How YOU can rent an excellent yacht for simply £17 a day

Hiring a yacht is like being given the keys to a floating kingdom. Step on board and the seas are yours, as you drop anchor only to dive into cool clear water or discover a hidden cove and perfect taverna in a tiny harbour with no road access. No wonder celebs and the ultra-rich love taking to the water in yachts.

But don’t tell them – hiring one no longer has to cost a fortune. These days there are plenty of websites and apps which allow boat owners to rent out their yachts and speedboats — just like you book an Airbnb — removing the need for charter companies, which can add thousands to the cost of each booking.

You can hire them for the hour, day or, if you want to make a holiday of it, get a yacht with cabins, which allow you to cruise the coast for a week or so.

In the Med, this freedom will cost a lot less than a luxury villa, even in the school holidays – and on some yachts, especially catamarans, facilities are spacious and glam, with en suite bathrooms and lounges.

Here’s our ultimate guide to hiring a yacht on a budget – from as little as £17pp per day.

SKIPPER, CHEF AND SERVICE OPTIONS

Getting the best bargains does involve a bit of advance thinking. Firstly, you’ll have to decide if you want a skipper or not – those without a captain are often called bareboat rentals and are always cheaper. If you don’t want to pay for a skipper, one of you will need a licence before you can rent a boat, although a few countries, including France and Australia, will allow you to rent smaller boats (usually up to 5m) without a licence.

‘A five-day course costs around £1,000 and will allow you to hire a catamaran around £500,000, so it could be a worthwhile investment,’ says Adi Tognarelli of plainsailing.com. He got his in Scotland, ‘but it would have been warmer in the Canary Islands and is roughly the same price.’

If you don’t have a licence, you can opt for a boat with a skipper. In Europe, this will add anything from £80 to £200 a day to the cost. They’ll take charge of organising moorings and ensuring there’s enough fuel while usually joining guests for meals.

‘Having a skipper allows a guest to sit back and relax and enjoy your yacht holiday,’ says Adrian Walker of Boataffair. ‘Also, you have your captain available at all times who can show you all those secluded beaches and wonderful little restaurants that make a sailing trip so perfect.’

Get another member of crew – from around £80 to £200 a day – and they will do the cooking and washing-up. And if you want to go for the full superyacht experience you can keep adding crew, including private chefs, so long as your charter has space.

EXTRA COSTS

Keep an eye on the costs. As well as crew, mooring fees at the harbour where you drop anchor for the night vary enormously. Head to Capri in Italy and mooring a 35ft(10m) boat will cost a hefty £110 a night, but only £16 in just-as-posh Cannes. Also check to see where water toys are included and where they cost extra. A good quotation should include all items included (charter rate, VAT, other expenses, water toys, crew gratuity). All fans of Below Deck know that tipping is a huge part of the crewed yacht experience.

PICK A DESTINATION

Greece is good value, despite the likes of Jeff Bezos and partner Lauren Sanchez bringing their yacht to Mykonos last week. As is Croatia. Both allow you gentle waves plus great places to snorkel and swim. Prices drop in September but the water is still warm. Scandinavia offers lots of peace and quiet. France is generally good value

And one last tip – download the MarineTraffic app before you go. It will allow you to find out how many other yachts are sharing the same bit of sea or ocean and – best of all – how much they are charging for a week’s charter, which will allow you the priceless sensation of feeling really smug about how much you’ve saved.

FIND THE RIGHT COMPANY

Click&Boat

Started in 2013 in France, this is the biggest platform for the British and European market although it covers over 160 countries with over 50,000 boats, including e-boats and jetskis. The search engine is one of the best – you can filter by location and year of boat.

Example package: A Dufour 460 sleeping 10, moored in Mandalina Marina, Croatia starts from £170 a day (or £17pp), not including a skipper.

Borrow a Boat

Started in the UK in 2017, this website has over 50,000 boats in 65 different countries. The website is very shipshape indeed, with plenty of filters, and the add-ons it can deliver, including transfers from airports and optional concierge services. These may add to the cost but give that superyacht feel for much less than the ultra-rich are used to paying.

Example package: a Catamaran Lagoon 42 based in Bormes-les-Mimosas in France, sleeping ten starts at £5,435 a week.

Samboat

This French-owned website allows you to search for boats that don’t need a licence – and the countries where this is applicable. If you can be flexible, this website often has good last-minute discounts.

Example package: A Lagoon 42, docked in Fethiye, Turkey, sleeping 10 starts at £423 a day, not including a skipper.

GetMyBoat

The jokey name is a clue that this company is American. You can find everything from jet skis and hoverboards to slowly-as-they-go water pontoons, and non-powered craft including kayaks, all from owners who don’t want costly equipment to gather dust. Particularly good for day cruises.

Example package: A day cruise in Mykonos on a Bahia Fountaine Pajot catamaran costs £1,482 for up to 20 people including a skipper.

Uber Boat

If you want a way of booking a boat and skipper that’s, quite literally, as easy as ordering an Uber, the company is expanding its boat offering. In Greece, Athens, Corfu and Santorini will all have Uber boats to take people to beach clubs, coves and beaches. A limo boat will go to over 200 pick up and drop off points in the Venice lagoon. Seating six people, it will cost between 120-150 euros/£100-£121 per trip. Meanwhile, Ibiza will have a Sunseeker yacht for 1,600 euros/£1353 a day, including limo pick-ups, a skipper, hampers of food and drink plus Uber goody bags, for up to eight people.

Boataffair

Started by British-Swiss couple Adrian and Natalya Philips in 2017, this company only deals with skippered and crewed boats but you’re still likely to pay a lot less than using one of the posh yacht broker companies.

Example package: A Lagoon 50 catamaran with two crew members and space for 10 guests from Athens costs £12,000 in September.