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5 minutes to book. Best day of our entire trip. Everything felt effortless from pickup to sunset.
Port guide
Road Town — at a glance
227 boats are available to book in Road Town from 2 bases; the largest are Wickhams Cay II Marina (210), Fort Burt Marina (17). The fleet is 173 catamarans and 54 sailing boats. The most common models are Leopard 42 (34), Leopard 50 (33), Leopard 46PC (32), Leopard 45 (25), Dufour 41 (17) — 28 models in all. Built 2015–2026, 11.7–17.6 m long, 3–6 cabins, up to 12 guests. Day rates start from €699; the typical boat here is around €1,071 per day, and every price on this page is the boat’s own listed rate before extras.
Road Town on Tortola is the bareboat capital of the world: the marinas around the harbour — Wickhams Cay, Nanny Cay, Village Cay — hold the largest charter fleet in the Caribbean, almost all of it catamarans. The Sir Francis Drake Channel outside is the reason: a chain of islands ten miles long with no passage over an hour or two, steady trade winds, mooring buoys in every bay and a beach bar at each one. It is the gentlest sailing in the Caribbean and the week most first-time charterers take.
December to April is high season; the buoys at the Baths and Norman Island fill by mid-afternoon in those months. Hurricane season runs from August to November.
Charter bases in Road Town
- Wickhams Cay II Marina 210 boats
- Fort Burt Marina 17 boats
Getting there
By air. Beef Island Airport (EIS) is about 15 km from Road Town — 25 minutes by taxi — with connections from San Juan, St Maarten and Antigua; many crews fly to St Thomas (STT) in the US Virgin Islands and take the ferry to Road Town or West End (45–60 minutes). By ferry. Ferries from St Thomas (Charlotte Amalie and Red Hook) land at Road Town and West End.
Road Town before you cast off
Road Town itself is a working harbour town with the Crafts Alive market and Main Street; the Baths on Virgin Gorda, the caves at Norman Island and the Soggy Dollar at Jost Van Dyke are the stops of the week. Sage Mountain, Tortola’s rainforest peak, is 20 minutes by road.
Supermarkets in Road Town near the marinas provision the boat; most charter companies offer a pre-stocked provisioning order. Fuel and water at the marina docks.
A week from Road Town
Day 1 — Road Town → Norman Island, The Bight (8 nm). Across the Drake Channel to the buoys in The Bight; snorkelling at the caves.
Day 2 — Norman → Cooper Island (8 nm). East along the channel to the buoys at Manchioneel Bay.
Day 3 — Cooper → Virgin Gorda, The Baths and Spanish Town (10 nm). A morning at the Baths boulders, then the marina at Spanish Town.
Day 4 — Spanish Town → North Sound, Bitter End / Leverick Bay (10 nm). Round Virgin Gorda into the sheltered North Sound.
Day 5 — North Sound → Anegada (14 nm). North across the open water to the flat coral island and its lobster dinners.
Day 6 — Anegada → Jost Van Dyke, Great Harbour (28 nm). The long leg west to Foxy’s and the Soggy Dollar at White Bay.
Day 7 — Jost → Road Town (10 nm). A short leg home to Tortola.
Types of boats in Road Town
- Catamarans 173 boats · from €714 per day
- Sailing boats 54 boats · from €699 per day
Road Town · prices
What a charter in Road Town actually costs
Adriavela lists 227 boats leaving from Road Town. What separates one price from another is the type of boat, its size, and the base it leaves from — not the month you go.
The average week is €7,559 and the cheapest boat on the list is €4,899. Figures are list prices for a 7-night bareboat charter, refreshed nightly; the exact total for your dates is confirmed on the boat’s own page before you book.
| Boat type | Boats | Guests | From | Average | Open |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Catamaran & trimaran 11.7–17.6 m · 4 cabins · built 2023 | Boats173 | Guests4–12 | From€4,998 | Average€8,224 | |
| Sailing boat 12–15.9 m · 3 cabins · built 2024 | Boats54 | Guests6–10 | From€4,899 | Average€4,899 |
| Budget / week | Boats | Sleeps | Typical size | Mostly | Open |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| €3,000 – €6,000 | Boats5 33% | Sleeps8 | Typical size15 m | Mostly3 sailing boats, 2 catamaran & trimarans | |
| €6,000 – €12,000 | Boats10 67% | Sleeps9 | Typical size14 m | Mostly10 catamaran & trimarans |
Frequently asked questions
How much does a yacht charter in Road Town cost?
Day rates on the boats listed here start from €699 and the typical boat is around €1,071 per day; a week (7 nights) starts from €4,899. Prices are the boats’ own listed rates; fuel, marina fees on the route and local taxes are paid separately.
What kinds of boats can I charter in Road Town?
227 boats are available to book in Road Town: 173 catamarans and 54 sailing boats. The most common models are Leopard 42, Leopard 50, Leopard 46PC, Leopard 45.
Which marinas do charters leave from in Road Town?
Charters in Road Town leave from 2 bases: Wickhams Cay II Marina (210 boats), Fort Burt Marina (17 boats).
What is not in the price?
The figure is for the boat. Transit log, tourist tax and the APA are mandatory, set per boat, and paid at the base. Skipper, hostess, extra equipment and other services are optional and also settled at the base.
Why do some boats show no price?
212 of the 227 boats in Road Town are on request — usually larger or crewed yachts, where the rate depends on the week and the crew. They are left out of every figure above.
How far is the airport from Road Town?
The nearest airport is Tortola Beef Island Airport (EIS), about 10 km away as the crow flies; St Thomas Cyril E. King Airport (STT) is about 40 km. Transfer times by road are longer; most charter companies arrange a transfer to the base on request.
Do I need a licence to charter bareboat in the Caribbean?
No formal licence is required in most of the islands, but the charter company asks for a sailing résumé and may require a skipper for the first day if experience is thin; a skipper is booked as an extra on the boat page. Crewed catamarans need nothing of the guests.
When is the season?
December to April is high season — trade winds, dry weather and the highest prices; May to July is quieter and cheaper; August to November is hurricane season, when many boats are laid up and insurance limits where you can go.
What day do charters start?
Charters start any day of the week in the Caribbean, with handover around midday and return by mid-morning; the exact times are on each boat’s page.
Why is the BVI called the best place for a first charter?
The islands sit in a line along a sheltered channel: no leg is over two hours, the trade wind is steady, and every anchorage has mooring buoys, so the week needs no anchoring and no navigation to speak of.