Your First Superyacht Charter: Everything You Need to Know
A crewed superyacht charter is the most liberating form of travel. Here is how to do it properly for the first time.
Why Superyacht Charter is Different
No other form of travel offers the combination that a crewed superyacht charter provides: a private hotel that moves, a crew dedicated exclusively to your group, and an itinerary that exists on your terms. You wake up in a new anchorage every morning, swim off your own platform, and dine under stars with no other guests in sight. For those who have experienced it, it becomes a travel category impossible to abandon.
Understanding the Charter Agreement
The standard industry contract — the MYBA Charter Agreement — sets out your rights and obligations as charterer. The charter fee covers vessel use and crew. All additional expenses — fuel, provisioning, port fees, crew gratuity, and communication — are covered by the Advance Provisioning Allowance (APA), typically 30–35% of the charter fee deposited before departure. Unused APA is returned at trip end; overruns are settled at final accounting. On a 30-metre yacht at €100,000/week, budget approximately €30,000 in APA.
Selecting the Right Yacht
Yacht selection starts with guest count and then narrows by budget, aesthetic preference, and desired activities. Motor yachts offer speed, stability in open water, and typically superior interior volumes. Sailing yachts sacrifice some interior space and speed for a qualitatively different experience — quieter, more connected to the natural environment, and visually dramatic. Classic motor sailors blend both traditions. For Mediterranean coastal hopping, a yacht between 30–50 metres typically strikes the optimal balance between reach (ability to access shallow anchorages) and comfort.
The Mediterranean: Choosing Your Sea
The Western Mediterranean — French Riviera, Sardinia, Corsica, Balearics — offers glamour, excellent provisioning in major ports, and the social circus of Cannes, Monaco, and Ibiza if desired. The Eastern Mediterranean — Greece, Turkey, Croatia — delivers more raw natural beauty, superior snorkelling and diving, archaeological interest, and significantly lower costs. The Ionian Islands of Greece and the Dalmatian Coast of Croatia represent the best value propositions in European superyacht charter.
The Crew
A 30-metre motor yacht typically carries a crew of four to six: captain, first mate/deckhand, chef, and one or two stewardesses. The chef deserves particular attention in your pre-charter conversations — provisioning preferences, dietary restrictions, and food culture all determine how central the culinary experience will be to your charter. The finest charter chefs are talented professionals who maintain networks with local market suppliers in every port. Brief them well and they will define your charter.
Gratuity
Industry standard for crew gratuity is 10–15% of the base charter fee, distributed at the end of the charter. For exceptional service, 20% is appropriate. The crew will never mention this; it is the charterer's responsibility to initiate it.
Affiliate disclosure: charter bookings made through our partner links may generate commissions for Aurevia Escapes.