Short answer: $2,000 is above our half-day boat price and below our half-day yacht price. A four-hour private boat charter with Captain Caicos is $1,450 for up to six guests, plus 12% government tax. If you have been quoted $2,000 for a half day, it is probably one of four things: a bigger boat, a bigger group, a longer trip than you think, or an agency markup sitting on top of an operator’s price.
None of those are automatically wrong. But you should know which one you are paying for.
What a half day actually costs here
These are our own published prices for four hours on the water. Every one of them is for the whole boat, not per person.
| Half-day charter (4 hours) | Base price | Guests included | Extra guest | Max |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Private boat | $1,450 | 6 | $75 | 14 |
| Luxury yacht | $2,500 | 6 | $125 | 14 |
| Catamaran with slide | $2,700 | 10 | $150 | 40 |
| 65ft Fairline Targa GT | $7,500 | 6 | On request | 16 |
All prices exclude 12% government tax. You can see the full list, including full-day and sunset options, on our rates page.
So $2,000 sits in the gap between a standard boat and a yacht. That is a real gap, and there are honest reasons to land in it.
Four reasons a half-day quote reaches $2,000
1. You are on a bigger boat than you realised
“Private boat charter” covers a lot of hulls. A pontoon, a centre console, a 40ft yacht and a catamaran are all private boats. The step from our boat to our luxury yacht is $1,050 for the same four hours, and what you are buying is an air-conditioned interior, shaded deck seating, an onboard bathroom and an indoor shower. For a family with small children or anyone who does not want four hours in direct sun, that is money well spent. For a group of strong swimmers who plan to be in the water most of the time, it may not be.
2. Your group is larger than the base price covers
Almost every operator here prices a base number of guests and charges per head above it. Ours is six on the boat and the yacht, ten on the catamaran. A group of twelve on a half-day boat charter is $1,450 plus six extra guests at $75, which is $1,900 before tax — right at the $2,000 mark, entirely legitimately.
This is the single most common reason a quote looks high. Always check what guest count the number covers.
3. The trip is longer than four hours
Some operators call anything up to six hours a “half day”. We do not: our half day is four hours and our full day is seven, at $2,500. If a $2,000 quote is actually for five or six hours, you are being quoted something between the two, which is fair enough — just make sure the hours are written down.
4. You are booking through a middleman
This is the one to watch. Concierge desks, resort activity desks, online marketplaces and freelance agents all take a cut, and that cut is usually somewhere between 15% and 30%. The boat is the same boat. The captain is the same captain. You are paying for the booking, not the trip.
There is a review in the local travel groups from a traveller who paid $3,300 for a private charter for seven people, was told transfers were included, and then paid another $200 for a taxi on the day. The trip was also shorter than they had been told. That booking went through a third party. We cannot speak for how that operator ran their day, but we can tell you that a quote from the people who actually own the boat is a quote you can hold them to.
What a fair half-day quote looks like
A quote you can trust will tell you, in writing, all five of these:
- The hours. Not “half day” — the actual number, and whether it starts at pickup or at the dock.
- The guest count the price covers, and the cost of each additional guest.
- The tax. Ours is 12% government tax, quoted separately rather than buried.
- What is on board. Captain and crew, snorkelling gear and refreshments are included on every one of our charters.
- Where you get picked up, and whether getting there costs anything.
We cover all five in our charter FAQs, and the same detail goes on every quote we send.
Is the cheapest quote the right one?
Not always, and this cuts both ways.
Below about $1,200 for a half-day private charter in Providenciales, something is being left out. Usually it is the crew — a captain alone, with nobody to help guests in and out of the water or keep an eye on children. Sometimes it is the fuel surcharge, which appears later. Sometimes it is the boat itself: an older hull with no shade, which is a long four hours in Caribbean sun.
Equally, paying $2,500 for a yacht when your group wanted to swim all afternoon is paying for an air-conditioned saloon nobody sat in.
The right question is not “what is the cheapest?” but “what is this group actually going to do for four hours?” If the answer is swim, snorkel and sit on a sandbar, the standard boat does that perfectly. If the answer involves shade, a bathroom and somewhere cool to put a toddler down for a nap, pay the difference.
Common questions
Is the price per person or for the whole boat?
For the whole boat. $1,450 buys the four-hour half-day charter for up to six guests. Additional guests are $75 each up to a maximum of fourteen. Nobody else joins your trip.
Does $1,450 include tax?
No. A 12% government tax is added. On a half-day boat charter that is $174, for a total of $1,624 for up to six guests.
What is included in the price?
Your captain and crew, snorkelling equipment and complimentary refreshments — island rum punch, beers, sodas, juice and water. The full-day charter also includes a Caribbean meal prepared by a private chef.
Why is the catamaran more expensive than the yacht?
Because it carries four times as many people. At $2,700 for up to ten guests and a maximum of forty, the catamaran is the cheapest boat we run on a per-person basis once your group passes about twelve.
Can I get a quote before I commit?
Yes, and you should. Send us your dates and your group size and we will send back the boat, the route and the full price including tax, with nothing to discover later. Check availability here.
