BVI catamaran charters from Tortola's harbors

The right BVI catamaran charter depends less on the boat than on where you are sleeping and how many of you there are. Day sails collect from Road Town, Nanny Cay and West End; a bareboat is a yacht you skipper yourself for the week, and a crewed charter adds a captain and a cook.

Written by Virgin Islands Villas · Updated Nov 2026

Boat charters in the BVI, side by side

Rates and phone numbers as each operator publishes them, or as a recent local source prints them where the operator does not, checked on the day in the last column. A group size marked "about" is our read.
Name	What	Departs from	Group size	Rates	Phone	Checked
Kuralu Catamaran Charters Map	A 43-foot Leopard sailing catamaran, lunch included, and a 36-foot power catamaran, drinks and no food; shared and private day trips.	Road Town; the power catamaran also from Manuel Reef Marina	private rate covers 10, $100 a guest above	Shared $185 to $195 a person; private $2,050 (power) to $2,250 (sail) for up to 10; fuel included	(284) 499-1313	Nov 2026
The Moorings Map	Private day sails on monohulls and catamarans up to 58 feet; skippered, crewed and bareboat charters.	Mariner Inn & Marina, Wickham's Cay II, Road Town	up to 12 day sailing; up to 10 crewed	Day sails from $775, booked on site within three weeks of sailing; longer charters quoted by date	(284) 393-2417	Oct 2026
Aristocat Daysails Map	Two sailing catamarans, a 37-foot Axopar and a 26-foot RIB; lunch and drinks on the day sails.	West End, Hannah Bay, Road Town or Hodge's Creek Marina	Pegasus up to 10; Lickety Split up to 8	Pegasus full day $2,250 to $2,750, by pickup; other boats quoted	(284) 499-1249	Oct 2026
Island Time BVI Map	Half- and full-day captained powerboat charters from 23 to 37 feet, with fuel and some drinks; no food on board.	B-Dock, Nanny Cay	up to 8 or 10, by boat	—	(284) 340-0357	Oct 2026
BVI Yacht Charters Map	Bareboat and crewed catamarans and monohulls from 30 to 54 feet, for a few days or weeks.	Ritter House Marina, Wickhams Cay 2, Road Town	about 6 to 10, by yacht	—	(284) 494-4289	Oct 2026
Horizon Yacht Charters Map	Bareboat, skippered and captain-and-chef charters from its Nanny Cay base.	Nanny Cay Marina	—	—	(284) 494-8787	Oct 2026

Choosing a BVI catamaran charter by pickup and party

Start with where you sleep. Kuralu and The Moorings leave from Road Town, Island Time and Horizon from Nanny Cay, and Aristocat collects at West End, Hannah Bay, Road Town and Hodge's Creek Marina. A house at West End is about half an hour's drive from Road Town, so a pickup at that end of the island gives you back the morning.

Then count heads. Most day boats here take 8 to 12; Kuralu's private rate covers 10 and charges for each guest above that, and The Moorings' day boats go to 12. A party larger than the boat books two, and a party of two is better off buying seats on a shared sail.

Where a BVI day charter goes

A day from Tortola usually heads one of four ways, and the pickup decides which is easy. From Road Town and Nanny Cay the short run is south across the channel to Peter Island and Norman Island, for the Indians and the Caves. East lie Cooper and Salt Islands, where the wreck of the Rhone is the territory's famous dive, and beyond them Virgin Gorda and The Baths. From West End the natural day is Jost Van Dyke and Sandy Spit, with lunch on White Bay at the Soggy Dollar Bar.

A private boat will mix them, sea permitting, so ask the captain which way the wind favors that week.

Bareboat charter in the BVI, crewed, or a day sail

The three ways to go differ in who sails and who cooks. A shared day sail sells by the seat, lunch included on Kuralu's sailing catamaran, and suits a party too small to fill a boat. A private day books the whole boat and its captain, and the price reads best split across a full group. A bareboat is a yacht you skipper yourself for a few days or a week, from BVI Yacht Charters' fleet in Road Town, Horizon at Nanny Cay or The Moorings. A crewed charter adds a captain and a cook: The Moorings runs catamarans of 46 to 58 feet for up to 10, lunch included.

The Moorings' low day rate comes with a condition. It holds only when you book on site at the Mariner Inn within three weeks of sailing, two in high season, and gratuities and shore meals are extra.

How much to charter a catamaran in the BVI?

For a day, from $775 to $2,750 on the operators' own pages, by boat and by party, with the detail in the table. Read the inclusions before the price. Kuralu includes fuel, drinks and snorkel gear; Island Time includes the captain, fuel and some drinks, with no food on board. A cheaper boat with lunch and the tip still to pay can end close to a pricier one that includes both.

A week is priced by the boat and the dates, and the companies quote it in their booking pages rather than in a printed list. A crewed week costs more than a bareboat because the price carries the captain, the cook and the food. Ask what a week's quote leaves out: fuel, moorings, the cruising permit and the crew's tip. A BVI sailing itinerary sets out how the week's route runs, and the guide to the sailing season says when the wind and the prices are kindest.

National Parks Trust moorings: 90 minutes, day use

The National Parks Trust of the Virgin Islands lays day moorings at the dive and snorkel sites, and its rules are short. Every boat that ties to one needs a National Parks Mooring Permit, sold by charter companies, dive shops and the Trust's Road Town office; a foreign boat buys it at Customs on entry. Use is limited to 90 minutes, first come, first served, and the buoys are illegal to use overnight. Orange is day use without diving, white is for diving, yellow for commercial boats and blue for dinghies.

On a crewed or captained day the captain handles all of this; on a bareboat the clock and the permit are yours.

Crossing from the USVI: customs first

A boat from St. Thomas or St. John clears BVI Customs and Immigration on arrival, and the office it chooses sets the day. Great Harbour on Jost Van Dyke closes earliest, at 4:30 pm every day, so a boat crossing late in the afternoon clears at Road Town, which stays open into the evening. West End's hours change through the week, so settle with the captain which office the day is planned around. Outside the hours, clearance is by arrangement, with fees.

Everyone aboard carries a passport book, or a US passport card for a US citizen. St. John operators collect the BVI fees in cash on board, and the territory's entry charges apply to every visitor who lands.

Questions about boat charters in the BVI

Is lunch included on a BVI day sail?

On some boats. Kuralu's sailing catamaran includes lunch, drinks and snorkel gear, shared or private, and Aristocat's day sails carry lunch and drinks; Kuralu's power catamaran and Island Time's powerboats carry drinks and no food. Compare the inclusions before the price.

Can you charter a boat in the BVI without a captain?

Yes, a bareboat. BVI Yacht Charters in Road Town, Horizon at Nanny Cay and The Moorings rent yachts you skipper yourself; each company sets its own rules on experience, so ask before you book. The National Parks Trust's 90-minute mooring limit then applies to you.

Can you take a charter boat from St. Thomas or St. John to the BVI?

Yes. The boat clears BVI Customs and Immigration on arrival, at West End, Road Town, Spanish Town or Great Harbour, and everyone aboard carries a passport book or, for US citizens, a passport card. St. John operators collect the BVI fees in cash on board.

How long can you stay on a National Parks mooring in the BVI?

Ninety minutes, first come, first served, and never overnight, by the National Parks Trust's rules. The boat needs the Trust's mooring permit; overnight moorings in the anchorages are a separate system.

Do you need a fishing license in the BVI?

Yes, unless you are a BVIslander: taking fish or any other marine life from BVI waters without a recreational fishing permit is illegal. The government's fisheries department issues the permit, good for a month. On a sport-fishing charter, ask the captain before you book whether the boat's license covers its guests.

Sources: National Parks Trust of the Virgin Islands (checked Oct 16, 2026) · BVI Tourist Board, arriving by sea (checked Nov 12, 2026) · BVI Tourist Board, visitor resources (checked Nov 12, 2026) · Government of the Virgin Islands (checked Oct 16, 2026) · Kuralu Catamaran Charters (checked Nov 12, 2026)

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