3 things you should know about private gulet charter prices
If you are interested in more info about private gulet charter prices then I would suggest you read this blog. There are a couple of things you should know when it comes to renting a gulet which can save you lots of stress when you arrive at a destination.
What does the charter/rental price consist of?
When it comes to gulet charter prices you have to know this is not the only cost you will have during your cruise. Charter/rental price is just one of the costs you will have if you rent a gulet. Your price will be a combination of these things:
- Rental price, which includes charter of a gulet on a weekly basis.
- Crew, gulet insurance, and fuel.
- Food (half board or full board), calculated on per person/week or per day basis.
- Drinks, which you consume on board of gulet.
- Port taxes, tips, transfers from airport to gulet and back.
In Croatia, for Example, most of the owners will include fuel for 4 or 5 hours of cruise/day you will be able to choose between 1 x half board and 1 x full board option and you will be able to buy drinks from ships bar. Port taxes will cost you extra around € 350 – € 650 per week /depending on your cruise route and the size of the gulet) and tips are welcome but not a super crucial and crazy important part of the cruise.
The biggest issue in Croatia is, that you are not allowed to bring your drinks on board with you. You can either have all inclusive possibility, buy drinks from the bar or pay a corkage fee to the owner, who will then allow you to bring drinks with you.
In Turkey, most of the owners do not specify exactly how much fuel you have included in the price but do not expect to cruise more than 2 to 4 hours/day. It is a good idea to discuss the itinerary in advance to avoid disappointments in the future. In Turkey, you will always be able to choose between different full board options from economy to super luxury. Port taxes in Turkey are normally included in the price but the crew is usually also expecting tips from 5% to 10%.
In Greece besides gulet charter, you will usually have to pay extra also for VAT (which is 4,5%). Food is lots of times calculated as APA, which means you pay some amount of money in advance and food port taxes fuel drinks will be paid from this money.
If you spend more than this, you pay extra at the end of your trip.
If you spend less than this money you get the difference back or use it as tips for the crew.
Fact no.2 – Which destination offers best value for money
We will not talk about which destination is cheaper because this is not the right questions.
The right question is which destination offers the most for your money?
Well, the answer is like this:” IT DEPENDS ON WHAT KIND OF GROUP YOU ARE”!
If you like to see as much towns and islands as possible I would say Croatia is perfect.
If you like to get better and a bit bigger gulets for less money, then book Turkey in June, September or May and October. You will get amazing deals for very good prices and the weather will still be great. You will also escape all the crowds and have a very good time.
If you wish to experience different islands and check amazing Greece, expect to pay more.
Travel to Cyclades islands (Mykonos, Ios, Santorini) in June and September and check Dodecanese islands, the Sporades or the Ionian Islands in July, August – otherwise Meltemi winds can give you huge headaches.
Fact no.3 – Never select gulets only according to prices
Price competition in some destinations (especially in Turkey) is getting crazy and completely unrealistic. And this is not such good news as you might think. Because there is a large number of gulets available for private charter – lots of them have troubles with bookings. Gulets that have problems with getting booked have to lower prices to get clients. And what happens when you only can compete on price?
First of all, you are not the only one doing this, so you are usually in price competition with several other gulets. And when the clients see this, they will push till the end. In the end, the clients will book the cheapest gulet option with the best pictures. But they will not book THE BEST GULET – they will book THE MOST DESPERATE GULET OWNER who is in much need of their money to pay the bank depth…
And what this means?
Let’s name a couple of things, which you will not notice on nice gulet pictures:
- owner will get the cheapest possible crew to serve you and to drive you around, which can mean also safety issues,
- owner will save on food like crazy and will buy you the cheapest and most basic food possible,
- gulet will not be very well maintained,
- crew will have to save money on fuel, which means the shortest possible cruise imaginable.
When you will pay € 400 per person per week for 5 stars gulet and then you will be disappointed with everything on board, this is the most common reply you will get:
“Well, what did you expect for this money, you can not have lobster for € 400 so shut up and enjoy your pasta!?"
This is 100% the wrong reply which makes people even more sad, angry and disappointed! But it happens most of the time.
So when you are searching for private gulet charter, concentrate on getting the most for your money – and not on getting the biggest possible discounts.
Huge discount attract desperate gulet owners! Remember this when checking for deals.
And also remember one more thing. All gulets are not perfect for all type of groups.
Some gulets are perfect for families with small children, some are great if you have teenagers while some are best for seniors or couples with no kids.
It is a very good idea to determine which things are important for you on a cruise and then according to this decision for your destination itinerary and a gulet that can make your wishes come true. If you are interested in best value gulets and would like to get a gulet that will fit your needs, wishes and group expectations we can help you.
