Only One 8 Hour Charter: Full-Day Private Yacht in Cape Town

Only One Yacht

8-Hour Private Yacht Charter with Drinks & Snacks

from $6,664

Check availability

Prices and timetables checked 17 October 2026. This page contains affiliate links to GetYourGuide.

The Only One 8 hour charter is a full day on a 65-foot (20 m) Princess motor yacht, booked as a whole boat and crewed by a captain and a stewardess. Only One Yacht sells it from the V&A Waterfront marina in Cape Town, and the listing prices it per group at $6,664.

The detail that changes the decision is that eight hours is about time, not distance. Hout Bay, the farthest port the listing mentions, is 17 km from the marina, roughly 27 minutes at the boat's 20-knot cruising speed, so most of the day is spent at anchor, swimming, eating and waiting for sunset.

Compare it with the shorter 3-hour private charter before you commit, and browse the Cape Town boat tour guide or the harbouradvisor.com home page for shared options.

What do you get on the Only One 8 hour charter?

You get the entire yacht and its two crew for a working day, with the route left open until the morning. The listing sells flexibility: the skipper adjusts the plan to the sea state and to what the group wants.

• Crew: a licensed captain and a stewardess who looks after the group for the whole eight hours.
• Drinks: local beer, Cape wines and a sparkling option, plus soft drinks and water.
• Food: a continuously topped-up spread of snacks and canapés. A full meal is not mentioned.
• Fuel and safety kit: fuel for the whole cruise, life jackets and safety equipment.
• Photography: this listing includes photography and videography packages, where the 3-hour listing calls them optional.

I'd book the Only One 8 hour charter for a single event that needs a long window, such as a milestone birthday or a wedding-party day out, and I would skip it if a sunset and a swim is all you need. The extra five hours over the shorter charter buy waiting time, not scenery.

Where does the Only One 8 hour charter leave from?

It leaves from the V&A Waterfront marina, where you meet the captain and crew for a safety briefing before the yacht sets off. The listing gives the marina only as a map pin and no dock number.

The sister listing for the 3-hour trip gives better directions for the same boat and operator: use the Cape Grace hotel as your landmark, walk to the security huts behind it and ask for Only One Yacht. Arrive 15 minutes early, per that listing.

Wait for your booking message to confirm the dock. Here is the pin: V&A Waterfront Marina on Google Maps. Walking route from the Clock Tower to the marina.

1. Reach the marina side of the Waterfront by car, taxi or rideshare.
2. Walk to the yacht berths and give the operator's name at the security hut.
3. Meet the captain and stewardess, hear the safety briefing and stow bags and swimwear.

What is the route, and how much of it can you actually reach?

The listing's baseline heads south down the Atlantic Seaboard, and it offers Hout Bay and Robben Island as add-ons. I calculated straight-line distances from the marina at the 20-knot speed in the listing, so real minutes will be a little higher.

A there-and-back run to Hout Bay is about 34 km, under an hour of cruising on paper. That leaves seven hours for swim stops, lunch on deck and drifting off Clifton, so ask the captain before the day how to split the time instead of rushing between places.

Robben Island is an option on the listing, but landing tours go through the Nelson Mandela Gateway and have their own tickets, so treat this as a view from the water.

How long is it, and when should it sail?

The listing says the charter runs eight hours, shows start times only after you choose a date, and plans the afternoon so the yacht is positioned for sunset before it returns. Count back from sunset to choose your start.

A winter day ends shortly after 17:45 in June, so an 08:00 to 16:00 slot may be needed to keep the sun on your side. South Africa has no daylight saving, so the clock offset never shifts.

How could you spend the eight hours?

A sensible plan front-loads the cruising and keeps the final three hours for anchoring, drinks and the sunset. This outline is mine, built on the distances above, and the skipper will adjust it to the wind.

What is included, and what is not?

Crew, fuel, drinks, snacks and photography packages are in the price; a full lunch, crew tips and parking are not mentioned. The list below separates what the listing states from what it leaves open.

The packing list on the listing is sunglasses, swimwear, a camera and sunscreen. For a day of this length I'd add a windproof layer and a hat, because the exposed sun deck gets no shade.

How much does it cost per person, and in rand?

The charter costs $6,664 whatever the headcount, so the share is $6,664 divided by the guests: $555 for 12 and $1,666 for 4. In rand the boat is about R109,515 at the 2026-10-16 Frankfurter rate.

Because the listing does not state the guest limit, confirm it for the 8-hour product with the operator before you count heads. The rand figures move with the exchange rate.

How does it compare with the other Only One charters?

It is the cheapest per hour of the three Only One charters and the dearest in total. The crew and fuel are spread over more hours, so each extra hour costs far less than the first three.

Moving from 3 to 8 hours adds $3,090 for five more hours, or $618 an hour. If the group only wants the cruise and a sunset, the shorter boat is the better value. Choose the full day when you need time to swim, eat and linger.

Is the Only One 8 hour charter worth it compared with a shared cruise?

It is worth it for a group of eight or more that wants an entire day, and it is hard to justify for a couple. The shared 90-minute sunset sails cost $39 to $56 a ticket, so even eight guests paying $833 each are buying privacy and time, not a cheaper ticket.

• Worth it: a celebration where the day itself is the event and guests drift on and off the sun deck.
• Worth it: a group that wants an unhurried swim stop and a sunset in the same trip.
• Not worth it: travellers who want a quick look at the Seaboard. The shared sunset cruises do that for a fraction of the cost.

1.44 million foreign overnight visitors came to Cape Town in 2025, staying 9.5 nights and spending R1,390 a day.

International demand is the reason a full-day private product exists. The Western Cape government put international tourist spending in the province at almost R26 billion in 2025, and visitors who stay 9.5 nights can spare a day for the water.

When is the best time to go?

December to February offers the longest days and the fewest rain days, and it also brings the strongest wind: the average daily maximum is 25 to 27 km/h, against 18 km/h in May, based on Open-Meteo's ERA5 archive for 2015 to 2024.

An eight-hour day amplifies the weather risk, since one rough afternoon spoils a long booking. The listing says nothing about cancellations by the operator beyond the 24-hour free cancellation, so ask what happens if the skipper calls off a windy day.

Check the forecast from the South African Weather Service the day before. The next public holiday is the Day of Reconciliation on 16 December (Nager.Date), and the Christmas week fills the Waterfront, so book early for those dates.

What do passengers say?

There are no ratings or reviews to summarise: GetYourGuide lists this as a new activity without a score. I won't invent a pattern.

While the listing builds a record, read the reviews of the sibling products as they appear, starting with the 3-hour Only One charter, and send the operator your questions in writing before you pay. The free-cancellation window of 24 hours is your safety net.

Who should skip the 8-hour charter?

Skip it if anyone uses a wheelchair, has limited mobility or gets seasick, because the listing excludes all three, or if the group is small and price-sensitive. People who dislike long days outdoors should also choose a shorter trip.

• Mobility: the listing names wheelchair users and people with mobility impairments as unsuitable.
• Seasickness: eight hours on open Atlantic swell is a long time for anyone who struggles.
• Small groups: two to four guests pay $1,666 to $3,332 each.
• Wildlife seekers: a yacht day is a lounge trip. See the Cape Town whale watching trips for dedicated wildlife outings.

Boats that carry paying passengers fall under the South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA), a different regime from private pleasure craft. The listing calls the captain fully licensed but names no certificates, so ask Only One Yacht for its documentation if you are booking for a company.

For other private boats, see the Cape Town yacht charter guide, or return to the boat tour hub.

How do you book the 8-hour Only One charter?

Frequently asked questions

Sources: GetYourGuide listings for the 8-hour and 3-hour private yacht charters (Only One Yacht), checked 17 October 2026; Cape Town Tourism, Economic Value of Tourism 2025; Western Cape Government; Open-Meteo archive and marine APIs; sunrise-sunset.org; Frankfurter exchange rates; Nager.Date holidays; SAMSA; South African Weather Service.