A Bahamas motor yacht charter gives you range, speed, and full crewed service. At 15-20+ knots you can cover the Exumas and Eleuthera in a single week, or reach the Abacos and Berry Islands — routes that stay out of reach for slower boats.
The fleet here runs from 80-foot cruisers to 140-foot+ superyachts, most with a full toy garage: jet skis, tenders, Seabobs, SCUBA gear, slides. Peak season is December through May, and the best yachts book 12+ months out — popular dates go two summers ahead.
Cover more in a week. The Bahamas is a long-distance destination — 120 nautical miles down the Exuma chain alone. Speed is why the motor yacht is still our default recommendation here.
Half-day hops, not full-day hauls. At 15-20+ knots, the run from Nassau into the Exumas takes a morning, not a day. You spend your week at anchor, not underway.
Crew and service at scale. A bigger crew means a dedicated chef, deckhands running the toys, and a service standard smaller boats can’t match.
The deepest toy garages. Jet skis, chase tenders, Seabobs, SCUBA setups, slides — motor yachts carry more, and the tender opens up fishing drop-offs and dive sites the mothership can’t reach.
Broker insight
``That first trip from Nassau to the Exumas is about a five-hour sail on a catamaran. On a motor yacht, depending on the size and power, it's more like two to three hours – you board in the morning, and you're swimming with the pigs that same afternoon.``
Chris de Kock
Yacht Charter Broker
Crewed motor yachts start at $50,000/week, with most of the fleet at $50,000-$100,000 and ultra-luxury yachts well past $150,000. On top of the base rate, budget a 30-40% APA (fuel is the big line item on a motor yacht) and the Bahamas’ 14% charter tax — a $100,000 charter lands around $150,000 all-in.
This is where the motor yacht pays off: the speed and range put the whole Bahamas on the table, not just one island chain. Your itinerary is built around what you want to see, not around what the boat can reach.
The Exumas loop is the classic – Nassau south through Norman’s Cay, Thunderball Grotto at Staniel Cay, the pigs at Big Major’s Spot, then back north via Eleuthera’s pink-sand beaches. Just over 300 nautical miles, and only a motor yacht fits it comfortably into one week.
The Abacos are the other favorite – harbor towns, beach bars, protected water. And you can skip Nassau entirely: Marsh Harbour has its own airport with direct US flights, so you start right in the middle of the cruising grounds.
Beyond those two, the range opens up the Berry Islands, Harbour Island, and the remote southern out-islands – routes we tailor case by case.
