Imagine you're two hours into what should be a perfect day on the water, and you realize you've made a terrible mistake. Maybe it's the cotton shirt that's been damp since someone splashed you at 10 AM. Maybe it's squinting so hard against the glare that you're getting a headache.
It could be that your expensive sunglasses are basically useless because nobody told you that regular lenses don't do anything about water reflection.
These aren't the kind of problems that wreck a yacht outing in some dramatic way. They just sit there in the background, making everything slightly worse than it should be. After enough trips, you figure out firsthand what actually matters. The Florida packing list that works isn't based on theory or what sounds good. It comes from experience; usually the kind where you learn the hard way.
Most people show up thinking beach rules apply. They don't. When you're on land, the sun hits you from one direction. On a yacht, it comes at you from above and below because the water throws about 25% of those UV rays right back up at your face.
That SPF 30 you've been using at the pool? Forget it. We're talking SPF 50 minimum, and you'll need the whole bottle because reapplication every two hours isn't just a suggestion, but something to be taken seriously.
Here's something else nobody mentions until you've already gotten sunburned: people use maybe half the amount of sunscreen they're supposed to. The SPF rating assumes you're slathering it on thick. When you use less, the protection drops dramatically. Do the math on six hours in the Florida sun with half the coverage you think you have.
What you actually need:
The hat thing is worth getting right. Baseball caps leave your ears and neck completely exposed, which are exactly the parts that burn worst on a boat. You want a real brim going all the way around, at least three inches. And get one with a chin strap or some way to attach it, unless you enjoy the experience of watching your hat disappear into the wake.
Polarized sunglasses aren't about looking cool. Regular dark lenses just make everything dimmer while you're still squinting against the glare bouncing off the water. Polarized lenses actually cut through that reflected light. The first time you try a polarized pair after using regular sunglasses on the water, you'll understand immediately. It's not subtle.
Our luxury yachts provide shaded areas and comfortable decks to help you stay protected. Explore our Boca Raton yacht charters for the perfect day on the water.
Temperature management on a yacht is weird. The sun deck might be 90 degrees with zero shade. Step inside the air-conditioned salon, and it's 68 degrees. Then you go back outside and get hit with spray from a wave, and suddenly you're cold AND wet. Your Florida packing list has to handle all of this without packing like you're going on a month-long expedition.
Start by eliminating cotton entirely. Cotton absorbs water like that's its main job, then sits there against your skin, staying wet for hours. You don't realize how miserable this is until you've spent an afternoon in a soggy cotton shirt on a boat. Once you know, you never repeat that mistake.
Clothing that won't betray you:
Most of our vessels require non-marking soles to protect the decks. Browse our available yachts and see what to expect for your outing.
Merino wool sounds insane for Florida, but it works better than almost anything else. It pulls moisture away from your skin, dries fast, doesn't smell like a gym bag after a few hours, and somehow keeps you from getting too hot or too cold. Synthetic athletic fabrics do fine too, though they collect smells more aggressively than merino.
That lightweight jacket seems unnecessary right up until you're moving at 20 knots and discovering that windchill absolutely exists on the water, even when the air temperature is 85 degrees. A good windbreaker blocks spray and wind while folding small enough to stuff in a corner of your bag.
The shoe situation is more serious than it seems. Regular sneakers leave black marks all over white fiberglass decks, and yacht crews get justifiably annoyed about this. Non-marking soles are required on most luxury yachts. The bonus is that these shoes also have excellent traction on wet surfaces, which beats sliding around like you're on ice every time the deck gets splashed.
Salt water combined with the Florida sun will turn your skin into something resembling leather if you're not actively fighting against it. The wind pulls moisture out of everything. Salt crystallizes on your skin as water evaporates, then pulls even more moisture out with it. By hour six, if you haven't addressed this, you'll look and feel like you've been wandering the desert for a week.
Heavy-duty moisturizer stops being optional and becomes essential. Put it on after sunscreen to seal everything in. Reapply to your hands and face whenever you rinse off, because your hands especially take constant abuse from touching wet surfaces, drying, and getting wet again.
Personal care basics:
Hair protection matters more than you'd guess. Sun and salt water can turn normal hair into straw in about four hours. Leave-in conditioner or hair oil creates a barrier that prevents most of the damage. Long hair needs to be tied back anyway because loose hair plus wind equals a bad time.
The aloe vera is for reality, which is that despite your best efforts, you're probably going to miss a spot with sunscreen. That area on your shoulder blade you couldn't quite reach. The tops of your feet that got way more sun than expected. Having aloe onboard means you can deal with burns right away instead of suffering the rest of the day.
Motion sickness strikes people who have never experienced it in their lives. Something about the particular motion of a yacht triggers it unpredictably. You might be fine on a massive cruise ship, but get queasy on a 50-foot yacht. Having medication available means you can address the first hint of nausea instead of spending the next four hours trying not to throw up while everyone else enjoys themselves.
Medical kit that takes up barely any space:
Nobody expects to need any of this. Then you watch someone suffer through a completely preventable headache or motion sickness, and you understand why it belongs on every Florida packing list for the water. These items take up maybe two cubic inches of space and can rescue an entire day.
Water destroys phones and cameras with impressive efficiency, but nobody wants to spend a day on a yacht without taking photos or having music, or being able to communicate with the rest of humanity. The answer isn't leaving everything behind. It's actually protecting your stuff.
Waterproof cases or dry bags are mandatory. Even careful people get their phones wet on boats. Spray comes from unexpected directions. Waves happen. Someone cannonballs into the pool right where you set your phone down. A decent waterproof case costs around $30 and protects a $1,000 phone from turning into a paperweight.
Tech protection essentials:
The portable charger needs more juice than you think. A full day on the water means constant photo-taking, probably streaming music, and GPS if you're exploring different areas, plus normal texting and calls. Your phone battery has no chance. Yacht electrical outlets exist, but aren't always where you need them. A charger that can fully top off your phone twice gives you actual freedom instead of battery anxiety. Check out our private yacht rentals equipped for worry-free days.
Some stuff proves essential without fitting into neat categories. A waterproof bag specifically for wet items stops your dry things from getting damp when you toss in a soaked swimsuit or wet towel. This seems trivial until everything in your main bag has that slightly moist feeling because you didn't separate wet from dry.
Reef-safe sunscreen matters if you're getting in the water anywhere near coral reefs. Traditional chemical sunscreens damage reef systems, and Florida regulations about what you can wear in the water near reefs keep getting stricter. Mineral sunscreens with zinc oxide or titanium dioxide work equally well without killing marine life.
Final practical additions:
The microfiber towel situation makes more of a difference than it should. Regular bath towels turn into heavy, soggy monsters when wet and stay that way. A microfiber towel dries you just as well, and then dries itself in maybe 30 minutes. You can use it multiple times throughout the day without dealing with a permanently damp towel draped over everything.
What items are best to leave behind when going on a luxury yacht?
You should definitely not wear shoes that have black rubber soles if you don't want to spend all your time on the yacht apologizing for scuff marks on the deck. Also, heavy beach towels are a big no-no because they take in a lot of water and remain wet during the whole trip. Most of the time, glass bottles and aerosol cans are forbidden, and if you are contemplating bringing a bottle of red wine near white cushions, just don't. Besides that, try not to pack as if you are going to live there. You only need three tops for a day in the water, not your entire wardrobe.
Do I really need motion sickness medication if I've never gotten seasick before?
Yes, and here's why. Yacht motion is completely different from what you feel on big cruise ships or ferries. People who've never had a problem suddenly find themselves feeling awful on a smaller vessel. The pills take up basically no room in your bag, and if that queasy feeling hits, you'll be thanking yourself for bringing them. Spending half the day fighting nausea while everyone else enjoys themselves is not the move.
Can I wear regular sunscreen, or does it have to be reef-safe?
It's basically a must to go with a reef-safe sunscreen if you are intending to swim close to Florida's reefs or other protected areas in the water. That is because regular sunscreens that contain oxybenzone and octinoxate are coral killers, and the regulations about this have become much stricter. Zinc oxide-based mineral sunscreens are just as effective, and they don't harm the marine ecosystems. So, even if you are sure you are not near any coral reefs, why risk it? The reef-safe products cost the same and work just fine.