Question 1

How much does a crewed yacht charter in the Grenadines cost?

Accepted Answer

A crewed catamaran for eight runs roughly US$25,000 to US$55,000 a week, and the larger all-inclusive boats reach US$94,000. The resident fleet here is small, about fourteen boats, so the range is set by which owners chose the chain that season rather than by a deep market. Below roughly US$30,000 you are looking at smaller boats in the 40 to 50 foot range. The islands themselves barely add to it: access fees for a whole week come to about US$200 to US$350 for the group. We break the week down stop by stop in a week in the Grenadines. Send us your dates and group size and we will price the ...

Question 2

Can we get a discount on a crewed Grenadines charter?

Accepted Answer

Sometimes, and it depends on the week rather than on asking. Shoulder dates and late availability are where the movement is. Rates in the Grenadines are set by the owner and published through the central agent, so the same yacht costs the same wherever you enquire. What a broker can find is the boat with a gap to fill, a repositioning week, or an all-inclusive package that works out below an equivalent APA boat. Over Christmas, New Year and Easter there is no discount to find, because a fourteen-boat fleet sells out. Tell us your flexibility and we will tell you honestly where it is worth s...

Question 3

When is final payment due, and how does APA work in the Grenadines?

Accepted Answer

The balance is due about six weeks before you board, and the APA is normally 25 to 35 per cent of the charter fee, paid at the same time. APA is the Advance Provisioning Allowance: an onboard budget the captain spends on food, drink, fuel and the island fees, reconciled before you disembark with the unspent balance refunded. A number of the catamarans here run all-inclusive instead and carry no APA at all. Your agreement names the exact date. We tell you up front which model your yacht uses, because it changes what you hand over and what you are asked for on the day.

Question 4

Do we need travel or cancellation insurance for the Grenadines?

Accepted Answer

We strongly recommend it, and for a Caribbean charter in hurricane season we would not board without it. The charter fee is largely non-refundable once the contract is signed, so the risk you are covering is a flight failure, illness in the group, or a named storm. Look for a policy that covers the charter fee itself, not just flights and hotels, and buy it when you sign rather than later. The yacht carries its own liability and the crew are covered by the owner. What insurance protects is your money and your week.

Question 5

Why are Grenadines yacht prices shown without APA and taxes?

Accepted Answer

Because the yacht is the same for everyone and the spending is not. One group drinks champagne and dives every day; another snorkels and eats ashore. The published figure is the charter fee, which is the part that does not move. On top of it sit the APA where the yacht uses one, the national clearance and cruising charges, and the island access fees. Gratuity is separate again and discretionary. It is the industry convention rather than a quirk of ours, and we would rather quote you the whole committed number early than surprise you later. Ask us for the all-in figure for your dates and we ...

Question 6

Why does nobody in yachting accept credit cards?

Accepted Answer

Because the sums are too large for card processing to make sense, so charters are paid by bank transfer. A week in the Grenadines commonly runs between US$25,000 and US$94,000. Card fees on that are thousands of dollars, and the owner would simply add them to your price. Transfers also give both sides a clean record of what was paid and when. You pay in two steps, a deposit on signing and the balance about six weeks out, into the account named in your agreement. We walk you through it and confirm receipt at each stage.

Question 7

What happens if bad weather or a hurricane affects our charter?

Accepted Answer

Inside the December to May season the trade winds move the route, not the week. The captain reorders the stops and you keep sailing. The Grenadines sit at the bottom of the hurricane belt and the official season is June to November, which is why most crewed yachts leave the chain for it. If you charter in those months, a named storm is what your insurance is for and the contract sets out the owner's obligations. In practice the flexible days are the exposed ones: we build the Tobago Cays in as a weather-led day rather than a fixed one, so the crew takes you when the window is right.

Question 8

What do the Tobago Cays and Mustique actually charge a visiting yacht?

Accepted Answer

The Tobago Cays charge EC$15 per person and EC$60 per mooring, each per 24 hours. Mustique charges EC$200 to EC$1,000 by length, covering three nights. At the fixed rate of EC$2.70 to the US dollar, eight guests on a 60 foot catamaran spending one night at Mustique and two in the Cays pay about US$207 in total. Bequia, Mayreau and Union Island charge nothing at all. Your captain settles these and they appear on the final account rather than arriving as a surprise. The figures island by island are on our Grenadines page.

Question 9

Do you charge us a fee for a Grenadines charter, or only the owner?

Accepted Answer

Only the owner. Our commission comes out of the charter fee you were quoted, so our advice costs you nothing. It also means we have no reason to push one yacht over another. The commission is broadly the same across the fleet, so the only thing we are optimising is whether you come back. If a yacht is wrong for your group we will say so, including when the honest answer is a different destination.

Question 10

Are you insured and accredited as a Grenadines charter broker?

Accepted Answer

Yes. DMA Yachting carries professional indemnity cover and our brokers hold CYBA, IYBA and ECPY memberships. That matters most in how your money moves: funds go to the central agent or owner named in your MYBA-standard agreement, never into an account we control at our discretion. Ask us for the paperwork at any point and we will send it. On a first charter it is a reasonable thing to want to see.

Question 11

Are food, drinks and fuel included in a Grenadines charter?

Accepted Answer

On most boats they come out of your APA at cost, with receipts. On the all-inclusive catamarans they are already in the price. All-inclusive here usually covers three meals, a standard bar, fuel for normal cruising and the mooring fees, and leaves out premium spirits, dining ashore and the marine park charges. Tell us which you would rather have. A group that eats ashore half the week is often better off on an APA boat, and a group that wants no accounting at all is better off all-inclusive.

Question 12

What is the cancellation policy on a Grenadines charter?

Accepted Answer

It is set by your agreement, and the charter fee is largely non-refundable once signed, which is why we press on insurance. Most contracts stage it: the deposit is at risk from signing, and the balance becomes non-refundable at the six-week point. If the yacht becomes unavailable through no fault of yours, the owner owes you a replacement or your money back, and that clause is one we read carefully before you sign. Moving dates is a negotiation rather than a right, and it is far easier outside the festive weeks. We ask on your behalf and tell you honestly what the answer is.

Question 13

What is the preference sheet, and why does it matter here?

Accepted Answer

It is the form where you tell the crew how you eat, drink and sleep, and in the Grenadines it decides more than it does anywhere else. Provisioning in the chain is thin. There are two real marinas in forty miles and the island shops are small, so the chef buys for your week before you board or in Kingstown and Clifton. Detail given in advance is detail you get; a request made on day three may simply not be available. Allergies, children's food, a vegan in the group, the coffee someone cannot do without. Write it all down. We go through it with you rather than forwarding a blank form.

Question 14

Can we charter for a few days instead of a full week?

Accepted Answer

Sometimes, and we would still argue for the week. Most owners here price seven nights and a shorter stay often costs nearly the same. The geography is the real argument. The chain is about forty miles and the Tobago Cays sit near the southern end, so a four-night charter either rushes the sailing or gives up the single best thing in the destination. Over Christmas and New Year seven nights is usually a condition rather than a preference. Tell us your dates and we will show you what a short week actually buys.

Question 15

What is the yacht charter agreement for a Grenadines charter?

Accepted Answer

It is the MYBA-standard contract between you and the yacht's owner, naming the boat, the dates, the embarkation point, the fee and the payment schedule. It also sets out what happens if the yacht becomes unavailable, how the APA is accounted for, and the cruising area you are contracted to. We read it with you line by line before anything is signed. We are not a party to it. Our job is to make sure it says what you were promised, and to argue the clauses that do not.

Question 16

Is it too early to start planning a Grenadines charter?

Accepted Answer

No, and for Christmas, New Year or Easter twelve months out is the right time rather than keen. The resident fleet is about fourteen boats and half of them split the season with the British Virgin Islands, so the pool for any given week is smaller than it looks. The festive weeks go first and there is no second tier to fall back on. Early also costs you nothing. Enquire, see what the season looks like, and decide later.

Question 17

What happens after we enquire about a Grenadines yacht?

Accepted Answer

We come back within a day with live availability, because a fourteen-boat fleet changes faster than any website shows. Then it is a short conversation about group, dates and what you want the week to feel like, a shortlist of two or three real options, and a sample route. Nothing is committed until you sign, and we hold a yacht informally while you decide. If the chain is wrong for your dates we will say so rather than sell you a compromise.

Question 18

How far ahead should we book a Grenadines charter?

Accepted Answer

Nine to twelve months for the festive weeks, and four to six months outside them. That is earlier than we would tell you for the British Virgin Islands, and the reason is fleet size rather than demand: fourteen resident boats against hundreds in the Virgins. A specific yacht for a specific week needs the most notice of all. If your dates are fixed and close, come to us anyway. Repositioning boats do appear, and where the fleet comes from explains why.

Question 19

When should we book flights for a Grenadines charter?

Accepted Answer

After the yacht is signed, never before. The boat decides which island you board on, and that decides the airport. Most guests fly into Argyle International on St Vincent or connect through Barbados; some charters start at Clifton on Union Island instead. A flight booked to the wrong end of a forty-mile chain is an expensive thing to unwind. Send us the flights you are considering and we will tell you which boarding point they suit. The routes are set out in how to get here for your charter.

Question 20

Do you offer bareboat, or only crewed charters?

Accepted Answer

Crewed only. Every yacht we book comes with a captain and at least one other crew member. It is not snobbery about sailing. The Grenadines have two marinas in forty miles, thin provisioning and a marine park with its own zones and fees, so a captain who knows the chain is the difference between a good week and an anxious one. If you want to steer, say so. Plenty of our guests sail the boat with the captain alongside them.

Question 21

What is a tandem charter?

Accepted Answer

Two yachts booked together and cruising as one group, which is how we handle more than twelve guests. It suits the Grenadines well because the legs are short, so the boats are never far apart and they anchor in the same bay. The group eats together, swims together and sleeps on two boats. It usually prices well below one very large yacht. The catch here is fleet size: finding two suitable boats free in the same week needs more notice than one. Tell us your headcount early and we will price both shapes.

Question 22

Can we dive from the yacht in the Grenadines?

Accepted Answer

Yes. The Bequia operators collect divers from the yacht in Admiralty Bay rather than making you come ashore. Some yachts carry compressors and a dive-qualified crew member and can run dives themselves; most work with the local operators, which is the simpler arrangement for certified divers. Beginners can do a resort course in the week. Say at enquiry stage that diving matters and we will filter for boats set up for it, because it narrows the list in a fleet this size.

Question 23

Catamaran or monohull for the Grenadines?

Accepted Answer

A catamaran, for most groups. Space, shallow draft and almost no roll at anchor are exactly what this chain asks for. The shallow draft matters more here than people expect: it lets you lie closer in at Saltwhistle Bay and inside Horseshoe Reef. A monohull sails better upwind and suits a group that genuinely wants to sail rather than to be somewhere. The resident fleet is mostly catamarans, so choosing a monohull narrows the list considerably. Tell us which of the two you are and we will show you the real options.

Question 24

Will we feel the motion? Some of our group worry about seasickness.

Accepted Answer

Less than most people fear. The Grenadines are short hops between sheltered anchorages, not open-water passages. A catamaran is the honest answer for a nervous group: two hulls, very little roll, and you sleep at anchor rather than under way. The longest ordinary leg in the chain is under twenty miles, so nobody is at sea for hours. The one exposed stretch is the run out to the Tobago Cays, and the crew picks the window for it. Tell us who is worried and we will choose the boat and the route around them.

Question 25

Are any crewed yachts actually based in the Grenadines?

Accepted Answer

Yes, about fourteen of them, from US$9,000 to US$94,000 a week. Roughly half give a home port combining the British Virgin Islands and St Vincent, so they work the Virgins for part of the winter and run down the chain for the rest. The year-round locals are the smaller catamarans; the bigger boats come and go. It is worth asking where your yacht was the week before yours, because a delivery leg makes a boarding day tight. The full list is in which crewed yachts are actually based in the Grenadines.

Question 26

We are more than twelve guests. One yacht or two?

Accepted Answer

Almost always two. Twelve is the licensed limit for most crewed yachts, and the Grenadines have very few exceptions. Two boats is often the better holiday anyway. The legs here are short, so a tandem charter keeps the group together at anchor and splits it only for sleeping, and it usually costs less than one enormous yacht. Because the resident fleet is about fourteen boats, a tandem week needs real notice. Send us the headcount and dates and we will tell you quickly whether it is possible.

Question 27

Can we use jet skis in the Grenadines?

Accepted Answer

No. Jet skis and personal watercraft are banned throughout St Vincent and the Grenadines, and the ban is enforced. It is not a local by-law you can work around, and no yacht operating legally here will carry one. Boats compensate with seabobs, e-foils, paddleboards, kayaks and towables, which in water this flat are more fun anyway. We set this out in full in what your yacht carries instead. Tell us at enquiry stage if water toys matter and we will filter for the best-equipped boats.

Question 28

What is there to do ashore in the Grenadines?

Accepted Answer

Less than in the Mediterranean, and that is why people come. One town evening, a handful of beach bars, and the rest is water. Bequia has the only real town in the chain, with the Belmont Walkway along the water. Mustique has Basil's Bar and a defined visitor area. Union Island has Clifton and the kitesurfing centre. The Tobago Cays and Mayreau have essentially nothing ashore at all. If your group wants restaurants and nightlife every evening, this is the wrong destination and we will say so. If they want to swim off the boat for a week, there is nowhere better.

Question 29

What is the difference between a captain only and a full crew?

Accepted Answer

A captain sails the boat. A crew runs your week: the cooking, the toys, the mooring, the shore trips and the provisioning. On the smaller boats in the chain, around 40 to 50 feet, the captain often works alone and you cook for yourselves. From roughly 55 feet up there is a chef, and that is the single biggest change in how a week feels. In the Grenadines the chef matters more than usual, because the island shops are small and eating ashore is limited. We would steer almost any group towards a crewed boat with a chef here.

Question 30

Who decides the route once we are aboard?

Accepted Answer

You say where you want to go and the captain decides when it is safe to go there. That is the law as well as good sense. In practice the plan we build with you before boarding is what happens, reordered for wind. The Tobago Cays and the run to Union Island are the weather-led days; Bequia and Mustique are reliable almost any week in season. A captain who moves your Cays night is improving your week, not spoiling it. They are reading a forecast you cannot see from the deck.

Question 31

Does the crew stay on board all week in the Grenadines?

Accepted Answer

Yes, the whole week. They have their own cabins and their own part of the boat, and they are off duty when you do not need them. On a catamaran for eight that is usually a captain, a chef and sometimes a third hand. They are up before you, they handle the mooring, the park rangers and the provisioning, and they disappear when you want the deck to yourselves. Crews here are used to reading a group. Tell us whether you want them present and chatty or near-invisible, and we will match you accordingly.

Question 32

Can we bring an extra child on a Grenadines yacht charter?

Accepted Answer

Sometimes, and it is the owner's decision rather than ours. A small child in a cabin with parents is the case most often allowed. The hard limit is the yacht's licence, usually twelve guests under way, and that one does not bend. Below it, whether a thirteenth small person is acceptable depends on berths, the owner and the insurance. Ask before you book rather than after. Give us the ages and we will get a written answer from the central agent, which is the only answer worth having.

Question 33

When is the best time to charter in the Grenadines?

Accepted Answer

December to May, with February to May the driest and steadiest. Most crewed yachts leave the chain for the June to November hurricane season. Christmas, New Year and Easter are the busiest and need the most notice. January to March is the sweet run: reliable trade winds, little rain, and the boats still in the chain. Month by month is in our best-time guide. Tell us which weeks you can move and we will tell you which buy you the most boat.

Question 34

Do we need a day pass for Mustique?

Accepted Answer

There is no such thing. Mustique has never sold a day pass; your yacht pays a conservation fee instead, from EC$200 to EC$1,000 by length. The fee covers three consecutive nights at Britannia Bay, which is the only permitted anchorage, and guests may use a defined visitor area taking in the village, the shoreline to the salt pond and the beach below the anchorage. Basil's Bar is open to visiting yachts. Three times a year, over Christmas and New Year, Easter and two weeks in August, that visitor area closes to anyone without a Cotton House reservation. Full detail on our Mustique page.

Question 35

Are Palm Island and Petit St Vincent open?

Accepted Answer

Neither is. Both have been closed since Hurricane Beryl in July 2024, and only Palm Island has a reopening in sight. Palm Island returns as Voaara Grenadines after a US$100 million rebuild. Press coverage points to December 2026 and the brand's own page says 2027, so we work to 2027. Petit St Vincent has named no date at all. The anchorages never closed, only the resorts, so crews still use the water off both. We check with each operator before either island goes into a proposal: where the reopenings stand.

Question 36

How do we get from St Vincent to Bequia?

Accepted Answer

Two ferries run from Kingstown, about an hour, or Bequia Beach Hotel runs its own boat from St Vincent in the winter season. Bequia Express leaves Kingstown on weekdays at 8:00, 9:30, 13:00, 16:00 and 17:00, and Admiral runs the same crossing. The awkward part is the geography: flights land at Argyle in the east and the ferry leaves from Kingstown in the west, roughly forty minutes apart. If your yacht boards in Bequia, the hotel boat and a night ashore beforehand is the clean answer. The routes are in how to get here for your charter.

Question 37

Which island should we start the charter from?

Accepted Answer

Blue Lagoon on St Vincent for most weeks, Bequia if you would rather skip St Vincent, Clifton on Union Island to sail the chain northwards. Blue Lagoon is twenty minutes from Argyle International and is where most of the smaller resident boats sit. Clifton turns the week around and puts the Tobago Cays on day one, which is worth doing when the settled weather falls early. In a fleet this size the yacht often decides for you, and staying flexible on the boarding island is frequently what unlocks the better boat.

Question 38

How many days do we need for the Grenadines?

Accepted Answer

Seven nights covers the chain properly, running south from St Vincent and back, with two nights in the Tobago Cays. The whole chain is about forty miles and the longest ordinary leg is under twenty, so no day is more than a couple of hours under way. A shorter charter means dropping stops rather than sailing harder, and the Cays are the first thing to suffer. Ten nights lets you add Canouan and a second Bequia night without rushing. The week stop by stop is in a week in the Grenadines.

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