The French-speaking Caribbean island of St Barts is renowned for its white-sand beaches and designer shops – and is also a magnet for those seeking luxury yacht charter adventures.
Yachts anchored out in a bay in St Barts (Photo: David Stanley via Flickr / CC BY 2.0)
At the heart of the island’s yachting community is the capital of Gustavia, which encircles a boat-filled harbour and is dotted with upscale eateries, bars and historic landmarks. But it is the stunning crystalline waters that surround the island that draws so many yachting enthusiasts here each year. If you’d like to charter a catamaran, sailing boat or motor yacht in St Barts, we’ve picked out three of the best online resources for doing so.
Ritzy
Ritzy have cultivated a vast network since their entry into the yacht charter market almost ten years ago. They list almost 100 yachts across St Barts and neighbouring St Martin at a range of price points, and catering to all preferences, whether you’re seeking a catamaran charter, a motor or sailboat charter, or a bareboat or crewed yacht. Booking on the platform is straightforward, with users required to punch on a variety of details about their trip, including guest numbers, travel dates, preferred itinerary, and any special requests too. They’re then delivered a short-list of yachts based on their customised criteria. When we searched for St Barts charters, the most affordable choice we found was a 16-metre sailing yacht accommodating up to 6 guests and available from $9,800 per week.
Boatbookings
Boatbookings have a total of 44 yacht or bareboat charters in St Barts, including 26 crewed motorboats, 10 crewed sailing yachts, and 6 crewed catamaran. The bareboat options, however, are somewhat limited, with just two bareboat catamarans on offer when we searched. As for price, the cheapest private yacht charter we could find was for a 19.5-metre catamaran available for $3,000 per week. Other useful website features include a section dedicated to feedback from previous charter guests for each vessel, while the search function also lets you specify yachts with particular on-board amenities such as fishing and scuba equipment.
Windward Islands
Since the company’s creation in 1998, Windward have grown into a full service yachting company with a worldwide team of experts. They offer a variety of boats of different capacities and size, with 68 vessels (including 22 sailing yachts, 7 motoryachts and 49 catamarans) available from St Marteen – most of them also cruising to St Barts. They can advise you on the best kind of boat for the charter experience you’re seeking, and it’s this aspect of their service that they’re most proud of – offering bespoke solutions rather than merely a collection of boats with no thought put into a client’s needs. Using the search engine, you can pick vessels based on travel dates, with or without crew, group size, make and model, and boat spec, and once your initial selection is made, you can narrow down your search using additional criteria. There’s also a special offers page with enticing money-saving promos. Other notable features include a handy guide for each destination, including the best time of year to visit, favourite attractions, and events not to miss.