Can we do a bareboat expedition charter?

Thomas Merlier
Yacht charter broker, DMA Yachting

No, and for good reasons. Expedition charters are fully crewed and guided, never bareboat. In the Galapagos, national park rules require a permit and a certified naturalist guide for every shore landing, so a self-skippered charter is simply not allowed. Antarctica operates under strict authorizations that assume a professional operation.

Beyond the rules, these are demanding waters, ice, remoteness, big tides, limited rescue, that call for experienced captains and, often, a dedicated expedition team. The value of the trip lives in that expertise.

So the question is really which crewed expedition yacht, not whether to go bareboat. Tell us the region and we will explain how the crewing and guiding work there. See are there guides on board?