Yacht charter in Costa Brava

Yacht charter in Costa Brava starts from €400 a day for an 11-metre motor yacht, and the middle of the 50 models on this page sits at €1,240. Below: who takes the helm, what length, age and guest numbers do to the day rate, which boat types the coast offers and how prices differ between Roses, Empuriabrava, Platja d'Aro and the smaller harbours.

What a day charter covers, and who takes the helm

Every yacht in this section is priced by the day, in euros, and the starting rate is for the whole boat — not a seat on a shared trip.

The whole boat for one day

A private yacht charter on the Costa Brava means your group has the boat to itself from departure to return. The Rent-Trip section on this page brings together 50 motor yacht models, from an 8.4-metre walkaround to a 25-metre yacht with six cabins, and the market offers them in three working modes: by the day, by the hour and with a captain at the helm. All 50 starting prices here are day rates, which makes them easy to set side by side: a figure for one model and a figure for another describe the same unit of time. What the figure does not tell you is what sits inside it, and that is the first thing to settle with any yacht before you compare it with the next one.

Skipper mandatory or optional

On most of these boats the skipper is not a choice. For 36 of the 50 models the owner requires a skipper, and one more always sails with its own captain. Only 7 models offer the skipper as an option, and for the remaining 6 the condition is not stated. Larger boats are the ones where the skipper is fixed: a Saxdor 320 GTO of 10.5 metres, for 9 people and with 450 hp, is offered from €1,000 a day with the skipper mandatory, and the same rule applies to most yachts above that size. The optional-skipper group is made up mostly of boats of 10 to 11 metres, such as the Lomac 1000 IN, the Capelli Tempest 1000 and the Quicksilver Navan S30, plus two older cruisers — the Princess V58 and the Technomarine Techno 55. If you plan to take the helm yourself on one of these, ask the owner in advance what boating qualification they need to see; the decision is theirs, and it is made before the booking, not on the pontoon.

Turning a day rate into a comparable quote

A day rate is a starting point. In my view, the cleanest way to compare a yacht rental on the Costa Brava is to treat the skipper as part of the boat and to ask the same three questions of every quote: is the skipper inside the rate or billed on top, how many hours does "a day" cover, and what is not included — fuel above all, since a 25-metre yacht with 2,700 hp and an 11-metre cruiser with two 500 hp engines burn very different amounts on the same route. Two quotes that answer those questions the same way can be compared on the total. Two quotes that answer them differently cannot, whatever their headline figures say.

Day rates from €400 to €7,800

The 50 day rates run from €400 to €7,800, but most of the market sits in a much narrower band.

Four price bands

Thirty of the 50 yachts start below €1,500 a day, and only 6 start at €2,500 or more. Half the models cost between about €990 and €1,900 — that is the range where a typical day on an 11- to 15-metre motor yacht falls.

The cheapest and the dearest

The lowest starting price, €400, belongs to the Arcoa 1007, an 11-metre motor yacht built in 1995 for up to 6 guests with two 500 hp engines. It is the exception rather than the rule: the next yachts up the list — the Lomac 1000 IN at €500, and the Rodman 1100 and Quicksilver Navan S30 at €650 each — take 10 to 12 guests, so the Arcoa is the cheapest boat, not the cheapest per person. At the top, the Overmarine AMC 25 starts at €7,800 a day: 25.07 metres, 6 cabins, 2,700 hp, built in 1997, for up to 12 guests. It is the only yacht in the section above €3,500. Between them, the next most expensive boats are the Azimut 55 Fly at €3,500 and the Sunseeker Portofino 53 at €3,200 — both around 17 metres.

Using the middle as a benchmark

The median day rate across all 50 models is €1,240. That number is useful as a yardstick: a quote far below it for a large, recent boat deserves a second look at what is included, and a quote far above it for a small, older boat should be explained by something specific — the skipper, the hours, or a busy date. A quarter of the yachts start at €987.50 or less; a quarter start at €1,900 or more. If your budget sits near €1,200, roughly half the section is open to you before you even look at size.

Length, age and what a metre costs

Length moves the day rate more than anything else, but within each size band the year of build can double or triple the price.

Price by length

The step from the 11–13 metre band to the 13–16 metre band adds about €450 to the middle price; the step to 16 metres and more adds almost €1,000 more. The spread inside each band is wide, though. In the 11–13 metre group the range runs from €400 to €2,070, which means a 12-metre boat can cost five times as much as an 11-metre one.

What a metre costs

Dividing each day rate by the boat's length gives a figure that is easier to compare across sizes. Across the 50 models the middle comes to about €102 per metre per day. The cheapest metres are on the Arcoa 1007 (about €36 per metre) and the Lomac 1000 IN (about €48); the dearest on the Overmarine AMC 25 (about €311), the Astondoa 43 Fly (about €223) and the Azimut 55 Fly (about €200). The Astondoa is the interesting case: at 13 metres it is far from the longest yacht, but a flybridge, three cabins and two 970 hp engines push its rate to €2,900 — more than most 17-metre boats. Price per metre therefore works as a quick filter for the unusual quote rather than a rule: when a boat sits well above €102 per metre, look for the reason in its layout, engines or age.

Same length, different year

The build year is given for 43 of the 50 yachts, from 1990 to 2026. Sixteen were built in 2020 or later and 9 before 2000. The middle day rate of the newer group is €1,425, against €1,200 for the boats from the 1990s — a smaller gap than the pairs above suggest, because many of the new boats are compact 10- to 12-metre cruisers while several of the older ones are 15 to 20 metres long. The pairs show the real effect at equal size: on the same hull length, a younger or better-equipped boat can cost two to three times as much. The Princess V58 against the Sunseeker Portofino 53 is the widest case — €990 against €3,200 for boats half a metre apart in length.

Guests, cabins and price per head

Every yacht has a stated maximum number of guests, and on this coast that maximum clusters at a single figure.

Twelve guests is the usual limit

Twelve is the most common maximum: 16 of the 50 models take exactly 12 guests, and 24 take 12 or more. Ten models are limited to 9 guests or fewer, among them the Arcoa 1007 for 6, the Cayman 30 Fly for 7 and the ACM 1400 and Parker Monaco 110 Fly for 8. Above 12, the choice narrows to a few boats built for groups: the Cranchi Mediterranee 50 for 14, the Sunseeker Apache 45 for 15, the Apreamare 60 and Sea Water Phantom 50 for 16, the Sacs Rebel 47 Open for 18, and three Quer llaüts for 21, 25 and 30 guests. For a group of 13 or more, the list of suitable yachts is eight names long, so it pays to start there rather than with the price.

Price per guest

Divided by the maximum number of guests, the middle price comes to about €110 per guest per day. The cheapest heads are on open boats and group llaüts; the dearest on large or premium cruisers that carry no more people than a 10-metre boat. A full group changes the picture most on the boats built for groups: the Quer 32 at €1,580 is three times the Lomac's day rate, but with 25 guests aboard it costs only about €21 more per person. The per-guest figure only holds if the group fills the boat, of course — four people on a 12-guest yacht pay the full day rate between them.

Cabins

The number of cabins is stated for 37 yachts. Seventeen have one cabin, 10 have two, 9 have three and one — the Overmarine AMC 25 — has six. On a day charter a cabin is a place to change, to get out of the sun or to sit out a choppy crossing, so for most groups one is enough. Three cabins usually come with a 15- to 20-metre hull and with the price that goes with it. Since every rate in this section is a day rate, plans that involve sleeping on board are a separate conversation: ask the owner directly whether the boat can be chartered overnight and on what terms.

Flybridges, sport cruisers, RIBs, gozzos and llaüts

The word "yacht" covers several quite different boats on this coast, and each type answers a different kind of day.

Types side by side

Flybridges and sport cruisers

Flybridge yachts have a second, upper helm station with seating, which gives the best view and the most deck space for the length. They are the dearest type in the section: from €1,020 for the 10-metre Cayman 30 Fly to €3,500 for the 17.5-metre Azimut 55 Fly, with the Horizon Elegance 54 Fly, Astondoa 43 Fly and Bénéteau Monte Carlo 5 in between. Sport cruisers are lower and faster, built around a large open cockpit and powerful engines. The seven here are 14.6 to 17.5 metres long, and four of them come from one builder — the Sunseeker Portofino 47 and 53, the Camargue 47 and the Apache 45. Their rates run from €990 for the Princess V58 to €3,200 for the Portofino 53.

Walkarounds and large RIBs

Walkaround cruisers have a side deck that runs all the way round the console, which makes swimming stops and moving about easy. The four here start at €750 for the 8.4-metre Jeanneau Cap Camarat 9.0 WA and reach €2,070 for the 12.4-metre Nimbus T11 Walkaround, built in 2026. Large RIBs — rigid hulls with inflatable tubes — are the budget route to a big group: the Lomac 1000 IN and Capelli Tempest 1000 take 12 guests from €500 and €995. At the other end, the 15-metre Sea Water Phantom 50 and Sacs Rebel 47 Open carry 16 and 18 guests from €2,100 and €2,500, with 1,275 and 950 hp.

Gozzos and llaüts

Two traditional Mediterranean shapes appear in the section. Gozzo-style yachts follow the rounded lines of Italian fishing boats: the Fratelli Aprea Sorrento 32 at €1,150, the Gozzo Positano 32 at €1,199 and the 20-metre Apreamare 60 for 16 guests at €2,450. Llaüts are the local wide-beamed working boat, rebuilt for groups — the three Quer models take 21 to 30 guests from €1,580 to €1,915 a day. If the aim is a relaxed day with a large party rather than speed, these are the boats to look at first.

Home ports from Roses to Blanes

Where a yacht is based decides where the day starts and which stretch of coast is within easy reach.

Ports and prices

The home port is not stated for 2 of the 50 yachts.

The Bay of Roses: Roses and Empuriabrava

The north of the coast holds the largest choice. Twenty-one yachts are based in Roses or around its bay, including Santa Margarida, and they cover the whole price range — from the €400 Arcoa 1007 to the €7,800 Overmarine AMC 25 — with the middle at €1,300. Empuriabrava, a few kilometres along the same bay, adds 9 more, and it is the cheapest base in the section: its middle rate is €900, and none of its boats starts above €2,000. Together the two ports account for 30 of the 50 yachts. From here the natural day out heads north towards Cap de Creus or south across the bay; it is the place to start for anyone who wants the widest choice or the lowest rate.

Platja d'Aro and the middle coast

Platja d'Aro, with its marina at Port d'Aro, is the second cluster: 8 yachts, and the most expensive middle rate of any port at €1,850. It is home to the Sunseeker Portofino 47 and 53, the Sunseeker Camargue 47, the Astondoa 43 Fly and the 20-metre Apreamare 60 — the premium end of the section. Palamós, a short way north, adds the Jeanneau Cap Camarat 12.5 WA and the Gozzo Positano 32, and Sant Feliu de Guíxols, to the south, the Cayman 30 Fly.

L'Estartit, L'Escala and Blanes

The smaller harbours have only a handful of boats each, and that is worth knowing before you settle on a date. L'Estartit, opposite the Medes Islands, has three: the Sacs Strider 11 RIB at €700, the Rodman 1100 at €650 and the Horizon Elegance 54 Fly at €2,700. L'Escala has the Faeton 1040 Moraga and the 30-guest Quer 40 Eco-Fast; Blanes, at the southern end of the coast, the Cranchi Mediterranee 50 and the Quer 32. With two or three boats in a port, one booked date can empty the local choice, so it makes sense to keep a second port in mind — and to compare the cost of reaching a busier harbour with the price difference of the boats there.

Key points before you choose

Five figures to keep in mind

• Day rate: the 50 motor yachts start between €400 and €7,800 a day, with the middle at €1,240 and half the models between about €990 and €1,900.
• Skipper: on 37 of the 50 boats the skipper comes with the yacht; only 7 leave the choice to you, so plan the day around a crew, not around your own helm.
• Size and age: the middle price rises from about €990 under 11 metres to €2,575 at 16 metres and more, and at the same length a younger boat can cost two to three times as much.
• Guests: 12 is the usual cap; for 13 guests or more the choice comes down to eight boats, from large RIBs to llaüts for up to 30.
• Home port: Roses and Empuriabrava hold 30 of the 50 yachts and the lowest middle rate (€900 in Empuriabrava); Platja d'Aro is the premium cluster at €1,850.