Charter a yacht with Rayan
A week aboard the right boat, with the crew, the area and the itinerary that fit the way you travel.
A charter is one week. There is no second attempt, so the boat, the crew and the area have to be right the first time.
What is covered
One week prepared properly, from the shortlist to the last day aboard
The right boat for the way you travel
A boat for eight friends and a boat for two families with young children are not the same boat, whatever the brochure suggests.
Crews met in person
On a charter the crew makes the week. The ones recommended here are the ones I have been aboard with.
Area and itinerary
Where to go in each season, how long the legs really take, which anchorages are worth the detour and which ones are full in August.
A clear budget before you sign
Charter fee, provisioning allowance, VAT, delivery fees, gratuity. All of it in one figure, before the contract rather than after it.
Contract and preferences
The industry standard contract read line by line, and a preference sheet the crew actually receives before you arrive.
During the charter
A number that answers. If something is wrong aboard it is dealt with while you are still on board, not in a complaint afterwards.
How it works
Six steps, and a week booked in a few days
Your week
Dates, number of guests, area, and the kind of holiday you have in mind. Fifteen minutes on the phone.
A shortlist
Three to five boats that are genuinely available, each with its all-in budget. Not a catalogue of forty units you have to filter yourself.
Choice and option
Availability confirmed with the central agent, and the week held while you decide.
Contract
Contract, payment schedule and insurance, explained in plain language before you sign rather than after.
Preparation
Preference sheet, itinerary, transfers, and anything particular you want on board when you step aboard.
Aboard
You are on holiday. Anything that needs handling goes through me, not through you.
What it costs
What you pay, and to whom
- Charter fee
- Set by the owner or the central agent. My commission is paid out of it, so you pay the same rate as you would booking direct.
- Provisioning allowance
- Paid to the crew before arrival and spent on fuel, food, drink and berthing. What is not spent comes back to you, with the accounts.
- VAT, gratuity, delivery
- Depend on the flag, the waters and the contract. Stated in the budget from the start, never discovered at the end of the week.
Expect the real cost of a week to sit meaningfully above the advertised rate. Ask for the exact figure before you sign, and refuse to hear it for the first time on board.
What is not included
What the charter fee does not cover
- Operation of the yacht. The contract is with the owning company, and the captain is in command and answers for safety.
- Flights, transfers and hotels, unless you ask for them to be organised.
- Travel insurance, and cover for personal belongings on board.
- Any guarantee on the weather or on the itinerary. The captain can change the route for safety reasons, and that decision is final.
- Charter management for owners, which is a different service and lives on the management page.
Why go through Rayan
Why book through someone who has slept on the boat
I have been on board
Filming yachts means sleeping on them, eating on them and being at sea on them. A brochure will not tell you that the aft cabin is loud at anchor, or that the tender is too small for eight people.
No incentive to place you on the wrong boat
Commission is similar from one boat to the next. What differs is whether you come back next year, and whether you say so publicly.
- 2 millionFollowers
- 1 billion+Views
- Hundreds of yachts visited and presented on camera.
- An international clientele, in French and in English.
- Tens of millions of euros in closed deals.
Frequent questions
Questions asked before a first charter
No. The rate is set by the owner and the commission comes out of it. Going direct does not reduce the price you pay.
The boat and the crew. Fuel, food, drink, berthing and taxes are extra, through the provisioning allowance and the contract. Ask for the all-in figure before you commit.
On some boats, mainly outside the high season. Most crewed yachts take a minimum of a week in summer, and a shorter charter is priced accordingly.
Children on most boats, and it changes which boat is right for you. Pets on a few, with the agreement of the owner. Say so at the start, not in the preference sheet.
The contract covers it. Depending on the failure and the time lost, that means a repair, a pro rata refund or a replacement boat — and the claim is handled for you.
Sometimes. A few are available for charter, most are private. Ask about a specific one and you get its real availability.
Planning a charter?
Give me the dates and the area, and you get three to five boats that are really available, each with the full budget.