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New Zealand

Oceania

Yacht charter in New Zealand

Choose from 3 yachts across New Zealand. Spread over 1 sailing regions. Prices from €16,314 per week.

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  • 3
    Yachts available
  • €16,314
    From / week
  • 1
    Charter regions
  • 1
    Marinas

Why this country

Sailing in New Zealand

Three boats, one place. Everything we list in New Zealand is at Paihia in the Bay of Islands, on the Northland coast about three hours north of Auckland — there is nothing in Auckland itself, nothing in the Marlborough Sounds and nothing on the South Island. All three are crewed, two catamarans and a motor yacht, averaging 13 metres, and weekly rates of roughly €16,300 to €21,500 reflect a skippered and largely inclusive product rather than a bareboat.

The Bay of Islands earns the name: 144 islands inside a single sheltered bay, which gives short hops, protected anchorages and a next stop almost always in sight. Cape Brett closes the eastern side, the water is clear enough for the diving to be worthwhile, and the marine life — dolphins, orca passing through, big-game fish offshore — is a large part of why people charter here rather than further south.

The calendar is the thing European visitors get wrong. This is the southern hemisphere, so the season is December to March at its peak, with a wider window from November to April: warm 22 to 26 °C days and generally calm seas. During the European summer, June to August, it is winter here and the fleet is not working. The same November-to-April window is also when New Zealand can see strong winds and the occasional ex-tropical cyclone tracking down from the Pacific — the best months and the risky months are the same months, and that is worth knowing rather than discovering.

Because every boat is crewed, you need no licence or sailing resume, and the skipper handles the one genuinely demanding part of the bay: the tides and the passages out past Cape Brett.

On the water

Sailing conditions in New Zealand

Season
December – March, wider November – April

Southern hemisphere summer: 22–26 °C and generally calm seas. The European summer is winter here and the fleet is laid up.

Cyclone risk
Same window as the season

November to April is when strong winds and the occasional ex-tropical cyclone reach New Zealand. The best months and the risk months coincide.

The bay
144 islands

A single sheltered bay with short legs between anchorages and the next island almost always in sight. Closed to the east by Cape Brett.

What you are booking
A crewed charter

All three boats are skippered only, averaging 13 m and 4 cabins. Weekly rates of €16,300–21,500 reflect crew and inclusions, not just the boat.

Where this is
Paihia, Northland — all 3 boats

About three hours north of Auckland. No listings in Auckland, the Marlborough Sounds or the South Island.

Worth the detour

Where to drop anchor in New Zealand

  • 1

    Cape Brett and the Hole in the Rock

    The long headland closing the bay, with Piercy Island off its tip and a natural tunnel through it big enough to pass a boat in settled conditions. The set piece of any Bay of Islands trip.

  • 2

    Urupukapuka Island

    The largest island in the bay, with several separate bays to anchor in and walking tracks across the ridges. Otehei Bay is the usual stop.

  • 3

    Roberton Island (Motuarohia)

    Twin lagoons behind a sand bar, and a short climb to a lookout over the whole bay. Shallow, clear and the most photographed anchorage here.

  • 4

    Russell

    Across the water from Paihia: New Zealand's first permanent European settlement, once notorious enough to be called the hellhole of the Pacific, now a very quiet waterfront village.

  • 5

    Waitangi

    Next to Paihia, where the treaty between Māori and the Crown was signed in 1840 — the founding document of modern New Zealand. Worth the morning before boarding.

  • 6

    Whangaroa Harbour

    North of the bay: a near-landlocked harbour under volcanic domes, reached by a passage along the coast. The best shelter in Northland and a real change of scenery.

  • 7

    Dolphins and orca

    Common and bottlenose dolphins are resident in the bay; orca pass through. Approach rules apply and the skipper will follow them — this is a managed marine area, not a show.

  • 8

    The Rainbow Warrior wreck

    Scuttled in the Cavalli Islands north of the bay after being bombed in Auckland in 1985, now an artificial reef. A dive site rather than an anchorage.

Suggested routes

Where a week in New Zealand could take you

The Bay of Islands from Paihia

7 days

Short legs inside the bay with one trip out past Cape Brett when the sea allows. Crewed throughout, so the week is shaped around the weather rather than your watch system.

  1. 1

    Paihia

    Saturday boarding; Waitangi in the morning, then across to Russell.

  2. 2

    Roberton Island

    The twin lagoons and the lookout; shallow and clear.

  3. 3

    Urupukapuka Island

    Otehei Bay and the island walks.

  4. 4

    Cape Brett / Hole in the Rock

    Out to the headland in settled conditions; through the arch if the swell allows.

  5. 5

    Whangaroa Harbour

    North along the coast to the landlocked harbour under the domes.

  6. 6

    Back south — the Cavalli Islands

    Diving and anchorages on the way back into the bay.

  7. 7

    Paihia

    Final leg for the Saturday handover.

Find a boat for this route

Before you book

Local rules and paperwork in New Zealand

No bareboat here
All three boats are crewed. No licence or sailing resume is required from you. If self-skippering New Zealand is what you want, Auckland and the Hauraki Gulf are where that market sits — we do not list it.
The calendar is inverted
December to March, not June to August. Peak season is the southern summer. Booking a European-summer week here means arriving in winter with the fleet laid up.
Cyclones in the season
November – April. Ex-tropical systems occasionally track this far south during exactly the charter window. Ask what the operator's policy is if a system is forecast for your week.
Marine mammal approach rules
Legally regulated. New Zealand has specific rules on approaching dolphins and whales, including distances and swimming restrictions. The crew will apply them; they are not negotiable.
Cape Brett depends on the sea
Not guaranteed on any given day. The Hole in the Rock needs settled swell to pass through and the headland is exposed. Treat it as the highlight you hope for rather than the one you plan the week around.
Three boats only
A long way to travel on narrow availability. One base, one changeover day, a four-month season and three boats. Confirm the boat before booking flights from Europe.

Checked October 2026. Rules change — confirm the detail that matters for your trip when you book.

What is here

The New Zealand fleet at a glance

The fleet in New Zealand is made up of 2 catamarans and 1 motor yachts.

Most boats here are catamarans, averaging 15.1 metres.

Weekly prices start in the over €12,000 range, where 3 boats are listed.

Boats sleep between 6 and 8 guests, with cabins up to 4.

The most common size band is under 10 m, with 1 boats.

3 boats can be chartered with a skipper; 0 are available bareboat.

The fullest month on the calendar right now is Oct 2026: 33% of the fleet already has at least one booking, while 2 boats are still completely open.

2
Catamarans
from €16.314
1
Motor yachts
from €21.520

Budget

Charter prices in New Zealand

Weekly rate, set by the operator. No booking fee.

Space on board

Boat sizes

Sleeping 6–8 guests

  • under 10 m 1
  • 13 – 16 m 1
  • 16 – 20 m 1

Availability

How full is the calendar in New Zealand?

Share of the New Zealand fleet that already holds at least one reservation, for each of the next twelve months. Taken from the operators' own calendars and refreshed daily — a boat with one week booked can still be chartered in the others.

Months further out look emptier simply because they are further away — most charters are booked a few months ahead, not a year.

Pick a month to see what is still open that week.

  • Quiet
  • Picking up
  • Busy
  • Peak
33%
Oct
’26
2 open
0%
Nov
’26
3 open
0%
Dec
’26
3 open
0%
Jan
’27
3 open
0%
Feb
’27
3 open
0%
Mar
’27
3 open
0%
Apr
’27
3 open
0%
May
’27
3 open
0%
Jun
’27
3 open
0%
Jul
’27
3 open
0%
Aug
’27
3 open
0%
Sep
’27
3 open

The fleet

Yachts in New Zealand

3 yachts available · from €2.331 / day

6
motoryacht

Tere Tere

Paihia

6 guests 8.75 m 2018
From €3.074 / day €21.520 / week
View
6
catamaran

Serenity

Paihia

4 cabins 8 guests 13.6 m 2016
From €2.819 / day €19.736 / week
View
See all 3 yachts Filter by dates, size and budget

Where to sail

The one sailing region in New Zealand

Every region we have boats in, largest fleet first — with the number of departure bases so you can see where a week actually starts.

Oceania

Mostly Catamarans — 67% of the local fleet.

Yachts
3
Bases
1
From
From €2.331 / day €16.314 / week

Good to know

Frequently asked questions

Weekly prices in our catalogue break down as: over €12,000 (3). The lowest published weekly rate is €16,314. These are the operators' own prices — we add no booking fee.
Our New Zealand catalogue currently lists 2 catamarans, 1 motor yachts.
0 of the 3 boats we list in New Zealand are available bareboat, meaning you sail them yourself. A recognised licence is required; the listing states which. 3 boats can be chartered with a skipper.
Boats in New Zealand sleep from 6 up to 8 guests, with the largest offering 4 cabins. Most groups book a boat in the under 10 m size band.

Ready to explore New Zealand by sea?

3 verified yachts across 1 regions.

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