# Caribbean Yacht Charter — A Season Guide for the BVI, St Barths and Beyond
A Caribbean yacht charter is the most consistent weather product in the entire global charter market: 26–28°C, steady 15–20 knot easterly trade winds, and almost no rainfall from December to April. But within that window the price, crowd and atmosphere vary enormously.
The Caribbean charter calendar
- **November**: Season opens. Yachts arriving from the Mediterranean, fresh paint, eager crews. Low prices, occasional residual swell from late-season Atlantic systems. - **December (pre-Christmas)**: Quiet, well-priced, beautiful weather. - **Christmas–New Year week**: The single most competitive yacht charter week on Earth. St Barths Gustavia berths reserved 12+ months ahead. Base rates roughly double. Black-tie fireworks on every superyacht in Baie de Saint-Jean. - **January**: Post-NYE the prices reset. Excellent weather, calmer crowds — our personal favourite month for a BVI yacht charter. - **February**: Steady trades, peak diving visibility, Antigua and St Barths regatta build-up. - **March**: St Barths Bucket (late March) — the sailing-yacht spectacle of the year. - **April**: Easter peak, then a quiet final fortnight. - **May–November**: Hurricane season. Most yachts reposition to the Mediterranean.
Which Caribbean charter for which guest
- **First-time family BVI catamaran charter**: 7 nights ex Tortola, Norman Island → Jost Van Dyke → Anegada → Virgin Gorda → back to Tortola. - **Couples superyacht charter St Barths**: 4–7 nights ex Gustavia with day sails to Île Fourchue and Colombier. - **Sailing enthusiasts**: Antigua to Grenadines, 10–14 nights along the trade-wind windward chain. - **Multi-island superyacht**: St Barths → Anguilla → St Martin → BVI, 10 nights.
Yacht charter cost during peak weeks
During Christmas/NYE: expect a 40m motor yacht St Barths charter at $300,000–$450,000/week + APA. A 60m+ superyacht charter in the same window can clear $1M for the week.
What our captains warn first-time clients
1. The Caribbean is not a single destination — the BVI, St Barths and Grenadines are different products. Choose one as the centre of your week. 2. NYE in St Barths means crowded Gustavia and impossible reservations — bring a yacht with a serious chef. 3. The trade winds make eastward passages slow — plan itineraries that drift west with the breeze.
For live fleet and pricing see our [Caribbean destination](/charter/destinations/caribbean), [BVI](/charter/destinations/british-virgin-islands-yacht-charter) and [St Barths](/charter/destinations/st-barths-yacht-charter) pages.