Bareboat vs Crewed Charter in Greece: Price Comparison
The headline charter fee makes crewed look 60–80% more expensive than bareboat. Once you add what a bareboat charter needs anyway — food, fuel, a skipper if you’re not licensed, moorings — the real gap is often closer to 10–15%. This page shows the full math, not just the sticker price.
What each option actually means
Bareboat: you rent the boat empty. You (or a hired skipper) sail it, you provision it, you’re responsible for it day to day. Requires a valid sailing licence, or a hired skipper if you don’t have one.
Crewed: the boat comes with a professional skipper and, usually, a hostess or cook. You pay an Advance Provisioning Allowance (APA) — typically 25–35% of the charter fee — which covers fuel, food, drinks and moorings, and any unspent APA is refunded at the end.
The real comparison, using an actual boat
Here’s a full breakdown for a Lagoon 50 catamaran (4 cabins, 8 guests), one week in Greece:
| Bareboat | Crewed | |
|---|---|---|
| Charter fee | €8,000 | €14,500 |
| APA (~30%, crewed only) | – | €4,350 |
| Food & drink provisioning | €5,600 | included |
| Skipper, hostess, fuel, moorings | €3,500 | included |
| Comfort pack / extras | €500 | included |
| VAT (12%) | €960 | €1,740 |
| All-in total | €19,060 | €20,590 |
| Per couple/day (4 couples) | €680 | €735 |
The charter fee alone makes crewed look 80% pricier. All-in, it’s about 8% more — for a boat that comes fully staffed, provisioned, and sailed by someone who knows the waters.
What you’re actually paying the extra 8% for
- No planning. Someone else handles provisioning, route decisions in bad weather, docking in a crowded August marina.
- Local knowledge. A professional skipper knows which anchorages are actually sheltered in a given wind direction — not just which ones look good in photos.
- No licence needed. You don’t need any sailing qualification for a crewed charter.
- Service. A hostess/cook on a crewed catamaran means meals prepared, cabins made up, and someone managing logistics — closer to a small floating hotel than a rental.
Where bareboat genuinely wins
- Privacy and control. No crew on board means the boat is entirely yours — useful for some groups, awkward for others.
- Smaller boats, bigger savings. The 8% gap above is for a large catamaran with a lot of built-in crewed overhead. On a smaller 35–40 ft monohull, bareboat can still be meaningfully cheaper in absolute terms, even if the percentage gap looks similar.
- Flexibility to skip provisioning you don’t need. A lean bareboat week (basic groceries, minimal extras) can undercut the numbers above significantly — the comparison above assumes a comparable standard of food and service on both sides.
Who should choose which
Choose bareboat if: you or someone in your group is a licensed, confident sailor, you want full control of the route, and you’re comfortable handling docking, provisioning and troubleshooting yourselves.
Choose crewed if: nobody in your group has a sailing licence, you want a genuinely relaxing week rather than a sailing-focused one, or you’re chartering during peak meltemi season and would rather have local expertise handling the weather calls.
Hybrid option: bareboat with a hired skipper (no hostess) sits between the two — you keep more control and lower cost than full crew, while removing the licence requirement and the navigation workload. Budget roughly €180–250/day for the skipper on top of standard bareboat costs.
Frequently asked questions
Is crewed always more expensive than bareboat in Greece?
The charter fee always is, but once food, fuel, mooring and skipper costs are added to a bareboat charter, the all-in gap is often much smaller — sometimes under 15%.
Do I need a licence for a crewed charter?
No. Crewed and day charters always include a professional skipper. A licence is only required for bareboat charters where you sail the boat yourself.
What is APA and is it refundable?
Advance Provisioning Allowance — a deposit (typically 25–35% of the charter fee) that covers fuel, food, drinks and moorings on a crewed charter. Anything unspent at the end of the week is refunded.
Is a hired skipper on a bareboat charter the same as a crewed charter?
No — a hired skipper without a hostess/cook covers navigation and docking, but you still provision the boat and handle meals yourselves. It’s a middle option, not equivalent to full crew.
