A Christmas or New Year yacht charter is the same yacht, crew and water as any other winter week, booked on different rules. The minimum stay goes up, the rate goes up, the dates are set by the boat, and the good yachts are gone about half a year ahead.
The Mediterranean is closed in December and the holiday fleet is in the Caribbean, so the real choice is between the BVI, the Bahamas and St Barts. Here is what changes wherever you go, then which of the 3 suits Christmas and which suits New Year.
Quick answer
- Christmas and New Year weeks both run a median 15% above the same yacht’s winter rate at full guest count, across the 40 Caribbean yachts we checked in September 2026. 4 charge nothing extra, all of them Bahamas motor yachts.
- 7 nights is the holiday minimum. Over New Year, 6 boats we checked print a hard 10-night minimum: 2 Bahamas motor yachts and 4 St Barts boats.
- New Year in the Virgin Islands is booked a median 161 days ahead, so it is largely gone by the end of summer. Christmas books later.
- Family Christmas: the BVI. A big motor yacht at one rate for both weeks: the Bahamas. New Year’s Eve itself: St Barts.
Both weeks cost about 15% more, and New Year more on 1 in 4 boats
On the 40 Caribbean yachts we checked in September 2026, Christmas and New Year both sit a median 15% above the same yacht’s winter rate at full guest count. Our smaller August check of 25 boats put the median at 18%, so budget for 15 to 18%.
New Year is priced above Christmas on 11 of the 40, by 4 to 29%, and 7 of those 11 are BVI catamarans.
The baseline matters. Festive rates are flat for the full boat, while a winter week on a catamaran is priced by headcount.
On one 12-guest catamaran the Christmas rate is 23% above the 12-guest winter rate, but 52% above the 2-guest winter rate. The 52% is the number a day-rate search returns. Ask for the winter rate at your headcount.
7 nights is the holiday minimum, and 10 over New Year on some boats
Of the 40 yachts we checked, 17 print a 7-night festive minimum and 6 print a hard 10-night minimum over New Year. None asks for 14. The other 17 print no festive minimum, so their standard week applies.
There are no day rates over these 2 weeks. The minimum the boat prints is the price of entry, and no owner prorates it.
The 10-night rule is a New Year rule. It sits on 2 Bahamas motor yachts and on 4 St Barts boats, 3 of them the least expensive catamarans. On 4 of the 6 it softens to 7 nights once Christmas week is booked.
4 more Nassau motor yachts offer 10 nights as an option beside their preferred Dec 19 to 26 and Dec 28 to Jan 4 weeks.
Dates are fixed too. A Christmas charter must end by Dec 26 to 28 and a New Year charter may not start before Dec 27 to 29, because the boat turns around in 48 hours between the two.
Ask for Dec 19 to 26 or Dec 28 to Jan 4 and you fit most boats. A few will not start before Dec 29.
New Year is booked about half a year ahead; Christmas books later
Our New Year charters in the BVI and USVI are booked a median 161 days ahead. In practice that means the New Year week is largely gone by the end of summer, every year. If New Year is the week you want, book it in the first half of the year.
Christmas is the week with stock. In our September check, 4 of 6 Bahamas motor yachts and 5 of 6 St Barts yachts were open for Dec 19 to 26.
In the BVI, 1 of the 9 popular catamarans we checked was still open for Christmas, so ask which boats are left rather than naming one.
New Year is the tight week. The popular BVI catamarans were gone by late September; the Bahamas still had a 132 ft motor yacht open, and St Barts had 3 of 6, including the biggest boat on our list. Late openings reach our calendars before they are listed, so ask.
The Mediterranean is closed in December, the holiday fleet is Caribbean
The Mediterranean fleet is laid up or in the Caribbean by December. Fewer than 1 in 10 of the Med yachts on our books make the crossing. A few 160 to 210 ft motor yachts winter in Dubai instead.
The Indian Ocean and Antarctica have their own December seasons, but they are a different trip from a Caribbean holiday week.
Christmas Day aboard: what the crew do and what a tip looks like
The crew decorate before you arrive, and the chef cooks Christmas dinner from your preference sheet. Send the family menu with it.
The gratuity is at your discretion and MYBA terms do not require one. The Caribbean custom is 15 to 20% of the base charter fee. The crew work through their own Christmas, which is worth remembering when you set the number.
The BVI: the family Christmas week, all-inclusive
The BVI suits a family Christmas: short hops between sheltered anchorages, calm water for children, and crewed catamarans priced all-inclusive, so food, bar, fuel, moorings and permits are in the rate.
Christmas costs from $53,000 for 7 nights and 8 guests on a modern 62 ft catamaran. Most families land between $69,000 and $95,000 on a 65 to 76 ft catamaran; the 80 ft flagships run $125,000 to $145,000 plus 5% APA, the running-cost deposit paid on top of the base rate.
New Year starts at $55,000 and runs $72,500 to $95,000.
What only the BVI has is Foxy’s Old Year’s Night on Jost Van Dyke, the beach party the BVI New Year is known for. For a family Christmas, our BVI site covers the week itself, from the preference sheet to Boxing Day.
The Bahamas: a big motor yacht at one rate for both weeks
The Bahamas is where the big motor yachts are: 108 to 164 ft boats out of Nassau, with the Exumas a few hours away. Our Bahamas site covers the holiday weeks from Thanksgiving to New Year. It suits a group that wants a big boat, a big crew and a full toy garage.
Every Bahamas motor yacht we checked prices Christmas and New Year at the same rate, one window from Dec 19 to Jan 6. Across the 14 we checked the median is 13% above winter, and 4 of them print no festive rate at all.
Budget from $100,000 base for 120 ft-plus and $125,000 to $200,000 base for 130 to 165 ft, then add 35% APA and the 14% port fee.
What only the Bahamas has is Junkanoo, the street parade through Nassau on Boxing Day and New Year’s Day. Pack for a cold front; they come through weekly from November to March.
St Barts: New Year’s Eve itself, with 226 superyachts in the bay
St Barts is New Year’s Eve. On Dec 31, 2025, 226 superyachts over 78 ft were counted off the island, 155 of them charter yachts.
The Gustavia quay takes a few dozen boats stern-to, and those places are spoken for up to a year ahead, so most of the fleet anchors in the bay for the midnight fireworks.
Christmas costs from $60,000 to $70,000 base plus APA on a 67 ft catamaran. The motor yachts run $100,000 to $200,000 base plus APA. The 164 ft at the top is $320,000 plus 30% APA.
Over New Year the least expensive catamarans ask 10 days, so that stay is $90,000 to $100,000 base.
The St Barts site compares the two weeks, and its New Year page covers the night itself.
What to do this week
Pick the week first, because Christmas and New Year are different weeks on different boats. Accept the minimum the boat prints rather than asking for 5 nights. Then send us the dates and guest count and we check the calendars, since a listing does not show the hold that came off yesterday.
People also ask
Is New Year's week more expensive than Christmas week on a yacht?
On 11 of the 40 Caribbean yachts we checked, yes, by 4 to 29%, and 7 of those 11 are BVI catamarans. 28 print one rate for both weeks, and 1 has not set its festive rate yet.
How far ahead should you book a Christmas or New Year yacht charter?
Our Virgin Islands New Year charters are booked a median 161 days ahead, so book New Year in the first half of the year. Christmas books later; in a late September 2026 check the Bahamas and St Barts still had open boats for Christmas week.
What is the minimum stay for a holiday yacht charter?
7 nights on most boats. Over New Year, 2 Bahamas motor yachts and 4 St Barts boats print a hard 10-night minimum, and 4 more Nassau motor yachts offer 10 nights as an option. None of the 40 yachts we checked asked for 14.
Can you charter a yacht in the Mediterranean at Christmas?
No. The Mediterranean fleet is laid up or in the Caribbean by December, apart from a few large motor yachts wintering in Dubai.
