South America & Caribbean Yacht Charter: Where to Go and What It Costs

People searching for a “South America yacht charter” are usually not planning a trip that stays strictly within South American borders. They are planning a Caribbean-adjacent trip — one that starts on the South American mainland and often continues to an island destination a short flight away. That search behavior is the reason this guide exists: to give a straight answer about which of Nauty 360’s bases are actually in South America, which are not, and why combining them still makes practical sense for a traveler.

This is a short, focused guide — not an exhaustive comparison of every Caribbean market Nauty 360 operates in. It covers exactly two regions: Cartagena, the one genuine South American base, and the Dominican Republic, the Caribbean market that pairs with it most naturally for a combined regional trip.

What “South America Yacht Charter” Actually Means (Geography, Not Marketing)

Let’s be precise about geography first, because most charter guides blur this on purpose. South America is a continent. Cartagena, Colombia sits on that continent’s Caribbean coast — it is South America in the strict, correct sense of the word. Casa de Campo and Punta Cana, in the Dominican Republic, are islands in the Caribbean Sea. They are not South America. No serious geography reference would classify them that way, and neither will we.

So why are they in the same article? Because for a traveler based in the US or planning a multi-stop trip through the region, geography is not the variable that determines itinerary logic — flight time and season are. Cartagena and the Dominican Republic sit in roughly the same time zone band, both have direct or one-stop flight connections from Miami and other US hubs, both run their best sailing conditions from December through April, and Nauty 360 operates private charter fleets in both with the same booking process. For a traveler stringing together a regional Caribbean-and-South-America trip, these two bases function as one travel zone even though only one of them is technically South American. This article groups them for that operational reason — not to claim they are the same place.

Cartagena, Colombia — The Only True South American Yacht Charter Base

Cartagena is Nauty 360’s South American base, full stop — the walled colonial city, the calm waters protected by the Barú Peninsula, and the Rosario Islands archipelago just offshore. A private boat charter in Cartagena starts from $680, with a DIMAR-certified captain and fuel included. The most popular routes reach the Rosario Islands for reef snorkeling and Barú’s Playa Blanca for a classic white-sand beach day, both under an hour from the marina by private speedboat.

Cartagena works as a standalone South American trip on its own — three or four days is enough to see the walled city, take one full charter day on the water, and experience the only genuinely South American stop in this guide. For groups whose trip begins and ends in Colombia, that is the complete answer. For groups continuing on to the Caribbean islands, Cartagena becomes the first leg of a longer itinerary.

Casa de Campo & Punta Cana, Dominican Republic — The Caribbean Extension of the Same Trip

Casa de Campo and Punta Cana are the two Dominican Republic markets where Nauty 360 operates, and both function as the natural next stop after Cartagena for travelers extending their trip into the Caribbean proper. A boat rental at Casa de Campo starts from $1,750, with island-hopping routes to Saona Island’s starfish sandbars and Catalina Island’s reef wall. A Punta Cana boat charter also starts from $1,750, covering many of the same offshore highlights from a different departure point on the eastern Dominican coast.

Both destinations share the Dominican Republic’s December–April peak sailing season, the same trade-wind conditions, and the same resort infrastructure that makes them easy to layer onto a longer regional trip. Neither is South America geographically — but for a traveler who just spent three days in Cartagena and wants to add island time before flying home, both are a short, direct hop away.

One Region, One Itinerary — Combining Cartagena with the Dominican Republic

This is the part of the trip most guides skip, and it is the actual reason to combine these two markets in one article. Cartagena and the Dominican Republic are closer to each other, logistically, than most travelers assume. Flights between Cartagena and Santo Domingo or Punta Cana typically run under three hours, often with a single connection through Panama City or Bogotá — short enough that the flight itself is not a meaningful obstacle to a combined trip, unlike, say, connecting South America to Southeast Asia.

Both destinations peak in the same window — December through April — which means a traveler does not have to choose between good conditions in one place and a compromise in the other. The seas are calm, the rain is minimal, and the water temperature sits in the high-70s to low-80s Fahrenheit at both ends of the trip.

A workable 7–to–10–day itinerary looks like this, built around the flight connection and the charter days on each end:

• Days 1–4, Cartagena: arrive and settle in the walled city or Bocagrande. Spend one or two days on foot — the old town, the ramparts, Getsemaní at night — then dedicate one full day to a private charter to the Rosario Islands and Barú’s Playa Blanca. A second charter day is worth adding if the group wants to split reef snorkeling and beach time across two separate outings rather than rushing both into one.
• Day 4–5, connecting flight: Cartagena to Santo Domingo or Punta Cana typically runs under three hours, usually with one connection through Panama City or Bogotá. Booking an afternoon flight keeps the morning free for a last Cartagena activity and still lands in the Dominican Republic in time for dinner.
• Days 5–9, Casa de Campo or Punta Cana: three to four days based at a resort, with one or two charter days covering Saona Island’s starfish sandbars, Catalina Island’s reef wall, or both if the group has the stamina for back-to-back full days on the water. This leg is the higher-end half of the trip — larger vessels, longer routes, and a different pace than Cartagena’s shorter speedboat days.
• Day 9–10, departure: fly home from Punta Cana International or Las Américas (Santo Domingo) — both have direct routes to major US hubs, which is usually a shorter and more convenient return leg than flying back out through Colombia.

The trip opens with South America’s only genuinely South American charter city and closes with the Caribbean’s most photographed island-hopping destinations — two very different landscapes, one continuous regional trip, and one operator handling the private charter portion of both legs. Because both destinations run the same December–April season, there is no scheduling compromise built into combining them — a date that works for Cartagena works for the Dominican Republic leg too.

This kind of combined itinerary is where Nauty 360’s multi-market operation is actually useful to a traveler: the same team can be reached on WhatsApp to arrange charter days on both ends of the trip, rather than researching and vetting two unrelated local operators independently for what is, in practice, one regional vacation.

South America & Caribbean Yacht Charter Costs Compared

A simple three-way comparison of the markets covered in this guide — not a repeat of the four-destination Caribbean comparison covered elsewhere on this blog.

Cartagena is the more affordable leg of a combined trip by a wide margin, which is part of why pairing it with a Dominican Republic stop works well financially — a group can spend more of the total trip budget on the South American segment and treat the DR portion as the shorter, higher-end finale.

Which Base Is Right for Your Group

If your trip is strictly South American — culture, history, and one great day on the water — Cartagena on its own is a complete answer, and the most affordable of any market Nauty 360 operates in. If the priority is postcard island-hopping and resort time, Casa de Campo or Punta Cana alone covers that without the extra flight. If you have 7–10 days and want both the walled city and the sandbars, combining Cartagena with Casa de Campo or Punta Cana is a genuinely workable itinerary, not just a marketing pairing — the flights are short, the seasons align, and one operator can coordinate both legs.

Ready to build the itinerary? Check availability for either base, or send your dates and group size on WhatsApp and the Nauty 360 team will help sequence the trip.