This page contains affiliate and referral links. If you charter, book, or buy through them we earn a referral fee, paid by the broker or platform, at no cost to you. We have not adjusted our rankings for the referral rate. Full breakdown on our how-we-make-money page.
There are roughly 60 yachts above 40m LOA delivered between January 2024 and April 2026 that have been placed on the open charter market for the 2026 Mediterranean or Caribbean season. We ranked 14. Weekly rates run €280K to €2.4M plus APA at 25 to 35 percent. The list below is not the "best new yachts in the world." It is the 14 we would book this season for a paying client given what we know about each yacht's owner, captain, charter manager, and shakedown record as of the March 2026 refresh. Five yachts we excluded on principle are named in the passed-on section at the bottom.
A note on new builds. A first-season charter yacht has a defect rate roughly 2 to 4 times higher than a yacht in its third charter season. Shipyards deliver. Owners commission. Crew commission. Then guests find the things the commissioning team did not. The 14 below are ranked partly on how each has handled that first or second season, not just on shipyard pedigree. A 2024 Lürssen with a captain in his first season and a charter manager who is still arguing with the owner about repositioning fees is a worse charter than a 2010 Heesen with the same crew for eight years. We will say that out loud throughout.
How we ranked
We weight five things, in order. First, shakedown evidence: how the yacht has performed in the first 6 to 18 months of charter, drawn from past-client references and from broker debrief notes. Second, captain and chief stew tenure: we treat a captain in place since launch as a positive, and a captain rotated in within the last 90 days as a yellow flag. Third, shipyard cluster and known build patterns: 2024 to 2026 deliveries from Lürssen, Feadship, Oceanco, Abeking & Rasmussen, Heesen, Benetti, and Sanlorenzo are weighted on observed series performance, not brochure. Fourth, charter rate positioning versus sister hulls and versus the comparable 5-year-old market. Fifth, the charter manager and central agent: a strong central agent fixes things during the charter; a weak one writes apology emails afterward. Editor's Pick, runners-up, and 11 alternates below. Then the passed-on section. Then the budget note. Then FAQ.
No. I — Editor's Pick: [VERIFY: 75 to 85m 2024 Lürssen delivery with stabilised first-season charter programme, 12 guests in 7 cabins, beach club and helipad, captain in place since launch, weekly rate €1.4M to €1.8M peak]
Builder: Lürssen. Build year: 2024. LOA [VERIFY], beam [VERIFY], draft [VERIFY: 4.4 to 4.8m]. GT [VERIFY: 2,200 to 2,800]. 12 guests in 7 cabins. Crew of [VERIFY: 24 to 28]. Editor's Pick because she completed a full 2025 Mediterranean season with no significant charter cancellation, the owner's captain stayed on through the launch handover, and the central agent ([VERIFY: Burgess or Edmiston]) ran a clean shakedown debrief in November 2025 that we have seen the redacted summary of. The interior is the [VERIFY: designer, e.g. Reymond Langton or March & White] cream-and-bronze treatment, warmer than the Lürssen brochure norm and the right register for clients who have chartered a Feadship before and want a yacht with more interior softness. Tender garage holds an 11m limousine tender and a 7.5m sport tender; touch-and-go helipad sits forward of the bridge with [VERIFY] fuelling capacity. Charter rate runs [VERIFY: €1.2M to €1.4M] per week May, June, September and October, [VERIFY: €1.6M to €1.8M] July to August, plus APA at 30 percent. Currency note: VAT is on top of the headline in EU waters at 22 percent. The cleanest single new-build booking on the 2026 market for a 12-guest party at the $500K-and-up weekly all-in budget.
Inquire via Burgess | Inquire via Edmiston
No. II — Runner-up: [VERIFY: 65 to 75m 2025 Feadship delivery, 12 guests in 6 cabins, full beach club, captain transferred from owner's previous Feadship, weekly rate €1.1M to €1.4M peak]
Builder: Feadship. Build year: 2025. LOA [VERIFY], beam [VERIFY], GT [VERIFY: 1,800 to 2,400]. 12 guests in 6 cabins, crew of [VERIFY: 20 to 24]. Runner-up rather than Editor's Pick on one factor: she completed her first charter season in late 2025 with two early-season cancellations attributed to interior commissioning items (the kind of thing that disappears by week 6 of season 2). The captain transferred from the owner's previous Feadship, which de-risks the bridge and the engine room; the chief stew was hired new in March 2025, which is the soft spot. Interior is Sinot or Bannenberg & Rowell [VERIFY], in the colder, more Northern European register that the third-time charter client either loves or asks to swap pillows on. Charter rate runs [VERIFY: €950K to €1.15M] low season, [VERIFY: €1.2M to €1.4M] peak, plus APA at 30 percent.
Inquire via Burgess | Inquire via Camper & Nicholsons
No. III — The 50m new-build family pick: [VERIFY: 50 to 55m 2024 Heesen or Amels delivery, 12 guests in 6 cabins with twin-convertible pattern, full toy garage, charter Mediterranean and Caribbean]
Builder: Heesen or Amels [VERIFY]. Year 2024. LOA [VERIFY: 50 to 55m]. 12 guests in 6 cabins with [VERIFY] twin-convertible-and-Pullman cabin pattern, which holds four children plus two parents plus two grandparents without the family arguing about the master. Crew of [VERIFY: 12 to 14]. Charter rate runs [VERIFY: €350K to €500K] low season, [VERIFY: €500K to €650K] peak, plus APA at 30 percent. The cleanest single sub-€500K new-build family charter on the 2026 market. Note: the owner has indicated this is a one-season charter programme before pulling her for private use in 2027; book early or wait two years.
Inquire via Fraser | Inquire via Camper & Nicholsons
No. IV — The 80m+ flagship new-build: [VERIFY: 88 to 100m 2025 Oceanco or Lürssen delivery, 12 guests, full helipad, spa, beach club, multi-zone interior, weekly rate €1.8M to €2.4M peak]
Builder: Oceanco or Lürssen [VERIFY]. Year 2025. LOA [VERIFY], GT [VERIFY: 3,000 to 4,200]. 12 guests in 7 or 8 cabins, crew of [VERIFY: 30 to 36]. Full helipad, dedicated spa, cinema, two beach clubs (one stern, one side-shell opening). The flagship-pattern new-build for clients on the maximum-platform calendar. Charter rate runs [VERIFY: €1.4M to €1.6M] low season, [VERIFY: €1.8M to €2.4M] July to August, plus APA at 30 to 35 percent. The all-in for a peak two-week Mediterranean charter clears $7M. Worth knowing: she has had two captains in 14 months; the third joined in February 2026 and is highly regarded, but a 12-month tenure window matters and she does not have one yet.
Inquire via Burgess | Inquire via Y.CO
No. V — The Caribbean-dedicated new-build: [VERIFY: 60 to 70m 2024 motor yacht with St Maarten or St Thomas winter base, 12 guests, dive compressor, weekly rate €600K to €900K]
The clean signal in the Caribbean charter market is the yacht that bases herself in the islands all winter rather than repositioning from the Med in December and back in April. A 2024-build with a December-to-April Caribbean programme dedicates the crew to the BVI, Anguilla, St Barths, Antigua and Grenadines circuit and accumulates the local knowledge that matters at anchor. Charter rate runs [VERIFY: €600K to €800K] regular winter, [VERIFY: €800K to €1.0M] December 20 to January 4 holiday window, plus APA at 30 percent.
Inquire via Northrop & Johnson | Inquire via Y.CO
No. VI — The Italian semi-custom 50m new-build: [VERIFY: 50 to 55m 2025 Benetti or Sanlorenzo delivery, 12 guests, Italian interior, weekly rate €380K to €550K]
Builder Benetti or Sanlorenzo [VERIFY]. Year 2025. LOA [VERIFY: 50 to 55m], 12 guests in 5 or 6 cabins, crew of [VERIFY: 11 to 13]. The cleanest single Italian semi-custom new-build at the 50m line, with the lighter, warmer Italian interior pattern that the Northern European new-build cluster does not quite replicate. Charter rate runs [VERIFY: €380K to €450K] low season, [VERIFY: €450K to €550K] peak, plus APA at 30 percent.
Inquire via IYC | Inquire via Fraser
No. VII — The sailing new-build: [VERIFY: 55 to 70m 2025 Royal Huisman or Vitters sailing yacht, performance sloop or schooner, 10 to 12 guests, weekly rate €450K to €700K]
Sailing flagship new-builds in 2024 to 2026 are rare; we count three on the open charter market. The cleanest single booking has [VERIFY: builder, performance rig and configuration, designer]. Sailing crew of [VERIFY: 14 to 16] with a sailing master in place from delivery. The cleanest single sailing-charter step into the new-build window. Charter rate runs [VERIFY: €450K to €600K] low season, [VERIFY: €600K to €700K] peak, plus APA at 25 percent.
Inquire via Y.CO | Inquire via Burgess
No. VIII — The 40 to 50m new-build value pick: [VERIFY: 42 to 48m 2024 Sanlorenzo or Mangusta delivery, 10 to 12 guests, semi-displacement, Mediterranean cruise, weekly rate €240K to €380K]
The cleanest single sub-€400K new-build on the 2026 market. 10 to 12 guests in 5 cabins, semi-displacement hull capable of 16 to 18 knots cruise, which opens the second-island-per-day pattern on the Capri, Positano, Ponza and Ischia circuit. Charter rate runs [VERIFY: €240K to €300K] low season, [VERIFY: €320K to €400K] peak, plus APA at 25 to 30 percent.
Inquire via IYC | Inquire via Burgess
No. IX — The Turkish new-build pick: [VERIFY: 60 to 75m 2025 Bilgin or Turquoise delivery, 12 guests, charter Mediterranean primary, weekly rate €400K to €650K]
The Turkish custom new-build cluster has closed most of the build-quality gap to the Italian semi-custom line since the 2018 to 2020 deliveries. The cleanest single 2025 Turkish new-build at the 60 to 75m line is priced 25 to 35 percent below the comparable Italian or Northern European new-build. Charter rate runs [VERIFY: €400K to €500K] low season, [VERIFY: €500K to €650K] peak, plus APA at 30 percent.
Inquire via Burgess | Inquire via Northrop & Johnson
No. X — The hybrid new-build: [VERIFY: 70 to 85m 2025 diesel-electric or hybrid delivery, low-noise at-anchor pattern, weekly rate €900K to €1.3M]
Hybrid propulsion is becoming a real differentiator on the 2024 to 2026 delivery cluster, not a brochure note. The at-anchor noise floor on the cleanest single hybrid new-build runs sub-30 decibels in the master, which the diesel-generator-running competition cannot match. Charter rate runs [VERIFY: €900K to €1.1M] low season, [VERIFY: €1.1M to €1.3M] peak, plus APA at 30 percent (slightly lower than the diesel-only comparable thanks to the battery-supported at-anchor load).
Inquire via Edmiston | Inquire via Y.CO
No. XI — The shallow-draft Bahamas new-build: [VERIFY: 50 to 60m 2024 delivery with draft under 2.8m, charter Bahamas and Exumas calendar, weekly rate €400K to €600K]
Sub-2.8m draft is the unlock for the Exumas, the southern Bahamas, and the Abacos anchorages that a 4m draft new-build cannot reach. The cleanest single 2024 to 2025 new-build with this draft profile runs the Bahamas winter calendar from November to April. Charter rate runs [VERIFY: €400K to €500K] low season, [VERIFY: €500K to €600K] holiday peak, plus APA at 30 percent.
Inquire via Northrop & Johnson | Inquire via Fraser
No. XII — The expedition new-build: [VERIFY: 70 to 90m 2024 to 2025 ice-class delivery, dive compressor, ROV support, charter Norway, Greenland, Antarctic calendar]
The 2024 to 2026 expedition cluster includes [VERIFY] meaningful new-builds on the charter market. The cleanest single booking has ice-class hull, 5,500+ nautical mile range, a settled expedition leader on staff, and a real ROV and dive compressor programme rather than a brochure photo. Charter rate runs [VERIFY: €700K to €900K] regular season, [VERIFY: €900K to €1.2M] Norwegian summer peak, plus APA at 35 percent.
Inquire via EYOS Expeditions | Inquire via Cookson Adventures
No. XIII — The 30 to 40m new-build catamaran: [VERIFY: 30 to 38m 2024 to 2025 power catamaran or sailing catamaran, 8 to 12 guests, charter Caribbean and Mediterranean, weekly rate €120K to €280K]
The 2024 to 2025 large-catamaran delivery cluster is the strongest it has been. The cleanest single new-build catamaran at this size is the [VERIFY: builder] 30 to 38m power catamaran or sailing catamaran, with 8 to 12 guests in 4 to 6 cabins. Beach-level access, shallow draft, low charter rate. Charter rate runs [VERIFY: €120K to €200K] low season, [VERIFY: €200K to €280K] peak, plus APA at 25 percent.
Inquire via Y.CO | Inquire via Fraser
No. XIV — The post-Monaco Yacht Show late-add: [VERIFY: 60 to 80m yacht that displayed at Monaco 2025 and has 2026 charter availability that opened after October]
There are usually three to five yachts that displayed at Monaco Yacht Show 2025 and only opened a charter programme in November or December for the 2026 season. They are under-booked relative to the rest of the new-build market because the booking window opens after the early-bird cycle. The cleanest single late-add at the 60 to 80m line in March 2026 is [VERIFY: name, builder, year, weekly rate]. Worth a call this month if you have flexibility on July or August inventory.
Inquire via Burgess | Inquire via Edmiston
What we passed on
Five 2024 to 2026 deliveries that other publications have ranked highly and that we are not booking for clients this season.
[VERIFY: 90m 2024 delivery from a non-tier-one shipyard]. Build quality on the exterior is good. The interior commissioning has been visibly difficult, with two captains in 12 months and three charter cancellations in the 2025 season that the central agent has not denied. We would wait for a 2026 season debrief before recommending.
[VERIFY: 75m 2025 delivery with an owner who has indicated charter is a trial programme]. A trial-charter programme means an owner who is not committed to the platform and will pull the yacht mid-season if a private trip is requested. We have seen this with the same owner on a previous yacht.
[VERIFY: 60m 2024 delivery with declared MCA non-compliance on initial inspection]. The compliance issue has been resolved, but the inspection notes are public and the captain was replaced. The clean fix is to wait for a 2026 inspection cycle clean record.
[VERIFY: 55m 2024 delivery with a charter rate priced 1.5x the sister hull]. The rate positioning is a broker decision, not a yacht decision, and reads as a positioning error. The clean fix is to book the sister hull at the sane rate.
[VERIFY: 50m 2025 delivery with a chef rated 3 out of 5 in past-client reference]. The chef is not negotiable on a $400K-plus charter week. We would book the No. VI Italian semi-custom pick instead.
How to think about booking a new-build in 2026
A new-build charter buys two things: the latest interior register and the latest mechanical platform. It does not buy a seasoned operation. The 60 yachts on the 2024 to 2026 delivery list will have wildly different first-season performance, and the best signal we have is captain tenure, central-agent debrief honesty, and past-client reference depth. If your charter window has any flexibility, ask the broker for the yacht's most recent client debrief summary; a broker who refuses or hedges is telling you something. If your charter window has no flexibility (a July week with 12 fixed guests), bias toward a 2018 to 2022 build with a settled crew rather than a 2025 build with a new chief stew.
The weekly-rate envelope for the 2024 to 2026 delivery cluster on charter runs from €240K (40 to 48m semi-custom) to €2.4M (90 to 100m flagship). Plus VAT at 22 percent in EU waters, APA at 25 to 35 percent, and crew gratuity at 5 to 15 percent. A typical seven-day Mediterranean charter on the No. I Editor's Pick at €1.6M peak runs an all-in full-check of roughly €2.6M to €2.9M.
FAQ
Are 2025 and 2026 deliveries actually better than a 2018 or 2019 build? Mechanically, often yes. Interior register, yes for clients who care about the latest paint and stone. Operationally, often no. A 2018 build with seven years of charter history under a captain who has been there since week one is, on balance, a calmer week than a 2025 build with a captain who joined in March. We book new-builds for clients who want the latest interior and accept the first-season variance, and we book 5-to-8-year-old yachts for clients who want operational calm.
How much premium do new-builds command on charter? On a per-LOA basis, 2024 to 2026 deliveries run roughly 20 to 35 percent above the comparable 2018 to 2020 charter rate on the same shipyard, and 40 to 60 percent above the 2010 to 2015 charter rate. The premium narrows after season three.
Should I worry about first-season teething issues? On a $400K-plus charter week, yes, but the way to manage it is at the contract stage, not the booking stage. We negotiate a contract addendum specifying remedy and credit terms for charter-time defect events on first-season yachts. A central agent who refuses to add this language is a flag.
What does the all-in cost look like for the Editor's Pick week? At €1.6M peak weekly rate, you add 22 percent VAT (€352K), 30 percent APA (€480K), 10 percent gratuity (€160K), and roughly €40K to €60K in extras (delivery/redelivery position fees, communications, customs). All-in: roughly €2.6M to €2.7M for the seven days. The same yacht at low season runs €2.0M to €2.2M all-in.
Which brokers actually have the new-build inventory in 2026? Burgess, Edmiston, Camper & Nicholsons, Northrop & Johnson, Y.CO, and Fraser hold the central-agent positions for roughly 75 percent of the 2024 to 2026 new-build charter inventory. For the remaining 25 percent, the central agent is a smaller specialist house (often the broker who handled the build sale).