Holiday planning in the Whitsundays can sometimes leave you at a crossroads. We often have customers tossing up between a land-based holiday with day trips or chartering a boat with us. So what’s the difference?
Here we will let you in on all the hidden joys of bareboat hire and convince you (we will, just read on and see) why bareboating gives you so much more than just a boat, and why you will only ever want to holiday this way in the Whitsundays.
1. It’s An All-Inclusive Holiday
Feel like all you do on holiday is spend money? Then try bareboating & enjoying not having to get your wallet out once! Let us explain, your boat is not just your boat – it’s your accommodation, your tour guide to visit all the amazing sites, your kitchen to self-cater, your entertainment for the kids and your place to unwind and relax. PLUS every room has an ocean view! No paying for expensive & packed tours, overpriced restaurants or being squashed into a tiny hotel room!
2. Stay Longer At Your Favourite Places
How many people can say they had Whitehaven Beach all to themselves or watched the sun set over it? Or snorkelled Blue Pearl Bay until their fingers turned to prunes? Probably most people that have bareboated. Wave the day trippers goodbye as they head back to the mainland, while you jump in for another swim, snorkel or walk along the beach– there is no rush or time limit, you get to choose when you pick up anchor.
3. Go Where No Day Boat Has Gone Before
Want to see the real Whitsundays? Get off the beaten track & have your own real-life Robison Crusoe adventure from the comfort of your own luxury boat. Discover the Saba Bay caves, hike to Whitsunday Peak at sunrise or picnic at Deloraine Island with its exquisite uninterrupted views over Whitehaven Beach – we guarantee you won’t be gate-crashed by day trippers! Your bareboat cruising area is as far north as Hayman island and as far south as Shaw Island, meaning the anchorage options are almost endless!
4. Extras Are Welcome
If your friends & family tend to commit late in the holiday planning game, it’s not a problem when organising a bareboat holiday. Charter rates are inclusive of the whole boat, not per person. So, should your favourite people start to get jealous of your upcoming holiday & hinting they want to join, bring them along – the more the merrier! As long as you stay within the permitted passenger capacity, your friends can join for a day, a night or the whole duration for no extra cost other than a one-off fee of $30 for their reef tax (this tax goes towards keeping the reef healthy & looked after so you can visit for years to come – your conscience will also get a boost!)
5. Seclusion, Seclusion, Seclusion
If your day to day life involves constant communication, meetings, travel, hustle and bustle, then get off the grid and sail your boat to one of the dozens of lesser known anchorages and settle in for a few days of ultimate seclusion. Your boat is fully equipped to be self-sufficient and with 74 islands to choose from it’s not hard to find your own secluded nook of paradise to have all to yourself. Swim, fish, read, eat & enjoy not having to check in with world except for a daily radio sched in with the lovely crew at CYA (only to let them quickly know you’re still alive!)
6. You Choose Everything – Control Freaks Enquire Here!
And this is what really makes the difference. Want to leave Monday, not Tuesday? No problem. You choose your start day, not the tour operator. Not in the mood to make idle chat with strangers while on your once a year sabbatical? Skip the small talk & holiday with people that you really want to spend quality time. Want to have lunch at 2pm? Go ahead, meal times are dictated by when you want to eat, not when the buffet is ready. Want to spend all day reading on the back deck? Do it! No over-enthusiastic tour guide is going to make you feel bad for not jumping in the water. Control freaks can enjoy being in their ultimate element and make all the decisions from which boat, how long you stay, where you go, what you eat, what colour flippers…. you get the point right?
