St Barts is the one Caribbean island where the charter market is not organized around a seven day bareboat. It is eight square miles with one harbour, a runway that takes nothing larger than a nineteen seat Twin Otter, and a season that turns on who is anchored off Gustavia in December. What is sold here is the day, the half day and the transfer, and the boats behind those prices are motor yachts rather than cruising catamarans.
What a St Barts boat charter costs for the day
Read on 11 September 2026, Click and Boat lists 30 boats in Saint Barthelemy. An Axopar 22 for seven people is from 950 EUR a day, a 27 metre Leopard open motor yacht for twelve with three cabins is from 2,590 a day, a full day on a motorboat for up to twelve with fuel included is from 4,200 for eight hours, and a six hour outing for seven is from 882. Fuel is stated as included on several of those listings, which is unusual in the trade and worth checking on each.
Why there is no bareboat fleet
Gustavia is a small harbour on a steep island with limited anchoring room and heavy superyacht traffic in season, and there is nowhere on the island to base and maintain a bareboat fleet. So the island is chartered from somewhere else: St Martin is fifteen miles north west and carries the nearest real fleet. The Moorings prices a seven day charter for two out of St Martin from 4,199 USD and a crewed yacht there from 22,423.
How the season works
The high season runs mid December to April and peaks hard over Christmas and New Year, when the anchorage off Gustavia fills with yachts that have crossed the Atlantic for it and day rates move accordingly. From May to July the island empties, the same boats are cheaper and the sailing from St Martin is easy. August to November is the hurricane season and most operators are shut or on standby.
Sailing there from St Martin
Fifteen miles on a beam reach in the trade wind, normally two to three hours each way, and it is the standard second or third day of a St Martin charter week. You clear customs in Gustavia, pay a harbour fee scaled to the boat, and either anchor in Anse de Colombier, which is a marine reserve on mooring balls, or take a berth in Gustavia itself if one is free, which in season it will not be.
Questions people ask about yacht charter st barts
How much is a boat for the day in St Barts?
Click and Boat lists 30 boats in Saint Barthelemy from 950 EUR a day for an Axopar 22 up to 2,590 a day for a 27 metre Leopard, read on 11 September 2026.
Can you bareboat charter in St Barts?
Not from the island itself. There is no bareboat fleet based in Gustavia, so weeks are chartered from St Martin fifteen miles away, where The Moorings starts a seven day charter for two at 4,199 USD.
When is St Barts most expensive?
Christmas and New Year, when the Gustavia anchorage fills and day rates peak. May to July is the same island at a fraction of the money, before the hurricane season closes most operators from August.