The catamaran is the default Caribbean charter boat and it costs between two and three times a comparable monohull. Whether that is worth it depends almost entirely on which island group you are in, because the thing a catamaran buys is different in the British Virgin Islands from what it buys in the Bahamas or the Grenadines.
What the premium actually is
Read on 11 September 2026, Conch Charters publishes BVI catamarans from 6,999 USD a week for a four cabin Fountaine Pajot Helia 44, 7,499 for a three cabin Lagoon 43, 7,999 for a Leopard 46 and 9,999 for a six cabin Saba 50, against monohulls from 2,599 for a two cabin Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 389. Sunsail publishes about 5,700 USD for a low season catamaran against about 3,500 for a low season monohull.
Where it buys space
In the British Virgin Islands, where the sailing is an hour or two most mornings and the rest of the day is on a mooring ball in a bay, a catamaran is buying deck space, shade and cabins in separate hulls. The monohull sails better and saves half the money and buys less here than anywhere in the Mediterranean. This is the ground where most people conclude the premium is worth it.
Where it buys access
In the Bahamas the catamaran is not a comfort choice. The banks run two to four metres for a hundred miles and the cuts between cays shoal at their edges, so a metre of draught reaches anchorages that two metres cannot. Every Bahamian base publishes a draught limit per boat and a list of cuts a given hull may not use, and that list is part of the charter agreement.
Where catamaran trips buy nothing
In the Windwards and the Grenadines the passages are open, the anchorages are deep and the swell is real, and a monohull is the more comfortable boat under way. A catamaran still lies quieter at anchor, which matters because these islands have few marinas and almost no mooring balls. It is the one Caribbean ground where the decision is genuinely close.
Questions people ask about catamaran sailing caribbean
How much more is a catamaran trip in the Caribbean?
Between two and three times a comparable monohull. Conch publishes BVI catamarans from 6,999 USD a week against monohulls from 2,599, read on 11 September 2026.
Where is a catamaran actually necessary?
The Bahamas. The banks are two to four metres deep for a hundred miles and the cuts shoal at their edges, so a shallow draught reaches anchorages a monohull cannot, and the bases publish per boat draught limits as part of the contract.
Are week long catamaran cruises the standard length?
A week is the standard unit everywhere in this trade, and in the BVI it covers forty to fifty miles over six days. Ten days is the next step up and is what the Grenadines and the Exumas actually want.