Most clients overpack for charter and bring the wrong things. The cabin storage on even a large yacht is finite, the dress code is more casual than people expect, and the items that actually matter are mostly small. This is the honest pack list.
The rule that decides everything else: soft luggage only.
Hard-shell roller bags don’t fit in yacht cabins. They don’t compress, they can’t be tucked under a bed or behind a wardrobe, and they damage interior teak when they bang against doorways in chop. Every charter contract has language about soft luggage, and the crew will quietly groan when a hard-shell case shows up on the dock.
The answer is a duffel — Patagonia Black Hole 70L in the medium size, or a Filson rolling duffel if you need wheels for the airport leg. They collapse flat when empty, stow under the bed, and the canvas survives saltwater. One duffel per person plus a small day pack is the standard load. Anyone arriving with more than that has overpacked.
If you’re flying private, the constraint loosens a bit — but the cabin storage doesn’t. The boat is the bottleneck, not the airplane. Pack like the cabin is small because it is.
Sun protection. Reef-safe, no exceptions.
The water you’re swimming in is the same water the coral lives in. Most commercial sunscreens contain oxybenzone and octinoxate, both of which bleach coral at very low concentrations. Hawaii and a handful of other jurisdictions have banned them. The Caribbean, Mediterranean, and Pacific operators won’t ban them at the dock, but the chief stew will appreciate that you brought the right thing, and the reef will too.
The two brands worth packing:
- Stream2Sea SPF 30 Mineral — the formulation tested specifically against coral bleaching, zinc-based, non-nano. The face stick version is what you actually use on the boat; the lotion is for full body.
- Raw Elements SPF 30 — heavier, oilier finish, but the most water-resistant of the mineral formulations and the one to bring if you’re spending hours in the water.
Bring more than you think. SPF 30 minimum, reapplied every 90 minutes when you’re on deck or in the water. The Mediterranean sun in August reads weaker than it is — you can burn through a long lunch on the swim platform.
Pair the sunscreen with a wide-brim hat (a packable straw or a baseball cap with neck cape — the Outdoor Research Sun Runner is the technical version, the Tilley straw is the classic one) and a rash guard or UPF long-sleeve for the long water sessions. The sun, not the wind, is the variable you’ll feel hardest.
Polarized lenses. This is non-negotiable.
Sunglasses on the water without polarization are essentially decorative. The reflected glare off the surface is the variable that matters and the only thing that cuts it is polarized glass.
The two brands that own this category:
- Costa Del Mar — built for fishing, polycarbonate or glass lenses, the 580G glass is the version to buy. The Fantail or Tuna Alley frames are the workhorses.
- Maui Jim — slightly more design-led, the Peahi or Mavericks frames are the equivalent. The MauiPure polycarbonate is lighter than Costa’s glass but the optical clarity is close.
Both brands carry a leash. Use it. You will drop a pair overboard at some point if you don’t, and the boat will not stop to recover them. Bring a second pair.
Footwear. Topsiders or barefoot.
Most of the time you’re on board, you’re barefoot. The interior is shoes-off, and the deck is teak that’s been engineered to be grippy when wet. Shoes get worn for tender rides to shore and for shore excursions, not on the boat.
For the shore work, two pairs total:
- Sperry Authentic Original or Sebago Docksides — the classic leather topsider, white sole, broken in before the trip. These handle the wet tender deck, the marina walks, and casual dinner ashore.
- One sandal. A Reef Cushion Bounce for the beach, or a Birkenstock Arizona if you want something that walks better. Avoid flip-flops with a thin sole — they slip on a wet swim platform.
For one of the dressier dinners ashore, a pair of espadrilles or canvas slip-ons covers the gap. Don’t bring leather dress shoes — the salt destroys them and you won’t wear them.
The windbreaker that fits in a hip pocket.
The single most-used piece of clothing on most charters, and the one most clients forget. Even in the Caribbean in February, the wind on a sunset run or a tender ride after dark gets meaningfully cool. In the Med shoulder season, a chilly Meltemi evening is the rule, not the exception. In northern waters, this becomes the jacket you live in.
The piece to pack: Patagonia Houdini or Arc’teryx Squamish. Both compress into their own pocket, weigh under 4oz, and cut the wind without trapping heat. Pack one. You’ll wear it every evening.
For the open-water and high-latitude charters, add a real shell — Helly Hansen Salt Light or an Arc’teryx Beta — and a midweight fleece. The Norwegian fjords and Svalbard need real gear, not yacht-week gear.
The actual clothing list.
Most charters are more casual than first-time clients expect. The dress code on board is functionally swimwear and lightweight cotton, all week. The dressier moments — the welcome dinner, the captain’s table evening, a single shore dinner — call for “yacht smart,” which means linen and good cotton, not jackets and ties.
For a 7-night charter, per person, the honest list:
- 3 swimsuits (rotate; one is always drying)
- 2 rash guards or UPF long-sleeves
- 5–6 lightweight T-shirts or linen tops
- 2 pair linen or cotton trousers
- 3 pair shorts
- 1 lightweight sweater or cashmere crew for evening
- 1 button-down shirt for the dressier dinners
- Underwear and socks for the week
- The windbreaker (above)
- Sleepwear and a light robe
- Workout gear if you’ll use the boat gym
That’s it. Resist the urge to bring formal pieces — they don’t get worn. The boat is the dress code.
Tech and the small things.
- Drammine N or scopolamine patches — covered in the training piece, packed in the day bag.
- Reef-safe lip balm with SPF — Sun Bum or Stream2Sea both work.
- A small power bank — the boat has plenty of outlets, but the tender rides and shore days run long. A 10,000mAh bank covers the day.
- Universal adapter — Croatia is EU plug, BVI is US, Greece is EU, French Polynesia is EU but with quirks. One Anker 65W universal covers it.
- An underwater camera or GoPro mount. The phone is fine on deck but the water is where the trip lives. A GoPro 12 with a floating handle is the workhorse. If you want better water photography, a Sony RX100 in an underwater housing.
- A book. Real book. The boat is the rare environment where reading happens. Pack one you’ve been meaning to start.
- Cash for the tip. See the training piece. In USD or EUR depending on the cruising ground. The crew tip is paid in cash at the end of the trip and the boat is not an ATM.
What not to pack.
- Hard-shell luggage.
- Anything you’d cry over if it got salt on it.
- Heavy leather shoes.
- Heavy cosmetic kits — the chief stew typically stocks high-quality basics in every cabin.
- Your own snorkel gear unless you’re a serious diver — the boat carries quality kit in every size and the chef has already cleaned it.
- The expectation that you’ll “get a lot of work done.” You won’t. Pack the laptop only if it’s a true backstop.
The pack list, all in, fits in one 70L duffel per person with room left over. Anything more is the version of the trip you brought from land, not the version the boat is going to show you.
