Bareboat Yacht Charter
About Bareboat Charter - Sailboats, Catamarans and Motor Yachts
What is Bareboating? | Types of Bareboats | Bareboat Charters through Boatbookings.com | Successful Bareboat Charters | Choosing your Destination | Our Bareboat Charter yachts
(Looking for a Crewed Charter? Click here)
What is Bareboating?
A "Bareboat" is a charter where you take full responsibility for all aspects of the boat and journey: navigation, sailing, mooring, motoring, cooking, cleaning etc. It is similar to renting an apartment, except you can take it wherever you want (within the limits of your contract and navigable waters). Bareboats offer tremendous freedom, self-dependence, and accomplishment, and you don’t have to worry if you “get along” with your skipper (or tip him!).
Bareboating requires responsibility to go along with all that freedom - one of the members must be an experienced sailor or motor boat captain. Bareboat rentals also require that everyone on board take at least some responsibility for the itinerary and safety of the group, and "pitch in" so that the charter experience is one of teamwork. The skipper should not only know how to manage the boat, but also how to organise and manage the "crew" as well, especially on a sail boat.
Bareboat with Skipper - the best of both worlds?
Virtually any time you charter a bareboat, you have the option of adding a qualified skipper who will take the responsibility for sailing/motoring the boat, but still give you the feeling of having your own boat. They will normally want you to help them raise the sails, trim the jib, drop anchor, etc, and you can take the helm whenever you like (just put a beer in the skipper's hand, that normally works).
A skippered bareboat is far less expensive than a crewed yacht, but the stress of navigating through coral, determining your course, and knowing the inside information about the area is removed. Your liability is also less, because the skipper takes responsibility for the boat. If this sounds like the type of charter you want, just let us know and we'll find a qualified skipper for your next bareboat charter.
Types of Bareboats
While bareboat technically refers to anyboat that can be chartered without a skipper or crew, typically bareboating refers to sailboats or catamarans. While the majority of our bareboats are sailboats, we do have a good number of motor boats that can be chartered without crew. If you are looking for a bareboat motorboat, generally speaking you will need to have a valid license for the yacht. If you would like to see our boats worldwide in each of these categories, just click on the links below.
Bareboat Monohull Sailboats. The classic bareboat charter, monohull sailboats give you performance, freedom and the true feeling of sailing. There are thousands of bareboat sailboats worldwide, ranging from 30 to 50 feet and from 1-5 cabins. If you want the enjoyment of pure sailing, and have experienced sailors aboard, we'd generally recommend a monohull sailboat.
Click here for a complete listing of our bareboat sailboats.
Bareboat Catamarans. Catamarans are one of the fastest growing areas of the charter business because they deliver great comfort and privacy, while providing a lot of communal areas to better enjoy your group. They don't heel ("tip") like a monohull, providing for a more stable feeling on the boat.
If you're a party of several couples or a family, with several inexperienced sailors, we'd normally recommend a catamaran. Note, catamarans are generally more expensive per person than a monohull, because there is more boat.
Click here for a complete listing of our bareboat catamarans.
Bareboat Motor Yachts. If you want a fun day out, desire speed, have a lot of places to see, or just need to get somewhere, a bareboat Motor Boat is right for you. It is possible to charter bareboat Power Boats for multiple days, but typically they are chartered for a day, require a large deposit and certification, and are rarely over 40 feet. Most owners of power boats will not allow their million dollar yachts to be taken out by strangers, and in fact are often prevented by insurance restrictions from doing so. But never fear - there are boats available - click here for our listing of bareboat motor yachts.
Bareboat Charter through Boatbookings.com
bareboat yachts available for charter in hundreds of ports around the world. We believe there is no better holiday you can find if you want to be on the water, go at your own pace, learn, and feel a sense of accomplishment at the end of your holiday.Boatbookings.com acts as your agent for bareboat chartering - we're on your side! We look at your needs, recommend the right boats, and you pay the same price as if you'd gone direct. Most importantly, wherever possible we have inspected the boats that we recommend, so there are no surprises when you show up for your charter.
The process of chartering is straightforward, especially if you'll allow us to guide you through it.
1. Just fill out our Charter Request Form, giving us as much information as possible about your needs, likes and dislikes, and we'll provide a list of boats that we feel best suit you.
2. If you want to look through our boats yourself, just click here and we'll show you all the bareboat charters we offer, worldwide. You can sort them by location, type, price, cabins etc to narrow down the selection. Then simply make an enquiry on that boat. Note that charters vary dramatically in terms of quality and focus, and at some point we highly recommend that you allow us to advise you on which is best.
Successful Bareboat Charters
Bareboats do best when it is clear that a single person is in charge, but that everyone has at least some role in the team. This can vary from hoisting sails to dropping anchor to cleaning or cooking (or rotating these chores), but a true team puts less strain on the skipper and has a better sense of shared accomplishment. Buying crew t-shirts or baseball hats prior to departure is a great way of building a sense of team with everyone.
A successful bareboat charter begins long before you arrive at the dock. The entire team should have a very clear idea of what they're getting into. We highly recommend that you do the following before you book your bareboat charter:
-
Clearly communicate to all involved what will be expected of them
Plan an itinerary that is not overly aggressive unless everyone is experienced sailors (remember, many in the party probably want to return refreshed and relaxed, not stressed from oversailing).
Have a group meeting and walk them through the itinerary, what they can expect to be doing each day, and how much sailing/motoring will be involved.
Get agreement from everyone that they are approve of the itinerary, and that they'll not be upset if they can't sit on the beach reading a book every day
If time permits, ask the non experienced boat people to take a sailing course - they'll enjoy the trip much more if they know the difference between a sheet and a halyard!
If your group is keen to sail and has basic experience but are a bit apprehensive, it is normally possible to arrange for a skipper for a day or two while everyone gets used to the boat and each other. If you’re interested in a skipper for your boat, feel free to contact boatbookings.com and well arrange for one.
Bareboat Destinations
There are hundreds of great bareboat destinations around the world. The ones we recommend most often are the British Virgin Islands (BVI), St. Vincent and the Grenadines, French Riviera, Mallorca, Croatia, Greece and Italy (Sicily, Sardinia, Naples and Tuscany), Thailand and the South Pacific . These all have ample boats, great sights, reliable winds, and a culture that is supportive and accepting of bareboating. Click here to for information about many of these destinations in separate articles. You will also find links to our boats in many of the most frequented areas directly below, or you can call us at any time for advice about destinations.
Our Bareboat Charter Yachts
Now the fun begins - selecting your bareboat charter yacht. All you have to do is contact us and we'll take it from there, or sort through the boats below in the area you're intending to charter and request a proposal for the boats that best meet your needs. We're happy to help!
| All Bareboats | ||
| All Sailing Bareboats | All Catamaran Bareboats | All Motor Bareboats |
| Bareboat Caribbean | Bareboat Mediterranean | Bareboat Rest of World |
| BVI Bareboats | France - French Riviera Bareboats | Thailand Bareboats |
| St Vincent & Grenadines Bareboats | France - Corsica Bareboats | Indian Ocean Bareboats |
| St Martin Bareboats | Spain - Mallorca Bareboats | USA - New England Bareboats |
| Leeward Islands Bareboats | Spain - Ibiza Bareboats | USA - Mid Atlantic Bareboats |
| Windward Islands Bareboats | Italy - Sardinia Bareboats | |
| Italy - Naples Bareboats | ||
| Italy - Sicily Bareboats | ||
| Greece Bareboats | ||
| Croatia Bareboats | ||
