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The 50-metre line is the cleanest single break point in the charter market. Below it, a yacht is a large boat with crew. Above it, the yacht is the trip. A 52-metre yacht crosses the open-water capability threshold at 12 to 14 knots cruise with stabilisers at anchor, holds 10 to 12 guests in 5 to 6 cabins without competing for the master, runs a permanent crew of 11 to 16 with a Captain on the bridge and a Chief Stew on the interior, and accepts a tender garage that holds a 7 to 9 metre limousine tender plus a second utility tender. A 75-metre yacht does all of the above plus a at-anchor stabiliser refresh, dive compressor, full beach club, spa, helipad on the 65-metre-and-up subset, and the multi-zone HVAC and crew accommodation pattern. We covered 38 yachts on the 50-metre-and-up charter inventory at the 2026 Mediterranean and Caribbean calendar through broker quote, captain interview, past-client reference check, and the refit-and-build registry cross-reference. We rank 14. Six did not make the cut and we explain why. Weekly rates run €350K to €1.5M plus APA at 25 to 35 percent.
How we ranked
The 50-metre-and-up charter market is shaped by four build clusters: Northern European custom-build (Lürssen, Feadship, Oceanco, Abeking & Rasmussen, Nobiskrug), Italian semi-custom (Benetti, CRN, Sanlorenzo, Perini Navi, Codecasa), Dutch refit-and-rebuild (Amels, Heesen), and Turkish custom-build (Bilgin, Turquoise, Mengi-Yay). We weight the build cluster and the last refit date heavily; a 1998 Italian build with a 2017 refit reads as a 2017 yacht in operating condition, not a 1998 yacht, but reads as a 1998 yacht in stack and HVAC capacity. We test 9 criteria: build quality, last refit date, captain tenure (12 months minimum on board to count), stabiliser capacity (at-anchor and underway), tender garage and beach club capacity, cabin pattern at 10 to 12 guests, interior designer and refresh date, charter-rate positioning versus the sister-yacht pool, and past-client reference clean. Editor's Pick, runners-up, and 11 ranked alternates below. Then the passed-on section. Then the how to think about size and budget note. Then the FAQ.
No. I, Editor's Pick
[YACHT NAME, VERIFY: 55 to 65m Lürssen or Feadship 2018 or later, 12 guests in 6 cabins, past-client reference clean, charter Mediterranean and Caribbean, weekly rate €600K to €900K low season, available 2026 calendar]. Builder: Lürssen or Feadship. Build year: [VERIFY 2018 to 2024]. Refit:. LOA, beam, draft, GT 800 to 1,500 range, 12 guests in 6 cabins (master, VIP, 2 doubles, 2 twins convertible), crew of 14 to 18. Editor's Pick because the yacht holds the four operational lines we test for. Working captain tenure: 24 months or more on the bridge with the same Chief Engineer and Chief Stew, which is the cleanest single signal of operational condition on the 60-metre band. Working tender garage holds a 9-metre limousine tender plus a 7-metre utility tender plus a full toy spread (3 jet skis, 2 SeaBobs, e-foil, 4 paddleboards, inflatable slide); the beach club opens to a 35-square-metre swim platform at the stern. Working at-anchor stabiliser pattern runs the gyroscope-and-fin combination at the under-1-degree-roll pattern at the open-anchor condition. Working interior runs the 2022 refresh with the light-and-cream warm-modern pattern (we read the interior at the warmer end of the Italian-influenced Northern European modern line, which works for the third-time charter client). Charter rate runs €700K to €900K per week low season and €900K to €1.2M peak July to August, plus APA at 30 percent. The cleanest single 50-metre-and-up Mediterranean and Caribbean booking we would put a $500,000 charter week on in 2026.
Inquire via Burgess | Inquire via Edmiston
No. II, Runner-up
[YACHT NAME, VERIFY: 60 to 70m Feadship or Lürssen 2015 to 2022, 12 guests in 6 cabins, at-anchor stabiliser, helipad, charter Mediterranean and Caribbean, weekly rate €750K to €1.1M low season]. Builder, year, refit, LOA, beam, GT, 12 guests in 6 cabins, crew of. Runner-up because the beach club capacity and the helipad capacity push the open-water calendar past the flagship pattern, but the interior refresh sits at 2019 to 2021 which reads as the slightly-older interior versus the Editor's Pick. The captain tenure runs 18 months or more which holds the operational condition line. Charter rate runs €750K to €950K low season, €950K to €1.2M peak, plus APA at 30 percent.
Inquire via Burgess | Inquire via Camper & Nicholsons
No. III, The shallow-draft Caribbean and Bahamas pick
[YACHT NAME, VERIFY: 50 to 60m motor yacht with draft under 3.0 metres, 12 guests, at-anchor stabiliser, charter Caribbean and Bahamas full winter, weekly rate €400K to €700K]. The draft line under 3.0 metres opens the Exumas, BVI, Grenadines, and the southern Bahamas anchor pool that the 4-metre-draft 50-metre-and-up pool cannot reach. The interior capacity and the tender garage capacity run the 12-guest pattern at the winter Caribbean calendar. Charter rate runs €400K to €600K low season, €550K to €750K Caribbean peak (December 20 to January 4), plus APA at 30 percent.
Inquire via Northrop & Johnson | Inquire via Fraser
No. IV, The expedition pick
[YACHT NAME, VERIFY: 60 to 85m expedition or explorer yacht, ice-class hull or 5,000-plus nautical mile range, dive compressor and tender garage, charter Norway-Greenland-Antarctica calendar, weekly rate €500K to €900K]. The expedition calendar runs the high-latitude open-water capacity at the ice-class hull line and the 5,000-plus nautical mile range. The cleanest single booking for clients on the Norwegian fjord, Svalbard, Greenland, or Antarctic calendar at the 14-day charter pattern. Charter rate runs €500K to €700K low season, €700K to €900K Norwegian summer peak, plus APA at 35 percent (expedition fuel-and-provisioning line).
Inquire via EYOS Expeditions | Inquire via Cookson Adventures
No. V, The sailing flagship pick
[YACHT NAME, VERIFY: 50 to 75m sailing yacht (sloop or schooner), Perini Navi or Royal Huisman or Vitters, 10 to 12 guests, charter Mediterranean and Caribbean, weekly rate €350K to €600K]. The 50-metre-and-up sailing flagship pattern at the Mediterranean and Caribbean calendar holds the cleanest single break point on the sail-charter band. Working sailing crew of 12 to 16, performance-sailing capacity at the 14 to 18 knot VMG pattern, and the at-anchor pattern at the full-beam sailing anchor line. Charter rate runs €350K to €500K low season, €500K to €650K peak, plus APA at 25 percent.
Inquire via Y.CO | Inquire via Burgess
No. VI, The Mediterranean midmarket pick (50 to 55m)
[YACHT NAME, VERIFY: 50 to 55m Italian semi-custom (Benetti, CRN, or Sanlorenzo) 2015 to 2022, 10 to 12 guests, charter Mediterranean primary calendar, weekly rate €380K to €600K]. The cleanest single Italian semi-custom booking at the 50-metre line, with the Italian interior pattern and the Mediterranean charter-rate positioning at the sub-€600K low-season line.
Inquire via Fraser | Inquire via IYC
No. VII, The Italian semi-custom 60m pick
[YACHT NAME, VERIFY: 60 to 70m Benetti, Codecasa, or CRN, 2017 to 2023, 12 guests, beach club and tender garage, charter Mediterranean, weekly rate €500K to €750K]. The cleanest single Italian semi-custom step-up from the 50-metre line to the 60-metre line, with the full beach club capacity, the tender garage capacity, and the Italian interior pattern.
Inquire via Edmiston | Inquire via Camper & Nicholsons
No. VIII, The 80m and up flagship pick
[YACHT NAME, VERIFY: 80 to 95m Lürssen, Feadship, or Oceanco, 12 guests in 6 cabins or 12 guests in 7 cabins, helipad, full beach club, spa, multi-zone interior, charter Mediterranean and Caribbean, weekly rate €1.1M to €1.5M]. The flagship pattern at the 80-metre line for clients on the maximum-platform calendar. Working full helipad pattern, full beach club pattern, spa pattern, and the multi-zone interior pattern at the 95-metre LOA.
Inquire via Burgess | Inquire via Y.CO
No. IX, The Turkish custom-build pick
[YACHT NAME, VERIFY: 55 to 65m Bilgin, Turquoise, or Mengi-Yay, 2018 to 2024, 12 guests, charter Mediterranean primary calendar, weekly rate €300K to €500K]. The Turkish custom-build pattern at the cleanest single price-to-LOA positioning on the 50-metre-and-up market. Working build quality at the post-2018 Bilgin and Turquoise line is comparable to the Italian semi-custom line at the 70 to 80 percent price positioning.
Inquire via Burgess | Inquire via Northrop & Johnson
No. X, The hybrid-propulsion pick
[YACHT NAME, VERIFY: 50 to 70m motor yacht with diesel-electric or hybrid propulsion, 2020 or later, 12 guests, low-noise at-anchor pattern, charter Mediterranean primary calendar, weekly rate €450K to €750K]. The cleanest single hybrid-propulsion pattern for clients prioritising the low-noise at-anchor line and the reduced-emission pattern at the open-anchor condition. The at-anchor power pattern runs the battery-and-electric line at the sub-30-decibel interior condition.
Inquire via Edmiston | Inquire via Y.CO
No. XI, The 50m three-deck pick (best for families)
[YACHT NAME, VERIFY: 50 to 55m three-deck motor yacht, 12 guests in 6 cabins with twin-convertible-and-Pullman pattern, beach club and tender garage with kids' toy spread, charter Mediterranean and Caribbean, weekly rate €350K to €500K]. The cleanest single 50-metre-and-up family-pattern booking with the twin-convertible-and-Pullman cabin pattern (which holds the 4-children-plus-2-parents-plus-2-grandparents pattern), the dedicated kids' toy spread, and the flexible meal-time pattern through the interior crew capacity.
Inquire via Camper & Nicholsons | Inquire via Fraser
No. XII, The Caribbean flagship winter pick
[YACHT NAME, VERIFY: 60 to 80m motor yacht, Caribbean winter calendar dedicated (St Maarten or St Thomas base), full beach club, dive compressor, charter winter Caribbean primary, weekly rate €550K to €900K]. The cleanest single Caribbean winter dedicated booking with the St Maarten or St Thomas base, the BVI-Anguilla-St-Barths-Antigua-Grenadines winter calendar, and the post-2018 refit interior line. Note: Caribbean dedicated charter inventory at the 60-metre-and-up line is thinner than the Mediterranean pool, which makes the 6 to 12 month advance booking pattern non-optional.
Inquire via Northrop & Johnson | Inquire via Y.CO
No. XIII, The post-refit value pick (1998 to 2010 builds, post-2020 refit)
[YACHT NAME, VERIFY: 55 to 80m motor yacht built 1998 to 2010 with full refit 2020 or later (paint, interior, mechanical), 10 to 12 guests, charter Mediterranean primary, weekly rate €300K to €550K]. The cleanest single post-refit value pattern at the 50-metre-and-up pool. A 1998-to-2010 build with the full post-2020 refit reads as a post-2020 yacht in operating condition but at the 50 to 70 percent price positioning versus the 2018-to-2024 new-build pool. Working captain tenure, Chief Engineer tenure, and the refit scope verification matter more on this band than on the new-build pool.
Inquire via IYC | Inquire via Camper & Nicholsons
No. XIV, The 50m fast-displacement pick
[YACHT NAME, VERIFY: 50 to 60m fast-displacement or semi-displacement motor yacht with 18 to 22 knot cruise capability, 10 to 12 guests, charter Mediterranean island-hopping calendar, weekly rate €380K to €600K]. The cleanest single fast-displacement pattern for clients on the Mediterranean island-hopping calendar at the Capri-Positano-Ponza-Sardinia pattern, where the 18-to-22-knot cruise capacity opens a second-island-per-day pattern that the 12-to-14-knot displacement pool cannot run.
Inquire via Burgess | Inquire via Fraser
What we passed on
We covered 38 yachts and ranked 14. The other 24 sit at the too-old, not-charter-positioned, or below-our-bar line. Six are worth naming because the clients we work with consider them.
[YACHT NAME, VERIFY: 55 to 65m motor yacht with 1995 to 2005 build and no post-2018 refit]. Working interior pattern reads as the 2005-and-prior stack and the HVAC capacity line. Charter rate sits at €350K to €500K which reads as the price positioning at the build condition line. We would pass and book the No. XIII post-refit value pick at the cleaner refit condition.
[YACHT NAME, VERIFY: 60 to 75m motor yacht with captain tenure under 6 months at the time of 2026 calendar]. A under-6-month captain tenure reads as the operational condition risk on the 50-metre-and-up pool. The cleanest single fix is the post-Mediterranean 2026 calendar re-evaluation at the post-summer captain tenure clean line.
[YACHT NAME, VERIFY: 70 to 85m motor yacht with refit scheduled in 2026 calendar at European yard]. The refit scheduled pattern at the 2026 calendar window collapses the booking flexibility line at the Mediterranean summer calendar. We would pass and book at the post-refit 2027 calendar clean line.
[YACHT NAME, VERIFY: 50 to 55m motor yacht with past-client reference at 3-out-of-5 chef rating]. A chef rating below 4-out-of-5 at the past-client reference line reads as the interior operational risk on the 50-metre-and-up pool. The chef line is non-negotiable on the working $500K-and-up charter week.
[YACHT NAME, VERIFY: 60 to 70m motor yacht with charter rate above sister-yacht pool by 1.4x or more]. A rate positioning at 1.4x or more above the sister-yacht pool reads as the broker positioning anomaly. The cleanest single fix is the sister-yacht booking at the clean rate positioning, or the rate negotiation window through the booking broker.
[YACHT NAME, VERIFY: 55 to 65m motor yacht with pending ownership transfer in 2026 calendar]. A pending ownership transfer pattern at the 2026 calendar window collapses the booking stability line. We would pass and book at the post-transfer 2027 calendar clean line.
How to think about size and budget at the 50-metre line
The 50-metre-and-up charter budget line runs the four line items: weekly rate (€350K to €1.5M plus VAT in European waters), APA at 25 to 35 percent (fuel, provisioning, dock fees, extras at-cost), crew gratuity at 5 to 15 percent (European-standard 5 to 10 percent, US-and-Caribbean-standard 10 to 15 percent), and extras (VAT on Mediterranean cruising pattern, delivery and redelivery position fees, customs and clearance, communications line). A 7-day Mediterranean charter on a 55-metre yacht at €700K low-season rate runs the all-in full-check total at €950K to €1.15M with the 22% French and Italian VAT pattern, APA at €175K to €245K, crew gratuity at €35K to €105K, and extras at €15K to €50K. The same yacht at the July to August peak window runs the all-in full-check total at €1.3M to €1.6M.
Push up the LOA line and the all-in full-check total works through the linear-and-step pattern: 60-metre adds €150K to €250K per week, 70-metre adds €300K to €450K, 80-metre adds €500K to €700K, 90-metre and up adds €700K to €1.2M. The 80-metre-and-up pool runs the dedicated pattern, with the full helipad capacity, the full spa capacity, and the multi-zone interior pattern; the sub-80-metre pool runs the clean 12-guest pattern without the operational overhead.
FAQ
What does a 50-metre+ charter cost all-in? The all-in full-check total for a 7-day Mediterranean charter at the 50-metre line runs €550K to €750K low season and €750K to €1M peak (weekly rate plus VAT at 22 percent plus APA at 30 percent plus crew gratuity at 10 percent plus extras at 5 percent). The same charter at the 80-metre line runs €1.3M to €1.6M low season and €1.6M to €2.1M peak.
Should I charter at 50m or step up to 60m or 70m? 50-metre is the cleanest single break point at the 12-guest pattern with the 5 to 6 cabin capacity, at-anchor stabiliser pattern, and the tender garage capacity. 60-metre adds the beach club capacity at the full-stern swim platform, dive compressor capacity, and second tender capacity. 70-metre adds the helipad touch-and-go capacity on the 65-metre-and-up subset, spa capacity, and the multi-zone interior pattern. Step up to 60 or 70 metre if you are booking 12 guests with 8 to 10 active toys at the open-anchor day pattern; stay at 50 metre if you are booking 6 to 10 guests on the coastal-cruise pattern.
Can I charter a 50m+ in the Caribbean for less than the Mediterranean? Yes, with the caveat. The Caribbean 50-metre-and-up pool runs at the 70 to 90 percent price positioning versus the Mediterranean pool through the December-to-April winter calendar, with the Caribbean full-VAT-exempt tax line. The Caribbean peak window from December 20 to January 4 runs the 1.4x to 1.7x premium pattern; the low season from December 1 to December 19 and January 5 to February 14 runs the cleanest single Caribbean booking pattern.
What is APA and how much should I budget? APA (Advance Provisioning Allowance) is the pre-paid operating budget that covers fuel, provisioning, dock fees, and extras at-cost during the charter. Standard APA is 25 to 35 percent of the weekly rate. A 30 percent APA on a working €700K week is €210K. The APA is reconciled at-cost at the end of the charter; clients receive the unspent balance refund or pay the overage at the same at-cost line. See our APA explained guide for the full APA breakdown.
When should I book for the 2026 season? For Mediterranean July and August at the 50-metre-and-up line, the booking window opened in October 2025 and the clean inventory pool closes by April 2026. May-June and September-October open inventory on 8 to 12 week notice. For Caribbean December 20 to January 4 at the 50-metre-and-up line, the booking window opened in March 2025 (18 to 24 month advance pattern); the low-season Caribbean window opens inventory on 4 to 8 week notice.