Luxury Yacht Charter Tampa Bay
A luxury yacht charter on Tampa Bay with Yacht Away Now starts at $500 an hour Monday through Thursday and $600 an hour Friday through Sunday, four-hour minimum, aboard a 52ft Marquis Flybridge for up to 13 guests. Charters leave from the St. Petersburg side of the bay, which puts the Skyway, Egmont Key and the open Gulf closer than any Tampa dock can.
Why We Leave From the St. Pete Side
Tampa Bay is a big, shallow body of water and where you start decides what you see. Our dock is at Maximo Marina, 38th Way S in south St. Petersburg, at the mouth of the bay. From here the Sunshine Skyway is 35 minutes away, the Shell Key sandbar 25 minutes, and Egmont Key under an hour. A charter leaving from the Tampa waterfront spends its first hour and its last hour motoring down the shipping channel before it reaches any of that.
For guests coming from Tampa, Brandon or Wesley Chapel, the drive across the Howard Frankland or the Gandy is 30 to 40 minutes, roughly what you would spend in the channel anyway, and you spend it in air conditioning rather than watching the bridge get bigger. Guests from Clearwater, Sarasota and the beaches are closer still.
Four Ways to See the Bay
The captain builds the route around your hours and the tide. These are the four directions a Tampa Bay luxury charter can point from our dock.
North to the Tampa Skyline
The longest run on the bay, and the one that needs an eight-hour charter to do properly. You cross under the Skyway approach, run up the middle of the bay past MacDill Air Force Base, and arrive off Bayshore Boulevard with downtown Tampa, the Riverwalk towers and Davis Islands laid out in front of you. Anchor for lunch off the Davis Islands yacht basin, then cruise home with the afternoon sun behind you.
Under the Sunshine Skyway
Four miles of cable-stayed bridge, 430 feet of tower, and a view of it from underneath that no car on it ever gets. This is the backbone of the Golden Hour Sunset Cruise: out past Fort De Soto, under the span, and anchored in the Gulf with the whole bridge silhouetted against the sunset. It fits inside four hours with time to spare.
Egmont Key
An island at the mouth of the bay that you can only reach by boat: the 1858 lighthouse, the brick ruins of Fort Dade, gopher tortoises on the paths and snorkeling over the submerged gun batteries on the Gulf side. The five-hour Shell Key and Egmont Key Island Day pairs it with a sandbar swim on the way out.
Shell Key
A 1,800-acre preserve of sandbar and bird rookery just south of Pass-a-Grille, and the closest stop to our dock. The water on the Gulf side goes from waist-deep to shin-deep across a hundred yards of white sand, which makes it the swim stop for families, bachelorette parties and anyone who wants a photo standing in the middle of the bay.
Built for the Days That Matter
Corporate and Client Days
Thirteen seats is the size of a leadership team, a top-performer reward or a client dinner that needs to impress without a ballroom. Starlink WiFi keeps the deck online for the one call someone cannot miss, the salon works for a short presentation, and we send insurance certificates and a W-9 on request. See how teams use the boat in our corporate team building guide.
Corporate Charters →Milestone Birthdays
Fortieths, fiftieths and the sixtieth that the family flew in for. The yacht takes the whole party at once, the music runs across all three decks, the cake stays cold in the galley, and the guest of honor gets to be on the bow rather than in a restaurant hallway greeting people. Weekend sunset slots for these go four to six weeks out.
Birthday Charters →Proposals
The captain has done this before. Tell us the plan and we will time the anchor drop for the sunset, keep the crew out of the frame, and have a phone recording from the flybridge. Two people on a 52-foot yacht is a perfectly good use of it, and Sly Fox is an option if you want the night to end at anchor. Read planning a yacht proposal first.
Anniversaries & Proposals →Two Yachts, One Dock
The 52ft Marquis Flybridge is the day boat: three decks, a 1,200 square foot climate-controlled cabin, more than 800 square feet of open deck, two cabins, premium audio on every level, and a cruising speed above 30 knots that turns the far side of the bay into a reachable lunch stop. It is inspected for 13 guests and takes every kind of group we have described above.
Sly Fox is the overnight boat: three private staterooms and two bathrooms that sleep six, chartered at $650 an hour Mon-Thu and $750 Fri-Sun with the same four-hour minimum, and available with a chef for multi-day Gulf Coast runs. Couples, two or three couples, or a family that wants to wake up at anchor off Egmont pick her over the Marquis.
The Price Is the Price
The hourly rate covers the yacht, Captain Josh Wilson, crew, fuel, ice and cooler space, life jackets for every guest, and the freedom to change the route on the water. Food and drink are BYOB with no corkage; glass is decanted into plastic at the dock. The only thing outside the rate is a captain gratuity of 10 to 15 percent of the base, which is at your discretion.
A 50 percent deposit holds your date and the balance is due seven days before departure. If a named storm is forecast within 72 hours of your charter you choose any open future date at no cost, and the booking stays valid for 12 months. Ordinary weather is managed on the day by shifting departure times.
Most Tampa Bay luxury charters book in one of three shapes: four hours ($2,000 weekday, $2,400 weekend) for a sunset or a downtown cruise; five hours ($2,500 weekday, $3,000 weekend) for the islands; or eight hours ($4,000 weekday, $4,800 weekend) for the skyline run or a full Gulf day. For a route-by-route read on the islands, see our guide to the best islands to visit by boat in Tampa Bay.
Three Fixed-Price Itineraries
Named charters with a set route and a set price, all-inclusive, on the Marquis. Full details on the pricing page.
Common Questions
How much does a luxury yacht charter on Tampa Bay cost?
With Yacht Away Now it is $500 an hour Monday through Thursday and $600 an hour Friday through Sunday, four-hour minimum, all-inclusive. Captain, crew, fuel and ice are in the rate. Sly Fox, our overnight yacht, is $650 and $750 an hour. Captain gratuity of 10 to 15 percent is at your discretion.
Do you pick up in Tampa?
No. Both yachts depart from Maximo Marina at 38th Way S in St. Petersburg, at the mouth of the bay, where the Skyway, Shell Key and Egmont Key are all within an hour. From Tampa the drive is 30 to 40 minutes over the Howard Frankland or Gandy bridges, about the time a boat leaving Tampa would spend in the shipping channel.
Can we cruise to the Tampa skyline?
Yes, on an eight-hour charter. The run up the bay to Bayshore Boulevard and Davis Islands is the longest route we offer and needs the full day to include a stop at anchor. Four and five hour charters stay in the southern bay and the Gulf: the Skyway, Fort De Soto, Shell Key and Egmont Key.
What is included in an all-inclusive charter?
The yacht, USCG Master Josh Wilson and crew, fuel, ice and cooler space, life jackets for every guest, premium audio, Starlink WiFi and a route planned around your group. Food and drink are BYOB with no corkage; glass is moved to plastic at the dock. Nothing else is added to the hourly rate.
How do I book, and what if a storm comes?
Request a date by phone or the booking form; we confirm within 24 hours. A 50 percent deposit holds the slot, with the balance due seven days before departure. If a named storm is forecast within 72 hours of your charter you choose any open future date at no cost, valid for 12 months.
Book Your Charter
Tell us a few quick details and we'll confirm your charter within 24 hours.
Find Us
Departing from St. Petersburg, FL
Yacht Away Now · 38th Way S, St. Petersburg, FL 33711
(727) 609-2248 · View on Google Maps →