Family Vacation in the Bahamas
Private crewed catamarans and motor yachts for families of four to twelve, in the Exumas from Nassau or the Abacos from Marsh Harbour
- No fee for our service
- Family run since 1998
- Members of CYBA, AYCA and FYBA
- No fee for our service
- Family run since 1998
- Members of CYBA, AYCA and FYBA
A week on your own crewed catamaran, where the kids meet iguanas, swim with pigs and learn to drive the dinghy, and the chef cooks for everyone.
Parents ask us what the kids will do all week. The kids ask whether there is WiFi. The honest answer to both is on this page. A crewed family yacht charter is the rare vacation where a six year old, a fifteen year old and a grandparent want the same thing. In the water by nine, asleep by ten.
Tony and Gail King, who founded the company in 1998, ran their own charter yacht in the Caribbean before they started booking for other people. They know which captains are good with children and which boats have the netting and the toys that make a family week work.
Why a yacht for a family
A door to close, one table for all
A four cabin catamaran gives the parents their own cabin, the kids theirs, and one cockpit table where the whole family eats together. The chef cooks around the preference sheet, picky eaters included, so there is no restaurant with tired children in it.
The crew does the hard part
A captain and a chef, and on many boats a mate whose job is the dinghy and the water toys. They set the anchor, run the tender and know every anchorage. You spend the day in the water with the kids instead of running the boat.
Flat, shallow and warm
The Exuma banks are shallow, rarely more than twenty feet, and the color of a swimming pool. A catamaran barely rolls at anchor, so seasickness is rare, and there is a beach or a sandbar at nearly every stop.
Where you will go
Most families start in Nassau and head south into the Exumas, where the islands are close together and the animals do the entertaining. Little ones and first timers also do well in the Abacos, where the water is just as calm and the hops are shorter. Say how old the kids are and we will point you to one or the other. More about the Bahamas.
The dashed line runs south on days 1 to 5. The lighter dotted line is the way back north, with the night at Shroud Cay on day 6. Most hops are short.
A sample seven day route, Nassau and the Exumas
Board after lunch, cross to the top of the Exumas, and meet the rock iguanas on the beach before dinner or first thing next morning.
Snorkel the wreck of a cargo plane that sits in ten feet of clear water, shallow enough for the youngest snorkeler, then anchor for the night behind the cay.
Warderick Wells is the park headquarters. The kids climb Boo Boo Hill to leave a driftwood sign with the family name on it, and there is a whale skeleton on the beach by the office.
The swimming pigs at Big Major Cay in the morning. Thunderball Grotto at slack tide for the ones who can snorkel, and a drink on the yacht club dock for the ones who cannot, where nurse sharks and rays wait under the fish cleaning table.
Wade in with the nurse sharks at Compass Cay marina. Nurse sharks are slow bottom feeders used to people, and the marina staff are right there. It is the story they will tell at school. Then an afternoon on a sandbar that only exists at low tide.
The dinghy ride up the mangrove creek at high tide comes out on an empty ocean beach. Stay the night on a park mooring and leave early.
A last morning swim, breakfast underway, and you are alongside in Nassau by early afternoon for a quiet last night at the dock and a short taxi to the airport in the morning.
Little ones and first timers. The Abacos. Fly to Marsh Harbour and spend the week in the Sea of Abaco, protected water with hops of an hour or two. Climb the lighthouse at Hope Town, walk the lanes of the settlement, swim off the long beach at Treasure Cay and watch the boatbuilders at Man-O-War Cay. Fewer crewed yachts are based here than in Nassau, so the earlier you ask the better.
One thing we tell every family. Don’t start from Florida. The Gulf Stream crossing can be rough and you would lose a day each way. Fly to Nassau or Marsh Harbour, both about an hour in the air from Fort Lauderdale or Miami, and start the week rested. The crew meets you at the marina with the boat ready and the fridge full.
or call 1 877 759 8263
The right yacht for a family
How many of you there are, and how old, changes the boat more than anything else.
Catamaran for one family
Four cabins, four bathrooms, a trampoline up front and a cockpit the size of a living room. Stable at anchor, shallow enough to nose up to the beach, and the crew has its own quarters forward. The usual choice for two parents and two to four children.
Motor yacht for three generations
More space, more crew, air conditioning everywhere and no steps to speak of between the salon and the aft deck. Faster between anchorages, so grandparents get more of the day at rest and teenagers get more of it in the water. If a grandparent finds steps or the dinghy hard, say so. We look for a wide swim platform and a tender they can step straight into.
Bigger catamaran for two families
Five or six cabins, a bigger tender, and enough deck for two sets of parents to find a quiet corner. Cousins come home with the same stories.
Most crewed yachts in the Bahamas carry snorkel gear, a paddleboard or two, a kayak, fishing rods and a tender with a decent outboard. We check what is on board before we recommend a yacht to you.
What the kids will do
There is something to do at every stop, and most kids are asleep before the adults finish dinner. Our Sailing with Kids page has the long version.
- Wakeboarding and tubing behind the dinghy, the most popular thing on nearly every family boat we book. Ask for a tender with sixty horsepower or more. Not inside the park anchorages, where everything runs at idle.
- Snorkeling at every stop, with a fish book on board so they can name what they saw at dinner.
- Learning to sail. Most captains let kids take the wheel on a passage and help with the lines, and teenagers can learn to drive the dinghy with a crew member beside them.
- Beaches, sandbars, hermit crabs and shells. Inside the park the shells stay where they are.
- Pigs, iguanas, nurse sharks, stingrays and sea turtles, all in a week.
- Movies and music in the evening, and WiFi. Most crewed yachts now carry satellite internet that works at anchor in the Exumas, so say if that matters to the teenagers and we will check the boats we shortlist.
The small things we arrange
Mention the children in your first note to us. Some of this is part of the charter and some is at cost. We tell you which before you book.
- Child size life jackets on board before you arrive, and netting on the lifelines for the small ones
- A cabin for a grandparent, a nanny or a friend
- Early dinner for the little ones and a later one for the adults
- A birthday cake and a sandbar picnic
- A tube, a wakeboard and a second paddleboard if the boat does not carry them
- A night on Paradise Island at either end of the week, with water park passes booked ahead, because day passes sell out
When to go
Family weeks follow the school calendar, so here is how the Bahamas line up with it.
Spring break and Easter
The best weather of the year. Dry, in the high 70s, with the water just warm enough. Book early, because every family in the eastern United States has the same idea.
Summer
Warm water, long days and quieter anchorages. Some crewed yachts leave the Bahamas for the summer, so ask early about the boat you want. It is also hurricane season from June through November, so we recommend trip cancellation insurance for summer weeks.
Thanksgiving to New Year
Dry, a little cooler, and the busiest weeks of the year. Thanksgiving is quieter than Christmas. Christmas and New Year carry a holiday premium of 10 to 20 percent on most yachts and are booked a year ahead.
How booking works
A phone call or the form on this page is enough to start.
Photos, cabin plans, crew profiles and the exact terms for each one.
We hold the yacht, send the contract and take the deposit.
We brief the crew on the children before you arrive. From the dock on, the captain runs the boat.
Our service costs you nothing extra. Charter brokers are paid by the yacht, so the rate we quote is the yacht’s own rate. Gail King sits on the board of the Charter Yacht Brokers Association and chairs its ethics committee. That is the kind of thing that matters when you are handing over a deposit.
We had a wonderful family vacation on the SEA OF LOVE. Family games at night and enjoying the wonderful breezes were loved by all.
Ronnie A., family charter in the British Virgin Islands on SEA OF LOVE, July 2014 · Read all client reviews
Founded in 1998 · Over 2000 crewed yachts · Members of CYBA, AYCA and FYBA
Check your dates
Planning a family week? Send us your dates and the ages and we will shortlist yachts that are free.
- Our service costs you nothing extra. The rate we quote is the yacht’s own rate.
- You get three or four yachts that are free on your dates, with photos, cabin plans, crew profiles and the exact terms.
- Every line of the price is spelled out before you commit.
Booking window. For spring break, nine to twelve months ahead. For summer, four to six. For Christmas and New Year, as soon as you know. Christmas and New Year weeks carry a holiday premium of 10 to 20 percent on most yachts.
Questions parents ask us
Get Started on your Yacht Charters Today!
Use our advanced search engines to find the perfect crewed yacht or bareboat in the perfect location at the best price.
If you have any questions about a Bahamas family yacht charter call us at 1 877 759 8263 or contact us by email today.
Is it safe for small children?
We make sure child size life jackets are on board, and most catamarans can rig netting along the lifelines. The crew keeps watch when the kids are in the water, but you are the parents and nobody on board is a babysitter. We pick a boat and a crew to suit the youngest on board.
Will the kids get seasick?
Rarely in the Bahamas. A catamaran barely rolls, the Exuma banks are flat, and most hops are short. Bring whatever works for them in the car, and tell the captain, who will time the crossing from Nassau for the calmest part of the day.
What about picky eaters?
That is what the preference sheet is for. Chefs on family charters cook two dinners a night more often than you would think, one for the kids at six and one for the adults at eight.
How many can we bring?
Most crewed catamarans sleep six to eight guests in three or four cabins, with the crew in separate quarters. Larger catamarans and motor yachts take ten or twelve. Give us the headcount and we will match the boat.
What does the price include?
Most crewed catamarans in the Bahamas are quoted all inclusive, with meals, drinks, fuel and water sports in the rate. Larger motor yachts are usually quoted as a base rate plus an allowance for food, fuel and dockage, and anything unspent comes back to you. A tip for the crew at the end of the week is customary and is not in the rate. Park fees and marina landing fees are small and paid as you go. The Bahamas also charges a tax on yacht charters, currently 14 percent of the charter fee in VAT and port fees, and it is on every quote we send. Crewed catamarans are priced by the boat with a small step for the number of guests, so a family of eight pays far less per person than a couple. We show every line before you commit.
When should we book?
For spring break, nine to twelve months ahead. For summer, four to six. For Christmas and New Year, as soon as you know. Last minute is possible, with less choice.
Is there a minimum age?
It depends on the yacht and the crew. Many take children of any age, some ask for five and up, and a few are adults only. Give us the age of the youngest and we will only show you boats that take them. Cribs and high chairs are not standard, so let us know if you need one.
What paperwork do the kids need?
A passport for everyone, including babies. US citizens do not need a visa for the Bahamas. If a child is traveling with one parent, or with grandparents or another family, bring a notarized consent letter from the parents who stayed home. Bahamas Immigration can ask for it.
What if someone gets hurt?
Staniel Cay has a clinic and Nassau has hospitals, and Marsh Harbour has a clinic for Abaco weeks. Every crewed yacht carries a first aid kit and the captain knows the nearest help at every stop. Bring the children’s own medicines, put allergies on the preference sheet, and buy travel insurance that covers a medical flight home.
Tell us who is coming and when.
Call 1 877 759 8263 or send us a note. We’ll come back with yachts that are free on your dates, cabin plans, and a straight answer on price.
Founded in 1998 by Tony and Gail King, who have a combined experience of over 50 years in the charter industry.
Office Location
1515 North Federal Hwy. Suite 300
Boca Raton, FL 33432 USA
Phone (United States)
Office: +1 (877) 759-8263
Mobile: +1 (305) 401-8208
Phone (International)
Office: +1 (954) 607-3780
Greece: +30 (210) 895-6443
Copyright ©2026 American Yacht Charters | Greece Yachts | Croatia Yachting | French Riviera | Designed by Netpaths