The BVI Catamaran Charter Playbook

That was a group boat, and it was a good day. It also showed me how different a day on the water feels depending on who else is aboard. A private week gives you that same water with only your people on the boat, and a captain who plans around you instead of a timetable.

This playbook is everything I’d tell you on our first call. How the week works, what’s included, what it costs, when to go, and what to ask before you sign anything. Read it once and you’ll know more than most people do when they book.

What a crewed week actually is

A crewed catamaran charter is a week on a yacht that’s yours alone, with a licensed captain and a chef aboard. The captain sails, anchors, and plans each day around the wind. The chef cooks every meal. You can help with the lines if you want to. You never have to touch one.

Will I get seasick? A catamaran rides on two hulls, so it rolls far less than a single-hull sailboat. Most hops between islands here are short, often an hour or two, inside the sheltered Sir Francis Drake Channel. If you’re prone to motion sickness, talk to your doctor before you travel.

Do we need sailing experience? No. That’s the difference between crewed and bareboat. On a bareboat charter you’re the captain. On a crewed charter you’re the guest.

How many people fit? Most crewed catamarans in the BVI have three to five guest cabins and sleep six to ten people. Couples charter whole boats too. They just pay more per person. Bigger groups usually sail two catamarans together.

Will we have privacy? The boat is yours for the week, so nobody aboard is a stranger. Each couple can have their own cabin when the boat fits your group, and you set the pace of every day.

A sample seven nights

This is the route I’d sketch for a first BVI week. The captain adjusts the order around wind and weather, so treat it as the shape of the week, not a schedule.

• Arrival, Tortola. The crew meets you at the dock and your bags go below. The first swim happens off the back step, before anyone unpacks.
• Day 1, Norman Island. Snorkel The Caves at the western tip, then spend the night in The Bight right next door.
• Day 2, Virgin Gorda. Get to The Baths early, before the day boats arrive. You wade and climb between granite boulders the size of houses.
• Day 3, North Sound. Wide, calm water ringed by islands. Paddleboards off the stern at sunrise.
• Day 4, Anegada. Flat coral, long empty beaches, shallow reef water, and lobster grilled on the sand.
• Day 5, Jost Van Dyke. White Bay and the Bubbly Pool, where waves spill over the rocks into a natural pool. This is the day I’ve done myself.
• Day 6, Sandy Spit. A tiny ring of white sand with a few palms. Last night aboard nearby, dinner on deck.
• Last morning. Breakfast, one more swim, and the crew walks you back to the dock on Tortola.

What’s included, and what isn’t

Many crewed catamarans in the BVI are all-inclusive, which means one fixed price for the boat, the crew, and almost everything you’ll eat and drink. That’s different from the Mediterranean, where an advance provisioning allowance of 25 to 35 percent gets added on top. Usually in the rate: the yacht, the captain, and the chef; every meal and snack aboard; a standard bar; fuel for a normal BVI route; water toys like paddleboards and snorkel gear. Usually extra: crew gratuity; flights; meals and drinks ashore; premium wines or spirits; marina dockage and outside excursions. Taxes and mooring fees vary by yacht. I confirm exactly what’s in the rate for the boat you choose before you sign.

What it costs per person

A crewed all-inclusive catamaran in the BVI commonly starts around $600 per person per day with six or more guests. That’s roughly $4,200 per person for the week. Smaller groups pay more per person because fewer people share the yacht rate. Here’s the math on a purely illustrative example, not a quote: a $40,000 weekly boat rate split eight ways is $5,000 per person. Add an 18 percent crew gratuity and you’re at $5,900 per person before flights and extras. Now run the same full math against a resort week. Price the boat per person as above, then price a comparable 5-star resort week with its room, meals, drinks, watersports, excursions, and transfers added in. Compare the two totals for your dates and group size. The boat gives you a different anchorage every night, which no resort can match. Gratuity math at 15, 18, and 20 percent (the same formula works on any base rate): $25,000 base is $3,750 / $4,500 / $5,000. $35,000 base is $5,250 / $6,300 / $7,000. $50,000 base is $7,500 / $9,000 / $10,000. The gratuity is customary in the Caribbean, figured on the base fee only, and always at your discretion. It’s usually handed to the captain on the last evening and shared with the crew.

When to go

December to April. High season. Dry, with steady trade winds around 15 to 20 knots through winter. Busiest. Christmas to New Year is the most requested week of the year. April to June, and November. Shoulder season. Lighter breezes and settled weather. Fewer boats around you. June to November. Hurricane season, peaking August through October. Many crewed yachts leave the region or haul out.

How far ahead to book, and how the money works

For December through April, six to twelve months ahead is the usual guidance. Christmas and New Year run twelve to eighteen months out, and the most requested boats are gone before the previous season ends. Shoulder months can work with three to six months’ notice. Groups needing five cabins should start nine to twelve months out, because that fleet is smaller. Caribbean crewed charters are usually booked on a written charter contract, often the CYBA contract. A common schedule is 50 percent at signing and the balance about 60 days before you board. The money is typically held by the yacht’s central agent, who releases it under the contract’s terms. The yacht owner’s insurance doesn’t cover your cancellation. Charter cancellation insurance commonly costs about 3 to 7 percent of the charter fee, and hurricane claims usually depend on when the storm was named. Cover bought after a storm is named won’t cover that storm. That’s why I bring it up the day you book, not later. Terms vary by yacht and by broker. I go through the exact contract, payment schedule, and cancellation terms with you before you sign.

Choosing the right boat and crew

The boat matters. The crew matters more, because they’re the ones you’ll see every day. Here’s what I look at first. Cabins matched to your group, so nobody ends up on a convertible settee. For two, a smaller catamaran, or inviting another couple to share the yacht rate. A crew whose cooking and pace fit how you like to spend a day. For groups over ten, two boats sailing side by side. Five questions to ask before you sign. Does every cabin have its own bathroom? What’s on the standard bar, and what costs extra? Who holds my deposit, and what happens if a hurricane threatens our week? How long have this captain and chef sailed together? Can the menu be planned around our allergies and the way we eat?

Getting there

The main BVI airport is Terrance B. Lettsome International (EIS) on Beef Island, connected to Tortola by a bridge, so most charters board a short drive away. Many guests connect through San Juan or St. Thomas, with a ferry or water taxi from St. Thomas. US citizens need a valid passport. I check flight schedules and entry rules for your exact dates, because both change.

How I plan it

I’m a certified British Virgin Islands Specialist through the British Virgin Islands Tourist Board, and I plan each charter myself from Sioux Falls. I book through established charter fleets and crewed-yacht brokers I trust. Here’s how it goes.

• A 30-minute call about who's coming, what the week is for, and how you like to spend a day.
• I shortlist boats and crews that fit, with the real per-person cost for each.
• We walk through the contract, the payment schedule, and cancellation cover together before you sign.
• I handle the rest, from arrival logistics to the preference sheet the chef plans your menu from.