Renting a catamaran costs more than renting a monohull of the same length, and the reason is not luxury. Two hulls cost more to build, take two berths in a marina, and carry more people in more comfort, so they are priced above a monohull everywhere they are offered. The useful question is whether your party is the kind that gets the value back.
The one published comparison
Sunsail's British Virgin Islands page prices both hull types for the same week: approximately $3,500 for a low-season bareboat 42ft monohull against about $5,700 for a low-season four-cabin catamaran, rising to around $7,000 and about $10,000 in high season. That is the clearest public statement of the catamaran premium found anywhere in this record, and the shape of it holds across the other cruising grounds even where the numbers move.
What you get for the difference
Four cabins with doors and their own heads instead of two and a shared one. A cockpit that seats eight in shade. A boat that stays flat at anchor, which matters more than anything else if you are cooking, swimming or getting children on and off. Shallow draught, which opens anchorages in the Bahamas, Polynesia and the Cyclades that a deeper monohull cannot use.
When a monohull is the better buy
Two people. A couple on a catamaran is paying for six berths they will not use and berthing a boat twice as wide as they need in marinas that charge by the space. A monohull also sails better upwind, costs less to keep and is far easier to put stern-to on a town quay in a crosswind, which is most of what a Croatian or Greek evening involves.
Questions people ask about rent a catamaran
How much more is a catamaran than a monohull?
On Sunsail's published low-season BVI figures, about $5,700 for a four-cabin catamaran against approximately $3,500 for a 42ft monohull, with both roughly doubling in high season.
Is a catamaran better for families?
Usually. Separate cabins with doors, a flat boat at anchor and a swim platform are what most family parties actually value.
When should I choose a monohull?
With two or three people aboard, or where berthing costs and upwind sailing matter. A monohull is cheaper to hire, cheaper to berth and easier to moor stern-to.