View from Shirley Heights over English Harbour and the anchored fleet, Antigua

Alquiler de Yates en Antigua y Barbuda

Yates con tripulación en catamarán y a motor por Antigua y Barbuda — Nelson's Dockyard, las aguas protegidas por arrecifes frente a Green Island y las playas de arena rosa desiertas de Barbuda — bajo los vientos alisios más constantes del Caribe.

Por qué Antigua y Barbuda

¿Por qué elegir un yate con tripulación en Antigua y Barbuda?

Antigua ocupa un lugar privilegiado en las Islas de Sotavento, envuelta en una costa profundamente recortada de bahías, arrecifes y playas que la oficina de turismo contabiliza en 365 — una por cada día del año. Su isla hermana, Barbuda, se encuentra a 30 millas náuticas al norte: baja, plana y prácticamente sin desarrollo, bordeada en su costa atlántica por una playa de arena rosa pálida de más de quince millas de longitud. Juntas forman una nación de dos islas con una profunda historia marinera y los vientos alisios más constantes del Caribe oriental.

Un yate con tripulación es la forma natural de descubrirlas. Las mejores bahías de Antigua — Green Island y Nonsuch Bay tras el arrecife barrera, Great Bird Island en el North Sound, el naufragio del Andes en Deep Bay — están alejadas de la red de carreteras y solo se alcanzan desde el agua. Barbuda, a 30 millas al norte, es aún más salvaje: un pequeño asentamiento, playas de arena rosa y la colonia de fragatas de Codrington Lagoon, a la que solo se accede en barco. Una semana con tripulación lo hace todo sencillo — el capitán y el chef organizan los días, y los huéspedes desembarcan en una playa desierta o en un restaurante junto al muelle sin gestionar nada.

Lo que distingue a Antigua de las más conocidas Islas Vírgenes es que invita a navegar de verdad. Los alisios mantienen entre 15 y 25 nudos de forma constante, y el campo de navegación combina travesías cortas y protegidas con auténticos pasos en mar abierto — la bordada de barlovento hacia la costa este, la singladura de 30 millas hasta Barbuda. Es la capital velera del Caribe, sede de la Antigua Sailing Week y la Classic Yacht Regatta, y su historia naval no tiene parangón en ningún otro destino de yates: Nelson's Dockyard en English Harbour es el único astillero naval georgiano en activo que queda en el mundo. Y hay una ventaja práctica que lo cierra todo — V.C. Bird International recibe vuelos directos desde Nueva York, Miami, Atlanta y Newark, de modo que los huéspedes bajan de un solo avión y suben a bordo esa misma tarde.

Aerial of Falmouth and English Harbour, Antigua, filled with anchored yachts
The Soufrière Hills volcano on Montserrat rising from the sea, an ash plume drifting from the summit
El volcán de Soufrière Hills en Montserrat — un volcán activo sobre una capital enterrada, a un día de navegación al suroeste de Antigua y el protagonista de uno de los tres itinerarios.

Qué hace especial el viaje en yate en Antigua y Barbuda

Cuatro características que distinguen a Antigua y Barbuda de otros destinos de yates en el Caribe.

Navegación real con alisios constantes

Navegación real con alisios constantes

Antigua se gana con honestidad su título de capital velera del Caribe. Los vientos alisios soplan entre 15 y 25 nudos de forma constante durante la temporada, y la costa recortada combina travesías cortas y protegidas con tramos en mar abierto que otros destinos no ofrecen — la bordada de barlovento hacia la costa este, la popa rumbo a Barbuda. El calendario alcanza su punto álgido cada primavera con la Antigua Sailing Week y la Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta, cuando los yates Clase J y los goletos clásicos llenan English Harbour. A bordo de un yate, eso se traduce en una semana que realmente navega — travesías en viento de través, no solo saltos cortos de bahía en bahía.

English Harbour y Nelson's Dockyard

English Harbour y Nelson's Dockyard

English Harbour es la bahía con más historia del Caribe. Nelson's Dockyard — el único astillero naval georgiano en activo que queda en el mundo y Patrimonio Mundial de la UNESCO — aún amarra yates entre almacenes de piedra del siglo XVIII y talleres de velas. Sobre él, las fortificaciones restauradas de Shirley Heights dominan English y Falmouth Harbours; la barbacoa del domingo por la tarde con steel-pan, ya con treinta años de tradición, es la cita en tierra que todos los yates intentan coincidir. El vecino Falmouth Harbour acoge a los yates más grandes de la temporada.

La arena rosa desierta de Barbuda

La arena rosa desierta de Barbuda

A treinta millas náuticas al norte, Barbuda es como lucía el Caribe antes de los complejos turísticos. Su costa atlántica es una playa continua de más de quince millas de longitud, con arena teñida de rosa por la concha de lambí triturada, y la mayoría de los días un yate tiene para él solo una milla entera de playa. Dentro de Codrington Lagoon, una de las colonias de fragatas más grandes del mundo — varios miles de aves, con los machos inflando las bolsas guturales escarlata de septiembre a abril — se encuentra a un corto trayecto en lancha desde el pueblo. Aquí casi no hay nada construido, y eso es precisamente el atractivo.

365 playas y bahías protegidas por arrecifes

365 playas y bahías protegidas por arrecifes

La propia costa de Antigua ofrece una gran variedad. Green Island y Nonsuch Bay se refugian tras un arrecife barrera en la costa este — aguas turquesas en calma y buceo con snorkel en el arrecife, con apenas nada construido en tierra. Cades Reef se extiende dos millas frente a la costa sur como reserva protegida para el snorkel. Deep Bay alberga el naufragio del Andes, un velero que se hundió en 1905, perfecto para explorar con snorkel bajo las murallas del Fort Barrington. Carlisle Bay, Hermitage Bay y el conjunto frente a Five Islands completan una semana de arena blanca sin repetir una sola bahía.

Deep Bay, Antigua, with the ruins of Fort Barrington on the headland above a white-sand beach
Deep Bay en la costa oeste de Antigua — los mástiles del naufragio de 1905 del Andes aún emergen a media bahía, bajo las ruinas del Fort Barrington.

Sample Antigua and Barbuda Crewed Charter Itineraries

Your week is shaped around your group's interests, the season, and the conditions on the water — your captain tailors the days as they unfold. Treat these itineraries as starting points for inspiration.

Crewed Itinerary · Antigua & Barbuda

Antigua Sailing Itinerary: A 7-Day Crewed Week Around the Island

Antigua is the rare Caribbean charter that asks to be sailed. The trade winds hold a dependable 15 to 25 knots through the season, the coastline is cut with so many bays the tourist board counts 365 beaches, and the whole island is small enough to circle in a week without ever making a long passage. This seven-day round-trip from English Harbour works clockwise around Antigua — south coast, up the west, across the north, down the reef-protected east — and is the most varied way to see the island on a first crewed week.

It is built for guests who want real sailing days and calm anchorages in equal measure, with the boat always pointed somewhere new and back to flat water by sundowners. No open-ocean crossings, no foreign clearances — just Antigua, end to end, with your captain and chef handling the route while you decide which beach to swim off and how long to linger at Shirley Heights.

Duration
7 days / 8 nights
Base
Nelson's Dockyard, English Harbour
The view from Shirley Heights over English Harbour and the anchored fleet, Antigua.
A crewed catamaran under full sail in the Antigua trade winds.
A reef-protected cove on Antigua's east coast with pale sand and turquoise water.
Deep Bay with the ruins of Fort Barrington above the beach, Antigua.

What this Antigua sailing itinerary covers

A clockwise loop of Antigua from Nelson's Dockyard: the Georgian naval dockyard and Shirley Heights on the south coast, Carlisle Bay and the two-mile Cades Reef on the south, the quiet west-coast anchorages at Hermitage Bay and Five Islands, Deep Bay with its snorkelable shipwreck under Fort Barrington, the North Sound and Great Bird Island, and the reef-protected turquoise of Green Island and Nonsuch Bay on the east. Roughly 65 nautical miles across the week, no leg over about 17, most days running short and protected.

Every Antigua charter we send is tailored — more time on the reef, a slower south coast, an extra night at Green Island. Your captain shapes the days around your group, the wind, and the swell. This is the framework, not a fixed schedule.

1

Day 1 of 7 · English Harbour & Shirley Heights

Nelson's Dockyard, Falmouth Harbour & Shirley Heights

Anchorage: Freeman's Bay, English Harbour
English Harbour — the only continuously working Georgian naval dockyard left in the world, and the most historic anchorage in the Caribbean. Your week starts here.
English Harbour — the only continuously working Georgian naval dockyard left in the world, and the most historic anchorage in the Caribbean. Your week starts here.
Shirley Heights at sunset, looking down over both harbours. If your first day lands on a Sunday, the steel-pan barbecue here is the one shoreside fixture every charter tries to time.
Shirley Heights at sunset, looking down over both harbours. If your first day lands on a Sunday, the steel-pan barbecue here is the one shoreside fixture every charter tries to time.

Your week begins at Nelson's Dockyard inside English Harbour, on Antigua's south coast — a 40-minute transfer from V.C. Bird International. Your captain and chef meet you at the dock with cold drinks and a chart briefing, walk you through the boat, and get your gear stowed. The dockyard itself is the briefing's backdrop: a restored 18th-century Georgian naval base of stone warehouses, sail lofts, and the old Admiral's Inn, still working, still berthing yachts, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2016.

There's no rush to leave on day one. Most crews take a short shakedown sail the three miles around to Falmouth Harbour next door — a wide horseshoe bay where the season's largest yachts lie at anchor — or simply settle into Freeman's Bay at the mouth of English Harbour, where the swimming is good off the back of the boat and Galleon Beach is a tender ride away.

Late afternoon, take the climb up to Shirley Heights — the restored 1780s military lookout 490 feet above the harbour. The view down over English and Falmouth Harbours at golden hour is the postcard of Antigua, and on Sunday evenings the lookout turns into the island's long-running barbecue and steel-pan party. Dinner aboard tonight or ashore at the Admiral's Inn in the dockyard; the boat sits quiet on its chain in one of the most protected anchorages in the islands.

Day Highlights

  • Welcome and chart briefing at Nelson's Dockyard, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
  • Short shakedown sail around to Falmouth Harbour and the superyacht anchorage.
  • Sunset climb to Shirley Heights for the view down over both harbours.
  • First dinner aboard or ashore at the historic Admiral's Inn.
2

Day 2 of 7 · South coast & Cades Reef

Carlisle Bay and the Cades Reef Snorkel

Anchorage: Carlisle Bay
West along the south coast in the morning trades — the kind of easy reaching day Antigua is built for.
West along the south coast in the morning trades — the kind of easy reaching day Antigua is built for.

After breakfast aboard, your captain clears English Harbour and turns west along the south coast. The morning is an easy reach in the trades, the green hills of the interior rising to starboard and the open Caribbean to port. Antigua's south coast is a string of deep bays and headlands, and the sailing here is the gentle, sun-on-the-deck kind — a turn at the wheel if you want it, the foredeck if you don't.

The day's anchorage is Carlisle Bay, a curved white-sand bay backed by green hills on the south coast, fronting the discreet Carlisle Bay resort. It's a calm, protected spot for a lunch on the hook and an afternoon swim. The water is flat, the beach is long, and the pace drops the moment the anchor sets.

The afternoon highlight is just offshore: Cades Reef, a two-mile barrier reef running parallel to the south coast inside a marine reserve. It's the island's best snorkel — coral heads, reef fish, and clear water with almost no current. Your captain runs you out by tender or repositions the boat to drift the reef, then it's back to Carlisle Bay for sundowners and dinner aboard.

Day Highlights

  • Easy morning reach west along Antigua's south coast.
  • Anchor and swim at Carlisle Bay, a calm white-sand south-coast bay.
  • Snorkel the two-mile Cades Reef marine reserve — the island's best in-water.
  • Sundowners and chef-prepared dinner on the hook.
3

Day 3 of 7 · The quiet west coast

Hermitage Bay and the Five Islands Anchorages

Anchorage: Hermitage Bay / Five Islands
A west-coast afternoon on the hook — Antigua's leeward bays are the quiet, protected end of the week.
A west-coast afternoon on the hook — Antigua's leeward bays are the quiet, protected end of the week.

Today rounds the southwest corner of the island and heads up the leeward west coast — the calm, protected side, in the lee of the land and out of the swell. It's a short, soft sailing day with time to slow down. The west coast is where Antigua keeps its quietest anchorages, away from the harbours and the cruise traffic of St. John's further north.

The day's destination is Hermitage Bay and the cluster of anchorages around Five Islands Harbour — a string of secluded coves on the west coast fronting low green hills, with the exclusive Hermitage Bay resort tucked into one of them. The beaches here are quiet and the water is flat; some afternoons you'll share the bay with one or two other boats and no one ashore.

This is a deliberate rest day in the middle of the week — paddleboards and kayaks off the swim platform, a long lunch, an afternoon swim, and nothing on the schedule. Your chef provisions for a dinner aboard, the boat barely moving on its chain, the sun setting straight off the bow into the Caribbean on the island's west-facing side.

Day Highlights

  • Round the southwest corner onto Antigua's calm leeward coast.
  • Anchor among the secluded Five Islands and Hermitage Bay coves.
  • Mid-week rest day — water toys, long lunch, quiet beaches.
  • West-facing sunset straight off the bow and dinner aboard.
4

Day 4 of 7 · The Andes wreck & Fort Barrington

Deep Bay, the Andes Shipwreck & Fort Barrington

Anchorage: Deep Bay
Deep Bay — a white-sand crescent with the wreck of the Andes snorkelable in the middle of the anchorage and Fort Barrington standing on the headland above.
Deep Bay — a white-sand crescent with the wreck of the Andes snorkelable in the middle of the anchorage and Fort Barrington standing on the headland above.

A short hop up the coast brings you to Deep Bay, one of Antigua's most rewarding anchorages and one of the few where the highlight is in the water you're floating on. In the middle of the bay, in about twenty feet, lie the masts and hull of the Andes — a wooden sailing ship that caught fire and sank here in 1905, fully loaded. The masts come close enough to the surface to snorkel, and the wreck has become a small reef of its own.

Above the beach on the northern headland stand the ruins of Fort Barrington, an 18th-century gun emplacement that guarded the approach to St. John's Harbour. The short walk up is worth it for the view back over the bay, the boat at anchor below, and the whole sweep of the west coast you've sailed.

Deep Bay is a calm, sand-bottomed anchorage with a good beach, so the day splits naturally between the wreck snorkel, the walk to the fort, and an afternoon in the water. Dinner aboard tonight with St. John's — the island's capital and its only real town — a short distance up the coast if you want to provision or step ashore.

Day Highlights

  • Snorkel the 1905 wreck of the Andes, mid-anchorage in Deep Bay.
  • Walk up to the ruins of Fort Barrington for the west-coast view.
  • Calm sand-bottomed bay with a long swimming beach.
  • Close to St. John's for provisioning or a step ashore.
5

Day 5 of 7 · The North Sound

Long Island, Jumby Bay & Great Bird Island

Anchorage: North Sound / Great Bird Island
Long Island, home to the exclusive Jumby Bay, on the run up into the North Sound — the start of Antigua's wilder, reef-strewn northeast corner.
Long Island, home to the exclusive Jumby Bay, on the run up into the North Sound — the start of Antigua's wilder, reef-strewn northeast corner.

The longest sailing day of the week takes you around the north of the island and into the North Sound — a shallow, reef-strewn corner of turquoise water and small uninhabited islands off Antigua's northeast tip. The route passes Long Island, home to the exclusive Jumby Bay resort, before threading into the Sound proper. Your captain will pick the line through the reefs; this is good-light, eyeball-navigation water, and all the better for it.

The anchorage is off Great Bird Island, a small wildlife sanctuary inside the North Sound National Park. It's a classic desert-island stop — no development, a short hike up to a ridge with a panoramic view over the Sound and its reefs, and the home of the rare Antiguan racer, once the world's most endangered snake, now recovering on the protected islets.

This is the wild, quiet end of Antigua — turtle grass and reef in clear shallow water, birds working the cays, and an anchorage that feels a long way from the harbours of the south coast. Swim, hike the ridge for the view, and have dinner aboard on the hook with the reef breaking gently in the distance.

Day Highlights

  • Sail around the north of the island past Long Island and Jumby Bay.
  • Thread into the reef-strewn North Sound National Park.
  • Anchor off Great Bird Island and hike the ridge for the panoramic view.
  • Wild, undeveloped corner of Antigua — clear shallow water and birdlife.
6

Day 6 of 7 · The east-coast reef

Green Island and Nonsuch Bay

Anchorage: Nonsuch Bay / Green Island
Green Island, inside the barrier reef of Nonsuch Bay — flat, clear, turquoise water on Antigua's windward coast, with almost nothing built ashore.
Green Island, inside the barrier reef of Nonsuch Bay — flat, clear, turquoise water on Antigua's windward coast, with almost nothing built ashore.

Down the east coast today to Nonsuch Bay — a large bay on Antigua's windward side, sheltered from the open Atlantic by a barrier reef that runs across its mouth. Behind the reef the water goes flat and clear, and the sailing inside the bay is some of the prettiest of the week: protected water with a real breeze, the kind of conditions that make Antigua a sailor's island.

You anchor off Green Island, an uninhabited islet on the east side of the bay with a handful of small coves and white-sand beaches, almost nothing built ashore, and reef snorkeling straight off the boat. It's the windward coast's answer to the calm of the west — turquoise, breezy, and empty, with the Atlantic breaking white on the reef a half-mile off.

Spend the afternoon working the coves — a different beach for lunch, a snorkel on the reef, paddleboards across the flat water inside the bay. Nonsuch is also one of the Caribbean's best flat-water sailing and kiting venues for exactly the reason it's a good anchorage: steady trades, protected water. Last dinner aboard tonight in one of Antigua's quietest corners before the short run back to the dockyard.

Day Highlights

  • Sail down the windward east coast into reef-protected Nonsuch Bay.
  • Anchor off uninhabited Green Island — coves, white sand, reef off the boat.
  • Flat clear water inside the barrier reef, a top snorkel and paddle spot.
  • Quiet final night aboard on Antigua's windward coast.
7

Day 7 of 7 · Back to Nelson's Dockyard

Nonsuch Bay back to English Harbour

Anchorage: English Harbour — disembark
The aft deck does most of the work on a crewed week — a last breakfast on the hook before the short sail back around to the dockyard.
The aft deck does most of the work on a crewed week — a last breakfast on the hook before the short sail back around to the dockyard.

A final morning on the hook at Green Island — a swim, a slow breakfast on the aft deck, a last snorkel on the reef — before lines off for the short reach back around the southeast corner of the island to English Harbour. It's an easy closing sail, the windward coast giving way to the familiar headlands of the south, and the dockyard opening up on the bow as you round into the harbour.

Charters typically disembark in the morning, so the last night is usually spent back at English Harbour or Falmouth, with a farewell dinner aboard or ashore in the dockyard. If the timing's right, one more climb to Shirley Heights closes the loop where it started.

Seven days, a full circle of the island, and not a single long passage — Antigua done the way the island rewards: under sail in steady trades, anchored somewhere different every night, and back to flat water by sundown.

Day Highlights

  • Last morning swim and breakfast on the hook at Green Island.
  • Easy closing sail back around to English Harbour.
  • Farewell dinner in the historic dockyard.
  • A full circuit of Antigua with no long passages — all under sail.

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Magnificent frigate birds nesting in the mangroves of the Codrington Lagoon, Barbuda
El santuario de fragatas de Codrington Lagoon en Barbuda — una de las colonias de fragatas más grandes del mundo, con varios miles de aves, accesible únicamente en barco.

Plan Your Antigua and Barbuda Charter

When to go, what it costs, and how to get there — the practical answers guests ask before booking a Antigua and Barbuda crewed yacht charter.

Cuándo navegar por Antigua y Barbuda

Temporada alta (dic–abr)

De diciembre a abril se concentra el mayor volumen de reservas. Los vientos alisios del este-noreste soplan entre 15 y 25 nudos — más fuertes y constantes que en los destinos más al oeste — las temperaturas diurnas rondan los 27-29 °C y la lluvia es escasa. Navidad y Año Nuevo se reservan primero. La temporada alcanza su clímax velero a mediados y finales de abril, cuando la Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta y la Antigua Sailing Week llenan English y Falmouth Harbours con la mayor concentración de yates del Caribe oriental; el inventario de yates para esas semanas se agota entre 9 y 12 meses antes.

La mejor ventana (may–jun y nov)

Principios de mayo, junio y la segunda quincena de noviembre quedan entre las regatas de primavera y el período de mayor riesgo de huracanes. Los alisios amainan ligeramente hasta los 12-20 nudos, la temperatura del agua sube por encima de los 27 °C y las tarifas suelen bajar entre un 15 y un 25 % respecto a la temporada alta. Los puertos se vacían a medida que la flota de regatas se dispersa, y Barbuda en particular recupera sus playas casi en exclusiva para el yate fondeado. Para quienes valoran el mejor precio, esta es habitualmente la mejor oferta que Antigua tiene.

The palm-fringed shore of Long Island / Jumby Bay, Antigua, with a white-sand beach and turquoise water
Long Island frente a la costa norte de Antigua, hogar del exclusivo Jumby Bay — la entrada al North Sound, poco profundo y salpicado de islas.

Cuánto cuesta un viaje en yate con tripulación en Antigua y Barbuda

$25,000–$100,000 per week

Los yates con tripulación por Antigua y Barbuda tienen un precio típico de entre $25,000 y más de $100,000 por semana, según el tamaño del yate, el año de construcción y la tripulación. La mayoría de los catamaranes y veleros se alquilan todo incluido — la tarifa semanal base cubre el yate, la tripulación, todas las comidas, un bar estándar (cerveza, vino y licores), combustible para la navegación habitual, deportes acuáticos y las tasas habituales. Algunos yates a motor de mayor eslora funcionan en régimen de gastos aparte, donde la tarifa base cubre solo el yate y la tripulación, y la alimentación, las bebidas, el combustible y los atraques se pagan mediante una APA (Asignación Anticipada de Provisiones) — una cantidad prefijada equivalente al 25-35 % de la tarifa base, con liquidación detallada y devolución del saldo no utilizado al final del viaje. La travesía hasta Barbuda no conlleva ningún coste adicional más allá del tiempo del capitán; un viaje más largo que despache en Guadalupe o St. Kitts lleva una pequeña tasa de aduana por país. La propina a la tripulación, habitual entre el 15 y el 20 % de la tarifa base, se entrega directamente al capitán en el desembarque.

See the full crewed charter pricing breakdown →

How to get to Antigua and Barbuda

Gateway airports
El Aeropuerto Internacional V.C. Bird (ANU) es la puerta de entrada, y es una de las ventajas silenciosas de Antigua. Operan vuelos directos sin escala durante todo el año desde Nueva York (JFK), Miami, Atlanta y Newark, con servicio directo estacional desde Charlotte, Londres y Toronto — los vuelos desde la costa este de EE. UU. duran unas cuatro horas. A diferencia de las Islas Vírgenes Británicas, que exigen una conexión por San Juan o St. Thomas, la mayoría de los huéspedes llegan a Antigua en un solo vuelo y están a bordo esa misma tarde.
Embarkation ports
La mayoría de los yates con tripulación embarcan en Nelson's Dockyard o en Falmouth Harbour, en la costa sur — el corazón histórico de la náutica en Antigua, a unos 45 minutos del aeropuerto — o en Jolly Harbour, en la costa oeste, la marina principal y la más cercana al ANU, a unos 30 minutos. El yate te recibe donde mejor encaje con tu itinerario y tus vuelos; repasamos las opciones contigo antes de confirmar la reserva.
Airport transfers
Desde V.C. Bird International (ANU), Jolly Harbour está a unos 30 minutos en taxi y English o Falmouth Harbour a unos 40-45 minutos. Los traslados privados se organizan fácilmente con antelación a través del agente de yates.
Customs & immigration
El capitán se encarga de todos los trámites de aduana e inmigración como parte del servicio estándar del yate — los huéspedes solo necesitan un pasaporte válido. Los ciudadanos de EE. UU., Reino Unido, la UE, Canadá y Australia no necesitan visado. Antigua y Barbuda se despachan como un solo país, por lo que la travesía al norte hacia Barbuda no requiere ningún trámite adicional. Un viaje más largo que incluya Guadalupe (Francia y la UE) o St. Kitts & Nevis sí implica un despacho de aduana extranjero gestionado por el capitán — más adecuado para un viaje de 10 días o más que para una semana.

Frequently asked questions

About chartering in Antigua and Barbuda.

How long should our Antigua charter be?
We recommend a week. Seven days is enough to circle Antigua at an unhurried pace — the south coast and Nelson's Dockyard, the Cades Reef snorkel, the quiet west-coast bays, the North Sound, and the reef-protected east coast at Green Island and Nonsuch Bay — without ever making a long passage. A week is also the minimum for the two marquee extensions. Adding Barbuda's pink sand and frigate sanctuary (a ~30-nautical-mile crossing north) or Montserrat's volcano and buried capital (a ~30-mile crossing southwest) each fits inside seven days, but only one at a time — they lie in opposite directions. Guests who want both, or a more relaxed pace around either, are better on a ten-day charter. Five-day trips work in shoulder season for a focused south-and-east loop. We walk through the right pacing with you before booking.
What is included in an all-inclusive Antigua crewed charter?
Included: a professional crew (typically captain and chef, with a stewardess on larger yachts), all meals and a standard bar (beer, wine, and spirits), water sports equipment (paddleboards, snorkel gear, kayaks; some yachts add e-foils, jet skis, or scuba), fuel for normal cruising, linens, and towels. Caribbean crewed catamarans and sailing yachts charter all-inclusive — the base weekly rate covers the boat and the week. Not included: crew gratuity (customary at 15-20% of the base rate, paid to the captain at the end of the week), any marina or dockage fees beyond customary stops, onshore dining (Shirley Heights, Catherine's Café, the dockyard restaurants), the small Antigua departure sea tax, and — on a charter that adds Montserrat — the foreign clearance and the guided volcano-observatory tour. Some larger motor yachts run plus-expenses (APA) instead of all-inclusive; we tell you which model a given yacht uses before you book.
How is an Antigua charter different from the British Virgin Islands?
Antigua sails. Where the BVI is a series of short, line-of-sight hops in protected water, Antigua mixes calm anchorages with genuine open-water reaches in steady 15-25 knot trades — it's the Caribbean's sailing capital, home to Antigua Sailing Week and the Classic Yacht Regatta. If you want the week to feel like real sailing, this is the island. It also has history the BVI can't match: Nelson's Dockyard at English Harbour is the only continuously working Georgian naval dockyard left in the world, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. And it's easier to reach — V.C. Bird International takes nonstop flights from New York, Miami, Atlanta, and Newark, where the BVI requires a connection through San Juan or St. Thomas. The trade-off is that Antigua rewards a little more comfort under sail; for a first charter that wants only flat-water, line-of-sight days, the BVI is gentler.
Can we add Barbuda or Montserrat to an Antigua week?
Yes — one of them. Barbuda is the natural extension: a ~30-nautical-mile crossing north to a fifteen-mile beach of empty pink sand and the Codrington Lagoon Frigate Bird Sanctuary, one of the largest frigate colonies in the world. Because Antigua and Barbuda are a single country, there's no foreign clearance — it's the easiest marquee day a 7-day charter can add. Montserrat is the other direction — a ~30-mile crossing southwest to an active volcano and the capital, Plymouth, which it buried in ash in 1997. You sail past the exclusion zone and take a guided tour to the volcano observatory; it's extraordinary, but it's weather-dependent (the anchorage is exposed), a separate British clearance, and not a beach stop. Barbuda lies north and Montserrat southwest, so a single week realistically does one. Guests who want both should plan ten days. Your captain commits to either crossing only in the right weather window.
When is the best time to charter Antigua, and what about Sailing Week?
December through April is the season. Trade winds run a dependable 15-25 knots, daytime highs sit in the low-to-mid 80s, and rain is rare. Christmas and New Year book first. The calendar climaxes in mid-to-late April with two of the great events in world sailing: the Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta (classic schooners, ketches, and J-Class yachts) and Antigua Sailing Week, when English and Falmouth Harbours fill with the largest gathering of yachts in the eastern Caribbean. It's a spectacular time to be on the water, but charter inventory for those weeks goes 9 to 12 months ahead — book early. Early May, June, and the back half of November are the value windows: slightly softer trades, fewer boats, and rates 15-25% below peak, with Barbuda's beaches at their emptiest.
How do we get to the yacht, and which airport?
V.C. Bird International Airport (ANU) is the gateway, and it's one of Antigua's quiet advantages. Year-round nonstop flights operate from New York (JFK), Miami, Atlanta, and Newark, with seasonal service from Charlotte and from London and Toronto — US East Coast flights run about four hours. You step off one plane and onto the boat the same afternoon, which the BVI can't offer. Most crewed charters embark at Nelson's Dockyard or Falmouth Harbour on the south coast (about a 40-45 minute transfer from ANU) or at Jolly Harbour on the west coast (about 30 minutes, the closest base to the airport). The yacht meets you wherever suits your itinerary and flights, and your captain handles all customs and immigration paperwork — guests just need a valid passport. We arrange the private transfer in advance.
The view from Shirley Heights over English Harbour and the anchored fleet at sunset, Antigua
Shirley Heights sobre English y Falmouth Harbours — la vista al atardecer, y los domingos la barbacoa con steel-pan, el broche de oro de la mayoría de las semanas en Antigua.

How to Book Your Antigua and Barbuda Yacht Charter

1

Share Your Vision

Fill out our quick form and we'll dive into your unique preferences — from adventure-packed itineraries to pampered escapes. Whether you're a seasoned voyager or new to charters, we'll tailor recommendations just for you.

2

Choose the Perfect Yacht

With over fifteen years of experience, we'll match you with the yacht that fits your style, group, and itinerary. We work directly with the captains and crews across our list — so the recommendation is built around the right boat-and-crew fit for your week, not whatever's easiest to book.

3

Relax While We Handle the Details

Once your yacht is booked, we'll take care of logistics: paperwork, reminders, and personalized resources to help you plan. From arrival planning to must-visit spots, we'll make your charter as seamless as it is unforgettable.

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