# Charter A Yacht In Malta
> To charter a yacht in Malta, send your date, guest numbers and departure area to a licensed operator; you will receive a written quote within four working hours showing two or three suitable yachts, an all-in price and a suggested route. Choose a yacht, agree the itinerary and extras, then confirm with a 50% deposit — the balance falls due seven days before departure. Before paying the balance you should hold the yacht's Transport Malta commercial licence number, its passenger liability insurance certificate, the skipper's name and the written cancellation and bad-weather policy. On the day you are met at a named pontoon fifteen minutes before departure for a safety briefing. No licence is required from you on a skippered or crewed charter.
Canonical page: https://luxuryyachtchartermalta.com/charter-a-yacht-in-malta

## Contact
- Email: info@lycyachts.com
- WhatsApp only (no voice calls): +44 7537 166275
- WhatsApp: https://wa.me/447537166275
- Base: Portomaso Marina, St Julian's, Malta
- Hours: Mon–Sun 08:00–21:00 CET
- Enquiry form: https://luxuryyachtchartermalta.com/charter-a-yacht-in-malta#enquire

## Key facts
- Quote turnaround: 4 working hours
- Deposit: 50% to confirm
- Balance due: 7 days before
- Day charter from: €1,900

## At a glance
| Question | Answer |
| --- | --- |
| What do you need from me to quote? | The date, the number of adults and children, your departure area or hotel, and roughly what you want the day to feel like. |
| How long does a quote take? | Four working hours, including live availability, an all-in price, itemised extras and a draft route with timings. |
| What confirms the booking? | A 50% deposit against a written confirmation naming the yacht, the skipper, the pontoon and the route. Balance seven days before departure. |
| How can I pay? | Card, SEPA bank transfer or Revolut. A VAT invoice is issued immediately, in the name you need it in. |
| What paperwork do I sign? | A short booking confirmation and terms for day charters; a MYBA-style charter agreement for weekly and superyacht bookings. |
| What should I check before paying? | The commercial licence number, the insurance certificate, the skipper's name, the exact pontoon and the written weather and cancellation policy. |
| Do I need a boat licence? | No, unless you are booking bareboat. Skippered and crewed charters put the licence and responsibility on the professional aboard. |
| What time do we board? | Fifteen minutes before departure at the named pontoon, for a short safety briefing before lines off. |
| What should I bring? | Passport or ID, swimwear, a hat, reef-safe sun cream, a light layer for the return leg and soft-soled shoes. Everything else is aboard. |
| Who do I call on the day? | Your named concierge, on the mobile number printed on the confirmation. Not a shared inbox and not a switchboard. |

## How to charter a yacht in Malta, step by step
Six steps. Most guests complete the first four inside a single day, and nothing before step four costs anything.
1. **Send the basics** — Date, number of adults and children, departure area or hotel, and the mood you want — a fast day with water toys, a shaded lunch at anchor, or a quiet sunset. WhatsApp or the form on this page is enough; no deposit and no card details at this stage.
2. **Receive a written quote in four working hours** — Two or three suitable yachts with real availability for your date, photographs, guest limits, the all-in price, extras itemised separately and a suggested route with departure and return times.
3. **Shape the day** — Swap yachts, change the route, add catering and a drinks package, add a Seabob or paddleboards, add transfers from your hotel, or extend a half day into a sunset return. We reprice as many times as you need.
4. **Confirm with a 50% deposit** — You receive a written confirmation naming the yacht, the skipper, the pontoon, the timings and the route, plus the commercial licence and insurance details. The deposit holds the yacht and the date; the balance is due seven days before departure.
5. **Complete the preference sheet** — Menus, allergies, favourite drinks, children's ages, celebration details, music and any photography plans go to the crew before you arrive, so nothing has to be explained on the pontoon.
6. **Embark and cruise** — Meet the crew fifteen minutes before departure at the named pontoon, short safety briefing, lines off. Your concierge is reachable all day, and the skipper adapts the route to the wind you actually get.

## How to read a Malta charter quote
A legitimate Malta charter quote is not a single number in a chat message. It names the specific yacht, states its length and licensed guest capacity, confirms the crew aboard, and separates what is included from what is extra. If you cannot tell from a quote which yacht you are getting, you do not have a quote — you have a placeholder.

Look for the inclusions to be spelled out: fuel for the agreed route, generator hours at anchor, harbour dues, the marina berth, Comino anchorage fees, water, soft drinks, ice, towels and snorkelling gear. In Malta these are the items most often left out of a headline price and added on the pontoon. Ours are inside the figure, and the figure is the figure.

Extras belong on their own lines with their own prices: catering at €95–€185 per guest depending on the menu, a premium drinks package from €65 per guest, motorised water toys at €250–€850 per day, private transfers from €95 each way, a photographer from €650, a celebration package from €350 and extra cruising hours from €290. That way you can remove any of them without renegotiating the whole booking.

Finally, the quote should carry the compliance detail: the yacht's Transport Malta commercial licence number, the passenger liability insurance certificate, the cancellation terms, the bad-weather policy and VAT treatment. We put all of it in writing before any money moves, precisely because it is the part a weak operator hopes you will not ask about.

## Nine things to verify before you transfer money
- A Transport Malta commercial licence for the exact yacht you are chartering, by number
- Passenger liability insurance, with the certificate number written on the quote
- The skipper's name, licence and years operating in Maltese waters
- A total price with fuel, harbour dues and Comino fees already inside it
- The cancellation and bad-weather policy, in writing, before payment
- Written confirmation of exclusive use — nobody else joining your booking
- The exact embarkation pontoon, not just the name of the marina
- A named contact reachable on charter day, not a shared inbox
- A VAT invoice in the name and entity you need for expenses or accounting

## Deposits, balances and cancellation
### Day charter deposit (50%)
Payable on confirmation, against a written booking that names the yacht and the date. It is what removes your date from the availability calendar.

### Balance (7 days before)
The remaining 50% falls due one week before departure. For late bookings inside seven days, the full amount is payable on confirmation.

### Weekly and superyacht charters (MYBA-style terms)
Typically 50% on signature and 50% at thirty days, plus an Advance Provisioning Allowance of 25–35% covering fuel, food, drink and berths, reconciled with receipts at the end.

### Payment methods (Card, SEPA, Revolut)
A VAT invoice is issued immediately in whatever name you need. We never ask for cash on the pontoon, and you should never pay it.

### Weather cancellation (Free move or full refund)
If the skipper stands the day down for wind or sea state, you choose a new date at no cost or take back everything you have paid.

### Guest cancellation (Terms shown before payment)
Sliding-scale terms based on how close to departure you cancel, stated in writing on the quote so you agree to them before, not after.

## What happens on the day itself
You arrive at the pontoon named on your confirmation fifteen minutes before departure. Parking at Portomaso is valet; at Msida and Ta' Xbiex it is on the quay; in Sliema most guests are collected by tender. If you booked transfers, the driver is timed to put you there with that margin already built in.

The skipper gives a short safety briefing — lifejackets, the bathing ladder, where to sit while under way, how to move around the deck at speed — then confirms the route against the morning's wind. Expect small changes: a swap from the west coast of Gozo to the sheltered south, or a reversed order of swim stops to keep the sun behind you at lunch. That flexibility is the skipper doing their job well, not a downgrade.

Aboard you will find chilled still and sparkling water, soft drinks, ice, glassware, beach towels, snorkelling masks and a floating swim mat as standard. Catering, if you ordered it, is either laid out as mezze or plated by the chef at the time you asked for. Bluetooth is yours; the crew will not impose a playlist.

Return is at the time on the confirmation. Extra hours can sometimes be added on the water at €290 per hour, subject to the skipper's permitted hours and the next booking on the yacht. Tipping is never included and never expected; if the crew have made the day, five to ten percent handed to the skipper for the whole crew is the Mediterranean norm.

## What to bring, and what is already aboard
### Bring
Passport or ID card, swimwear, a hat, sunglasses, reef-safe sun cream, a light layer for the return leg and any medication. Soft-soled shoes or bare feet only.

### Already aboard
Water, soft drinks, ice, glassware, towels, snorkelling masks, a floating swim mat, a first aid kit, lifejackets in adult and child sizes and a Bluetooth sound system.

### Leave behind
Hard-soled shoes, glass bottles you brought yourself, single-use plastic and drones without a permit. The crew will tell you politely; we would rather tell you now.

### Bringing your own food
Welcome on most yachts, with no corkage. On crewed yachts with a chef we ask that main meals come from the galley for hygiene reasons, but a celebration cake or a particular bottle is never a problem.

### Children
Very common on our charters. Child-size buoyancy aids are aboard, swim stops are chosen shallow and sheltered for young families, and a hostess can be added to help.

### Accessibility
Tell us in advance. Boarding, bathing platforms and interior access vary considerably between yachts, and we will put you on the one that actually works rather than the one that looks best in photographs.

## Common mistakes when chartering a yacht in Malta
- Booking a shared 'private tour' seat and finding forty strangers aboard
- Comparing a bare hull price with an all-inclusive charter and assuming the cheaper one is better value
- Chartering an open boat with no shade for a full August day
- Leaving Portomaso at 11:00 and arriving at the Blue Lagoon behind every ferry
- Paying cash on the pontoon with no invoice, no insurance and no recourse
- Underestimating the Gozo channel — a 30-knot day is not a lunch-at-anchor day
- Booking twelve guests onto a yacht licensed for eight
- Forgetting that the return leg is always cooler and windier than the outbound

## FAQ
### How do I charter a yacht in Malta?
Send your date, guest numbers and departure area to a licensed operator. You should have a written quote within four working hours naming two or three suitable yachts with an all-in price and a draft route. Choose a yacht, agree the extras, then confirm with a 50% deposit; the balance is due seven days before departure. You are met at a named pontoon fifteen minutes before departure for a safety briefing.

### How far in advance should I book?
Four to eight weeks for July and August, one to two weeks in the shoulder season, and three to six months for a peak-week crewed or superyacht charter. Short-notice enquiries are still worth sending because repositioning gaps and cancellations appear constantly.

### What information do you need to give me a quote?
The date, the number of adults and children, the area or hotel you are departing from, and roughly what you want the day to feel like. That is enough for a full quote; we do not need payment details to send one.

### How much deposit is required to charter a yacht in Malta?
50% of the charter price confirms the yacht and the date, with the balance due seven days before departure. Bookings made inside seven days are paid in full on confirmation. Weekly crewed and superyacht charters follow MYBA-style staged payments plus an Advance Provisioning Allowance.

### Do I need a licence to charter a yacht in Malta?
No, provided the charter is skippered or crewed — the licence and legal responsibility sit with the professional aboard. Bareboat charter requires a recognised skipper's licence, a VHF certificate and a refundable security deposit.

### What documents should the operator give me?
The yacht's Transport Malta commercial licence number, its passenger liability insurance certificate, the skipper's name, a written cancellation and bad-weather policy, the exact embarkation pontoon and a VAT invoice. Ask for all of it before you pay the balance.

### What happens if the weather is bad on my charter day?
The skipper watches the forecast for seventy-two hours and makes the call twenty-four hours out, then again on the morning. If the day is unsafe or simply not worth having, you take a free date move or a full refund of everything paid.

### Can I change the route once we are on the water?
Yes, within the skipper's hours and the sea conditions. Routes are a plan, not a contract, and small changes on the day usually improve the charter — moving to the sheltered side of Gozo, or reversing swim stops so the sun sits behind you at lunch.

### What time do we board and how long is the briefing?
Fifteen minutes before departure, at the pontoon named on your confirmation. The safety briefing takes about five minutes: lifejackets, the bathing ladder, where to sit under way and how to move on deck at speed.

### Is tipping the crew expected in Malta?
It is never included and never expected. If the crew have made the day, five to ten percent of the charter price handed to the skipper for the whole crew is the Mediterranean norm.

### Can I add catering, drinks and transfers after I have booked?
Yes, up to seventy-two hours before departure for catering and drinks, and up to twenty-four hours for transfers. Motorised water toys depend on availability on the day, so book those earlier.

### Who is my contact on charter day?
The concierge who wrote your quote, on a direct mobile number printed on your confirmation. The same person briefs your crew, so nothing you told us has to be repeated.