| Shared tour | Private charter | |
|---|---|---|
| Priced | Per person | Per boat (the whole vessel) |
| Who’s aboard | A small group of other guests | Only your group |
| Schedule | Set departure times | Your timing |
| Route | Set itinerary | Custom — your call |
| Food & drinks | Limited | Bring your own cooler |
| Best for | Couples, solo, small families, budget | Groups, celebrations, young kids, custom days |
Shared small-group tours
A shared tour is exactly what it sounds like: you join a small group of other guests on a scheduled departure. It’s the budget-friendly way to get on the water — you pay per person, the times are set, and you might make a few friends along the way. Our groups stay small, so it never feels crowded, and you still get the same local captain and the same beautiful water.
Best for: couples, solo travelers, small families and anyone watching the budget who’s happy with a set departure time.
Private charters
A private charter means the whole boat is yours — just your group, your captain and a route built around what you want to do. You set the pace, pick the mix (dolphins, a shelling beach, a sandbar hang, a sunset toast), bring your own drinks and snacks, and never share with strangers. It’s priced for the boat rather than per head, so the value improves the more people you bring.
Best for: groups and celebrations, families with young kids, couples marking a special occasion, photographers, and anyone who wants flexibility.
When a private charter is worth it
- You’ve got a group. Per-boat pricing means a bachelorette, birthday or reunion often costs less per person than you’d expect.
- It’s a special occasion. Proposals, anniversaries and milestone birthdays deserve the boat to yourselves — see special occasions.
- You want a custom day. Combine dolphins and shelling, or linger longer at the sandbar — your call.
- You’ve got young kids. A private boat lets you set an easy, low-stress pace.
If none of those apply and you just want a beautiful cruise for two, a shared trip is a fantastic value. When in doubt, call us and we’ll help you weigh it.
From the Helm: Shared vs. private: the question we actually get at the Capri Pass dock
The question guests ask most isn't about price — it's whether they'll be stuck with strangers. On a shared tour, the honest answer is that you're grouped with whoever else booked that slot, usually six to a dozen people you've never met, and our captains run the standard route regardless of who's aboard that day. Most groups get along fine; a few quietly wish they'd had the boat to themselves once the trip is half over. That's the real fork in the decision, more than anything printed on a rate sheet.
What a shared trip actually looks like from the helm is a fixed loop timed to the tide and the light, the same stops in roughly the same order every departure that day. Run it out past Capri Pass on a rising tide and you'll likely hit the same sandbar, the same probable dolphin water, whether your boat is full of one family or four strangers who just met at the dock. It's efficient, and for plenty of groups that consistency is exactly what they came for.
Seating tells the same story from the helm. On a shared departure, our mate usually rotates guests through the bow every stop or two, since everyone paid for a shot at the best view and nobody wants the whole afternoon stuck in the back corner. On a private charter, nobody needs that rotation — if your group wants to camp out at the bow for the entire run, that's simply how the day goes, no polite shuffling required to keep things fair among strangers.
A private booking changes the sequence, not just the guest list. Once it's your group only, our captains will ask what matters most before we ever leave the slip — more time in the water, a longer wildlife look, a specific stop for photos — and build the run around that answer instead of a standard loop. The boat itself doesn't change; what changes is whose priorities decide the order we work the water in.
Where it matters most is wind. A shared tour has to run its route regardless of conditions, but on a private trip, if Capri Pass is churned up by an afternoon sea breeze, we'll shift the whole plan into calmer water without needing anyone's permission but yours. That's the flexibility guests are actually buying when they upgrade from shared to private for the day.
Departure itself works differently, too. A shared boat leaves the dock the moment the manifest is full and the tide allows, whether or not every latecomer is settled in yet. A private group can take an extra five minutes for photos at the slip, or wait on a straggler, without holding up strangers who booked the very same time slot and are just as ready to go as you are.
For a deeper look at what a custom day can include, browse our private charter ideas, or start planning directly through private charters.