Yacht Rental St. Petersburg, FL
A St. Petersburg yacht rental with Yacht Away Now is $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. Captain, crew, fuel and ice are in that number. Nothing else is added at checkout.
What "Rental" Means on This Boat
If you typed "yacht rental St Petersburg" hoping to take the keys and go, here is the honest answer up front: we do not offer bareboat rentals. A 52-foot twin-engine flybridge with 13 people aboard is not a pontoon, and neither our insurer nor the Coast Guard would let it leave the dock without a licensed master at the helm. Every rental comes with Captain Josh Wilson or one of his crew driving.
In practice that works in your favor. You rent the whole yacht by the hour, decide where it goes, and skip every chore that comes with a bareboat: no fuel dock, no chart plotter, no docking a large boat in a crosswind with an audience, no scrubbing it down at the end. You step off at the same pier you stepped onto.
What You Get That a Listing Does Not Show
Peer-to-peer boat marketplaces list hundreds of vessels around Tampa Bay, and we are on them too. Booking direct changes a few things that matter on the day.
| Typical marketplace listing | Renting direct from Yacht Away Now | |
|---|---|---|
| The price you see | A base rate, then a platform service fee, then sometimes fuel or a captain fee added before you pay | $500 or $600 an hour. Captain, crew, fuel and ice are included; only the optional gratuity is on top |
| Who is driving | Often a hired captain assigned after you book, who may not know the boat | The owner. Josh Wilson holds a USCG Master license and has run this yacht on this water for years |
| Confirmation | A request that the owner may accept, decline or ignore over a day or two | A reply within 24 hours, usually much faster, from the person who will be at the helm |
| Vessel condition | Photos of unknown age; the boat is whatever shows up | One yacht, USCG-inspected for 13 passengers, kept by the family that owns it |
| Route | Fixed to the listing's description | Planned with you before the day and adjusted on the water |
| Weather cancellation | Platform policy, which varies by listing | Named storm within 72 hours: reschedule free, valid for 12 months |
We keep a listing on the big marketplace because plenty of visitors start there, and a booking through it is honored exactly like one made here. The difference is what happens between the search and the dock. Booking direct means the person answering your questions is the person who will untie the lines, the rate you are quoted is the rate you pay, and a change of plan a week out is a phone call rather than a support ticket.
Not sure whether you want a crewed yacht or a small self-drive boat for the afternoon? The difference in cost, effort and what you can actually do with the day is laid out in yacht charter vs boat rental.
What a Rental Costs by Length of Day
The clock starts at your booked departure time. Four hours is the minimum; anything beyond it is billed at the same hourly rate, so there is no penalty for a longer day.
| Hours | Mon-Thu | Fri-Sun | What it covers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | $2,000 | $2,400 | Sunset cruise, downtown waterfront loop, or a Shell Key swim stop |
| 5 | $2,500 | $3,000 | Shell Key and Egmont Key in one trip with real time ashore |
| 6 | $3,000 | $3,600 | Island day plus a sunset on the way home |
| 8 | $4,000 | $4,800 | Tampa skyline run or a full Gulf day with lunch at anchor |
Split across the full 13 guests, a weekday four-hour rental is about $154 a person; eight friends on a Saturday pay $300 each for five hours. Captain gratuity of 10 to 15 percent of the base is customary and at your discretion. Food and drink are BYOB with no corkage, and we ice the coolers before you board.
Three fixed-price itineraries sit alongside the hourly rate: the Golden Hour Sunset Cruise ($2,000 weekday, $2,400 weekend), the Shell Key and Egmont Key Island Day ($2,500 weekday, $3,000 weekend), and Dinner on Deck, which adds a restaurant dinner at cost to the Golden Hour cruise. All three are described on the pricing page.
When You Can Get the Boat
We run one yacht per booking, so there is a single slot per departure and it goes to whoever confirms first. Weekend afternoons and sunset departures from March through October fill two to four weeks out; Gasparilla, July 4th and New Year's Eve fill four to six weeks out. Weekday mornings are the easiest to get, and a last-minute Tuesday is often possible if you call.
If the Marquis is spoken for, or your group would rather have staterooms than a dance floor, the second yacht in the fleet, Sly Fox, rents at $650 an hour Mon-Thu and $750 Fri-Sun and sleeps six for overnights. Both boats leave from the same dock at Maximo Marina, 38th Way S, St. Petersburg 33711, a few minutes from the Skyway and the open Gulf.
Three Steps From Search to the Dock
Common Questions
Can I rent the yacht without a captain?
No. Every Yacht Away Now rental is captained by owner Josh Wilson, a USCG Master, or his crew. The 52ft Marquis is a commercially inspected vessel and cannot be rented bareboat. The captain is included in the hourly rate, not billed separately.
What does a yacht rental in St. Petersburg cost per hour?
$500 an hour Monday through Thursday and $600 an hour Friday through Sunday, with a four-hour minimum. That covers the captain, crew, fuel and ice. Four hours on a weekday is $2,000; five hours on a weekend is $3,000. Gratuity of 10 to 15 percent is optional.
Do you charge extra for fuel or cleaning?
No. Fuel, cleaning, ice and crew are inside the hourly rate, and there is no platform service fee because you are booking directly with the owner. The only cost that is not included is captain gratuity, which is at your discretion.
How far in advance should I book a yacht rental in St. Pete?
Two to four weeks for a weekend or sunset slot between March and October, four to six weeks for Gasparilla, July 4th or New Year's Eve. Weekday mornings can often be booked within a few days. A 50 percent deposit holds the date and the balance is due seven days before departure.
Where do I pick up the yacht?
Both yachts leave from Maximo Marina at 38th Way S, St. Petersburg, FL 33711, on the south side of the city near the Skyway. Arrive about 15 minutes before your departure time; the crew will load your drinks into iced coolers and move anything in glass into plastic.
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Find Us
Departing from St. Petersburg, FL
Yacht Away Now · 38th Way S, St. Petersburg, FL 33711
(727) 609-2248 · View on Google Maps →