The Charter Packing List: What to Bring and What to Leave Ashore

The bag a veteran charterer brings to the dock is soft, small and half empty. The bag a first-timer brings is a hard-shell suitcase with wheels that will not roll on a floating dock and a hair dryer the yacht already owns. The difference is not money. It is a list.

Our crews watch hundreds of guests board each season, and the pattern is reliable: people overpack the wrong things and underpack the three that matter. Here is the list they would hand you, sorted by where each item actually ends up.

On your body when you board

• Soft-soled shoes you can slip off They come off at the passerelle. Sandals, espadrilles, deck shoes with non-marking soles. Heels stay in the car.
• A swimsuit, already on The first swim stop comes fast, and the head on a yacht is a small place to change.
• A linen or cotton layer Sun cover underway, and it doubles as the thing you reach for when the wind comes up at five.
• Polarized sunglasses with a strap Polarized lenses let you read the water; the strap keeps them out of it. Biscayne Bay owns thousands of the unstrapped kind.
• A hat that survives twenty knots Brimmed with a chin cord, or a cap you do not mind losing. The flybridge takes the rest.

In the bag

• Mineral sunscreen, and enough of it Zinc or titanium base, reef-safe, lotion rather than spray. One bottle per two people for a full day, reapplied after every swim.
• A stick for lips and the tops of the feet The two places people forget, and the two that hurt the most on Monday.
• A dry pouch for the phone A phone goes in the water on roughly one charter in ten. The pouch is cheaper than the phone.
• Motion sickness tablets, taken early They work best an hour before boarding, not when the horizon starts to move. The Gulf Stream crossing to Bimini earns this line by itself.
• A modest amount of cash For the crew at the end of the day, and for the dockside conch fritter stand that does not take cards.
• Your playlist, downloaded Signal thins a few miles out. Streaming does not always survive the bay.

Leave ashore

• Hard-shell luggage It does not stow, it marks the varnish, and it will not roll down the dock. Soft bags fold into a locker.
• Anything with dark rubber soles The marks take the crew an hour to lift from teak. This includes running shoes.
• Spray sunscreen It films the deck and the cushions and turns the swim platform into a skating rink.
• Glass, unless you have asked Some yachts welcome it; many prefer cans and boxes near the water. Check before you bring the case.
• Drones, without a conversation first Airspace near marinas and inlets is restricted, and the captain decides. Ask in advance, not on the flybridge.
• The whole hair and skincare shelf The yacht has a hair dryer. The wind will undo it anyway.

For overnights

• One soft duffel per person Cabins are compact and lockers are shaped for canvas, not for cases. A duffel disappears under the berth.
• Two changes of clothes per day, at most Swimsuit, a day outfit, a dinner outfit that can be worn twice. The larger yachts have laundry; guests almost never use it.
• Something warm for the deck after dark Even in July the wind over the water at ten at night calls for a sweater. In March it calls for two.
• Your own toiletries in a small kit The yacht stocks the basics; bring the specific.
• A book, paper or on a screen you can read in sunlight The afternoon at anchor is longer and quieter than people expect, and it is the best part.
• Passports, if the plan crosses to the Bahamas Bimini is fifty miles and a customs desk away. No passport, no crossing, no exceptions.

A charter is a day, or a week, of doing progressively less. Pack for that. Explore the fleet and bring the small bag.