What Is a Gulet Charter? How It Works and Who It Suits

Gulet charter at a glance, from YachtCloud's pages and listings on 3 November 2026. Sources [2][1][3].

What exactly are you renting?

On a private gulet charter your group has the entire boat and its crew to itself, and can plan its own itinerary. A cabin charter is the other model: you book individual cabins on a shared gulet, which typically follows a set route [9].

Private charter and cabin charter compared

Source: [9], an undated article on a charter operator's site.

YachtCloud lists private crewed charters priced for the whole yacht [3], and its booking guide does not mention cabin charters [4]. Most cabins sleep two: on 163 of the 200 Turkish gulet listings, the guest count is exactly twice the cabin count [1].

A cabin on Gul Sultan. Ask how each cabin is bedded before you compare guest numbers. Photo: Gul Sultan listing, YachtCloud.

How does booking a gulet charter work?

Booking runs through an enquiry and a signed charter agreement, not an instant online booking. On YachtCloud the sequence has six steps [4]:

1. Share your wishlist. Roughly when you want to sail, how many guests, and any must-haves.

2. Receive a shortlist. Matching yachts with specifications, photos, crew profiles and weekly pricing.

3. Choose and sign. A hold is placed and the charter agreement sent, setting out the payment schedule, what is included and the cancellation terms.

4. Pay the deposit and balance. A deposit, typically 50 percent of the charter fee, secures the dates; the balance is usually due 6 to 8 weeks before embarkation.

5. Complete the preference sheet. Food, drinks, allergies, children's ages and activities go to the crew before you arrive.

6. Board on embarkation day. The captain confirms the route with you and adjusts it for the weather.

From enquiry to embarkation, as YachtCloud's booking guide describes it [4].

Important to Confirm

YachtCloud acts as a charter intermediary, so availability, final price and booking conditions are confirmed by the yacht's owner or operator [4]. The amounts and deadlines that apply are the ones in your charter agreement.

Who is on board, and how many crew should you expect?

YachtCloud lists its gulets as private crewed charters, so your group needs no boating skills; check the crew on each listing, though, because some leave it blank. A captain and a cook are the minimum; larger gulets add deckhands, stewardesses, a first mate or an engineer. Nevra Queen lists a crew of 7: a captain, chef, engineer, first mate, deckhand and two stewardesses [6].

Crew size varies more than guest numbers suggest. Of the 200 Turkish gulet listings, 160 state a crew: the median is 4, the range runs from 2 to 12, and 36 list six or more [1]. The other 40 leave it blank, so ask before you compare.

Four crew is the most common size; 40 of the 200 listings state none. Source [1].

A quick way to compare two boats is to divide maximum guests by crew. Across the 160 listings that state both, the median is 2.8 guests per crew member [1]. A lower figure means more hands per guest, which usually shows in how cabins are serviced and meals are served.

Nevra Queen, 40 metres, carries 7 crew for up to 20 guests. Photo: Nevra Queen listing, YachtCloud.

What does a gulet charter cost?

Gulets are priced per week for the whole yacht. Across the 287 priced gulets YachtCloud lists in the Mediterranean, the typical weekly rate is €10,500 to €22,505, and the lowest is €4,200 [3]. "Typical" here means the middle half of priced yachts, and each figure is the yacht's lowest weekly rate, according to the cost guide [3]. Peak weeks cost more: the guide says about 35 percent more, while on the 164 Turkish listings that publish a rate range, the top of the range is a median 1.5 times the starting fee [3][1]. Ask what your dates cost.

Spread across a full boat, that is about €933 to €1,906 per person a week, assuming every berth is taken [3]. A smaller group pays more per head.

How the rest of the bill is built

The base fee is only part of the bill, and Turkish gulets charge for the rest in different ways. On the 200 Turkish listings [1]:

• 60 add an APA in their price estimate (53 at 20 percent of the fee, 7 at 30 percent); 140 show no APA line. An APA (Advance Provisioning Allowance) is money paid ahead for running costs such as food, drinks, fuel and port fees, with the unspent balance returned.

• 20 publish a full-board price per guest, from €455 to €665 a week.

• 92 include fuel for a set number of cruising hours a day, most often three.

• 177 add VAT at 20 percent; 20 leave VAT to the quotation and 3 show other rates.

So two gulets with the same base fee can end up far apart. Here is how the published figures work out for two 10-guest yachts that use different models:

Worked example: one week for 10 guests on two YachtCloud gulets, from each listing's published figures

Source: YachtCloud listings for White Soul and Queen Of Datca, checked 3 November 2026 [6]. The full-board line is our own calculation from White Soul's published per-person price. Starting rates, not quotations; no indication of availability. The APA is an advance, not a cost: unspent money is normally returned, so Queen Of Datca's total can come down.

On White Soul, VAT and full board add 35 percent to the base fee, and drinks are extra. Queen Of Datca asks for 52 percent more than its base fee before boarding, but 40 percentage points of that is the APA. That advance pays for food, drinks, fuel and port fees and is returned if unspent, so the final cost depends on how you use the week. YachtCloud's cost guide puts the customary crew tip on a gulet at around 5 to 10 percent of the charter fee [3]. For rates by country and length, and how an APA is reconciled, see how much a gulet charter costs.

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What does a day on a gulet look like?

A gulet day is shaped by the bays you visit. The outline below is illustrative, not a fixed schedule:

• Morning. Breakfast on the aft deck while the boat is still at anchor, then a swim.

• Late morning. A short cruise to the next bay.

• Afternoon. Lunch at anchor, then swimming, the tender or water toys, or a walk ashore.

• Evening. Dinner on deck at anchor, or a night in a harbour with time to eat ashore.

Engine hours set the pace. On the 92 Turkish listings that include fuel, the allowance is most often three hours of cruising a day [1], which suits short hops between bays.

White Soul at anchor with its tender and water toys out. Photo: White Soul listing, YachtCloud.

Where did the gulet holiday begin?

The blue voyage, the coastal holiday that gulet charters grew from, dates from the summer of 1945, according to Setur Marinas. The writer Cevat Şakir Kabaağaçlı, known as the Fisherman of Halicarnassus, led trips on local boats mainly into the Gulf of Kerme, today's Gulf of Gökova, and Sabahattin Eyüboğlu gave them the name blue voyage (Mavi Yolculuk) [8]. For the boat's design and construction, read what a gulet yacht is.

Is a gulet right for your group? The four-part test

YachtCloud's guide to yacht types says gulets suit groups and families of 6 to 16 guests who want to unwind at a relaxed pace [7]. Four questions settle most cases. This is our own test, not an industry standard; if your group answers yes to three or four, a gulet is likely to suit you.

The four-part gulet test

YachtCloud planning framework.

Three or four yes answers usually point to a gulet.

To weigh a gulet against a catamaran, motor yacht or motor sailer, see yacht charter types compared. Families choosing between a gulet and a sailing yacht will find space, crew and cost compared in gulet or sailing yacht for a family charter.

Where can you charter a gulet?

Turkey has by far the most choice: on 3 November 2026 YachtCloud listed 200 gulets based there, against 52 in Croatia, 23 in Greece and 13 in Italy [2][5].

Gulets on YachtCloud by country, as each country page states them

Source: YachtCloud gulet pages for each country, checked 3 November 2026 [2][5]. Typical rate is the middle half of priced yachts by lowest weekly rate, as YachtCloud's cost guide defines it, before VAT and extras.

For Turkey's departure ports, one-gulf routes and the best months, read gulet charter in Turkey: where to start, which route and when to go.

Gulet charter terms explained

• Private charter. Renting the whole gulet, with its crew, for your group alone.

• Cabin charter. Booking individual cabins on a gulet shared with other guests.

• Base charter fee. The weekly price for the yacht and crew; VAT, food, drinks and some running costs are usually extra.

• Full board. Meals cooked by the crew at a fixed price per guest per week.

• APA (Advance Provisioning Allowance). Money paid before the charter for running costs; the captain keeps receipts and returns what is left [3].

• Hold. A temporary reservation of your dates while you review the charter agreement [4].

• Blue voyage (Mavi Yolculuk). The Turkish tradition of holiday cruising along the coast, which Setur Marinas dates to 1945 [8].

Mistakes to avoid

• Comparing base rates only. In the worked example above, White Soul's VAT and meals add 35 percent, and Queen Of Datca asks for 52 percent more upfront, most of it an APA that is refundable if unspent.

• Assuming every gulet charges for food the same way. On YachtCloud's Turkish listings, 60 add an APA to the price estimate and 140 show none.

• Counting cabins, not beds. Check how each cabin is bedded and how many guests it really sleeps.

• Ignoring the crew list. Turkish gulets for 10 guests list anywhere from 2 to 8 crew, and 40 Turkish listings state none.

• Booking a cabin charter when you need a flexible route. Cabin charters typically follow a set route [9].

Is YachtCloud the right place to start?

YachtCloud suits groups who want to compare private crewed gulets across Turkey, Croatia, Greece and Italy on published specifications and starting rates, then request yacht-specific pricing. It works as a charter intermediary: the owner or operator confirms availability and the final price, and booking runs through a hold and a signed agreement, not instant online payment [4]. If you want a single cabin on a shared gulet, look for a cabin-charter operator instead.

Before You Choose a Gulet