I spent a week living on a luxury catamaran in Antigua. A private chef cooked every meal from scratch. A captain handled every decision. I floated around the Caribbean Sea barefoot for seven days with nothing to do but get in the water. And when I ran the numbers afterward, I realized this dream I had always filed under “too expensive for me” was closer to my existing vacation budget than I ever imagined.
There is a version of the good life most of us have quietly written off. The private yacht. The captain. The chef. The week where the only thing you have to decide is whether to snorkel, paddleboard, or do nothing at all. That life has always felt like it belonged to someone else — someone with a different bank account, a different circle, a different access code entirely.
I am here to show you the travel math. Because when I broke it down, the numbers told a very different story than I expected. This is the real access to the Luxe Life: real breakdowns of experiences that look out of reach — until you actually price them out.
What a Standard Week in Antigua Actually Costs
Let’s use the experience I had as the case study. My journey was to Antigua, but this can apply to almost anywhere. But let’s use Antigua so we can be guided by current verified data — not estimates, not guesses.
Budget Your Trip, which aggregates real spending from actual travelers, puts the average one-week trip to Antigua at around $2,844 per person, covering accommodation, food, local transportation, and sightseeing. That figure represents the middle of the road — not budget backpacking, not a luxury splurge. It also doesn’t include flights.
But if you are the kind of traveler who wants to book a minimum of a four-star hotel, but would prefer a five-star hotel, eat well, and do a few excursions, the real number is higher. Here is the honest breakdown.
Flights
Roundtrip fares from the US to Antigua vary by departure city and timing. Skyscanner currently shows roundtrip options starting around $412. Booking.com reports the average roundtrip from the US at approximately $866. For planning purposes, budget $600–$900 per person roundtrip.
Hotel
According to Budget Your Trip’s hotel data for Antigua and Barbuda, the average nightly rate for a four-star hotel runs $544 per night. Over seven nights, that is $3,808 per room — roughly $1,904 per person if you are sharing. Mid-range three-star properties average $344 in low season and $642 at peak, per the same source.
Food and drinks
According to Global Citizen Solutions’ Antigua cost of living guide, a mid-range restaurant meal for two runs around $92, and cocktails at beach resorts cost $10–$15 each. Across seven days of breakfast, lunch, dinner, and drinks, a realistic food budget runs $80–$150 per person per day — or $560–$1,050 for the week.
Excursions and experiences
Antigua has no shortage of things to do on land and water — and none of them are free. According to Global Citizen Solutions, activities like zip-lining, snorkeling tours, and horseback riding run $20–$50 per person. A visit to Stingray City costs around $50 per person. A guided tour of Nelson’s Dockyard, a sunset experience at Shirley Heights, or a trip to the Antilles Stillhouse gin distillery each add to that total. Budget two to three organized excursions across the week and you are looking at $150–$300 per person in activity costs alone — before any spontaneous stops or entrance fees along the way.
Ground transportation
Budget Your Trip data shows travelers in Antigua spend an average of $23 per person per day on local transportation — taxis, airport transfers, and getting between stops. Over seven days, that adds up to roughly $161 per person.
What that adds up to, per person at the four-star level:
| Line item | Estimated cost per person |
|---|---|
| Roundtrip flights | $600–$900 |
| Hotel (7 nights, shared room) | $1,904–$2,254 |
| Food and drinks | $560–$1,050 |
| Excursions and experiences | $150–$300 |
| Ground transportation | $161 |
| Total | $3,375–$4,665 |
That is before tips, incidentals, and anything spontaneous.
Here’s the Travel Math on a Cabin on a Private Catamaran
For this example, we’ll use TradeWinds as they offer a fully crewed, all-inclusive luxury catamaran company that has been operating since 1998. With a fleet of nearly 50 vessels sailing destinations across the Caribbean, Mediterranean, South Pacific, and beyond, they offer two ways to book: a full private charter for groups, or a single cabin on a shared sailing — which is the access point we are focused on here. TradeWinds is one of the only private yacht charter companies that allow single cabin rentals. Game changer!
For the full story on what a week aboard a TradeWinds catamaran actually feels like — the food, the crew, the moment you stop reaching for your phone — read my firsthand account on Yahoo.
A TradeWinds sailing vacation starts at $7,700 per cabin for the week. With two people sharing, that is approximately $3,850 per person. Here is exactly what that includes:
- Seven nights of accommodation in a private cabin with an en-suite bathroom
- All meals: breakfast and lunch daily, plus five dinners on board — two evenings are typically spent dining ashore
- All beverages, including a full open bar
- A private chef cooking every meal from scratch
- A captain and first mate managing every logistical detail
- All water sports equipment: paddleboards, kayaks, snorkeling gear, floaties
- Up to three scuba dives for certified divers, right off the boat
- Fishing gear on deck — and if the captain or crew makes a catch, it goes straight to the galley
What is not included: roundtrip flights, gratuity for the crew, and personal spending on dine-ashore evenings.
Add roundtrip flights ($600–$900) and reasonable crew gratuity, and the total per-person cost on an entry-tier TradeWinds sailing lands between $4,600 and $4,900.
It is worth noting that not all TradeWinds vessels are priced the same. The fleet spans multiple yacht classes, and newer or larger vessels command higher rates. My own sailing aboard the Mohala — TradeWinds’ newest 60-foot electric catamaran — came in at a higher price point, with cabins starting around $15,000 each, or approximately $7,500 per person. Same all-inclusive experience, same crew model, same inclusions. The difference is the vessel itself.
The entry point is real. The dream scales from there.
The Comparison That Changes Everything
Here is what the math looks like when you put both trips side by side:
| Standard Antigua resort week | TradeWinds catamaran week (entry tier) | |
|---|---|---|
| Flights | $600–$900 | $600–$900 |
| Accommodation (7 nights) | $1,904–$2,254 | Included |
| All meals | $560–$1,050 | Included |
| All beverages | Extra | Included |
| Excursions and experiences | $150–$300 | Included |
| Ground transportation | $161 | Included |
| Private chef | No | Yes |
| Dedicated captain and crew | No | Yes |
| Total per person | $3,375–$4,665 | ~$4,600–$4,900 |
At the entry tier, a fully crewed TradeWinds catamaran week comes in at a comparable — and in some cases lower — per-person cost than a standard four-star resort week in the same destination, once you account for everything that is included on the boat versus everything you would pay separately on land. That is not the gap most people imagine when they picture a private yacht with a chef.
What you are also trading up to is the elimination of financial friction. On a resort trip, you are paying separately for accommodation, food, activities, and transportation. Each one is a transaction. Each one is a decision. The total creeps upward throughout the week in ways that are difficult to track until you get home and look at your credit card statement. On a TradeWinds sailing, nearly everything is settled before you board. The financial unpredictability disappears. So does the logistical mental load.ecision. The total creeps upward throughout the week in ways that are difficult to track until you get home and look at your credit card statement. On a TradeWinds sailing, nearly everything is settled before you board. The financial unpredictability disappears. So does the logistical mental load.
The Part Most People Miss
The dollar comparison matters. But the real case for this experience is not the math — it is what the math unlocks.
I have always wanted the yacht life. The image of it: waking up on the water, a crew that knows how you take your coffee by day two, meals that just appear, a week where your only job is to be present. That image has always felt aspirational in the way that private jets and Michelin-starred tasting menus feel aspirational — technically possible for some people, just a little too distant for someone like me.
What I did not know — what most people do not know — is that TradeWinds built a specific access point into this experience. You do not have to charter the entire vessel. You can book a single cabin. You show up at the marina, and the rest fills in around you. The private chef, the captain, the all-inclusive experience — all of it — for the price of a cabin, not a boat.
That is the detail that cracked this open for me. Not because it made the trip cheap, but because it made it real.
How to Access This Experience: Four Entry Points
1. Single cabin booking
The most accessible entry point. You book one cabin on a shared sailing. TradeWinds fills the remaining cabins with other guests. You get the full experience — same vessel, same crew, same all-inclusive package — without coordinating a large group or absorbing the cost of an entire charter. Shared cabin sailings start at around $7,700 per cabin for the week. With two people per cabin, that is under $3,900 per person at the entry tier. Contact TradeWinds directly by calling the number at trade-winds.com for current rates. You must call because your trip will be customized according to your needs and available vessels.
2. Full charter
If you are traveling with a group and want the vessel exclusively — a milestone birthday, an anniversary, a trip with close friends — a full charter gives you complete control over the guest list and the week. All cabins are yours. Pricing varies by vessel class, season, and destination. Same process as above. Inquire directly with TradeWinds.
3. RCI Points
If you are a member of RCI, the vacation ownership exchange program, you may be able to book a TradeWinds sailing using your existing points. TradeWinds is an RCI partner, and members can access select sailings through the points exchange program. Check your RCI member portal or contact RCI directly to confirm current availability and point requirements.
4. ThirdHome Keys
ThirdHome is a luxury home exchange network. Members earn keys by making their own properties available, then redeem those keys to stay at other properties in the network — including select TradeWinds sailings. If you are a short-term rental host already participating in ThirdHome, this is worth investigating as a way to significantly offset the cash cost of a sailing. TradeWinds partners with ThirdHome directly; availability varies by destination and season.
5. TradeWinds Membership
After your first sailing, you have the option to join the TradeWinds membership program — something you can only access after you have experienced it once. Members pay a one-time fee and purchase points redeemable for future sailings across TradeWinds’ 19 global destinations. For travelers who want to build this kind of experience into their regular travel rotation, the membership model can reduce the per-trip cost and opens access to priority booking and late-break discounts (i.e. last minute sailing opportunities at a discount). Many TradeWinds members return year after year, often sailing with the same people they met on their first trip.
The Travel Math Summarized
I hope you now understand that a fully crewed luxury catamaran vacation isn’t that far fetch of an idea to obtain. In my case study with Antigua, the costs are roughly $500–$1,500 more per person than a quality four-star resort week in the same destination. But once you account for everything that is included on the boat versus everything you would pay separately on land, the margins shrink even more.
I am not pretending the catamaran trip is cheaper. What I am saying is that the gap between the dream and your existing travel budget is probably smaller than you have been telling yourself. I like to remind people that you are worth the upgrade, if you want it. Inquiring about luxury experiences and upgraded access sometimes is only a few hundred more dollars. But your experience on the other side of that gap is categorically and exponentially upgraded.
I thought I was waiting until I could afford the yacht life. Turns out I was already close. I just did not know the access point existed.
That is the travel math.
