Yacht Charter Cost: How to Save Money on Your Sailing Holidays
A yacht charter cost may seem daunting, but there are actually many ways to save money and find affordable yacht holidays!
You may be wondering how much does it cost to charter a yacht ?
Can anyone have an exciting, exotic, fun, Instagram-worthy sailing holiday without breaking the bank with a high yacht charter cost?
The answer: absolutely. But wait—isn't yachting only for super-rich people?
Luckily, no. Affordable yacht charters are not a myth. You can find reasonable yacht charter prices that make amazing sailing holidays accessible to anyone! You just need to know how to find the best deals.
There are six main factors that affect the final yacht charter cost, and if you're savvy—you can save a lot of money!
Keep on reading: the differences between catamarans and monohulls
There are a number of things that come into play with yacht charter prices. But the good news is that many of these elements are things that you can work to your advantage!
If you're looking for affordable yacht holidays, the type of yacht you choose can determine how much you'll pay.
Sailing Yachts are typically cheaper than motorboats, and the type of sailboat you choose also matters. Monohulls are a much more cost-effective choice. At an average price of €400/day, versus the €750/day average price of a catamaran—you're looking at saving around €2,500 for a seven-day charter if you go with a monohull instead of a catamaran.
The bottom line: If you don't need high-end luxury finishes and a ton of space, opt for the monohull. You can still have fabulous and affordable yacht holidays with this classic sailboat design.
Keep on reading: The Differences Between Catamarans and Monohulls
While it may seem obvious that bigger boats will be more expensive, it is one of the best ways to save money on your yacht charter cost.
A 34/35 ft. boat might go for about €2,000/week, whereas a 40-footer might rent for about €3,200/week for the same dates.
So if you need 3 berths, you'll find a range of options between 34 ft. to 46 ft. They may all sleep the same number of people but have a different number of heads (bathrooms). By choosing the smaller length—just 5 ft. less—you can save around €1,000/week.
The bottom line: Many people overestimate how much space they really need. While a large kitchen and indoor living area may seem nice, you'll probably be spending the majority of your time outside! Also, remember when picking your yacht, what really counts is the number of berths and heads. Similar boats can have large rate differences depending on the length. If you're willing to sacrifice a few feet, you can save yourself a pretty penny.
Another seemingly simple tip, but be advised that newer boats are typically more expensive than older boats.
Rates tend to drop the older the boat gets. While younger yachts might be shinier and more modern, it's going to cost you. However, this is not the most important factor that goes into yacht charter prices.
The bottom line: If you don't need a fancy, state-of-the-art yacht, look for older, well-maintained boats that have lower rates. At Yacht4Less, however, we recommend renting a yacht not older than 5 years when possible, as older boats are more likely to have a mechanical issue due to normal wear and tear, no matter how well maintained they are.
If you can be flexible on the timing of your yacht charter, then you can save a lot of money on your yacht charter cost and have a much more affordable yacht holiday.
Because yacht charters are in much higher demand during summer months or periods of good weather, prices will spike dramatically during those times. For example, our sister company's 2015-built 40 ft. sailing yacht will cost about €1,700/week in the shoulder months of April and October. Then between July and August, the price increases to about €3,200/week, nearly doubling.
The bottom line: Book the shoulder season to save up to 50% and still get the best of your destination. Also, the rate changes depending on the season are on a spectrum. It's not just black and white, in-season prices or out-of-season. Oftentimes it's on a sliding scale, and just booking a week or two outside of the traditional high-season can save you money!
There are many different yacht charter types available—for example, bareboat, by-the-cabin, crewed, or skippered charter—and depending on your needs, you may be able to leverage that to find better yacht charter prices.
Bareboat and by-the-cabin are the most economical options. With crewed or skippered charters, you'll have to pay extra for the staff and their meals.
The bottom line: For experienced sailors, you can save money by being your own skipper! Miss out on the added fee of professional crew and be the chef and the captain during your charter. If you need sailing expertise, you can just hire a skipper instead of a full crew to save some money. That way you get the help you need without any extra frills.
If you are just a single traveler or a couple, you could consider a by-the-cabin charter, where you're effectively sharing the yacht.
If you go this route, you'll only have to pay for your share, similar to a hotel room. If you're a bigger group, consider asking friends or family members to join you; then you can split the costs even more.
Where you want to go can play a big role in the yacht charter cost. Usually, the closer the destination, the cheaper your airfare to get there will be. Don't pick far-off exotic locales if you're trying to stay on a tight budget.
You can also pick locations that have favorable exchange rates or lower costs in general.
Certain locations will have more opportunities to anchor for free in bays, coves, and other types of anchorages. For example, Greece has almost non-existent mooring fees while Italy and Croatia have more full-service marinas and will be more expensive.
The bottom line: Before booking, check with your charter consultant for an estimate for fuel, mooring fees, etc.
Or do your own research about the estimated cost of provisioning and dining out in a specific country. It can be a trade-off sometimes though.
For example, Mallorca often has cheaper flights but marinas and the cost of living there is more expensive than other locations. So make sure you weigh all the associated costs that you may encounter during your yacht charter to evaluate the true savings of one location versus another.
We at Yacht4Less are yachting lovers and long-time industry veterans. Here are our best tips to keep your yacht charter cost down and have affordable yacht holidays:
Whether it is Black Friday, Christmas, or New Year's, there are often discounts offered throughout the year, which you can access using our boat rental platform's online search engine. It may differ each year, depending on what our charter partners offer, but we make sure to inform clients accordingly.
The best way to learn about any available promotions is to sign up for our email list! Be the first to know about any special offers as soon as they're up for grabs.
Yacht4Less offers a number of other types of discounts as well.
If you're booking far in advance, you may qualify for Early-Booking discounts. On the other hand, if you're running late in booking, you might find some Last-Minute discounts.
These are great if you don't have a particular destination in mind, as charter companies usually offer last-minute deals on cancellations or surplus inventory.
There are also Long-Term Booking discounts, where 2-week charters usually get an additional 5% discount and more reductions can be offered on longer-duration charters.
Lastly, there's Loyalty discounts. Yacht4Less always offers the best deals possible for all customers, but repeaters and multi-repeaters get a little bit extra (reductions-wise or might get freebies such as a free SUP).
Other than the boat price, the overall charter price includes obligatory and optional extras. The cost of obligatory extras (i.e., end cleaning, transit log, local taxes, charter pack) may be different between two boats, even if it includes the same things.
Other items such as bed linen, towels, and outboard engine are sometimes included in the price and other times offered as optional extras at an additional cost.
When comparing two similar yachts/offers, you may be able to get more value by picking the boat that has more extras included and/or an overall lower cost of extras (obligatory and optional).
Avoid overnight moorings and free-swing in natural anchorages. In the BVI, a mooring ball may cost around $25 a day, which you can save by anchoring out.
Take advantage of your yacht's fully equipped kitchen and split your meals (have some on board, some at restaurants ashore). You can also save by having pre-dinner cocktails aboard instead of paying restaurants' high markups.
Invite friends to come with you and then split the cost! Oftentimes a larger and more luxurious boat is cheaper than a smaller and older one when shared with more friends. It's a win-win situation!
Now that we have a better idea about the factors that shape the boat rental prices around the globe as well as some extra tips to save even more money, it's time to have some inspiration. Where can you set sail from? What are the boat rental rates this season? All this and much more in our detailed country guides below:
Top Mediterranean destinations
Top Caribbean destinations
So, how much does a yacht charter cost?
The Answer?
Whatever your budget permits.
Overall it is very possible to have an affordable yacht holiday if you follow our advice to keep yacht charter costs down. All you need to do is pick the right boat, destination, charter type, time of year, and book with Yacht4Less for the best promotions and prices available!
Yacht4Less is dedicated to providing the highest quality, value, and price for your sailing holiday. We believe everyone should be able to have affordable yacht holidays and we offer luxury sailing experiences at the best possible prices.
If you are thinking about your next sailing adventure, we are happy to help you organise your yachting holiday.
We guarantee first-class customer service before, during and after the booking of your holiday!
