Yachts in the Philippines
There is no developed “charter industry” in the Philippines. There’s no Sunsail, no Moorings…basically, it’s in the very early development stage of a cruising destination. It’s very like Thailand of about 30yrs ago, when it’s all private owners, just chartering their own individual yachts.
There’s not a whole lot of them….yet. And as one might imagine, standards vary enormously. Some are real professionals – yachts who have been in the charter biz elsewhere for many years, and migrated to the Philippines because they love the uncrowded anchorages and tranquility. They know their game well. And then there’s the “cruisin’ cowboys” – ones who are just doing a bit of chartering “on the side” to top up the cruising kitty. Some can be great – but there’s others that you really don’t want to touch with a barge pole!
Meet our little family of yachts in the Philippines
Orion
A grand, traditional lady of 60′ – built specifically with charter guest comfort in mind. Owner/skippered, the ambiance & standards reflect the TLC that Orion and her guests always receive!
Soniya
Soniya is a Dean 44 catamaran. She combines the best of two worlds – all the comfort and convenience of cataramans (no danger of that g n’t falling off the table!), but still has great sailing performance. She can sleep up to 6 guests in two dbl cabins, one bunkbed cabin. Fully crewed with a very fun great owner/skipper and great onboard chef for home-cooked local cuisine!
Charter Options
The options in the Philippines are a whole lot less complicated than, eg the Med! There IS no bareboat option (even though some websites advertise it – read on, and you’ll find it’s non-existent).
What’s Included
Our buddy-boats in the Philippines are all fully-crewed. It’s simply the only practical option for a short-term sailing vacation. Of course, if you had the luxury to be cruising around for months and exploring, that would be a different kettle of fish; but most of us don’t have that option!
So included as part of all the pricing here is three meals per day (with sometimes the exception of a final night’s dinner ashore, depending on departure point). The food is a mix between traditional Philippino and western – according to your own preferences. Tea, coffee, chilled water are always available; on the alcohol front, it’s either BYO, order it ahead of time with the crew, or pick-as-you-go from their onboard bar (shore-side prices, not cruise-ship prices!)
Sailing season in the Philippines
Being in the tropics, the Philippines has two seasons; the NE dry season, from Nov to late May, then the wind swings around to the SW and brings with it the monsoon rains. In the dry season, the winds are mellow and make for great sailing conditions. In the monsoon season, there is also a chance of typhoons, so not the best time to be sailing there !