Best Time to Charter a Yacht in the BVI, Month by Month (2026-27)

Last updated: September 2026

The best time to charter a yacht in the BVI is December to April, when it is dry and the trade winds average 12 to 13 knots. May to July is the quieter window, and mid-August to mid-October is the peak of hurricane season. Crewed catamaran prices barely change by month: in our own listings the median is $32,000 per week all year for the catamarans based in the BVI and the US Virgin Islands.

Most yachts run winter rates from 15 December to 30 April and summer rates from 1 May to 14 December (see when BVI yacht charter summer and winter rates start). Below: the weather month by month, what our rate data shows, hurricane season, the best month for each kind of trip, and when to book.

What is the weather like in the BVI each month?

Air temperatures in the BVI stay between 29 and 32°C (83 to 89°F) all year and the sea is 26 to 29°C. The driest months are February and March at about 50 mm of rain each, and the wettest are September and October at about 145 mm each. From December to May every month falls between 50 and 105 mm, so the real trade-off between those months is crowds, price and booking lead time, not rain.

Climate figures: long-term averages for Road Town, Tortola, from climatestotravel.com (air, sea and rain, station data 1998-2020) and WeatherSpark (mean wind, 1980-2016 model data for the BVI, converted from mph to knots and rounded). Wind descriptions such as NE 15-20 knots and the Christmas Winds come from charter-company weather guides, a different source from the modelled means, so the two do not line up exactly. We show rainfall in millimeters only. Events are the dates published by their organizers for 2026-27; confirm the Anegada Lobster Festival and full moon party dates with the organizer or venue.

Do BVI charter prices change by season?

For crewed catamarans, in our own listings the median rate is $32,000 per week in every month of the year. That is the rate in effect on the 15th of each month for BVI and USVI-based catamarans priced in USD on mybvicharter.com, read on 30 September 2026. It is a snapshot of our listing calendars, read on the 15th of each month, so it does not show holiday-week rates, does not line up exactly with each yacht’s own summer and winter switch dates, and does not mean every yacht costs the same all year. The season shows up in availability: October has the fewest catamarans offering dates of any month.

Other yacht types move a little more. A small group of power catamarans (under 30) in our BVI and USVI-based listings has a median of $42,000 per week from May to September and from $44,500 to $48,000 per week from October to April. Motor yachts (20 to 45 of them per month) have monthly medians running from $95,000 to $99,000 per week, a small sample, so ask for the exact yacht’s rate.

Holiday weeks. Christmas and New Year book out first. Ask your broker for holiday-week terms. See our pages on a family Christmas on a BVI yacht and BVI New Year’s yacht charters, and our guide to what a crewed BVI yacht charter costs.

Broker Leonidas Marousos describes June to November as the quietest, cheapest months, and names early December and May as his favorite value windows: high-season weather on the edges of high-season pricing. Early December is usually still on summer rates, which run to 14 December.

When is hurricane season in the BVI, and should you charter then?

The Atlantic hurricane season runs from 1 June to 30 November, with the peak around 10 September and most activity between mid-August and mid-October, according to the NOAA National Hurricane Center. A storm is possible at any time in that window, so a BVI charter in these months carries real weather risk. Hurricane Irma’s third landfall was on Virgin Gorda on 6 September 2017, as a 155-knot Category 5 (NHC).

If you book June to November, do two things.

• Pair the charter with cancellation insurance. Check that the policy covers the charter fee as well as flights, and what it says about named storms.
• Get the hurricane addendum. For June to November bookings our brokers add a hurricane addendum that sets out what happens if a hurricane affects your dates, typically rescheduling or credit rather than losing the fee. The captain’s decision on safety is final.

If your dates are flexible, June and July fall before the mid-August to mid-October peak, so historically fewer storms occur then, but a storm is still possible any time from 1 June to 30 November. If your fixed dates fall between mid-August and mid-October, get the addendum in writing before you pay.

Which month is best for families, honeymoons, sailing, snorkeling or parties?

Pick February to April for sailing and the driest weather, Christmas week or July for families, February or June for a honeymoon, and late March, November or New Year for events.

Families: Christmas week or July. Both line up with school holidays. Christmas books first, nine to twelve months ahead for the best boats, per our brokers, and the Christmas Winds can gust 25 to 30 knots. July is more flexible: late spring and summer are months where good boats can often be found weeks out. It has a 28.5°C sea and south-easterly winds of 10 to 15 knots, but it is also among the hottest months (a 32°C / 89°F high) with hurricane season open. See our best BVI catamarans for families with kids.

Honeymoon: February or June. February gives about 50 mm of rain, a 13-knot mean wind and a 26°C sea. June has a sea of about 28°C and about 75 mm of rain, and falls in the months our brokers call the quietest.

Sailing: February to April. The mean wind barely moves through the year (11 to 14 knots, modelled), so the seasons differ in direction and gusts rather than average speed. Winds are northeast at 15 to 20 knots from November to January and south-easterly at 10 to 15 knots from June to September, and we have no charter-guide range for the other months. February to April avoids both the Christmas Winds, which can gust 25 to 30 knots in late December and January, and the weakest trades of September and October at about 11 knots.

Snorkeling: February and March. We hold no visibility data, so this is our pick rather than a measurement: these are the driest months, though the sea is at its coolest of the year, 26°C.

Parties and events. The BVI Spring Regatta and Sailing Festival runs 29 March to 4 April 2027 at Nanny Cay. The Anegada Lobster Festival is 27 to 29 November 2026 (confirm with the organizer). Foxy’s Old Year’s Night on Jost Van Dyke is on 31 December, and the Trellis Bay Full Moon Party is reported to be held monthly on the full moon, so confirm with the venue. For the New Year parties, read two epic New Year’s Eve parties for BVI yacht charters.

When should you book a BVI yacht charter?

Book nine to twelve months ahead for Christmas, New Year and the February to March prime weeks, and four to eight months ahead for the rest of the winter, according to our brokers. Late spring and summer are more flexible: good boats can often be found weeks out. A broker can confirm what is open for your exact dates.

If your dates are close, see our page on last-minute BVI yacht charters for Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year. Once you have dates, the 7-day BVI catamaran charter itinerary shows what a week looks like, and you can browse the crewed catamarans available.