Chartering a private yacht is, for many, the pinnacle of luxury travel – and there’s no shortage of companies ready to make that dream a reality.
A sailing charter boat cruises the Caribbean waters (Photo: Chris via Flickr / CC BY 2.0)
With so many options out there, finding the perfect charter yacht can sometimes feel like an overwhelming endeavour. Fortunately, a wide range of trusted online platforms make it easy to search for your ideal vessel, right down to the very finest detail. If you’re curious about chartering but unsure where to begin, we’ve picked out two top resources that offer the uninitiated a great place to start.
Ritzy
(Photo: Ritzy Yachts)
Our top pick for crewed yacht charters, Ritzy has built an impressive global network since entering the market over a decade ago. The booking process is refreshingly simple: all you do is enter your trip details – such as guest numbers, travel dates, itinerary preferences, and special requests – and you’ll receive a tailored shortlist of available yachts. When we searched for charters worldwide, Ritzy offered a broad selection in popular yachting hotspots. On the French and Italian Rivieras alone, we found 38 vessels, including a 52ft catamaran for up to 12 guests starting at $9,800 per week. It should also be noted that Ritzy specialises exclusively in crewed yachts, with no bareboat options offered.
(Photo: Ritzy Yachts)
SamBoat
A market leader in peer-to-peer boat rentals, SamBoat make the rental process easy and intuitive. You simply search for your ideal boat according to price, size, dates of travel and other requirements, then when you’ve found an available vessel that fits the bill you send a booking request to the owner. If the request is accepted, you pay your rental online, with the amount deposited to the owner on the first day of your rental. When the day comes, you board the boat and make sure it corresponds to the descriptions before signing on the dotted line and embarking on your charter adventure. Availability was exceptional too: for example, in the Caribbean alone there were over 1,400 boats on offer when we searched, with options catering for every budget, taste and preference.