What a Malta charter actually costs

The headline price of a charter is rarely the amount you pay. It is not a trick — the extras are real costs that vary with how you use the boat — but it does mean two quotes can look very different and end up the same, or look identical and differ by a third.

Here is what sits on top of the day rate, and which of them are negotiable.

Fuel is the big one, and it is usually not included

On a skippered day charter fuel is normally charged on top, at cost, based on what you actually burn. That is fair, and it is also the number people underestimate. A planing motor yacht run hard to Comino and back will use a great deal more than the same boat idling round Marsamxett for an afternoon.

Two things follow. First, ask for an estimate for the specific trip you have in mind rather than a general figure. Second, understand that the route changes the fuel bill more than the boat does — a sailing yacht to Mġarr ix-Xini and a fast motor boat to the same place are not comparable numbers.

The skipper

A skippered charter includes the skipper's time. What it may not include is their food, and on a full-day trip it is normal to feed them. Nobody will make an issue of it; it is simply worth knowing so it is not a surprise.

Bareboat is cheaper on paper because you are not paying for a person. See bareboat or skippered for whether that is a saving you can actually take.

The deposit

A bareboat charter carries a security deposit, held against damage and released after the boat comes back. It is not a fee, but it does have to clear, and it can be a substantial sum on the card at the moment you least want it there. Ask the amount and the method before you book, not on the pontoon.

VAT

Prices quoted to consumers in Malta should include VAT. If a figure looks noticeably cheaper than everything else, check whether it is quoted excluding VAT before concluding you have found a bargain.

What is genuinely optional

• Provisioning — food and drink aboard. Almost always cheaper to bring your own.
• Water toys — paddleboards, a seabob, snorkelling gear. Often free, sometimes not.
• Extra hours — a half day that turns into a full one is usually charged pro rata, and usually cheerfully.

The honest summary

For a like-for-like comparison, ask every operator the same three questions: is fuel included, is VAT included, and what is the deposit. Those three account for nearly all the variation between quotes that otherwise look the same.

We do not take payment and we do not set prices — see how this works.