Cheap boat hire · no licence
The cost of a day on Sydney Harbour is mostly the crew. Drive it yourself and that disappears. From $400 for three hours, split between six people, with the fuel already in it.
Why it costs less
A skippered charter on Sydney Harbour starts around a thousand dollars for a few hours, and most of that is people. A skipper, often a deckhand, sometimes catering staff. You are paying wages before you have paid for the boat.
Self-drive removes that entirely. You take the helm, so the only thing you are hiring is the boat. That is the whole reason it costs a third of what a charter does, and it is why our cheapest hire works out around $67 a head for six people.
The other saving is the food and drink. There is no bar on board and no catering package, so you bring your own and pay supermarket prices. We do not charge a BYO fee.
Every price
These are the weekday rates. Fuel is in the price on every boat, and there is a refundable $250 hold on a card that comes straight back.
Best value — up to 6
Our cheapest way onto the harbour. Shade canopy with sides, a small cabin, lunch table and a swim ladder. Dogs welcome.
Cheapest per head — up to 8
Two more seats than the Day Boat, shaded end to end, and the only one with a toilet on board. Split eight ways it is the best value we do.
Longest day — up to 8
A BBQ pontoon with the gas supplied, so lunch costs whatever you spend at the butcher. Half a day or a full one.
Weekday rates. Weekends, the 19 December – 26 January peak and public holidays are higher — a weekday is always the cheaper day to go. Marlow and Frankie open in October and are being refitted, so their images show how they will look once finished.
No surprises
Cheap only counts if the number you are quoted is the number you pay. On every boat here the price already covers:
The only other money is a refundable $250 hold on a card, released after you bring the boat back in one piece.
If you want the cheapest possible day: pick a weekday, take the three-hour slot on the Day Boat, and fill the seats. Six people, $400, about $67 each.
Good to know
Our cheapest is the Day Boat at $400 for three hours on a weekday, taking up to 6 people. That works out around $67 each with a full boat, and fuel is included.
Because you are not paying wages. A skippered charter includes a skipper and often a deckhand, and that is most of the cost. Driving it yourself removes those people from the bill.
No. None of the boats on this page need a boat licence. One person aged 18 or over takes the helm and we run a full briefing first.
No. Fuel, safety gear, the briefing and the harbour map are all in the price, and there is no BYO fee. The only extra is a refundable $250 security hold that comes back to you.
Yes, noticeably. Weekends, public holidays and the 19 December to 26 January period are charged at the peak rate. A weekday is always the cheaper day.
On our boats, roughly $62 to $81 a head with a full boat on a weekday, depending on which one you take and how long for.
Yes, and we encourage it. There is no BYO fee on any boat, and it is the single biggest saving over a charter with catering.