---
title: "St. John Charter Boat or Catamaran from Cruz Bay: Rates"
url: https://virginislandvilla.com/st-john/things-to-do/boat-charters
description: "A St. John charter boat collects you in Cruz Bay; a private full day for six starts at $795 before fuel and tip, and dinghies rent from $200 a half day."
updated: 2026-10-22
source: https://virginislandvilla.com/st-john/things-to-do/boat-charters
---

[St. John](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-john) · [Things to do](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-john/things-to-do)

# St. John charter boats and boat rentals

A St. John charter boat usually collects you in Cruz Bay for a day among the North Shore cays, at Jost Van Dyke or deeper in the BVI. Most are power catamarans; a few sail. The rate covers the boat alone; fuel, the tip and BVI customs come on top. Or skip the captain and rent a dinghy.

Written by Virgin Islands Villas · Updated Nov 2026

## Boat charters on St. John, 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.*

| Name | What | Departs from | Group size | Rates | Phone | Checked |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Island Roots Charters](https://islandrootscharters.com/boats-rates-book) [Map](https://www.google.com/maps?cid=10544981151022402737) | Three 32-foot power catamarans; USVI days, BVI days and Jost Van Dyke afternoons. | Cruz Bay: National Park Visitor Center or Cruz Bay beach | up to 12 a boat; 36 on three boats | $700 sunset to $1,750 BVI extended day, plus fuel (and BVI customs) | (340) 643-5000 | Oct 2026 |
| [On the Sea Charters](https://ontheseacharters.com/pricing) [Map](https://www.google.com/maps?cid=5633418489101690153) | Two 33-foot power catamarans, private trips only. | Cruz Bay, or Sapphire Beach Marina, St. Thomas | up to 12 | From $450 sunset, $1,050 USVI day, $1,450 BVI day, for the first 6; fuel extra; BVI customs estimated at $85 a person, which may differ on Sundays and holidays | 850-339-8113 | Oct 2026 |
| [Sonic Charters](https://www.soniccharters.com/pricing/) | Six boats from a 32-foot Intrepid to a 58-foot Princess, and a Lagoon 450 sailing catamaran; based on St. Thomas. | National Park dock, Cruz Bay, or Oasis Cove Marina, St. Thomas | up to 12; rate covers 6, $50 a guest above | From $1,100 to from $2,750 a day for up to 6, plus fuel, tip and BVI customs ($75 a person) | 833-205-9544 | Oct 2026 |
| [Voodoo Charters](https://voodoovi.com/st-john-boat-charters/) | Two power catamarans; private trips on both and shared trips on the large one. | Cruz Bay | Vorado up to 12; Voodoo up to 49 | Vorado $750 sunset to $2,800 BVI for 6; Voodoo $3,000 to $7,100 for 25 | (340) 690-8272 | Oct 2026 |
| [Ocean Runner](https://www.oceanrunnerusvi.com/) [Map](https://www.google.com/maps?cid=11699107503182688129) | Self-drive 16-foot Boston Whaler and 22-foot Axopar rentals from its Cruz Bay dock (the Axopar for experienced captains, by an approved survey), and captained charters. | Bay Street, Cruz Bay | 5 to 7 self-drive; up to 12 captained | Self-drive Boston Whaler from $410 (3 or 7 hours), Axopar from $895 (8 hours, $2,000 card hold); captained from $1,395; larger yachts from $3,000 to from $5,000 | (340) 693-8809 | Oct 2026 |
| [Wharfside Watersports](https://wharfsidewatersports.com/pages/boats) [Map](https://www.google.com/maps?cid=12950979380574284788) | Self-drive dinghy, Zodiac and Medline rentals, the dinghy kept to the North Shore from Cruz Bay to Waterlemon Cay; private and group charters on request. | Wharfside Village, Cruz Bay | 4 to 10 by boat | Self-drive from $245 (12-foot dinghy, half day, plus $15 fuel) and $295 (full day, plus $25) to $1,250 (Medline, full day) | (340) 201-6881 | Oct 2026 |
| [Cruz Bay Watersports](https://www.cruzbaywatersports.com/) [Map](https://www.google.com/maps?cid=9725720407630038751) | Shared sails and snorkel trips, and private center-console and catamaran charters. | Westin St. John beach, Great Cruz Bay; also The Ritz-Carlton, St. Thomas | private boats 8 to 12, by boat | Shared Turtles & Tacos from the Westin from $129 a person; private full days from $1,275 (37-foot Whaler, USVI) to from $1,975 (VanDutch 40, BVI), fuel extra on most | (340) 244-1493 | Oct 2026 |
| [Palm Tree Charters](http://palmtreecharters.com/) [Map](https://www.google.com/maps?cid=245873595094961753) | Four private power catamarans from 26 to 42 feet, booked online; Virgin Gorda and Anegada priced as add-ons. | Cruz Bay beach, in front of High Tide | up to 7, 8 or 12, by boat | $450 sunset to $1,300 BVI day for 6 on the 26- and 27-foot Palma Bellas; $2,500 a day on the 36-foot Last Call; $3,500 a day for 12 on the 42-foot Top Shelf; fuel and $80 a person BVI customs extra | (340) 642-8522 | Nov 2026 |
| [Blue Water Charters VI](https://www.bluewaterchartersvi.com/) [Map](https://www.google.com/maps?cid=10852949796700134534) | Private day trips in the USVI and the BVI, booked online. | National Park finger pier, Cruz Bay | up to 8; rate covers 6, $50 a guest above | From $450 sunset to from $1,350 BVI day, for up to 6; fuel and $80 a person BVI customs extra | (340) 489-1120 | Oct 2026 |
| [Rockstar St John](https://rockstarstjohn.com/usvi-charter/) | Two boats, among them the RockStar; private USVI days with ice, water, snorkel gear and dry bags aboard, your own food and drink; 20 percent tip customary. | Cruz Bay, or the Westin, Great Cruz Bay | up to 8; rate covers 6, $35 a guest above | $595 half day, $695 three-quarter day, $795 full day for 6, plus fuel ($75 to $160 by trip); couples' full day $695 for 2 | (340) 227-6552 | Nov 2026 |
| [Sailing Tipitina](https://sailingtipitina.com/) | Tipitina, a 55-foot classic sailing yacht; half-day, full-day, late-day and sunset sails and a Christmas Cove pizza-boat afternoon; lunch and an open bar on the full days. | Cruz Bay harbor; pickup elsewhere on St. John on request | up to 6 | $500 plus $50 a guest (2-hour sunset sail) to $1,200 plus $100 a guest (6-hour day); paid after the sail, 10 percent off for cash | (340) 201-4657 | Nov 2026 |
| [St. John Dinghy Rentals](https://stjohndinghyrentals.com/) [Map](https://www.google.com/maps?cid=16594872339432928973) | Self-drive 12- to 16-foot RIBs with 25 to 90 hp, a center console and shade, for the North Shore from Cruz Bay to Leinster Bay; two years' boating experience required. | Cruz Bay beach, the mooring in front of Beach Bar | 4 on the 12-foot; 6 on the 14- and 16-foot | $300 to $375 a half day, $350 to $475 a full day, by boat; $2,100 to $2,850 a week | (340) 227-1886 | Oct 2026 |
| [Dockside Dinghy](http://www.docksidevi.com/) [Map](https://www.google.com/maps?cid=12162489602168444575) | Self-drive 12- and 13-foot inflatables and 15- to 19-foot center consoles on the Coral Bay side, half days at 10 or 1:30 and full days at 10; experienced boaters only. | Coral Bay, its mooring beside Lime Out | 5 to 8 by boat; 4 to 7 adults with snorkel gear | $200 to $400 a half day (3 hours), $285 to $650 a full day (6 hours), fuel and ice included; two hours to Lime Out $150 | (340) 227-3260 | Oct 2026 |

## St. John catamaran charters and powerboats, by group size

Most St. John charters are power catamarans and powerboats, quick enough to reach the cays and the BVI in a day; sailing has its own section below. Start with the size of the group. Island Roots and On the Sea run power catamarans of 32 and 33 feet licensed for 12, and On the Sea's rates cover the first six. Sonic and Blue Water price six and add $50 a guest above that, and Rockstar prices six and adds $35 a guest, up to eight. Above 12, Island Roots sends up to three boats, and Voodoo's large catamaran takes 49.

Each names its own pickup. Island Roots meets guests at the National Park Visitor Center or on the beach in [Cruz Bay](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-john/areas/cruz-bay), Sonic at the National Park dock, Wharfside Watersports at Wharfside Village, Rockstar in Cruz Bay or at the Westin, and Cruz Bay Watersports on the Westin's beach in [Great Cruz Bay](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-john/areas/great-cruz-bay). Island Roots and Blue Water both sell a day to [Jost Van Dyke](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-john/things-to-do/jost-van-dyke) on its own, a short run into the BVI with a beach bar at the end of it.

## Sailing day charters from St. John

A sailing day out of St. John is a slower day than a power catamaran's, with fewer stops and more time at each. Tipitina, a 55-foot classic sailing yacht run by its two captains out of Cruz Bay, takes six at most. The full day brings two or three snorkel stops, a lunch cooked aboard and an open bar; the late-day sail finishes at sunset, and a four-hour afternoon crosses to Christmas Cove off St. Thomas for [snorkeling](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-thomas/things-to-do/snorkeling) and the floating pizzeria there. Every trip is priced as a base rate plus a sum for each guest, paid at the end of the sail, with 10 percent off for cash.

For the BVI under sail, Sonic's Lagoon 450 is the one sailing catamaran in the table; it is based on St. Thomas and boards at the National Park dock in Cruz Bay.

## Sunset sails and half days from Cruz Bay

Not every party needs the whole day. A half day covers a bay or two and has you back for a late lunch in town; a sunset trip is an hour or two on the water with a drink in hand. Sunset trips start at $450 on Palm Tree's Palma Bellas, On the Sea and Blue Water, and run $700 on Island Roots; Tipitina's two-hour sunset sail is $500 plus $50 a guest, with the bar open. Rockstar's half day is $595 for six and Palm Tree's $760, both before fuel.

What comes aboard differs by boat. Rockstar supplies ice, water, snorkel gear and dry bags and leaves the food and drink to you; Tipitina serves lunch and an open bar on its full days. Ask before you shop for the cooler.

## St. John dinghy rental: four desks, two harbors

Renting a dinghy on St. John is the North Shore at your own pace: a 12-foot inflatable with a small outboard, pulled up on the sand at [Honeymoon](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-john/beaches/honeymoon-beach), [Hawksnest](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-john/beaches/hawksnest) or [Maho](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-john/beaches/maho-bay), then on to [Waterlemon Cay](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-john/beaches/waterlemon) before the afternoon wind. Three desks sit on Cruz Bay's waterfront and one on [Coral Bay](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-john/areas/coral-bay)'s. The prices are each operator's own, read on October 22, 2026.

| Desk | Launches from | Boats | Per rental, as printed | What they ask |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Wharfside Watersports | Wharfside Village, Cruz Bay | 12-foot inflatable, 25 hp, up to 4 | $245 half day (3.5 hours), $295 full day (7 hours), plus $15 or $25 fuel | Basic boat handling and time in a similar boat; optional damage insurance |
| St. John Dinghy Rentals | Cruz Bay beach, the mooring in front of Beach Bar | 12- to 16-foot RIBs, 25 to 90 hp, 4 to 6 | $300 to $375 half day, $350 to $475 full day; $2,100 to $2,850 a week | Two years' boating experience |
| Ocean Runner | Its dock at 1 Bay Street, Cruz Bay | 16-foot Boston Whaler for 5; 22-foot Axopar for 7 | Whaler from $410 (3 or 7 hours); Axopar from $895 (8 hours) | For the Axopar, an experience survey approved before the booking stands and a $2,000 card hold |
| Dockside Dinghy | Coral Bay, its mooring beside Lime Out | 12- and 13-foot inflatables, 15- to 19-foot center consoles, 5 to 8 | $200 to $400 half day (3 hours), $285 to $650 full day (6 hours), fuel and ice included | Experienced boaters only |

None of the four asks for a license, and the territory issues none to a renter: the Department of Planning and Natural Resources requires its boating course only of 14- to 18-year-olds driving a jet ski. What the desks want instead is proof you have done this before, and Wharfside says plainly that it will cancel a rental if its staff doubt you can handle the boat. Fuel is the other line to read. Wharfside adds $15 or $25 to the rate, Dockside includes it with the cooler and the ice, and Ocean Runner holds $2,000 on a card against the Axopar until it comes back.

A dinghy is a North Shore boat. Wharfside and St. John Dinghy Rentals keep theirs between Cruz Bay and Waterlemon Cay, where the park's moorings and buoyed beach channels are; Wharfside's larger Zodiac and Medline range farther, to an itinerary agreed before you leave. Dockside's boats stay on the Coral Bay side, and its two-hour run to the Lime Out taco boat, $150 for up to eleven, is the cheapest way to get a large party onto the water there.

## Self-drive or a captain: what the day changes

A captain changes what the day can be. A captained boat clears the BVI, finds the lee when the swell is up and knows which mooring field is empty at ten; a dinghy keeps you in the park's calm water and hands you the morning. For four people a full day in a Wharfside dinghy comes to $320 with fuel, against $795 for the least expensive captained full day here, Rockstar's, before fuel and tip.

On a dinghy, nobody is watching the weather for you. Wharfside and Dockside decide each morning which beaches are open, and St. John Dinghy Rentals refunds a rental brought back within the first hour if the water is more than you want. Count the public lot in Cruz Bay, which that desk says is usually full by six, and the fact that its 14- and 16-foot boats are too heavy to pull up a beach, so they stay on a mooring while you swim in.

## Where a dinghy may go in Virgin Islands National Park

The rules for most of the water a St. John dinghy sees are [Virgin Islands National Park](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-john/things-to-do/national-park)'s, and they are short. Anchoring is allowed only in the two designated anchorages, off [Francis Bay](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-john/beaches/francis-bay) and Lind Point, and only in sand; everywhere else you pick up a mooring, and the rental desks go a step further and tell you never to anchor at all. Boats stay out of the swim areas. A boat under 26 feet may run in to a beach through the channel marked by a red and a green buoy and, if it can be pulled completely out of the water, stay on the sand while you use the beach; a boat that cannot leaves the exclusion area once everyone is off. In a mooring field, and within 500 feet of one, the limit is 5 mph and no wake, and the markers on Johnson's Reef, the shallow reef off the North Shore, are kept outside. St. John Dinghy Rentals adds that the park's blue dinghy tie-ups take boats of 16 feet and under, and that where one is laid it is the one to use.

## What a St. John boat trip really costs

The rate in the table buys the boat. Fuel is billed on top at Island Roots, On the Sea, Sonic, Palm Tree, Blue Water and Rockstar; Sonic estimates $100 to $650 depending on the boat. The tip, 15 to 20 percent in Sonic's words and 20 percent in Rockstar's, is on top too. A BVI day adds customs, collected in cash on board by the captain and set out boat by boat in the table; the territory's own charges are on [getting to the BVI](https://virginislandvilla.com/bvi/getting-there).

The east end is the one part of the island the captains do not come to. Every captained boat in the table boards in Cruz Bay or at the Westin, about half an hour over Centerline Road from Coral Bay, though Tipitina will collect elsewhere on the island on request; Coral Bay's one desk, Dockside Dinghy, rents boats you drive yourself. Ask the captain for the boarding time, and count the drive home after a long day on the water.

## Park moorings for a charter, and passports for the BVI

A charter boat lives under the same park rules as the dinghies: the two anchorages, no part of an anchor or chain on coral, and otherwise the mooring balls, of which the blue-and-white ones are commercial and go first to the boats with a park permit. It is why a captain's day runs mooring to mooring.

For a BVI day, [bring a passport](https://virginislandvilla.com/usvi/passport-and-entry). The BVI has required a passport book at entry since March 1, 2025, and accepts a US passport card from US citizens in its place.

Featured villas on St. John

[All villas on St. John](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-john/vacation-rentals)

Listed by their owners. See rates and dates, then write to the owner.

[Featured, paid placement Indo House Great Cruz Bay, St. John · 4 bedrooms From $4,000 / night](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-john/villas/indo-house)

## Questions about boat charters on St. John

### Can you rent a dinghy on St. John?

Yes, from three desks in Cruz Bay and one in Coral Bay. Wharfside Watersports rents a 12-foot inflatable for four at $245 a half day and $295 a full day plus fuel, St. John Dinghy Rentals 12- to 16-foot RIBs from $300 a half day, Ocean Runner a Boston Whaler from $410, and Dockside Dinghy in Coral Bay from $200 a half day with fuel included. No license is needed, each asks for boating experience, and the dinghies stay on the North Shore or the Coral Bay side.

### Can you rent a boat on St. John without a captain?

Yes. Wharfside Watersports, St. John Dinghy Rentals and Ocean Runner in Cruz Bay, and Dockside Dinghy in Coral Bay, rent self-drive boats from a 12-foot dinghy to Ocean Runner's 22-foot Axopar, from $200 a half day to $895 for eight hours. Every desk asks for experience, and the Axopar wants an approved experience survey and a $2,000 card hold.

### Do you need a boating license to rent a boat on St. John?

No. The Department of Planning and Natural Resources requires its boating course only of 14- to 18-year-olds driving a jet ski, and none of the four rental desks asks for a license. They ask for experience instead: two years of it at St. John Dinghy Rentals, time in a similar boat at Wharfside, experienced boaters only at Dockside, and a survey approved by a manager for Ocean Runner's Axopar.

### How much is a private boat charter on St. John?

A full USVI day for six starts at $795 with Rockstar, and a 42-foot catamaran such as Palm Tree's Top Shelf is $3,500 for up to 12. A full BVI day starts at $1,300 on Palm Tree's Palma Bella. Fuel, tip and BVI customs are extra.

### Does a BVI day on the water from St. John need a passport?

Yes. The BVI has asked for a passport book at entry since March 1, 2025, and takes a US passport card from US citizens in its place, so everyone aboard brings one.

### Can a charter boat anchor in Virgin Islands National Park?

Only in the park's two designated anchorages, off Francis Bay and Lind Point, and only in sand. Everywhere else a boat picks up one of the park's moorings.

### Can you take a boat from St. John to the Baths on Virgin Gorda?

Yes, as a long BVI day. Palm Tree and Blue Water both name [the Baths](https://virginislandvilla.com/bvi/beaches/the-baths) as a stop, and Palm Tree adds a $250 surcharge for Virgin Gorda on its smaller boats, on top of the charter, the fuel and BVI customs; the National Parks Trust's day pass at the Baths is on top of that. On any other boat, ask the captain before you book: Virgin Gorda is a longer run than the usual day to Jost Van Dyke, and everyone aboard carries a passport.

Sources: [National Park Service](https://www.nps.gov/viis/planyourvisit/virgin-islands-marine-visitor-use-information.htm) (checked Oct 22, 2026) · [Government of the Virgin Islands](https://www.gov.vg/index.php/news/valid-passport-required-enter-virgin-islands) (checked Oct 9, 2026) · [Department of Planning and Natural Resources](https://dpnr.vi.gov/environmental-enforcement/boating-education/courses/) (checked Oct 22, 2026)

Every listing is free: an operator can ask to be added or corrected through [our contact page](https://virginislandvilla.com/contact).

- [Jost Van Dyke from St. John](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-john/things-to-do/jost-van-dyke)

- · [Snorkel tours on St. John](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-john/things-to-do/snorkel-tours)

- · [Fishing charters on St. John](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-john/things-to-do/fishing)

- · [Water sports on St. John](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-john/things-to-do/water-sports)

- · [Things to do](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-john/things-to-do)

- · [Back to St. John](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-john)