Yes, it’s that time of year again. Time to think about how to break up those long horrid Northern winters into livable chunks with a Christmas or New Year Charter in the Caribbean – yes, you Canadians need to think about this as well – I’m talking to you too.
A nice warm break over the holiday season is JUST THE THING.
The yacht charter industry tends to break up the Holiday Season into two separate sections: the first runs from December 20th to the 27th, then they take a 24 hour “turnaround” day for cleaning and re-provisioning, and then the second holiday season charter typically starts on December 28th or 29th and runs through January 4th or 5th.
Sometimes a day or two’s flexibility can be arranged, but this is the norm for Christmas and New Year charters in the Caribbean.
As with all great events there are pros and cons to taking a yacht or catamaran charter break during this season. First the pros:
a) The kids are usually on holiday too so you can include them.
b) It’s nice and warm with a little wind.
The Cons:
a) There is usually a holiday season surcharge, the boats crews are away from their family too and deserve additional compensation. Not too many special deals available.
b) It can get a little crowded, since basically, every yacht in the fleet gets booked during this time of year.
c) Not impossible, but hard to get an airline ticket that won’t bankrupt you.
d) Some larger yachts require a minimum of 10 days charter.
If you are self-employed or in a more flexible getaway position with grown kids of if you are all adults, the best time to break up the Winter is after January 5th or 6th, when the holiday season rush is over, and take your break anytime through the end of February or the beginning of March. The yacht charter rates become more reasonable and the anchorages less crowded.
Watch out for Spring Break though. This has a whole different set of pros and cons. Spring Break is “College” time when hordes of young college kids descend upon the Caribbean sailing hot-spots like the BVI for example, like locusts – consuming every beer in the islands and traveling in groups.
Lots of splashing around, loud music and other things that college kids do – I won’t get into too much detail!
Luckily the islands and the islanders are flexible and tolerant, they have been putting up with obstreperous yacht charterers with grace and tolerance for years.
You’ll have a great time in the Caribbean any time of year. It just takes a little planning and choosing the right boat.
We’re here to help, for more information about Christmas and New Year charter in the Caribbean, call us at (877) 759-8263 or use our handy-dandy little contact form.
We also have a super detailed search engine for yachts where you can check out the real-time availability over the holiday season or any other time of year, for that matter.