Louis LamprellYacht charter broker, DMA Yachting
A tandem charter is one vacation spread across two yachts that cruise together. One captain leads, the boats coordinate their route and anchorages, and the group mixes freely: kids can go off for watersports on one boat while the adults take a quiet bay on the other, and everyone meets up for dinner ashore. Three or more boats doing the same is called a flotilla charter; the same idea with more logistics, and we have organized those too.
It is our standard recommendation for groups beyond 12 guests, because most charter yachts cannot legally sleep more than that, and two mid-size yachts usually cost well under one huge one.
The pairing matters: not every two yachts make a good team. We keep a list of combinations that have run tandems together before and we clear the plan with both yacht managers, so the coordination is agreed before you sign rather than improvised on the water.