic.

What time should/can I get on board? Can I embark earlier or disembark later than the contractual time?

In the East and West Mediterranean, embarkation is from 17:00 hrs onwards on the first day and disembarkation is around 09:00hrs on the day of the disembarkation. This time schedule gives the base staff sufficient time to prepare, inspect and clean the on back to back bookings. It is sometimes possible to board earlier (either by paying for it or by negotiating it with the base manager on spot or with us in advance if your yacht is ready but this is something that cannot be guaranteed in advance, as it might be subject to the previous client’s returning conditions of the boat.

In the Exotics, the Caribbean and the Americas, charters usually start from 12:00 noon or might offer an embarkation, check in and sleepaboard around 5 PM on the first day and a departure early in the morning of the following day. Some fleet operators use Mediterranean check in/out times. Please be sure that the contractual times on your contract will be the ones to reflect the correct embarkation/disembarkation timings.

Do I pay for Consumables like Water & Fuel and how much should I expect to pay?

This is a really simple process. The yacht will be delivered to you with full water and fuel tanks and will have to be returned to the marina upon check out with filled tanks as well.  Some operators, undertake the responsibility to fill the tanks for you at the end of the charter at an extra cost.

The cost of the Consumables cannot be estimated in advance, as it really depends on the use that passengers make, but is also subject to the prices locally.

Is Yacht4Less ATOL or ABTA protected?

No, for the simple following reason. ATOL and ABTA memberships/protections exclusively apply on Travel Agents or Tour Operators only. Yacht4Less specialises in Yacht Charters and if for any reason you should be worried about the security of your charter payments, then we would recommend that you pay by debit or credit card (VISA, MASTERCARD or AMEX), which all offer you full protection under the clause of non-provisioning of paid goods.

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