A bachelorette party in the Bahamas — or a bachelor party loose in the British Virgin Islands — lands differently when the whole group is aboard one private crewed yacht for five days. No hotel blocks, no rideshare roulette, no splitting up at 1 a.m. Just your people, the sun, and a new anchorage every morning while the crew handles the rest.
TL;DR — Bachelor & Bachelorette Yacht Charters
- The shortest a crewed yacht charter runs is 5 days — exactly enough to island-hop without rushing.
- A real 8-guest catamaran charters all-inclusive for about $30,700–$34,000 a week, roughly $3,840–$4,250 per person on a boat like HIRAYA (larger yachts run higher).
- All-inclusive means food, premium bar, fuel, watersports, and dockage are in the rate. The only add-on is a crew gratuity at the end — there’s no APA and no provisioning extras.
- Bachelorette → the Bahamas/Exumas (swimming pigs, sandbar toasts, Thunderball Grotto). Bachelor → the BVI (The Baths, the Willy T, Soggy Dollar, Anegada lobster).
- Per night, a 5-day charter works out to about $896 per person all-in — flights and crew tip included — versus roughly $1,500 for a loaded long weekend in Nashville or Miami.
This guide gives you two ready-to-steal 5-day itineraries — one for the girls, one for the guys — plus honest per-person numbers and a side-by-side cost comparison against a big land weekend. If you’re juggling a head count above 12, start with our group and event charters guide first; everything below assumes a party of 8.
Why a yacht charter should be on your shortlist for bachelorette party planning
Because nothing beats five days of soaking up the sun and having the time of your life with your closest friends — all on one private yacht. A crewed charter keeps the whole group together for sunrise swims, sandbar toasts, and long dinners on deck, with a crew that quietly handles every detail so the planner finally gets to relax too.
That last part matters more than people expect. The maid of honor (or best man) is usually the one fielding the group chat, chasing deposits, and praying nobody hates the plan. On a yacht, the captain builds the route, the chef runs the menu, and the deckhand rigs the paddleboards. You make zero decisions you don’t want to make.
It’s also the rare trip where the whole party is genuinely together. No one’s stuck in a different hotel tower or missing the dinner reservation. Everyone wakes up in the same place, somewhere ridiculous, every single morning.
Milestone trips like these are having a moment, too. A 2026 AAA survey found 76% of travelers are planning trips around milestones like weddings and friends’ big life events this year (AAA / Bread Financial, 2026). A private charter is about as far from a generic hotel-block weekend as you can get.
What’s the shortest a crewed yacht charter can be?
Five days. Most crewed yachts set a five-night minimum, which is exactly why both itineraries below are built around five perfect days. Peak holiday weeks (Christmas, New Year’s) usually require a full seven nights, but for a bachelor or bachelorette trip, five is the sweet spot — a long weekend, stretched.
Why the minimum? A crewed charter isn’t an hourly rental. The crew provisions for your group, preps the yacht, repositions it to your start island, and resets it after you leave. Five nights is the shortest window where all of that effort still makes sense for the boat — and, honestly, the shortest window where you stop checking your phone and actually unplug.
Five nights also gives you enough range to island-hop. You can hit three or four islands, mix two big nights with a couple of slow beach days, and still have a final morning swim before flights. Anything shorter and you’re rushing the best part.
How much does a yacht charter cost per person?
Plan on roughly $3,840–$4,250 per person for the yacht itself, based on a real 8-guest catamaran that charters all-inclusive for about $30,700–$34,000 a week. That rate already covers food, a premium open bar, fuel, watersports gear, and dockage — so the only thing you add on top is a crew gratuity at the end of the trip.
Two real boats from our fleet, both sleeping 8 guests in 4 cabins:
| Yacht | Type | Guests / cabins | All-inclusive weekly rate | Base region |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HIRAYA | Bali 5.2 sailing catamaran (52′) | 8 / 4 | $30,700–$34,000 | US/British Virgin Islands |
| RIPPLE | Lagoon 620 sailing catamaran (62′) | 8 / 4 | $33,000–$42,000 | USVI/BVI + Grenadines |
Split a boat like HIRAYA across 8 friends and the math is friendly: about $3,840 to $4,250 each for the week, plus a customary crew gratuity of 10–20% of the charter fee (15% is a common benchmark) handed to the captain at the end to split with the crew. That’s it. No surprise bar tabs, no fuel bill, no “resort fee.” A bigger, more loaded boat like RIPPLE runs higher — closer to $4,100–$5,250 a head — but for a party of 8, a catamaran in HIRAYA’s class is the sweet spot.
An all-inclusive crewed charter bundles every meal, premium drinks, fuel, watersports, and dockage into one weekly rate. There’s no Advance Provisioning Allowance (APA) and no separate provisioning bill — the only cost you add is a crew gratuity at the end of the charter. For an 8-guest catamaran around $34,000 a week, that works out to roughly $4,250 per person before the tip.
Your real per-person number moves with the boat, the season, and how many of you split it. For the full breakdown of what drives charter pricing, see our Caribbean yacht charter cost guide. One thing that rarely changes: the boat caps at 12 guests — the 12-person yacht rule — so a party of 8 has plenty of room and great cabin parity.
What is the perfect 5-day itinerary for a bachelorette party in the Bahamas?
Fly into the Bahamas and cruise the Exumas: five days of swimming pigs, sandbar Champagne toasts, snorkeling Thunderball Grotto, and beach-club afternoons, with chef-cooked dinners on deck every night. It’s the most photogenic stretch of water in the Caribbean — turquoise, shallow, and built for exactly this kind of trip.
Day 1 — Nassau or Staniel Cay: Board and Settle In
Meet the yacht, claim cabins, and pop the welcome bottle as the crew briefs you. Easy first night at anchor: a swim off the back, a sunset on the bow, and the chef’s first dinner under the stars. No agenda — just everyone exhaling.
Day 2 — Big Major Cay: The Swimming Pigs
Tender over to Pig Beach to feed the famous swimming pigs, then snorkel Thunderball Grotto (yes, the James Bond cave) at slack tide. Afternoon is paddleboards, the floating mat, and a lazy raft-up before dinner.
Day 3 — Sandbar Champagne Party + Compass Cay
The crew anchors off a glassy sandbar for the trip’s signature moment: a Champagne toast standing in ankle-deep, electric-blue water, photos that break the group chat. Then on to Compass Cay to swim with the (harmless) nurse sharks at the marina dock.
Day 4 — Staniel Cay Beach Club + Theme Night
Drinks and lunch ashore at the yacht club, more snorkeling over the reefs, and a slow afternoon for those who want to do nothing at all. Tonight’s the big one — costumes, the playlist, and a chef’s dinner built around the bride.
Day 5 — Final Morning Swim, Then Flights
One last sunrise dip and a leisurely breakfast before the tender drops you for departure. Everyone leaves sun-drunk, slightly sunburned, and already planning the reunion.
For the deeper destination playbook — best islands, when to go, what’s where — see our Bahamas yacht charter guide.
What is the perfect 5-day itinerary for a bachelor party?
Fly into Tortola and run the BVI: five days of bar-hopping and adventure, from cliff-jumping at The Baths to sportfishing, diving, the Willy T floating bar, and an Anegada lobster bake to close it out. The British Virgin Islands pack legendary beach bars and serious water sports into short, easy hops between islands.
Day 1 — Tortola to Norman Island: The Willy T
Board, provision, and sail the short hop to Norman Island. Snorkel The Indians and the caves at the Bight in the afternoon, then dinghy over to the Willy T — the floating bar where the night gets loud and the jumping-off-the-stern stories get made.
Day 2 — Virgin Gorda and The Baths
Morning at The Baths: house-sized granite boulders, hidden grottoes, and a scramble-and-swim trail to Devil’s Bay. Afternoon beach time and a quiet anchorage dinner to recover before the back half.
Day 3 — Fishing and Diving Day
Split the crew: offshore sportfishing for mahi and wahoo, or a dive on the wreck of the RMS Rhone, one of the Caribbean’s best. Regroup at a sandbar in the afternoon, swap stories, and let the chef cook whatever you caught.
Day 4 — Anegada Lobster Bake
Sail to flat, remote Anegada for the trip’s best meal: fresh-grilled Anegada lobster on the beach at sunset, feet in the sand, drinks in hand. Low-key, legendary, and the one dinner nobody forgets.
Day 5 — Jost Van Dyke Send-Off
Finish at White Bay on Jost Van Dyke: painkillers at the Soggy Dollar Bar, then a last round at Foxy’s before the sail back to Tortola for flights. A perfect, slightly hungover farewell.
Want to stretch it to a full week? Our 7-day BVI itinerary and the BVI crewed charter guide map out every stop.
How does a 5-day yacht charter compare to a long weekend in Nashville or Miami?
About the same money — sometimes a little less per person — for nearly double the days and everything included. A loaded long weekend in Nashville or Miami (five-star hotel, flights, limo service, a premium round of golf, fine dining, and a couple of big club nights) runs a group of 8 right into yacht-charter territory. The difference is you go home after three nights, and you paid for every drink and ride à la carte.
Here are the two trips for a group of 8, side by side as if you’d just gotten the final invoice.
Invoice A — Long weekend in Nashville or Miami (3 nights) (illustrative)
| Line item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Round-trip flights (8 × $400) | $3,200 |
| Five-star hotel (4 rooms × 3 nights × $700) | $8,400 |
| Limo & black-car service (3 days) | $3,500 |
| Premium round of golf (8 players, green fees + carts) | $3,200 |
| Fine dining (3 group dinners × 8 × $175) | $4,200 |
| Nightlife & bottle service (2 nights) | $5,000 |
| Incidentals (rideshares, spa, extras) | $2,000 |
| Subtotal | $29,500 |
| Tax & service (~22%) | $6,490 |
| Total | $35,990 |
| Per person | $4,499 (~$1,500 / night) |
Invoice B — 5-day crewed yacht charter (group of 8) (all-inclusive)
| Line item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Yacht charter, 5 nights, all-inclusive¹ | $27,000 |
| Round-trip flights to Tortola (8 × $600) | $4,800 |
| Crew gratuity (15% of charter fee) | $4,050 |
| Total | $35,850 |
| Per person | $4,481 (~$896 / night) |
¹ Includes all meals, premium open bar, fuel, watersports gear, and dockage. No APA, no provisioning extras. These boats publish 7-night week rates; a 5-night charter — the shortest you can book — typically runs a few thousand under that, around $27,000 on a catamaran like HIRAYA.
The totals land within $150 of each other. But look at the per-night line: the yacht is about $896 per person, per night, all-in — flights, the crew tip, and every meal, drink, and activity included — versus roughly $1,500 a night in town, where the hotel, the dinners, the limo, and the bar tabs all bill separately. And the yacht gives you five nights instead of three.
View data table
| Trip | All-in cost per person, per night |
|---|---|
| 5-day crewed yacht charter | $896 |
| Nashville long weekend | $1,500 |
| Miami long weekend | $1,680 |
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does a bachelorette or bachelor yacht charter cost per person?
For a group of 8 on an all-inclusive catamaran like HIRAYA, the charter itself runs about $3,840–$4,250 per person for a week — food, premium bar, fuel, watersports, and dockage included. Add flights and the customary crew gratuity (10–20% of the charter fee) and a 5-day trip works out to roughly $896 per person, per night all-in.
How many people can come on a charter yacht?
Up to 12 guests — an international maritime rule caps private charter yachts at 12 paying passengers, with crew counted separately. An 8-guest, 4-cabin catamaran is ideal for most bachelor and bachelorette parties. Bigger groups can charter two yachts in tandem to keep everyone cruising together.
Are food and drinks included, or do I pay an APA?
On an all-inclusive charter, every meal, premium drinks, fuel, watersports, and dockage are baked into the weekly rate — there’s no APA and no separate provisioning bill. The only thing you add is a crew gratuity at the end. (Some “plus expenses” yachts work differently; here’s what an APA is if you ever see one.)
How much do you tip the yacht crew?
Customarily 10–20% of the base charter fee, with 15% a common benchmark. You hand it to the captain at the end of the charter — cash or bank transfer — and the captain splits it among the crew. For a $30,000 charter, that’s roughly $3,000–$4,500 total across the group. See our crew tipping guide for details.
How far in advance should we book?
For peak December–April weeks and holidays, book 6–12 months ahead — the best catamarans go first. Shoulder-season trips (May–June, November) can often come together in 3–4 months. Bachelor and bachelorette parties often book 8–10 months out to line up with the wedding date; if your charter falls within six months of the wedding, treat it as peak regardless of season.
What’s the best time of year for a Caribbean bachelorette or bachelor charter?
December through April is peak season — the driest, sunniest stretch, ideal for the Bahamas and BVI. May, June, and November bring warm water, fewer crowds, and lower rates. Steer clear of the August–October hurricane window. For a month-by-month view, see our best time to charter guide.
Bottom Line
A bachelor or bachelorette party on a crewed yacht is the rare trip that’s easy to plan, all-inclusive once you’re aboard, and genuinely unforgettable. Pick five days, split an 8-guest catamaran, point it at the Exumas or the BVI, and let the crew run the show. The per-person cost lands right alongside a big-city weekend — except you get more days, every meal and drink included, and a different slice of paradise each morning.
Ready to price it out? Start a yacht search at Vital Charters, or get in touch with your dates and head count and we’ll come back with a yacht shortlist and an honest budget within 48 hours.
Jason Acosta is co-founder and principal broker at Vital Charters.
