If you are under the impression that to charter a yacht in the Mediterranean you need to be a Premier League footballer or a Russian oligarch, then you are only partly right.
While it is true that some luxury yacht charters in the Mediterranean are extremely expensive (with prices of more than 25,000 euros per person/week), there are much more affordable alternatives.
Although Mediterranean charter prices will vary from location to location and agent to agent, there are two main factors that will generally affect the price of a Mediterranean motor yacht charter.
The first of these factors is the nature of the rental agreement. Motor yachts (like sailboats) can be chartered as “bareboats”, where only the boat is chartered, or as “crewed boats”, where the boat is chartered along with its crew. The main differences between these two types of rental will be described below.
The second of these factors is the size of the boat required. As a general rule, larger boats tend to offer much more living space per person and consequently their rental rates (per person) tend to be extremely high. The smaller boats, on the other hand, tend to be much more compact in terms of living space and are consequently among the most affordable boats to charter in the Mediterranean.
Motor yacht charter and bareboat charter in the Mediterranean
The most affordable method of chartering a motor boat in the Mediterranean is to charter a ‘bareboat’. Don’t be alarmed by the terminology though, ‘bareboat boats’ are not literally ‘naked’. The term simply reflects the fact that these ships are ‘stripped’ of crew!
The consequence of this is that one of your party will have to take up the mantle of ‘patron’. All “bareboat” charter companies will require the designated “skipper” to have some relevant experience, although the exact level of experience required will differ from location to location depending on factors such as weather and traffic.
If no one in your group qualifies as a ‘skipper’, you always have the option of hiring a professional. The charge per day for a professional ‘skipper’ tends to be in the region of 125-200 euros per day, although you will need to charter a boat with an extra berth for him/her.
Having your own professional ‘patron’ offers a number of great advantages; he/she will have great local knowledge and be able to show you great sights you would never have found on your own, he/she will also be able to help you gain the relevant ‘experience’ needed to become a ‘skipper’ yourself.
As a rough guide, ‘bareboat’ yacht charter prices in the Mediterranean will start at around 5000 Euros per week for 4 people, 2 cabins, powerboat. Larger boats tend to be more expensive per person, with a 6 person, 3 cabin boat costing over €10,000 per week.
Crewed motor yacht charter in the Mediterranean
While most small boats tend to be chartered as “bareboats”, most larger boats tend to be available only as “crewed” boats. In many cases, this is because the boat owner will be employing his crew full time and it doesn’t make economic sense for him to lease one without the other.
The fact that there is a crew to pay for naturally makes the rental price of these boats higher, and it should also be considered that food and drink are usually included in the prices quoted. At the cheaper end of the market you will find a 5 cabin, 10 person powerboat with 4 crew members, available to charter for around 28,000 Euros per week.
While this may seem expensive at €2,800 per head, it pales in comparison to other Mediterranean yachts of similar capacity and it is not uncommon to find boats with the same number of cabins chartered for three times that amount.
The main reason for the difference in price is that the more expensive options tend to offer their guests much larger and more luxurious accommodations. They will also tend to have many more extras such as gyms, jacuzzis and in-house cinemas.
