A boat is the perfect setting for your next big event, corporate training day or special celebration. What better venue is there for an occasion than Sydney’s iconic Harbour? Once you’re gawking at the Opera House, Harbour Bridge, Kirribilli and an incredible skyline all stretched out right in front of you, the answer will be nowhere. Booking yourself a Sydney Harbour cruise experience actually isn’t difficult at all! If you’re searching for some tips, here’s precisely how you should go about hiring a boat in Sydney…

Budgeting
First things first, you need to determine your budget. One of the very best things about planning an event on a Harbour cruise is that once you’ve booked it, that’s pretty much all of your expenses out of the way! Take a look at the funds that you have to work with before you start getting any quotes, this is going to really determine which boats and companies you have to choose from so you’ve got to get to it nice and early on in the process.

Nail down the numbers
Once you’ve got down to the nitty-gritty of the financial side of things, it’s time to do the exact same with your guest list. Unfortunately, boats have a finite amount of space and therefore very strict guidelines when it comes to capacity. This means that you’re going to have to be confident about your number of attendees well ahead of the date of your event. It’s difficult to get a definitive yes or no out of people when you’re asking in advance, a good way around it is by sending save the dates with plenty of notice. This will give you a rough idea of who’s available, just leave some room for a couple of extras just to stay on the safe side.

Look at your options for packages
As touched on above, Harbour cruises are super handy because they’re a one payment event, or at least they can be if you find a company that offers up a fitting package expense! You should explore the different options you have available to you. For a seamless planning process, keep an eye out for companies that offer bar service, catering, dance floors, media options and BYO.

Consider the time of day you want to sail
The timing makes a big difference to your cruising experience as a whole, so make sure you take it into account when you’re looking into hiring a boat in Sydney! Some boats that you’re interested in might only be available during the day, and maybe your big celebration kicks off in the evening? Coinciding the timing of the event with vessel availability is essential for planning a great cruise experience.

Remember your pick-up and drop off spots
This is a really easy one to forget about, until you’re stressing trying to find some obscure pick-up point out in the middle of nowhere with a tonne of guests tailing you, then? Not so much! Save yourself any hassle and pay a little attention to where you want to be collected and dropped off. You can always take a poll amongst your list of attendees to determine which location is going to be the most convenient. The right point will be picturesque (in case you want a few snaps), close to public transport and parking options, and near to the CBD.

Take the nature of your event into account
Of course, you’re going to get pretty excited when you’re checking out boat options, but it’s also important to have an ongoing awareness for the sort of event you’re actually throwing! This means that you should pick the time of day, collection points, packages and sizes in accordance with the event. A corporate training day will have very different needs than a wedding reception, right? Right! Keep this in mind and your planning will be successful.

Get booking!
Follow these tips and you can be completely confident that your selection will be the very best for your upcoming event or occasion. Get exploring your options for the best boat hire in Sydney to start the booking process.