The British Virgin Islands is the easiest charter week in the Caribbean and the best documented in this record. The islands sit in a ring around the Sir Francis Drake Channel, the passages are short, the water is protected, and you can see where you are going for most of the week. It is also the one place where two companies publish figures close enough to check against each other.
The two published figures
The Moorings publishes $3,284 to $49,584 for a 7 day charter for 2 people out of its BVI base. Sunsail publishes, in its own destination FAQ, approximately $3,500 for a low-season bareboat monohull and about $5,700 for a low-season catamaran, rising to around $7,000 and about $10,000 in high season. Two companies in the same group, published in different places, agreeing on the shape of the market: high season roughly doubles low, and a catamaran sits well above a monohull.
Why the BVI is the beginner's week
Line-of-sight navigation, short hops, moorings rather than anchoring in most of the popular bays, and a chart you can hold in your head after two days. That is why more first bareboat charters happen here than anywhere else, and why the fleet is enormous. The trade-off is that the good moorings at the Bight and Cane Garden Bay go early in season, so the week rewards moving in the morning.
What the rate does not cover
Cruising permits and National Parks fees, charged per person per day and collected locally; fuel; provisioning, which most bases will do for you at a price; the mooring balls themselves, which are paid nightly; and the security deposit or damage waiver. None of that is in either published figure, and together it is a meaningful addition to a week.
Questions people ask about bvi charters
How much is a BVI charter?
The Moorings publishes $3,284 to $49,584 for a 7 day charter for 2 people, and Sunsail publishes about $3,500 for a low-season bareboat monohull rising to about $10,000 for a high-season four-cabin catamaran.
Is the BVI good for a first bareboat charter?
It is the standard answer for exactly that, because of line-of-sight navigation, short passages, protected water and moorings in most popular bays.
What extras does a BVI charter carry?
Cruising permits and National Parks fees per person per day, mooring balls paid nightly, fuel, provisioning and the deposit or damage waiver.