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A first-time yacht charter for a 6-night or 7-night week at the $50,000 to $500,000 weekly rate band is not a complicated transaction. It is a sequence of eight decisions, made in order, on a timeline that begins roughly 10 to 12 months before the charter week and ends with a 10% gratuity envelope handed to the captain on the last morning. The most common mistakes are pre-decision rather than mid-charter. Choosing the wrong broker, the wrong yacht size, the wrong destination, or the wrong week. Get the first decisions right and the trip works.
This guide is the playbook we hand to readers who are chartering for the first time. It assumes you are booking a crewed motor or sailing yacht at the Mediterranean or Caribbean rate band, not a bareboat catamaran in the BVI or a $5,000 day rental. For day charters the structure is different and the playbook is the day charter pillar instead.
Step 1: decide on the trip shape
Four numbers settle the rest of the decision tree. Region, season, party size, and trip length.
Region picks the season. The Mediterranean charter season runs May to October, with peak July and August and shoulder May, June, September, and October. The Caribbean runs December to April, with peak the Christmas-New Year weeks and shoulder January, February, March, and early April. May and November are repositioning weeks and the inventory is thin. If you can only travel in mid-November, you are looking at the early Caribbean season or one of the relatively few year-round Asian and Pacific charter grounds.
Season inside the region picks the rate band. Peak August on the Côte d'Azur is roughly 35 to 50% above shoulder September on the same yacht. Christmas week in St Barths is roughly 60 to 100% above the rest of January. If you have flexibility, shoulder weeks at peak destinations cost the same as peak weeks at quieter destinations, and the trip is materially better.
Party size picks the yacht. Six guests in three cabins, eight in four, ten in five, twelve in six. The MCA commercial certification caps a charter yacht at 12 sleeping guests above 24m LOA. Squeezing 14 onto a 12-cabin yacht is not a thing. If your group is 13 to 18, you are looking at a 50m+ yacht with a private supplementary charter or you are splitting the party.
Trip length is typically 6 or 7 nights. Some operators do shorter mid-week or weekend slots, particularly in the Caribbean. The shorter trips are not proportionally cheaper. A 4-night trip is typically 65 to 75% of the 7-night rate, not 57%.
Step 2: pick a broker before you pick a yacht
This is the single most important decision in a first-time charter and it gets made too late. The broker is the layer between you and the owner. The broker chooses which yachts to show you, frames the comparison, negotiates the rate, drafts the contract, and runs the post-booking communication. A good broker saves you money, time, and the wrong yacht. A bad broker does the opposite.
Use independent reviews to choose, not the broker's own marketing. Our Burgess review, Edmiston review, Camper and Nicholsons review, and IYC review cover the four largest brokers by inventory. The how to compare charter brokers page walks through the rubric.
A working rule for the broker call: a good broker asks you about the trip shape first, asks about the budget second, and sends a shortlist of 5 to 8 yachts third. A broker who sends a 40-page catalogue without the first two questions is doing the lazy version of the job.
Step 3: set the budget honestly
The headline weekly rate is the start, not the finish. The structural add-ons in a Mediterranean or Caribbean charter:
| Cost item | Typical amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Weekly charter rate | $50,000 to $2,000,000 | Headline number, peak vs shoulder swing |
| APA (Advance Provisioning Allowance) | 25 to 35% of rate | Fuel, food, dock fees, comms |
| VAT | 0 to 22% | Where applicable, Med-side mostly |
| Gratuity | 5 to 15% of rate | At trip end, by region and service |
| Travel insurance | 1 to 4% of total | Recommended, not required |
| Pre and post-charter hotels | $2,000 to $20,000 | Often a day either side |
A $200,000 weekly rate Mediterranean motor yacht with French VAT at 20% on the time the yacht is in French waters, APA at 30%, and a 10% gratuity ends up around $320,000 to $360,000 all-in for the week. The 60 to 80% step-up from the headline rate is the part most first-time charterers underestimate.
For a deeper breakdown by region read the Mediterranean charter cost guide and the Caribbean charter cost guide.
Step 4: build a shortlist of 5 to 8 yachts
Your broker sends a shortlist. You read each preference sheet. You narrow to 2 or 3 yachts and request a video walkthrough or, where you are within travel distance, an in-person viewing during shipyard week or a repositioning slot. Yacht inspections at the dock take 90 minutes to 2 hours per yacht.
The variables that matter on the shortlist:
The captain and crew. Tenure on board. Captain's MCA classification. Chef training. Chief stew's longevity. Crew turnover in the last 12 months. Crew turnover above 25% in a year is a signal to look harder.
The hull and the refit history. Year built, year of last refit, what the refit covered. A 2010 hull with a 2023 full refit is a different yacht from a 2010 hull with a "recent refit" the broker cannot date.
The layout. Master cabin position, balance of double versus twin cabins, whether the layout suits your party. Two doubles and two twins fits four adults and four children. Four doubles fits four adult couples. Mixing the two does not always work.
The amenity stack. Tender count and size, water sports, beach club, helipad if relevant, stabilisers at anchor. Stabilisers at anchor are the single biggest comfort variable on a charter week.
Itinerary range. The captain knows the cruising ground. Ask which anchorages the yacht runs comfortably and which are too deep, too tight, or too far for the planned itinerary. A 45m yacht does not slip into every Cretan cove.
Step 5: run reference checks on the captain and crew
Brokers do not always volunteer this. Ask. Request the captain's CV, the chief stew's tenure, and feedback from the last 2 to 3 charter weeks. Most brokers will share anonymised guest feedback. Some will arrange a brief call between you and the captain before signing. Burgess does this routinely. Smaller brokers do it on request.
Two patterns to mark down. A captain who has been on the yacht less than 9 months. Crew turnover above 25% in the previous 12 months. Both are signals of an owner-side problem or a captain-side problem, and either way the charter week is less likely to land well.
Step 6: read the MYBA charter contract
The MYBA charter agreement is the industry standard contract for crewed yacht charters. Eight to fourteen pages depending on the version. The standard 2022 MYBA agreement is the version most brokers use as of 2026.
The clauses you need to understand line by line:
APA, the percentage and how it reconciles at trip end.
Cancellation. Typically 50% on signature, 50% balance 60 days before the charter, with refund tiers that decline as the date approaches.
Force majeure. What triggers it, what the refund treatment is, whether the broker carries cancellation insurance in the bundle.
Delivery and redelivery. Where the yacht is delivered, where it is redelivered, what happens if the captain decides to reposition for weather.
Fuel reconciliation. Is fuel inclusive or APA-funded. Most charters run fuel through APA.
The full clause-by-clause walk-through is on the read a MYBA charter contract page.
Step 7: pay the deposit and finalise the preference sheet
The deposit is typically 50% on signature, 50% balance 60 days before the charter. Wire transfer, broker's escrow account. The preference sheet is the document that drives provisioning and crew preparation. It covers:
Food and drink preferences. Allergies and dietary requirements. The chef plans the week from this. Be specific. "We don't eat red meat" is fine. "We don't eat much red meat but Friday night is open" is better.
Sleeping arrangement. Which cabins to which guests, infant cribs, additional bedding.
Any non-standard requests. Vendor deliveries to the yacht, a particular wine the chef should source, a birthday cake, a fishing day.
The preference sheet goes to the captain and chief stew 2 to 3 weeks before the charter. Late preference sheets are the single biggest cause of avoidable charter friction. Send it early.
Step 8: plan the itinerary with the captain
Two to three weeks before the charter, send the captain a draft itinerary. The captain refines it. The captain knows the anchorages, the wind direction in late August, the day Saint-Tropez is impossible because of the boat show, and the bay that is empty on Tuesdays because the day-boats are off. Let him do the work.
A reasonable Mediterranean itinerary covers 4 to 6 anchorages in a week, with 2 to 4 hours of cruising per day. Caribbean itineraries are tighter on distance and looser on schedule. Norway and Alaska itineraries are different again. The captain is the right co-author.
What to do on the day of departure
Boarding is usually mid-afternoon. Lunch is typically the first meal. The safety briefing happens in the saloon or on the main deck within 30 minutes of departure. Tip envelopes are not the day-of-departure conversation. The captain handles the introductions, the chef introduces the kitchen, the chief stew runs the cabin walkthrough.
What to do at the end of the charter
The gratuity is handled at the end. Standard band is 5 to 15% of the charter fee, region and service-dependent. The MYBA-recommended 10 to 15% is the right benchmark for a good week. The envelope or wire goes to the captain, who distributes among the crew. The tip yacht crew page covers the band-by-region and the mechanics.
A short thank-you note to the broker is the right post-charter cadence. The broker remembers a thank-you note for the next booking.
What can go wrong, and how to handle it
A generator failure mid-charter is the test case. A well-run yacht has redundancy. The captain swaps generators. The day continues. If the failure cascades to AC failure for 6+ hours, the broker negotiates a partial refund. This is in the MYBA contract under "loss of major equipment."
A weather day. The captain repositions to a sheltered anchorage. The itinerary shifts. There is no refund for ordinary bad weather. Bring a book.
A crew issue. A chef who cannot deliver, a stew who is rude, a captain who is short with the children. Email the broker immediately. The broker calls the owner. In serious cases the owner swaps crew at the next port. This is rare but not unheard of.
A medical issue. The yacht has basic medical kit and the captain has medical training. Serious cases are tendered to shore. The yacht's MCA certification specifies the medical equipment carried.
FAQ
How far ahead should I book a charter? Six to twelve months for peak season, three to six months for shoulder, and as little as four weeks for unusual availability windows. Popular yachts in peak August or peak holiday week in the Caribbean book 12 to 18 months out.
What does a yacht charter actually cost? Headline weekly rate plus APA at typically 25 to 35% of the rate, plus VAT where applicable, plus gratuity at 5 to 15% at trip end. A $200,000 weekly rate yacht in the Mediterranean costs around $315,000 to $360,000 all-in for the week.
Do I need a broker? For a first-time charter at any meaningful rate, yes. Brokers do not charge the charter client. They are paid commission by the owner. A good broker is the single largest factor in a successful first-time charter.
What if the weather is bad? The charter does not stop. The captain repositions the yacht to sheltered anchorages and adjusts the itinerary. The MYBA contract does not refund charter fees for ordinary bad weather. Force majeure clauses cover extreme events.
Can I bring my own chef or staff? No. The crew on the yacht is the crew. Bringing outside staff onto a commercially classified charter yacht violates the operating certificate. The chef on board is the chef for the week.
Where should I charter for my first time? Mediterranean if you are travelling May to October, Caribbean if December to April. For first-time charters, we recommend Sardinia, the Greek Cyclades, or the BVI. All three have strong charter infrastructure, captains used to first-time clients, and well-understood cruising grounds. The choose charter destination page walks through the regions in more detail.
Last updated: 2026-05