Nassau is where most people arrive in the Bahamas and it is not where the catamaran chartering happens. The island's own market is a day market, priced by the block and aimed at cruise arrivals, while the week long catamaran fleets are based sixty miles south in the Exumas and a hundred and thirty miles north in the Abacos. Understanding which of the two you are buying is the whole decision.
Private catamaran, Nassau, Bahamas: what a day costs
Read on 11 September 2026, Sailo lists 161 boats at Nassau at an average of 4,326 USD a day, the cheapest at 1,100 and the dearest at 11,810. Party catamarans and motor yachts dominate that list, they come with a captain and a crew, and they are priced for a group of twelve who came off a ship this morning. A private catamaran for the day here is a real product and a genuinely expensive one.
A week on a private catamaran: Bahamas bases in the Exumas and the Abacos
The Moorings prices a seven day Exumas charter for two from 4,529 USD bareboat, with a skippered package from 14,559 and crewed from 22,619, and an Abacos week from 5,579. Against a Nassau day rate averaging 4,326, a whole week bareboat costs about what one day rented costs. That is the single most useful comparison anyone planning a Bahamas catamaran can make, and the crossover sits at roughly one day.
Why the catamaran is the Bahamian boat
Draught. The banks run two to four metres for long distances and the cuts between the cays shoal at the edges, so a catamaran drawing a metre goes where a monohull drawing two cannot. Every base here publishes a draught limit per boat and a list of cuts a given hull may not use, and that list forms part of the charter agreement. The comfort at anchor is a bonus rather than the reason.
Getting from Nassau to the fleet
The Exumas bases are reached by a short flight to Staniel Cay or Georgetown, or by the fast ferry. The Abacos are a flight to Marsh Harbour. Neither is sailed from Nassau on a charter week, because the crossing eats two of the seven days and most contracts do not permit it. If the plan is a week on a catamaran, fly past Nassau rather than chartering out of it.
Questions people ask about catamaran charter nassau Bahamas
How much is a catamaran charter from Nassau?
Sailo lists 161 boats at Nassau at an average of 4,326 USD a day, from 1,100 to 11,810, read on 11 September 2026. Those are captained day boats rather than week long bareboats.
Is a week cheaper than a day?
Close to it. The Moorings prices a seven day Exumas bareboat for two from 4,529 USD, which is roughly the Nassau average for a single day.
Why are almost all Bahamas charters catamarans?
Draught. The banks are two to four metres over long distances and the cuts shoal at their edges, so a catamaran reaches anchorages a monohull cannot. Bases publish a draught limit and a list of cuts per boat as part of the contract.