By Klara Jakobsen, Yacht Reviewer at DMA Yachting · Last updated: September 2026
A catamaran is a good family boat by default: flat at anchor, nets on the bow, a swim step at water level. These 10 are the BVI boats that go further, with a cabin the kids can call theirs, the toy kit sized for them, and crews who genuinely like kids and are good with them.
Every boat here earned its slot on a fact, not a feeling: a bunk cabin, kids’ water skis, a floating trampoline, a platform that lowers into 6 inches of water, a crew who throw pirate parties. We checked each one against the current rate card and crew list this week, and the boats we walked ourselves say so.
Rates run from $30,000 to $96,000 per week, all-inclusive, ranked from 10 down to our number one. Our guide to a BVI charter with kids covers the ages, the cabin plan and what a family week costs.
10. FOREVER YOUNG
“The Giant Waterslide”
FOREVER YOUNG is the boat for one family of 4 to 6 with children of 7 and up, and the first thing the kids will ask about is the slide. It weighs 500 pounds, so the crew deploy it once, and that afternoon is the one the children talk about on the flight home.
She is a 2024 Two Oceans 55 power catamaran with 3 cabins that solve the sleeping plan: an on-deck primary with a walk-around king, a VIP queen, and a port cabin with 2 twins. When we walked her, that twin cabin was set up as the kids’ room, toys included.
The rest reads like a summer camp: kids’ water skis, a towable tube, a wakeboard, a mini sailing catamaran, underwater scooters and a floating pool, with an e-foil for the teenagers.
She takes children from 7, runs BVI ports only, and is the entry point to this list.
9. STELLA MARE
“Bare Feet on Cork”
STELLA MARE is the boat we send families who want the beach day done properly. The crew land ahead of the guests with chairs, an inflatable round dock, 4 hang-out chairs and the games, volleyball, badminton, frisbee and cornhole, so the afternoon is set up before the tender reaches the sand.
She is a 2025 Lagoon 55 with 4 queen cabins, each with its own bathroom, and one detail parents notice on day 1: every exterior deck is cork, cool under bare feet in the Caribbean heat. The foredeck sofa sits under a foldable sunshade, the right spot for a toddler’s nap.
The toys suit the 6 to 12 bracket: 4 sea scooters, a 2-person towable tube, water skis, a wakeboard, 2 paddleboards and a Waydoo e-foil for the teens. Evenings are movie night on the projector, and the price sits at the friendly end of this list.
8. ALTESSE
“Real Bunk Beds, and $250 Off Per Child”
ALTESSE is the value pick, and the only boat under $35,000 here with a proper children’s cabin. Her 4 cabins run 1 master, 2 queens and 1 bunk cabin built for kids, every one with its own bathroom, so a family of 6 sleeps without anyone sharing who should not.
The rate card backs the family brief: $250 off per child under 15, a 5-night minimum, and a sleep aboard the night before. The toys are sized for the kids too, with kids’ water skis alongside the adult set, a knee board, a wakeboard, a towable tube, a 2-person kayak, paddleboards and 12 snorkel sets.
She is a Lagoon 560 refitted in 2019, with a champagne deck over the water at the stern for sunset drinks while the children finish the last swim. Movie nights come with a projector and popcorn, 3 dives a week are included for certified guests, and the crew make it out to Anegada every week.
7. ATLAS
“12 Real Beds, No Pullmans”
ATLAS is the boat that solves 2-family math. Her 5 queen cabins take the couples, and 2 forepeak single cabins with their own bathrooms take the children or the teenagers, so all 12 guests sleep in a real bed. We have booked her 5 times in her first 2 seasons for exactly that reason.
She is a 2025 Heysea 60 with a hydraulic swim platform and a toy list that starts with the tube and the life jackets to match: a floating trampoline, a wake and knee board, an inflatable kayak, 2 sea scooters, 12 snorkel sets and paddleboards, with e-foils for the older kids.
In November we photographed her at Cooper Island with the floating pool tied off the stern, which is how a family week on her runs. Her captain is an RYA Yachtmaster Instructor, so children who want to learn to sail get a real lesson.
6. PERFECT MOON
“Brand New, 3 Crew, 10 Beds”
PERFECT MOON is a 2025 Moon 65 with 5 queen cabins, each with its own bathroom and hull windows, and a crew of 3 for 10 guests. That ratio is the point for a big family: with a captain, a chef and a mate, there is always an adult in the tender when the tube goes out.
The toy kit is the young-family standard done well: a floating trampoline, a tube with kids’ life jackets, 2 sea scooters, 2 paddleboards, an inflatable kayak, a wake and knee board, pool noodles and beach games, plus e-foils for the teens. The hydraulic swim platform lowers to the water for small children.
From the flybridge the parents keep the children in sight below. Captain Kelton is the name that keeps coming back in our brokers’ reviews, for the way the crew stay in touch with guests long after the week ends.
5. TRYST
“A Teenager’s Own Cabin”
TRYST takes 11 guests, and the 11th bed is the one families with a teenager will care about: a single forepeak cabin with its own head, a door, and no younger sibling. The other 5 cabins are queens with en suites, so 2 families with a teen in tow fit without anyone sharing.
She is a 2024 Moon 65 with 3 crew, and the third is a stewardess who is also a massage therapist and Pilates instructor, which is the parents’ end of the deal. John Boullin from our team spent 4 nights aboard and calls her the best charter catamaran in the BVI.
The toys cover every age at once: a floating trampoline, a tube with kids’ life jackets, 2 sea scooters, paddleboards, an inflatable kayak, a wake and knee board, and e-foils and a subwing for the older ones, all launched from a hydraulic aft platform at water level.
4. AEOLUS 77
“2 Floating Docks and a Hobie Cat”
AEOLUS 77 is the big-family showpiece, a 2024 Lagoon 77 we have walked at the BVI show, with a toy list that turns the anchorage into a playground: 2 floating docks with loungers off the stern, an inflatable Hobie Cat for the older kids, and the tube, wakeboard and kids’ water skis behind the tender.
For the teenagers there are 2 SeaBobs and 2 e-foils, and for anyone 10 and up the crew run a complimentary Discover Scuba session. Both crew hold PADI instructor tickets, and certified divers get 3 dives in the week.
The cabins flex too: a king primary suite and 3 queen-plus cabins, with the port aft cabin splitting into 2 singles when the children need their own. She is for the family that wants the full toy list and a crew who teach.
3. DO MORE
“The Active Family Boat”
DO MORE earns her name. Her crew of 3 run charters built around water sports, hiking, beach games and lively dinners, and we have been aboard for one of their theme nights. Emma trained as a speech and language pathologist and told us she has experience with children who need extra patience, which is rare.
The third crew member is a PADI dive instructor, so teenagers can try a Discover Scuba session and certified parents get 3 dives in the week, confirmed season by season. The toys run to 4 sea scooters, an e-foil, paddleboards, kayaks, water skis, a wakeboard, a towable tube and a floating Lilypad the kids colonize by day 2.
She is a Lagoon 620 refitted in 2024, with 5 queen cabins for 10 guests, so 2 families fit without pullmans. If your children get bored on a beach, this is the crew who will not let them.
2. MISCHIEVOUS
“The Most Kid-Equipped Boat in the BVI”
MISCHIEVOUS carries more children’s kit than any other listing in the islands: kids’ water skis, 4 children’s snorkel sets, children’s helmets, a 2-person towable donut, a floating trampoline, a jellyfish-net infinity pool off the stern and an inflatable 420 sailing dinghy, with a Fliteboard e-foil, a Flitescooter and 2 underwater scooters for the teens.
She is a 2024 Sunreef 80 with a crew of 4, and her 5th cabin is the family fact: a bunk cabin with a single, a double and an extra single, built for 2 children next to 4 king cabins for the couples. That is how she takes 12.
A hydraulic swim platform lowers the whole toy list to water level. She is the top of this list on price, and the one we point to when a family wants nothing left out.
1. TRANQUILITY
“Pirate Parties and a Beach That Comes to You”
TRANQUILITY is our number one because of what her crew do with children. They run pirate parties and full children’s themes with the costumes and gadgets to match, and the boat is homey in a way the newer builds are not. We have sent 7 charters to her, and families come back talking about the crew before the islands.
Her party trick is the aft platform between the hulls: it lowers to 6 inches of water so small children sit in chairs in the sea, a resort shelf on a boat. The kit is sized for them: kids’ water skis, a 4-person tube, 2 double kayaks, paddleboards, hammocks, beanbags and an inside and outside movie theater.
She sleeps 12 in 6 real cabins: a king that converts to twins, 3 queens and 2 twins, every one with its own bathroom. Diving and the resort course are included, and a defibrillator sits in the safety locker, which tells you how this crew think about children aboard.
