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Skipper Connect Community

We are a community of travelers and skippers who have faced serious issues with yacht booking agents. We share experiences to help inform the public and support safer booking decisions.

⚠️ WARNING FOR CURRENT AND PROSPECTIVE CUSTOMERS OF SEARADAR ⚠️

In early 2025, one of our teams paid for a yacht charter via Searadar.com but never received official booking confirmation. The charter company confirmed they had not received payment, and the boat returned to the market within days (further details here). This incident started the website. Since publishing it, we have received many reports from travelers and industry participants. Read community reports for some of the (redacted) examples.

Have you been affected by Searadar or another yacht booking agent?

Share your story with us at skipperconnectcontact@gmail.com. We redact and rephrase submissions before publishing.

Together we can help others avoid similar booking problems.

This warning is about the yacht charter booking platform that uses the following appearances:

Searadar brand logo variant shown on the booking platform Searadar alternate logo mark used across listings and pages Searadar additional logo variation shown in search and social previews

Updates:

  • February 17, 2026: We continue to receive emails from people who’ve gone through frustrating experiences similar to ours, and it doesn’t appear that Searadar has made meaningful improvements. As we struggle to find the time to maintain this website, we’re looking for volunteers who’d be willing to take it over and keep the information current.
    Note: our new contact email is skipperconnectcontact@gmail.com.
  • April 1, 2025: Searadar has righted all their wrongs and is now operating flawlessly.
    Just kidding! It's April Fools' Day! 🤣🤣
    In reality, in the past 3 weeks (since our last update), they have continued to:
    • delete negative comments on Instagram and filter/disable feedback on Facebook;
    • use shady SEO tactics to boost their search rankings with questionable paid blog posts;
    • fake Trustpilot reviews to patch up their reputation;
    • offer wronged customers extra credits/discounts/money in exchange for removing/updating poor reviews.
    Unless you apply significant pressure, you're unlikely to get proper service, and even then, peace of mind only comes once you're safely at the dock. You're better off booking elsewhere.
  • March 10, 2025: Searadar continues to remove negative comments from Instagram. See screenshot below (taken on March 9, 2025 from this post): Screenshot of a Searadar Instagram post where earlier negative comments appear removed
  • March 9, 2025: Several visitors have asked us to recommend alternative booking agents. After our experience, we hesitate to endorse any specific company without thorough vetting. If you have had consistently positive experiences with reliable yacht charter agencies, please share your recommendations to help others make informed decisions.
  • March 9, 2025: If you currently hold a booking with Searadar, don't rush to conclusions. First, contact Searadar and request written confirmation of your booking, which should include details about the charter company managing your selected vessel. We strongly recommend directly contacting this charter company to verify that your reservation is properly recorded and all payments have been received.
  • March 9, 2025: This review from the last August seems like a reasonable explanation of what may be going on behind the scenes.
    In short, a family booked and fully paid for a yacht charter through Searadar. Then discovered just days before their trip that the company had not transferred payment to the boat owner, resulting in a threatened cancellation and significant stress. Despite Searadar's repeated assurances that payment had been made, the situation was only resolved at the last minute after the customer directly contacted the CEO. While the charter ultimately proceeded, the reviewer warns that Searadar's practice of delaying payments to boat owners creates unnecessary risk for customers and indicates possible financial instability.
  • March 8, 2025: Following one of the testimonials, we published a brief section on how to file a complaint should you be a victim of a scam. Please see How to file a complaint for more details.
  • March 8, 2025: Several more people got in touch. Instances of failed bookings, last-minute boat changes, months-long delays in refunds, etc. Some were skippers who suffered multiple simultaneous booking failures from Searadar.
  • March 7, 2025: Multiple negative reviews were removed from Instagram. Please see screenshots below (all taken on March 5, 2025 from this post and this post): Instagram screenshot archive capture showing missing critical comments on a Searadar post Second Instagram screenshot from the same thread showing removed negative feedback entries Additional screenshot documenting disappearing complaint comments on Searadar social content
  • March 6, 2025: Several negative Facebook comments have been hidden and are no longer visible. Negative reactions are still visible.

We're actively monitoring review platforms and archiving testimonials to maintain transparency.

Similar experiences from others

Instagram Posts

Screenshot taken: March 5, 2025 Instagram testimonial screenshot reporting payment made but no confirmed charter booking
Screenshot taken: March 5, 2025 Instagram testimonial screenshot describing last-minute booking disruption and refund concerns
Screenshot taken: March 5, 2025 Instagram testimonial screenshot summarizing unresolved payment and support communication problems

Google Reviews

Screenshot taken: March 5, 2025 Google review screenshot alleging payment transfer failures and booking uncertainty
Screenshot taken: March 5, 2025 Google review screenshot describing delayed responses and unresolved charter status
Screenshot taken: March 5, 2025 Google review screenshot reporting booking confirmation concerns after full payment
Screenshot taken: March 5, 2025 Google review screenshot warning travelers to verify booking payment with the charter company

Lessons learned

Based on our experience, we recommend the following when booking yacht charters online:

We will be soon sharing more tips on how to add more confidence when booking yacht charters online.

Share Your Experience

Have you had a similar experience with Searadar or another yacht booking intermediary?
We collect and redact community submissions to help inform other travelers.

Contact us at: skipperconnectcontact@gmail.com

Together we can help others avoid similar booking problems.