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The Abacos charter week is the quietest Bahamas week and the one most Caribbean brokers undersell. The Marsh Harbour loop runs 110 nautical miles over 7 days, covers six inhabited cays, and threads the Sea of Abaco's 3 to 5m shallows on a draft most 40m to 50m motor yachts can manage. Peak-season weekly rates on a 42m to 50m hull run $140K to $260K plus 25 to 30% APA, as of May 2026. That is roughly 20% under an equivalent BVI week and 25 to 35% under a comparable Exumas week.
The trade-off for the lower rate is real and worth naming. The Sea of Abaco is shallow. Anything drawing more than 3.5m is on the wrong side of comfortable for the inside passage. The Whale Cay passage between Treasure Cay and Green Turtle Cay is an open-water hop where the inside route runs out of water, and weather closes it 1 to 3 days a month even in season. Hurricane Dorian damage from 2019 is still visible on Great Abaco and Elbow Cay. We name what is and is not rebuilt below.
The 7-day loop, verified
Charter starts and ends at Marsh Harbour on Great Abaco. Most charter clients fly into Marsh Harbour airport via Nassau or Fort Lauderdale. The yacht boards Saturday afternoon.
Day 1 (Saturday): Marsh Harbour to Hope Town 4nm. The shortest leg of the week. The yacht crosses the Sea of Abaco to Elbow Cay, a 30-minute hop. Anchor outside the Hope Town harbour entrance in 3 to 4m sand, or use the harbour mooring field if your beam fits (the field accommodates yachts to about 38m on the longer balls, less reliably above that). Tender into Hope Town for the candy-striped lighthouse, the wreck-detection light still functional, and dinner ashore at Hope Town Inn and Marina or Firefly Sunset Resort. The yacht overnights at anchor outside the harbour or on the southwest side of Elbow.
Day 2 (Sunday): Hope Town to Tahiti Beach to Man-O-War Cay 9nm. Morning swim stop at Tahiti Beach on the south end of Elbow Cay. Tahiti is a 200m sandbar at low tide and a 50m bar at high. Plan around tides; the swim window is approximately 4 hours either side of low. Lunch aboard. Afternoon 4nm to Man-O-War Cay. Anchor outside the harbour in 3 to 5m sand. Man-O-War is a dry settlement with no alcohol sold ashore, a boatyard heritage, and the original Albury Brothers boat-building shed. Dinner aboard.
Day 3 (Monday): Man-O-War to Great Guana Cay 9nm north. Anchor off Nipper's Beach Bar on the Atlantic side of Guana, or inside Settlement Harbour. The Atlantic-side anchorage is exposed; weather closes it 5 to 8 days a month even in season. The inside Settlement Harbour anchorage is fully protected but small, fitting yachts under approximately 40m. Lunch ashore at Nipper's or Grabbers. Afternoon at the long Atlantic beach. Dinner ashore at Grabbers or aboard.
Day 4 (Tuesday): Guana to Treasure Cay 12nm northwest. Lunch at the long Treasure Cay beach, which Conde Nast has called one of the best in the Caribbean for two decades and which has held up since the Dorian rebuild. Anchor in 3 to 4m sand off the beach or dock at Treasure Cay Marina if it accepts your LOA (it is mostly a 30m and under marina post-rebuild). Afternoon at the beach and the protected lagoon. Dinner ashore at Coco Beach Bar or aboard.
Day 5 (Wednesday): Treasure Cay to Green Turtle Cay via the Whale Cay passage 12nm, of which 3nm is open Atlantic across the Whale Cay passage. The captain checks the weather the night before and the morning of. If the passage closes for swell, the route reverses and you spend a second night at Treasure with a tender excursion to No Name Cay's swimming pigs. If the passage opens, anchor in White Sound or Black Sound off Green Turtle. White Sound is shallower but better protected; Black Sound has more dockage but more current. Dinner ashore at The Wrecking Tree or Sundowners Bar and Grill in New Plymouth. The yacht overnights inside White Sound or Black Sound.
Day 6 (Thursday): Green Turtle to Manjack Cay to Powell Cay, return to Treasure side 18nm round trip. The day trip to Manjack (also spelled Munjack) and Powell takes you to the most remote anchorages of the route, with reef snorkelling and uninhabited beaches. Lunch aboard at anchor. Return south across the Whale Cay passage in the afternoon to overnight either back at Treasure Cay or at the south end of Powell Cay if the weather holds and your captain is comfortable.
Day 7 (Friday): Treasure or Powell to Marsh Harbour via Guana Cay 22nm south. Long final leg. Optional morning stop at No Name Cay for the swimming pigs, which are a smaller and less aggressive cohort than the Exumas pigs. Lunch ashore at Pete's Pub on Little Harbour, south of Marsh Harbour, if itinerary timing allows; Pete's is the cruiser's pub of Abaco and the sand-floor closer most weeks earn. Final evening anchored off Marsh Harbour. Disembark Saturday morning.
This is the 110nm version. Six inhabited cays, one Atlantic crossing at Whale Cay, and three full-day anchorages.
Why the Abacos is undersold
Three reasons.
First, the Abacos is the most weather-dependent of the major Caribbean charter destinations. The Whale Cay passage, the Guana Atlantic anchorage, and the Atlantic-side beaches all depend on a wind below approximately 18 knots and a swell below 6 feet. In January through March that wind pattern fails 3 to 6 days a month. Brokers prefer to sell the BVI, where most of the week is protected inside the Sir Francis Drake Channel.
Second, the Abacos draws under 3.5m for the comfortable inside passage. That eliminates most 50m+ yachts, the size class brokers prefer to sell because the commission per week is higher. The Abacos is a 40m to 48m destination, not a 60m+ destination. A 55m hull is technically possible at Hope Town and Marsh Harbour but cannot run the full inside route to Green Turtle.
Third, the Hurricane Dorian damage from September 2019 is still being absorbed. Marsh Harbour town has rebuilt the marina infrastructure, fuel docks, and the airport. Treasure Cay Resort closed for years and reopened in stages. Several specific Elbow Cay resorts and a handful of Guana Cay bars never reopened. Brokers who do not visit annually are not confident in what is open, so they sell the Exumas instead.
Yachts that work for this route
The Abacos is a 40m to 48m destination, motor yachts with draft under 3.2m preferred. Sanlorenzo SD96, SD118, and SD126 work. The Heesen 47m FDHF with a draft of about 2.95m works. Benetti Tradition 105 (about 32m) and Tradition Supreme 108 work but are at the small end. Princess Y95 and Y112 work. Sailing yachts that draw above 3.5m do not work inside; lifting-keel sailing yachts that lift to 3.0m or below do.
A yacht we would pass on for the Abacos is anything drawing 3.5m or more without a captain who has personally run the Sea of Abaco. Charts and chart plotters do not save a charter from a hard grounding here. The inside passage requires a captain who knows the unmarked rocks off Whale Cay, the shoal off Green Turtle's entrance, and the silting pattern at the Treasure Cay channel. Two seasons in the Abacos is the threshold.
APA and the fully-loaded cost
APA on the Abacos runs 25 to 30% of charter fee. Fuel use is modest at 110nm over 7 days, well under a Med 7-day average of 320nm. Mooring balls in the Hope Town harbour run $35 to $75 per night. Treasure Cay Marina dockage on a 40m yacht runs approximately. Anchorage fees are nil in most cays. The Bahamas cruising permit and fishing permit on a charter yacht run for the week. Crew gratuity runs 10 to 15% of charter fee.
The fully-loaded delivered cost of a 45m Abacos week in peak February 2026 is approximately $190K charter plus $55K APA, or $245K all-in. That is for 10 guests over 7 nights with at-rest stabilizers. Christmas and New Year weeks add 15 to 25% over peak February.
Passed on: what to skip
We do not recommend running the Abacos south past Little Harbour to the Berry Islands in the same week. The crossing is open Atlantic and the Berries are a different week's worth of cruising. If you want both, plan 12 to 14 days.
We do not recommend booking the Abacos in June through October. The hurricane season is hurricane season, and the regional insurance market has tightened. Several reputable brokers will not place a foreign-flag charter yacht in Abaco waters between July 1 and October 31 without an explicit storm-departure plan.
We do not recommend the Treasure Cay Marina as a primary overnight in 2026. The post-Dorian rebuild has been partial and the slip count for 35m+ yachts is limited. Anchor off the beach instead and tender in.
We do not recommend Hope Town's outer harbour mooring field for any yacht over 40m. The mooring balls are sized for sport-fishing and small motor yachts, the lazy lines are short, and the swing room is tight. Anchor outside the entrance.
Booking lead time and broker shortlist
The Abacos charter fleet is small. Approximately hulls run dedicated Abacos seasons. Many more do an Abacos week as a one-off out of Fort Lauderdale or Nassau. Peak weeks (Christmas, New Year, February school break, Easter) book 12 to 18 months out. February and March mid-week have wider availability inside 60 days. The brokers we use for Abacos placements are the ones with a Caribbean-based central agent on the yacht, not the offices that work the Med from Monaco and outsource Caribbean placements.
FAQ
How deep is the Sea of Abaco? The Sea of Abaco averages 3 to 5m inside the reef line, with most anchorages between Marsh Harbour and Green Turtle Cay running 2.5 to 4m at chart datum. Draft over 3m needs a captain who has run the route. Anything over 3.5m is on the edge for the inside passage.
What is the Whale Cay passage? Whale Cay passage is the short open-water hop between Treasure Cay and Green Turtle Cay where the inside route runs out of depth. The passage requires a swell of under 6 feet and a wind under 18 knots from the east. Captains check conditions the night before and the morning of.
Is the Abacos rebuilt after Hurricane Dorian? Most of the inhabited cays have reopened. Marsh Harbour town and Treasure Cay marina are largely operational. Some specific resort properties and a handful of bars are still rebuilding or have closed permanently. The cruising infrastructure, mooring fields, fuel docks, and provisioners, is functional but thinner than in 2018.
Can a sailing yacht run this route? Yes, if it draws under 3.5m or has a lifting keel that retracts below 3.0m. The Abaco trades blow steady from the east-northeast at 12 to 20 knots in season, which sails well. Yachts with fixed draft over 3.5m should plan an alternative route outside the reef line and accept fewer anchorage options.
What is the best-value Abacos week in 2026? Late November and the second half of April. Both shoulder windows run 20 to 35% below peak January and February, both have warm water and reliable trades, and both have wide availability inside 60 days of departure.