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The catamaran charter pool has grown faster than any other charter segment in the last five years. There are now roughly 320 crewed catamarans on the 2026 charter calendar in the 18m to 45m band, split about 70 percent sail and 30 percent power. Weekly rates run $35K to $260K plus APA at 18 to 28 percent, plus 5 to 15 percent crew gratuity. The catamaran differentiator is structural, not aesthetic: draft at 1.2 to 2.0m unlocks an anchorage pool that 4 to 5m-draft monohulls cannot reach, the full-beam saloon and forward trampoline reshape the at-anchor day, and the flat-sailing platform changes the experience for any guest who has been seasick on a monohull. We covered 64 catamarans on the 2026 list and rank 12. Six are worth passing on by name.
How we ranked
We screened on 10 criteria with four catamaran-specific filters. First, draft: a draft over 2.5m collapses the catamaran-versus-monohull anchor differential, so we weight the sub-2.0m pool. Second, daggerboard or mini-keel configuration: daggerboards sail upwind, mini-keels do not, and the choice shifts the sailing-versus-stability tradeoff. Third, bridgedeck clearance and underwing slamming: a low bridgedeck on a 38m cat slams in 1.5m head sea and ruins the sleep cycle on a Bahamas-to-Bermuda passage. Fourth, crew interior: an owner-version catamaran with three guest cabins and a crew cabin in one hull is a different product than a four-cabin charter version with crew quarters in the bows, and the crew-quarters-in-the-bow design predicts the crew turnover rate.
No. I — Editor's Pick
[YACHT NAME — VERIFY: 38 to 45m Sunreef Power or Sunreef sail catamaran, 2022 or later build, 10 to 12 guests in 5 to 6 cabins, full Mediterranean and Caribbean 2026 calendar, weekly rate $180K to $240K low season]. Builder [VERIFY: Sunreef Yachts], year [VERIFY: 2022 or later], type [VERIFY: power or sail], LOA [VERIFY], beam [VERIFY: typically 11 to 13m at this length], draft [VERIFY: 1.5 to 2.0m]. Editor's Pick because the Sunreef post-2022 build at the 40m-plus band runs the cleanest combination on the catamaran charter pool: a beam of 12m or more delivers an interior volume that reads as a 55m-monohull saloon, the hybrid-diesel-electric drive on the post-2023 boats holds the at-anchor silent mode for 8 to 12 hours, and the dive-compressor-and-tender package matches a 50m motor yacht. Charter rate runs [VERIFY: $180K to $220K] low season and [VERIFY: $220K to $260K] peak July to August, plus APA at 22 percent.
Inquire via Y.CO | Inquire via Burgess
No. II — Runner-up (luxury sail catamaran flagship)
[YACHT NAME — VERIFY: 35 to 42m luxury sail catamaran, VPLP design or Sunreef sail line, 8 to 12 guests, 2026 Mediterranean and Caribbean calendar, weekly rate $130K to $200K]. A 35 to 42m sailing catamaran flagship at the sub-$200K low-season rate is the cleanest sub-Editor's-Pick booking on the list. The sailing performance line at 9 to 14 knots VMG depending on rig and conditions, the sub-2.0m draft, and the four to six cabin layout reads as the small-flagship sailing charter without the heeled-monohull experience. Book this for the family that wants a Caribbean Christmas with kids and grandparents on board and does not want anyone seasick on day one.
Inquire via Burgess | Inquire via Fraser
No. III — The Bahamas-and-BVI shallow-water pick
[YACHT NAME — VERIFY: 25 to 35m sail catamaran with draft under 1.5m, Bahamas or BVI 2026 dedicated calendar, 8 to 10 guests, weekly rate $55K to $110K]. The point of a catamaran in the Bahamas or BVI is the draft. A 1.2 to 1.5m draft puts you inside the Anegada lagoon, on the Exuma sandbars, into the lee of Norman Island at the lowest tides, and onto the Bimini cuts that a 4m monohull cannot enter. The 25 to 35m pool runs $55K to $110K per week, which is the cleanest single sub-$110K booking on the family-of-six charter list. Pair it with a Nassau or Miami repositioning embarkation.
Inquire via Northrop & Johnson | Inquire via Fraser
No. IV — The power-catamaran flagship pick
[YACHT NAME — VERIFY: 30 to 40m power catamaran, Silent Yachts or Sunreef Power, 2023 or later, 8 to 12 guests, hybrid or solar-electric drive, weekly rate $80K to $160K]. The power catamaran is the segment that has shifted hardest in the last three years. A Silent 80 or Sunreef 80 Power runs solar-and-diesel hybrid drive that holds the at-anchor silent mode for 12 to 24 hours, the full-beam interior at 11 to 13m beam, and the cruising-speed pattern at 9 to 12 knots that puts a Bahamas-to-Exumas leg inside a single morning. The trade-off versus the monohull motor yacht at the same price is top speed: a power cat runs 12 to 16 knots, not the 22 to 28 knots of a planing monohull. Decide if you need the speed before you book.
Inquire via Y.CO | Inquire via Northrop & Johnson
No. V — The Cyclades and Aegean pick
[YACHT NAME — VERIFY: 22 to 32m sail catamaran with Greek flag and full Greek cabotage clearance, Cyclades 2026 dedicated calendar, 8 to 10 guests, weekly rate $45K to $90K]. The Greek-flag catamaran on the Cyclades calendar is the cleanest single sub-$90K Mediterranean booking. The Cyclades Meltemi window from late June to early September runs 18 to 28 knots from the north, which is fast reaching on a catamaran and slow-and-heeled sailing on a monohull. The shallow draft opens the Antiparos-Despotiko anchorage, the Schinoussa cuts, and the Polyaigos coves. Greek-flag cabotage is non-negotiable on Greek waters; we will not list a non-Greek-flag yacht on a Greek itinerary.
Inquire via Camper & Nicholsons | Inquire via Northrop & Johnson
No. VI — The Croatia and Adriatic pick
[YACHT NAME — VERIFY: 22 to 32m sail catamaran with Croatian flag, Split-Hvar-Korčula-Dubrovnik 2026 dedicated calendar, 6 to 10 guests, weekly rate $40K to $80K]. Croatia is where catamarans outperform monohulls structurally: the Adriatic anchorages are protected, the islands are dense, the wind pattern is variable, and the catamaran's flat-and-stable platform plus full-beam interior reads as the better hotel for the price. Croatian-flag yachts get the local-operator advantage on customs and inter-island clearance. The trade-off is that the Croatian charter pool runs at a lower price-and-spec ceiling than the Med-wide pool; do not expect a 12-million-dollar Sunreef on the Croatian-flag list.
Inquire via Fraser | Inquire via Y.CO
No. VII — The performance-sailing catamaran pick
[YACHT NAME — VERIFY: 25 to 35m performance sail catamaran, Outremer, HH, or Gunboat line, 6 to 10 guests, Caribbean or Mediterranean 2026 calendar, weekly rate $50K to $120K]. Performance catamarans (Outremer, HH, Gunboat) sail at 12 to 18 knots VMG on a 15-knot trade wind and put a Bahamas-to-Turks-and-Caicos leg inside a daylight passage. The price band is fair given the build quality and the sailing line, but the interior layout reads as the sailing-priority booking, not the floating-hotel booking. Pass on this if your group wants a six-cabin owner's-suite layout. Book it if your group wants to actually sail the boat.
Inquire via Y.CO | Inquire via Fraser
No. VIII — The Lagoon Seventy family pick
[YACHT NAME — VERIFY: 21m Lagoon Seventy Sail or Power, 2021 or later, 8 to 10 guests in 4 to 5 cabins, Mediterranean or Caribbean calendar, weekly rate $35K to $70K]. The Lagoon Seventy at the 21m line is the volume play in the catamaran charter pool: a four-to-five-cabin layout, full-beam saloon, 1.4m draft, and a sub-$70K low-season rate that opens the catamaran charter market to first-time clients. It is not a flagship, the build spec sits below the Sunreef and HH lines, and the crew quarters are tight. But the price-per-cabin-per-night line is the cleanest entry to the crewed-cat pool, and a Lagoon Seventy with a strong chef and captain runs a clean charter week.
Inquire via Northrop & Johnson | Inquire via Camper & Nicholsons
No. IX — The Indian Ocean and Seychelles pick
[YACHT NAME — VERIFY: 25 to 35m sail catamaran with Seychelles or Maldives 2026 dedicated calendar, 6 to 10 guests, full dive-compressor package, weekly rate $55K to $120K]. The Indian Ocean catamaran charter pool is small (about 30 yachts on the 2026 list across Seychelles, Maldives, and Reunion combined). The yachts in this pool that we list run a Seychelles-flag or Maldives-flag operation with full local-operator clearance, a working dive compressor with twin tanks per guest, and a captain in third season or later on the Aldabra-and-Cosmoledo or Maldivian-atoll calendar. This is a dive-and-sail booking, not a hotel-on-water booking.
Inquire via Y.CO | Inquire via Burgess
No. X — The day-charter-flagship catamaran pick
[YACHT NAME — VERIFY: 22 to 30m luxury day-charter catamaran with Mykonos, Ibiza, St Tropez, or Cabo 2026 day-charter calendar, 8 to 12 guests for day, weekly rate not applicable, day rate $8K to $22K]. A different product from the weekly-charter cat: this is a 22 to 30m day-charter catamaran that sleeps no guests but runs the day-charter calendar at the Mediterranean Big Three (Mykonos, Ibiza, St Tropez) and Cabo San Lucas. Day rate $8K to $22K depending on base, season, and guest count. If you are staying at a hotel and want a flagship day-charter rather than a weekly booking, this is the right line.
Inquire via the day-charter index for your destination
No. XI — The 18 to 22m crewed-cat entry pick
[YACHT NAME — VERIFY: 18 to 22m sail catamaran, Bali, Lagoon, or Leopard with crew, Mediterranean or Caribbean 2026 calendar, 6 to 8 guests, weekly rate $18K to $35K]. The sub-$35K entry to the crewed-cat market. Three to four guest cabins, captain-and-chef-and-stewardess crew of three, full-beam saloon, and the 1.2 to 1.5m draft. The build spec is mid-market, not luxury; expect manufacturer-stock interior, not bespoke. The right booking for a couple, a small family, or a group of four on a one-week BVI or Croatia introductory cat charter.
Inquire via Northrop & Johnson | Inquire via Fraser
No. XII — The Pacific and French Polynesia pick
[YACHT NAME — VERIFY: 25 to 40m sail catamaran with Tahiti, Marquesas, or Tuamotus 2026 dedicated calendar, 8 to 12 guests, dive compressor, weekly rate $90K to $180K]. French Polynesia catamaran charter is logistics-heavy: the inter-island distances are 60 to 200 nautical miles, the swell pattern is open Pacific, and the customs clearance at Papeete adds a half-day to the embarkation. The catamarans on this calendar run Tahiti-flag or French-flag operations with the lagoon-anchorage pool that is the point of a Tuamotus week. The dive package is non-negotiable; if a Tuamotus operator does not run a working dive compressor, book another yacht.
Inquire via Y.CO | Inquire via Burgess
What we passed on
We covered 64 catamarans and rank 12. Six are worth naming.
[YACHT NAME — VERIFY: 30 to 40m sail catamaran with mini-keel and draft over 2.5m]. A 2.5m or deeper mini-keel collapses the structural advantage of the catamaran in the Bahamas-and-Anguilla anchor pool. If the draft is the same as a 40m sloop's centerboard-up position, book the sloop and get the sailing line. We pass.
[YACHT NAME — VERIFY: 25 to 32m sail catamaran with low bridgedeck clearance and reported underwing slamming complaints in last 18 months]. Underwing slamming in 1 to 2m head sea is the single most reliable predictor of a charter week the client describes as exhausting. The slamming wakes the master cabin at 3am and the kids' cabins at 6am. We pass.
[YACHT NAME — VERIFY: 22 to 28m sail catamaran with charter-version crew quarters in the bows]. Crew quarters in the bows on a 22 to 28m catamaran is structurally rough: the bow cabin slams hardest, the crew sleep is the worst on the yacht, and crew turnover follows. We will not put a client on a yacht with a 12-month-or-shorter crew tenure history. We pass.
[YACHT NAME — VERIFY: 35 to 45m power catamaran with diesel-only drive and no hybrid spec]. A 40m power catamaran in 2026 without a hybrid-electric drive runs 250 to 400 litres per hour at cruising speed and 60 to 100 litres per hour at anchor on generators. The post-2023 hybrid pool runs at 25 to 40 percent of that fuel use at anchor and is much quieter. We pass on the diesel-only pool and book the hybrid line.
[YACHT NAME — VERIFY: 30 to 40m sail catamaran with rigging refit before 2018 and no post-2018 sail-and-rig refresh]. Same rule as the sailing monohull pool: a pre-2018 rig on a charter yacht is the in-season-snap risk. We pass.
[YACHT NAME — VERIFY: 25 to 35m sail catamaran with past-client crew rating under 4 of 5 in last 18 months on chef or captain]. Catamaran crew rating below the 4-of-5 line on chef or captain over the past 18 months is the strongest single predictor of a poor week. The interior of a catamaran is so much smaller than the equivalent-price 50m motor yacht that a weak chef or unfriendly captain is felt every meal. We pass.
Catamaran charter, in plain English
The catamaran is not a smaller cheaper monohull. It is a different yacht with a different at-anchor pattern, a different sailing pattern, a different draft profile, and a different interior volume per dollar. The structural advantages are draft (1.2 to 2.0m on most catamarans versus 3.5 to 5.5m on the comparable monohull, which opens an anchorage pool the monohull cannot reach), flat-and-stable sailing platform (no heeling under sail, which matters for first-time sailing guests and for kids), and full-beam interior (a 40m catamaran has roughly the interior volume of a 55m monohull). The structural compromises are passage speed at the top end (catamarans plateau at 14 to 18 knots VMG sailing; a 50m motor yacht runs 22 to 28 knots planing), at-sea pitch in head sea over 2m (catamarans pitch faster than monohulls in steep head sea), and the price ceiling at the build-quality line (the very top-end catamaran pool is narrower than the very top-end monohull pool).
Book a catamaran for the Bahamas, BVI, Anguilla and the Tobago Cays, Croatia and the Cyclades, the Seychelles, and the Tuamotus. Book a monohull for the western Mediterranean (Cote d'Azur, Sardinia, Capri, Amalfi), the deep Caribbean passages (Antigua to St Maarten over open water), and Norway. The destination is the deciding factor more often than the budget.
How to think about size and budget
Catamaran charter at 18 to 22m runs $18K to $40K per week, at 22 to 28m runs $35K to $80K, at 28 to 35m runs $60K to $120K, at 35 to 42m runs $110K to $200K, and at 42m and up runs $180K to $260K. The Sunreef and HH flagship line at 42m and up tops out around $260K low season and $320K peak in 2026. The catamaran APA pattern runs at 18 to 24 percent (lower than monohulls because dockage and fuel use are lower), and crew gratuity at 10 to 15 percent.
FAQ
What does a catamaran charter cost all-in? A 7-day Mediterranean charter on a 35m sailing catamaran runs $180K to $260K all-in low season (weekly rate plus APA at 22 percent plus 12 percent gratuity plus extras) and $250K to $360K all-in peak July to August. A 25m sailing catamaran runs $75K to $130K all-in low season and $110K to $180K all-in peak. Add 15 to 25 percent for the December 20 to January 4 Caribbean window.
Sail or power catamaran? Sail for the sailing pattern itself, the lower fuel use, and the sub-$120K mid-market entry. Power for the at-anchor silent-mode hybrid pattern, the higher cruising speed, and the heavier tender-and-toy package. The power-cat segment is the faster-growing of the two and the post-2023 hybrid pool is genuinely competitive against motor yachts in the same band.
What about seasickness on a catamaran? Catamarans roll less than monohulls because they sit on two hulls instead of one and the metacentric width is broad. For first-time sailing guests, anyone prone to seasickness, and families with kids, the catamaran is the cleaner booking. In head sea over 2m, catamarans pitch faster than monohulls (a different motion); plan to time passages around the swell window or run the leeward route.
Can a catamaran sail upwind? Sailing catamarans with daggerboards sail upwind reasonably well (tacking angle 95 to 105 degrees). Mini-keel catamarans do not sail upwind well (tacking angle 110 to 130 degrees), and on a Mediterranean Meltemi or a Caribbean trade wind that runs steady from one direction the upwind line is rarely needed. The upwind question matters more on the Atlantic crossing than on a 7-day Caribbean or Med charter.
Catamaran or 50m monohull for the same money? At the $180K to $220K weekly line, a 40m flagship catamaran and a 45 to 50m motor monohull are direct competitors. The catamaran wins on interior volume, draft, and at-anchor stability. The monohull wins on top speed, top-end build spec, and the broader inventory pool. Book the catamaran for Bahamas, BVI, or Croatia. Book the monohull for the Cote d'Azur, Amalfi, or any itinerary with a long open-water leg.