How Much Does a Superyacht Charter Cost? Honest Numbers
A crewed superyacht week is priced in three layers: the charter fee, an allowance of about 30% for running costs, and local tax that depends on the coast. A smaller crewed yacht can start around $50,000 a week. A larger one starts around $250,000. The number that matters is the one we put in a quote for your dates, not a brochure average.
These are ranges, not a tariff. August on the French Riviera is not the same week as June in Croatia. We will not invent a price to the dollar. We will tell you which band a yacht sits in, then confirm the rest in writing. The boats themselves are on the charter fleet.
The weekly charter fee
The fee is what you pay the yacht for the week. It is set by the owner. It includes the yacht and the crew’s wages. It does not include what you eat, the fuel you burn, or the marina you choose to sleep in.
Around $50,000 a week
This is the entry to a properly crewed motor yacht: a captain, a chef and enough hands to run the week. It suits a couple or a small family who want the privacy of a yacht. Peak weeks on famous coasts sit at the top of this band or leave it.
Around $100,000 a week
This is where many of our family weeks land. More cabins, a tender that can actually service a beach, and a deck you can live on. Yachts we already show in this neighbourhood — a 38-metre, for example — are quoted from about this level, before APA. It is the band to hold in your head if you are a group of eight to ten.
From about $250,000 a week
This is a larger superyacht: more crew, more toys, and a week that feels like a small hotel that moves. Yachts in our list from the mid-$200,000s sit here. Above this, the fee climbs with length. That conversation belongs in a quote.
The APA, in one paragraph
The Advance Provisioning Allowance is usually about 30% of the charter fee, paid up front and spent by the captain. Fuel, food, drink, berths, harbour fees and the odd excursion come out of it. You get a record. What is left at the end is returned. A quiet week at anchor costs less APA than a week of long runs and restaurant berths. It is not a tip, and it is not profit.
VAT, and why we will not lock a percentage here
Tax follows the water you cruise, not the flag on the stern. As a working picture, we currently see charter VAT of about 20% in France, 22% in Italy, 13% on charter in Croatia and 12% in Greece. Those figures are subject to change. We confirm the rate that applies to your route in every quote, and the way it is collected is set out in our payment terms. If a site gives you one European VAT number for every coast, it is simplifying past the point of being useful.
What the crew gratuity is for
A customary guide, when the week has gone well, is somewhere between 10 and 15% of the charter fee, given to the captain to share. It is not in the contract and it is not in the APA. It is how you thank people who have cooked, driven the tender and kept the cabins for seven days. If something was wrong, tell us before you decide the number. We would rather hear it than have a tip used as a complaint.
Speak to Archie.
He will put a real yacht against these bands for your month, instead of leaving you with a range.
Speak to ArchieIncluded, and not included
Included in the weekly fee: the yacht, the professional crew, and the yacht’s insurance for your charter. Not included: food and drink, fuel, berthing, local tax, the gratuity, your flights, and anything you buy ashore. Water toys are on board; the fuel they use is APA. If a yacht’s central agent lists something unusual as extra — a submersible, a second tender on request — we will say so before you sign, not after.
The only honest next step is a tailored quote. Tell us the month, the number of guests and the coast, including if you are still choosing between the French Riviera and the Amalfi Coast. We will come back with yachts that fit the band, not with a catalogue. Get a tailored quote, and read when those yachts actually leave the market if the week is in 2027.
FAQ
What is a realistic weekly budget for a crewed superyacht?
Plan on a charter fee from about $50,000 a week for a smaller crewed motor yacht, around $100,000 for a well-found mid-size yacht, and from about $250,000 for a larger superyacht. Then add APA and local VAT.
What is the APA?
The Advance Provisioning Allowance is usually about 30% of the charter fee. It pays for fuel, food, drink, berths and other running costs. The captain accounts for it, and what you do not spend comes back.
Is VAT included in the charter fee?
Usually not. It depends on where the yacht cruises. As a working guide we see about 20% in France, 22% in Italy, 13% on charter in Croatia and 12% in Greece. Rates change, and we confirm the figure in every quote.
How much should we tip the crew?
A customary guide is 10 to 15% of the charter fee for a week that went well, shared across the crew by the captain. It is a gesture, not a line on the contract, and it is not included in the APA.
What is included in the weekly rate?
The yacht, the crew’s wages, and the yacht’s insurance for the charter. Food, fuel, berthing, drinks and water toys’ fuel come out of the APA. Flights and what you buy ashore are yours.