St. Thomas boat charters from Red Hook and Compass Point

Where St. Thomas charter boats leave from

Most boats leave from the East End: American Yacht Harbor, the marina in the middle of Red Hook, and Compass Point Marina, a few minutes west on Benner Bay. Yacht Haven Grande, on the Charlotte Amalie waterfront, is the megayacht marina, with Customs and Immigration on site, and no day operator in the table lists it as a departure. Closer to town, boats pick up at Havensight, the Crown Bay cruise pier or the Marriott's Frenchman's Cove dock.

Staying west of town, ask for a pickup on your side; the cruise marinas can charge a visiting boat up to $1.50 a foot, so expect it in the quote. Coming off a ship, ask for a pickup near the pier; the cruise port guide has both docks.

St. Thomas catamaran charter or powerboat, by head count

Start with the head count. Most private boats here take six or twelve: Over The Line prices one to six and adds $75 a guest up to 12, and Seas the Day says a 13th guest, infants included, means a second boat. For more, New Horizons II takes 18, Breakaway 32 and Stormy Pirates' power catamaran 49.

Then read past the price, because the published rate is rarely the day's cost. Seas the Day bills fuel on top at $8 a gallon, where Stormy Pirates quotes its USVI days with the fuel in; every other boat's terms are in the table, and the crew's tip, customarily 15 to 20 percent and up to 25 on some boats, comes on top of all of them. A powerboat gets there faster and rides harder in a chop; a sailing catamaran is slower and steadier, the gentler day for children or anyone unsure of the sea.

Renting a boat on St. Thomas without a captain

A boat you skipper yourself is hard to book on St. Thomas. Nauti Nymph, renting powerboats since 1984 from Compass Point Marina with a second pickup at the National Park dock in Cruz Bay, briefs you on the boat and on the reefs and shoals that are off limits before you go. Ask when you call whether you can take it out without a captain, and what it costs. Midnight Sun, on the East End, lists bareboat and overnight charters but prices only captained days.

Without a captain, the chart, the moorings, the BVI customs paperwork and a winter north swell are all yours to handle. For most visitors that settles it in favor of a captained day.

Sunset cruises on St. Thomas, by dock

A St. Thomas sunset cruise is a two-hour thing, out at five or half past and back as the harbor lights come on, and the choice is really which dock is nearest your villa. The shared boats, priced by the head, leave from the resort docks at Frenchman's Cove, Bolongo Bay, Margaritaville and Sapphire; the private ones leave from Red Hook. Prices as each operator printed them on October 22, 2026; the crew's tip is extra on every boat.

The one sunset dinner cruise is The VI Cat's Sunset & Harbor Lights sail: tacos on Tuesdays, barbecue on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays by its menu, with the bar open throughout. Lady Lynsey's dinner sail is a different evening, $119 from the Ritz for four and a half hours that cross to St. John for a dinner you pay for ashore and come back under the stars.

A shared boat is a party, up to 65 aboard The VI Cat; a private one is yours for the price of a dozen seats. Boarding at the Ritz means wading in to your knees, by Lady Lynsey's own note, so wear what can get wet. Watching it from land instead: the St. Thomas sunset guide.

Jost Van Dyke day trips by charter from Red Hook

Jost Van Dyke is the BVI day most St. Thomas visitors mean: White Bay and the Soggy Dollar, Foxy's at Great Harbour, home for dinner. The scheduled ferry from Red Hook has its own page, how to get to Jost Van Dyke from St. Thomas; this is the boat you book instead.

By the seat a Jost day starts at $190; by the boat, at $1,195 for six, and the boat buys the itinerary.

All as printed on October 22, 2026. The day keeps the same shape on every boat: Red Hook in the morning, customs at Great Harbour, the beach until mid-afternoon, back in time for dinner. Split six ways, a private boat costs more a seat than a shared one and lets you choose the stops. The customs fee is cash on the morning, and everyone carries a passport. To fit a boat day into the rest of the week, see a St. Thomas sailing itinerary.

A BVI day trip from St. Thomas: passports, customs

Every guest needs a valid passport book, or for US citizens a passport card, under the BVI's entry rules since March 2025. Bad Kitty Charters wants a photo of each passport's photo page 72 hours ahead and will not board anyone without one. The full rules are on passports and entry.

BVI customs is paid in cash on the day, outside the charter price, at the operator's own figure: Over The Line quotes $75 a person, varying with the size of the party and on Sundays and holidays, and adds $300 to its rate for the crossing; Bad Kitty Charters asks $85, and Midnight Sun $65 to $75 by party size, warning that clearing can take an hour. The territory's own entry and departure charges are on getting to the BVI. Bring the passports and the cash.