Yacht charter and Boat rental in Germany

The German charter fleet splits between two very different worlds: the Baltic Sea coast, sailed with proper yachts, and an inland network of lakes and canals in the north-east, cruised almost entirely by motor-only houseboats. Yacht charter in Germany can mean either a coastal sail past chalk cliffs and busy ferry lanes, or a slow week threading between reed-lined lakes near Berlin, with little overlap between the two.

Why Sail in Germany

The Baltic Sea has no tides and is sheltered compared to the open Atlantic or North Sea, with average summer winds of 13-20 knots between May and September, making it a relatively forgiving cruising ground for the coast. Inland, the lakes of Mecklenburg and the canals around Brandenburg and Berlin offer a completely different style of boating: flat water, low bridges, and a maximum boat speed rather than a point of sail to worry about.

When to Go

• May to September: the sailing season on the Baltic coast, with the steadiest winds and the warmest weather.
• Late June: Kiel Week (Kieler Woche), the world's largest sailing event, first held in 1882 and now drawing around 5,000 sailors, 2,000 boats and roughly three million visitors to the city each year.
• July and August: peak season everywhere, with the warmest water and the busiest marinas, especially around Rügen and Fehmarn.

Charter Options: Licensed, Licence-Free, Skippered

Bareboat charter with a licence. Sailing yachts on the Baltic Sea require a recognised sailing certificate, most commonly the German Sportbootführerschein See or an equivalent international certificate of competence.

Licence-free houseboat charter. Motorboats of up to 15 horsepower (11 kW) can be chartered and piloted without any licence anywhere in Germany, except on the Rhine and a short stretch of the Spree through central Berlin. Larger houseboats, up to 15 metres long and capped at 12 km/h, can also be chartered without a licence on selected touring routes in Mecklenburg, Berlin and Brandenburg after a short practical briefing from the charter company, though the largest lakes require a full licence to cross and cannot be entered without one once wind passes 4 Beaufort.

Skippered charter. A hired skipper handles navigation and the boat, useful on the Baltic Sea for sailors without the required certificate or for a first visit to the Kiel Canal and its shipping traffic.

Types of Boats in Germany

Houseboat rental Germany

By far the largest part of the German charter fleet, built for lakes and canals rather than open water, with a flat-bottomed hull and typically 4-8 berths. Most can be chartered under the licence-free rules described above rather than with a full boating licence.

Sailing yacht rental Germany

The main boat type on the Baltic Sea coast, from two-cabin yachts around ten metres to boats over twelve metres. Common brands include Hanse and Dehler, both built in Greifswald on the Baltic coast, and Bavaria, built further south in the state of Bavaria. Requires a recognised sailing licence for bareboat charter.

Motor yacht rental Germany

A small share of the fleet, mostly based on the Baltic coast for day trips and short hops between harbours rather than longer open-water cruising.

Where to Sail in Germany

Yacht charter Schleswig-Holstein

Kiel is the starting point for many Baltic charters and home to the Kiel Canal, a 98-kilometre link to the North Sea completed in 1895 that carries around 32,000 ships a year, more than either the Panama Canal or the Suez Canal individually. Every June the city hosts Kiel Week, the world's largest sailing event. Further along the coast, the island of Fehmarn, Germany's third-largest, adds a second popular base with 78 kilometres of coastline.

Yacht charter Rügen

Germany's largest island, known for the chalk cliffs of Jasmund National Park. The Königsstuhl cliff rises 118 metres above the Baltic Sea and, together with the beech forest behind it, forms part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site; the national park itself covers just 30 square kilometres, the smallest in Germany.

Yacht charter Mecklenburg Lake District

An inland network of connected lakes centred on the Müritz, which at 117 square kilometres is the largest lake located entirely within Germany. Boating here means motor-only houseboats rather than yachts, moving between reed-lined shores and small towns instead of following a coastline.

Yacht charter Brandenburg

The lakes and canals around Berlin, including the Spree and Havel rivers, form one of the licence-free houseboat regions described above, allowing a slow cruise through the German capital and the surrounding forests without a boating licence.

What It Costs

Price depends mainly on boat type here. A sailing yacht averages around €65 a day, though the most-booked six-berth model runs closer to €115. Houseboats and canal boats, which make up much of the fleet, start from about €68 a day - the more affordable way to explore lakes like the Mecklenburg Lake District or the canals around Brandenburg.

Yacht charter and Boat rental in Germany

Charter a yacht and explore Germany! Prices start from 65 € per day. Choose from the largest selection of houseboats, sailboats, motor boats, motor yachts and catamarans.

Popular regions are Mecklenburg-Pomerania, Mecklenburg Lake District, Baltic Sea, Brandenburg, Berlin, Müritz, Schleswig-Holstein, Rügen, Lake Constance, Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Lake Constance, Saarland, North Sea, Rhineland-Palatinate, Bremen and Saxony-Anhalt.