The second question we hear after “which boat?” is “what do we need to bring?”, and on most charters here the honest answer is a towel and sunscreen. Snorkel gear, life jackets, drinks, something to eat and a captain who knows the water are already in the price of the boat.
We book 23 private charters in Turks and Caicos, from 22ft sport boats to a 70ft sailboat that takes 50, and what’s included varies more than the prices suggest: one four-hour charter comes with a fruit bowl and a cooler of local beer, another with glazed ribs, champagne and an air-conditioned cabin. Here’s what every boat carries, what changes from one to the next, and how weather and cancellation work.
What’s included at a glance
- On every boat: snorkel gear, life jackets and a crew who knows these waters.
- Food and drinks: set out option by option on every listing, from fruit and snacks to a full beach BBQ.
- Bathrooms: on most charter boats (18 of the 23 we book), and a listing with a bathroom lists it.
- Free cancellation: 24, 48 or 72 hours before you go, depending on the boat.
- Not provided: towels. Bring one each, plus a dry bag for phones.
1. Food and drinks
Every option on every listing has its own menu, right down to the drinks, so you’ll know before you book whether it’s fruit and snacks or a proper lunch. Longer charters bring a bigger spread: the 35ft Catamaran’s half day comes with a fruit and charcuterie platter, and its seven-hour charter adds a family-style picnic lunch.
On the luxury yachts it can be a sit-down affair. The 62ft Lux Yacht’s menu includes main courses like grilled mahi-mahi and coconut shrimp, and the Adventure Boat’s full day includes a beach BBQ. Drinks run from water and soft drinks to local beer, rum punch and wine, depending on the boat, and most boats keep ice and a cooler on board. As a rule, four hours means a platter or sandwiches at anchor; a full day is where lunch gets serious.
Good to know
You’re welcome to bring your own food and drinks on every charter we book, beer and spirits included; the two big sailing boats, the 65ft and the 70ft, ask for no glass on board. Tell us about allergies or dietary needs when you book and we pass them to the crew: the three menu yachts list vegetarian mains, the catamarans adjust their platters, and the 28ft and 37ft take custom food requests for an extra fee.
Charters with lunch on board
2. Kids on board
A private charter is made for families: you set the pace, there’s shade when little ones need a break, and nobody minds an extra swim stop. Life jackets are on every boat, and the 70ft sailboat adds flotation belts for snorkeling.
Some boats are built for kids. The Adventure Boats have a waterslide, and the 30ft, 35ft and 41ft catamarans have bow netting to lounge on and a Subwing for confident swimmers to ride behind the boat. A few boats also charge less for children (on the catamarans, ages 4 to 14, with under-4s free), and you’ll see the price for your exact party when you pick your date.
Good to know
With young children, choose a boat with a bathroom. Most have one (18 of the 23 we book), and a listing with a bathroom lists it; the 30ft Catamaran and the 22ft Axopar have none, and say so.
Pack rash guards for them and, for the smallest, swim diapers.
Life jackets are sized by weight, and the infant size, for babies under about 30 lb, is the one a boat is least likely to have aboard. If you’re bringing a baby or toddler, ask for their size when you book, or pack your own. A jacket fits when you can lift the child by its shoulders and it stays put rather than riding up over the chin.
Family-friendly charters
3. Comfort: shade, bathrooms and cabins
On the bigger boats, comfort goes up a notch. Several have air-conditioned cabins, including the 35ft Luxury Yacht, the 51ft Lux Yacht and the 44ft Luxury Catamaran Yacht, and the 62ft Lux Yacht has two bathrooms, air conditioning inside and out, and its own bartender.
For a big group, the 65ft sailing catamaran has five bathrooms, a shaded cockpit lounge and an open foredeck made for lying in the sun, and the new 51ft Ultra Lux Powercat has four staterooms and four bathrooms for up to 25.
Charters with an air-conditioned cabin
4. What to bring
On the day
Be at the marina 10 to 15 minutes before your start time (the meeting point is on the listing and in your confirmation email); the boats leave on schedule.
Sunscreen that’s kind to the reef
Reef-safe matters because you’re about to snorkel over the coral, and you’ll get through more sunscreen than you expect. NOAA’s list of chemicals harmful to marine life starts with oxybenzone and octinoxate, the two that Hawaii and the US Virgin Islands have banned, and includes octocrylene too. Look for a mineral sunscreen without them, put it on 20 minutes before the first swim so it isn’t straight into the water, and let a rash guard do most of the work. Aerosols aren’t allowed on the 43ft Ultra Luxury Yacht, and lotion is the better choice on any deck: spray drifts onto the boat and the sea.
What to wear
Swimsuits under a cover-up, a rash guard for long snorkels, and a light long-sleeved layer for the ride home, when wind and spray can make even a warm day feel cool. Water shoes help on the rockier beach stops. Leave anything precious, from jewelry to good sunglasses, on a cord or at the hotel: what goes over the side in 15 feet of water usually stays there.
Phones and cameras
A waterproof pouch on a lanyard keeps a phone dry on the crossings and usable in the shallows, but phones sink, so keep the lanyard on. An action camera on a floating grip is the best tool for the reef and the sandbar. The best underwater shots come from just below the surface in the shallowest water, where the light is brightest. Salt spray dries into a haze on a lens, so wipe it with fresh water, not your shirt, and keep spare battery power: the shots everyone wants come at the end of the day.
Cash
Turks and Caicos uses the US dollar, and cards are widely accepted on the island, so you need very little. Carry some small bills for the Iguana Island admission if your boat doesn’t cover it ($20 a person for the short trail tour at the National Trust’s posted prices) and for anything you buy at a stop.
If you get seasick
The water between the cays is usually flat, and captains steer for calmer water when the open crossings aren’t. If you’re prone to it, take any medicine before you leave the hotel (tablets take about two hours to work, a patch six to eight, and children’s doses are a question for your doctor), sit in the middle of the boat and low down, keep your eyes on the horizon rather than a screen, and go easy on the rum punch until the crossing is done.
Towels aren’t provided on any charter here, so bring one each, plus a dry bag; after that, pack light, in a soft bag rather than anything hard-sided. Add a cap or hat that stays on when the boat is moving and polarized sunglasses, which cut the glare and let you spot rays and turtles from the deck.
5. Weather and cancellation
A gray forecast doesn’t cancel a charter by itself; the go or no-go is the captain’s call on the day, made on the sea state and safety. If the captain or our charter management considers the weather unsafe or too rough to go out, you can move your charter to another day or take a refund.
A typical day here has an east-southeast trade wind of 10 to 17 knots, which the sheltered water between the cays shrugs off. What changes plans is a squall line or a passing front, more common in winter, or a hurricane-season system (June 1 to November 30). Those make the open crossings rough before they spoil the cays, so the first move is usually a different route or a different order of stops; the weather rule above covers you if the call is not to go.
If your plans change for any other reason, every charter we book gives you a full refund if you cancel 24, 48 or 72 hours before your start time, and the window is on every listing. On a few catamarans and yachts, canceling between 72 and 24 hours before refunds half, and inside 24 hours there’s no refund.
Booking works the same way on every listing: the price you see includes taxes, a deposit secures the boat and the balance is due to our charter management, the free-cancellation window is printed on the listing, and a request is confirmed within a few hours, nearly all within the day.
6. Extras you can add
Some toys ride free: a Subwing on the 30ft, 35ft and 41ft catamarans, underwater scooters on the 40ft Ultra Luxury Yacht, and a tender, a kayak, paddle boards and a floating island on the 51ft power catamaran. On the 70ft sailboat, a gourmet picnic lunch can be added at checkout on its five and six-hour charters. On the Adventure Boats, bottom fishing (rods, bait and the group’s fishing license included) and, on the smaller of the two, tubing are add-ons priced separately and paid on the day; ask when you book.
Wondering how many hours to book? Our guide to half-day and full-day charters walks through every stop, and what a charter costs has the prices for your group.
The easy choice
If you want everything in the price and nothing to carry but a towel, the 35ft Luxury Yacht is the one we’d point most families to: $3,026 all-in for four hours for six, with glazed ribs, chicken wings, mac and cheese and salad, local beer, wine and champagne, an air-conditioned cabin, a bathroom and a shower. For a big group that wants lunch and a waterslide, the Adventure Boat’s eight hours are $3,311 for twelve, with a beach BBQ and fresh conch ceviche. Both prices include taxes, a deposit secures the boat, you can cancel free up to 24 hours before, and the booking is confirmed within a few hours, nearly always the same day.
