Nassau Yacht Charters
Crewed catamarans and motor yachts leaving from Nassau and Paradise Island, with the Exumas a few hours away. Broker-led since 1992.
Reviewed by Adrian Sneed, Charter Broker at Sneed Charters — a family brokerage arranging Bahamas charters since 1992. Rates, taxes and fees checked August 2026.
Nassau is where most Bahamas charters begin. It has the country’s main international airport, US pre-clearance for the flight home, and three marinas that handle charter yachts. From Palm Cay on the south-east side, the Exumas start about 28 miles away, so your first day can end at anchor rather than at a dock. A crewed week starts around $15,000, and Nassau is the one departure point that carries no relocation fee. Full cost breakdown.
Nassau is not really a destination on a charter itinerary. It is the hinge. It is where the yacht is waiting, where the crew provisions, where your flight lands and where the paperwork gets done — and then you leave. Understanding that changes how you plan the week, because the good decisions are about how fast you get out of the harbour and which way you turn.
Why almost every Bahamas charter starts in Nassau
Three practical reasons, none of them romantic.
The airport. Lynden Pindling International (NAS) is the main gateway to the country, and Nassau is one of the few destinations in the region with United States pre-clearance — you clear US immigration in Nassau before you board, and walk off as a domestic arrival at the other end. On the last morning of a charter, that matters more than it sounds.
The yachts are already here. Crewed boats base themselves where the guests, the fuel, the provisioning and the technicians are. Starting anywhere else usually means moving a yacht that was not planning to move.
The marinas can take them. Nassau Harbour and Paradise Island have the depth, the berth length and the port-of-entry status that a charter yacht needs. Much of the rest of the Bahamas does not.
You are not locked into it. Charters can begin in the Exumas, Bimini or Florida instead — but a yacht that has to reposition will quote a relocation fee for the time and fuel, and that is a real number, not a formality. We explain how that works on the Bahamas yacht charter page.
Where your yacht will be waiting
Three marinas take the great majority of crewed charter departures. Which one you use is usually decided by the yacht’s length and draft rather than by preference — your broker confirms the berth before you fly.
The Marina at Atlantis
- Slips
- 63
- Max LOA
- 250 ft
- Depth
- 12 ft
Direct access from Nassau Harbour, and the address guests recognise. Atlantis describes it as the only true hurricane-protected marina basin in the Bahamas.
Best for: Larger motor yachts and superyachts
Nassau Yacht Haven
- Slips
- 130
- Max LOA
- 220 ft
- Depth
- 12 ft
A designated port of entry, and by its own account the largest marina in Nassau and the oldest continuously operating one in the Bahamas. No fuel on site — the crew plans around it.
Best for: Mid-size yachts, and clearing in
Palm Cay Marina
- Slips
- 194
- Max LOA
- 18–100 ft
- Depth
- 8 ft
Its advantage is geographic. Palm Cay sits on the Exuma side of the island, roughly 28 miles from the start of the chain, against about 36 nautical miles from Nassau Harbour to Highbourne Cay.
Best for: Catamarans, and a head start on the Exumas
Depths are at low water. Leaving from Palm Cay rather than Nassau Harbour can save a couple of hours on day one — often the difference between arriving somewhere and arriving somewhere in daylight.
Where you go from Nassau
Three directions, and most people take the first. Your broker will build the route once you have picked a week.
The Exumas
Roughly 365 mostly uninhabited cays in water shallow enough that the colour becomes the point. Allen’s Cay iguanas, the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park, the swimming pigs at Big Major Spot and Thunderball Grotto off Staniel Cay.
Exumas yacht chartersEleuthera & Harbour Island
A longer open-water leg and a different week: pink sand, the clapboard streets of Dunmore Town, Spanish Wells, and far fewer yachts than the Exumas in high season. It suits people who want villages and dinners ashore.
Eleuthera yacht chartersThe Abacos
Sheltered short-hop cruising inside the Sea of Abaco, with real settlements at Hope Town and Man-O-War. It does not start in Nassau, so a yacht will normally reposition north to meet you.
Abaco yacht chartersYou can combine them in ten days. In seven, choosing one and doing it properly beats covering both badly — and the crew will tell you the same thing.
Not staying a week? A Nassau day charter takes the same yachts out for four, six or eight hours — Rose Island, the sandbars and back the same afternoon.
Swipe to see both brokers
Offices in Palm Beach Gardens, San Juan and Barcelona. 3,000+ vessels in the network, 40 to 300+ feet.
What a charter from Nassau costs
Rates do not change because you leave from Nassau — they change with the yacht. The ranges, the Advance Provisioning Allowance and the Bahamian taxes are set out in full on the Bahamas yacht charter page. What is specific to Nassau is this: it is the one departure point that normally carries no relocation charge, because the fleet is already here. Every other starting point adds one.
See also our guide to yacht charter cost.
When to go
We charter Nassau year-round, with caveats. December to April is the settled, busy, expensive stretch, and Christmas and New Year book furthest ahead. May, June and November are the value windows — warm water, thinner crowds, prices that have not yet moved. August through October is hurricane season; charters still run, but they run with a weather plan and flexible thinking, and that is a conversation to have with a broker rather than a box to tick.
Nassau’s own advantage in a marginal week is that it is easy to leave from and easy to get home from. If a system is tracking, being a short taxi ride from an international airport is not nothing.
Get a shortlist for your dates
Tell us the week, the island group and how many are aboard. Your broker comes back with yachts that are actually free — not a catalogue — and replies within 24 hours.
What is included, and what is not
Charters here are quoted either all-inclusive or plus expenses, the second running fuel, provisioning and dockage through an Advance Provisioning Allowance. Which one you are looking at changes the real number a lot, so we set it out in writing before you commit — the mechanics are explained in full on the Bahamas yacht charter page.
Nassau yacht charter FAQs
Where do Nassau yacht charters depart from?
Almost always from one of three marinas: The Marina at Atlantis on Paradise Island (63 slips, vessels to 250 feet), Nassau Yacht Haven on East Bay Street (130 slips, vessels to 220 feet, a port of entry), or Palm Cay Marina on the south-east side of New Providence (194 slips, vessels 18 to 100 feet, a port of entry). Your yacht’s length and draft decide which one, and your broker confirms the berth before you fly.
How far is Nassau from the Exumas?
About 28 miles from Palm Cay Marina to the northern end of the Exuma chain. Leaving from Palm Cay rather than Nassau Harbour typically saves a couple of hours on day one, which is often the difference between anchoring in daylight and arriving after dark.
Do I have to start my Bahamas charter in Nassau?
No. Charters can begin in the Exumas, Bimini or Florida instead. But a crewed yacht based in Nassau has to reposition to meet you, and that time and fuel is quoted as a relocation fee. Starting in Nassau is normally the one option that carries no repositioning charge.
Is Nassau worth spending a night in before the charter?
Many guests fly in the day before and stay ashore, which removes the risk of a delayed flight eating into the first day aboard. Whether you spend charter nights in Nassau itself is a different question; most itineraries leave the harbour on day one and do not come back until the last morning.
What taxes and fees apply to a charter starting in Nassau?
Bahamian VAT of 10% on the charter fee and a 4% cruising fee, both charged on top of the advertised rate, plus the Advance Provisioning Allowance of 25 to 35%. Your broker itemises all of it in writing before you sign anything.
Can we fly home the same day the charter ends?
Yes, and Nassau makes it easier than most: Lynden Pindling International is one of the few airports in the region with United States pre-clearance, so you clear US immigration before boarding and arrive home as a domestic passenger. Allow time for the transfer from the marina.
Why charter from Nassau through Sneed
A family brokerage that has been arranging charters since the year it opened.
Founded in 1992 by Hansel Sneed, broking charters since 1991. Meet the team.
What happens after you send your dates
Four things, in this order.
- One dedicated broker. You deal with the same person from first enquiry through to disembarkation, not a call centre or a rotating queue.
- A reply within 24 hours. A broker reads every enquiry personally and comes back with a shortlist, or an honest answer if your dates are tight.
- No obligation at enquiry. We shortlist and quote against your dates before you commit to anything. If nothing fits, we say so.
Sources
Send your dates
Tell us the week, the island group and how many are aboard, and your broker comes back with the yachts that are actually free — and what they will cost with APA included. Get your shortlist.