Choose a boat for six, accommodate a skipper, check the budget and plan the week. Practical criteria for comparing actual offers.
Five guides to help prepare your yacht selection. Prices, equipment, skipper approval and contract terms must be checked for the actual boat and dates. Each guide includes sources; an individual operator’s policy does not replace your contract.
Guide · 22 October 2026
Six guests: catamaran or monohull?
Start with where people sleep, rather than advertised berth totals. Three couples and a hired skipper are seven people with different cabin needs.
Cabins and additional berths
Six adults sharing as pairs need three suitable double cabins. “6+2” may add saloon berths, while “4+2 cabins” can include small forepeaks. These are not equivalent to guest cabins: check access, ventilation, bathroom use and skipper approval. If guests cannot share a bed, a three-cabin plan is already unsuitable.
What changes in daily life
A catamaran has two hulls and generally more communal space, but does not eliminate motion or seasickness. Beam affects berth availability and marina cost; check actual tariffs. A monohull may offer a lower base hire cost and a stronger sailing feel, but heels under sail. Neither type guarantees comfort in all weather.
Two real examples without mixing conditions
RELOAD in BVI has three cabins and six recommended guests. Its lower-budget scenario assumes the skipper is one of those six. Lagoon 42 Zil 2 in Seychelles has four guest cabins, allowing a three-plus-one plan for six guests and skipper. Different cruising grounds mean their prices are not a controlled comparison of boat types.
What to tell the adviser
State shared versus separate beds, mobility needs, whether you need a skipper, bathroom expectations and whether air conditioning or a watermaker matters. Confirm equipment on the actual boat, including operation at anchor and generator restrictions. Compare boats for identical dates and service scope.
Our catalogue includes Bali 4.2 Sail Spazio 2023 and Lagoon 42 Kairos 2022. Both are selection candidates for six guests, but model and year alone do not establish condition, equipment or a private skipper berth.
What is known and what to verify
Current saved catalogue data: Sail Spazio is 12.85 m, based at Fethiye / Ece Saray, listed as 4+1 cabins and 8+1 berths. Kairos is 12.8 m at Marmaris / Albatros, also listed as 4+1 and 8+1. These are saved records, not a fresh inspection. Obtain the actual boat’s current layout and passenger limit before quoting.
Manufacturer documents do not replace the yacht record
The current BALI 4.2 manufacturer page gives 42 ft 2 in overall length and 23 ft 2 in beam. Lagoon’s May 2021 inventory for the 42 lists 12.80 m length and 7.70 m beam. These establish model scale, not the equipment on 2022/2023 charter boats. Do not carry tank capacity, air conditioning or bathroom counts from a generic brochure into a specific offer.
Choosing for six people
Start with three comfortable guest cabins. Allocate the skipper a fourth guest cabin or an approved separate berth rather than assuming “+1” is enough. Then compare shade, ventilation, deck access, tender boarding, refrigeration and charging at anchor. Request photographs of the actual boat and its layout, not only catalogue imagery.
Price and route matter more than a brand winner
Different bases change transfers, first-night options and routes. Compare one week with matching mandatory services, skipper arrangements and deposit terms. We have not freshly confirmed both boats for May 2027: request comparable quotations rather than declaring either brand universally better.
With or without a skipper: documents, berth and responsibility
Bareboat suits a crew that can handle the yacht and has operator approval. A certificate alone does not qualify someone for every destination and boat.
What to provide for preliminary approval
Provide licence type and level, experience on comparable boat size and type, recent sailing, tidal/exposed-water experience and crew composition. The operator may ask for a radio certificate, sailing CV or further approval. Check the chosen base before buying flights; Sunsail requirements illustrate one operator’s policy, not a law applying to everyone.
A skipper is a separate budget line
Check rate, currency, billable days, taxes, food, travel and any pre/post-charter nights. Seven charter nights do not automatically mean seven charged skipper days. A skipper using a guest cabin reduces guest cabin capacity. Skipper availability is separate from yacht availability.
What guests still need to understand
A skipper manages safe operation within the contract, but cannot guarantee the itinerary. The contract determines who signs, pays the deposit and bears damage obligations. Hiring a skipper does not automatically remove the deposit or all guest liability. Read insurance coverage and exclusions separately.
A practical choice for a first trip
If nobody is ready for berthing, weather decisions and overnight responsibility, choose a skipper before filling every cabin with guests. State your language preference; language and availability remain unconfirmed until agreed. The responsible skipper makes sailing and anchoring decisions.
The full charter budget: what comes after yacht hire
“A yacht for €3,000” and “a holiday for €500 per person” are different claims. Dividing boat hire by six does not pay for flights, food, skipper or mandatory services.
Three layers of spending
First: a dated yacht quote and the operator’s mandatory package. Second: variable weekly costs such as fuel, moorings, food and a skipper if needed. Third: travel, including baggage-inclusive flights, transfers, a shore night, visas/authorisations and insurance. Record currency and inclusions in each layer to avoid counting cleaning or park charges twice.
Keep the refundable deposit separate
The deposit is security, not normal holiday spending. It may be blocked on a card or handled under operator rules; return depends on the contract and boat condition. Paid deposit reduction and insurance are different products with their own cost and exclusions. Plan both spending money and available deposit capacity.
How to read our six scenarios
Yacht prices refer to 5–12 December 2026 and were checked on 22 October. Food, fuel, mooring, transfer and shore-night allowances are editorial planning limits, not commercial quotations. When a mandatory package or flight is unconfirmed, the subtotal is explicitly incomplete. Enter obtained amounts in the calculator; it does not validate availability or create a booking.
How to obtain a comparable quote
Specify six guests, dates, skipper needs, total budget and whether travel is included. Request two boats for the same week with complete itemised quotes. Do not carry an October price into December or infer an annual minimum from one checked week. Before paying, obtain availability confirmation, quote expiry, cancellation terms and the named payment recipient.
Your first yacht week: plan the journey without rushing
Check-in time begins handover; it does not promise an immediate departure. Arriving a day early and keeping the first leg flexible are valuable first-trip buffers.
The day before boarding
Our December examples target arrival on 4 December, a shore night and base check-in on 5 December at an agreed time. For multi-stop BVI travel consider 3 December and an extra night. This is a plan, not a confirmed flight. Check baggage and separate tickets: a delay on one carrier may not protect the next booking.
Handover, provisioning and first departure
Check equipment, tender, sails, documents, fuel and existing damage with the base. Share provisioning tasks, leave refrigerator space and bring soft bags. The skipper briefs guests on lifejackets, boarding, toilets and procedures at sea. A late arrival or uncertain weather may make a first night in the marina the sensible choice.
The rhythm of the week
Alternate short sailing legs, swimming and shore walks. Headwinds, unavailable anchorages or refuelling can change the order of stops. Avoid prepaying every dinner and excursion on non-refundable terms. Willingness to share daily tasks matters; mobility and dietary needs should be discussed before choosing a yacht.
Return and flight home
Many weekly charters require return the evening before disembarkation, but the contract sets the actual rule. The example plans base return on 11 December, checkout on 12 December and a flight no earlier than 13 December. The budget includes an explicit group allowance for two shore nights; extra nights and actual flight timing need adjustment. Avoid turning the last sailing leg into a race to the airport.
