Skippered or bareboat: what it takes to helm yourself

The short answer: the overwhelming majority of boats here come with a skipper, and he is already in the price. Bareboat charter exists, but it is a separate format with different requirements, a different deposit and different liability.

Here is what each one asks of you.

With a skipper: nothing required

No licence, no experience, no paperwork beyond a passport for the booking. The company’s skipper runs the vessel, is responsible for the route and for safety, and knows where the water is calm today and where you should not drop anchor.

The skipper’s cost already sits inside the quoted figure: a motor boat from €355 for three hours, a catamaran from €520 for four — for the whole vessel. He is not billed as a separate line.

This is not a compromise but the normal way to move through unfamiliar water. The Bay of Kotor is narrow, with a ferry crossing it and busy traffic; the coast south of Budva is open water with a wind that gets up after midday.

Bareboat: what they will ask for

If you do want to helm, the company will want:

• A skipper’s qualification. Most often they ask for an international certificate such as the ICC (International Certificate of Competence); national licences are not accepted everywhere. If you hold an RYA Day Skipper or a similar national certificate, ask whether it is enough on its own or whether they want the ICC as well. Each company keeps its own list of recognised documents — check before booking, not at handover.
• Experience. You will normally be asked what you have sailed and where. Sometimes a reference.
• A radio certificate on some vessels.
• A deposit. Usually higher than with a skipper, and blocked on your card for the whole period.

Bareboat is more often let by the week than by the hour. The “grab a boat for half a day without a skipper” format is rare here.

What happens at handover

The boat is accepted against an inventory: life jackets for the number of guests, anchor and chain, navigation, fuel, hull condition. Anything not written into the handover form counts later as your damage — exactly the logic of renting a car.

Fuel is checked separately: the boat usually goes out with a full tank and is expected back full. The difference is settled on the meter, and it is the most common argument at return.

Who bareboat does not suit

Anyone whose sailing has been on a lake or inside a sheltered marina. Anyone planning a route to the Blue Cave: since 2026 motor vessels have not been allowed inside, the boat has to be held at the entrance, and in a swell nobody goes near the grotto at all — that call should be made by someone who has seen it in different weather.

And anyone taking a boat for one day to swim and watch the sunset — which is most people. A skipper is simply more convenient there: you watch the shore rather than the depth sounder.

How it works in practice

Trips around the bay and along the coast come with a skipper: four hours from Tivat from €390, three hours from Kotor from €580, three hours from Budva from €355, a full day from Tivat out to open water from €650.

What the price covers and what is extra is in what a yacht charter costs. How a day on the water works is in a day on a boat.

The boats, with prices and free dates, are on the yacht charter page, or go straight to a town: Tivat, Kotor, Budva, Bar.

Prices are indicative “from” figures, per vessel, checked in September 2026. Document requirements and deposit sizes differ by company and change — confirm before booking. Services are provided by independent companies; booking and payment happen directly with them.