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The headline rate on a 50m motor yacht in the Mediterranean in July is between $300,000 and $550,000 a week. The full check after APA, VAT, and gratuity is between $420,000 and $850,000. The number a broker pitches over email is rarely the number that hits the wire. These 25 guides break the math down by size, by region, by season, and by line item so the reader knows what the real check looks like before signing.
Charter cost has four moving parts: the weekly rate, the APA, the local VAT or tax, and the crew gratuity. Ownership cost has more parts and a longer time horizon. Day charter cost is the cleanest math of the three but also the one most often misquoted at the dock. Each of the three product lines has its own section here.
Charter cost guides
The Mediterranean and Caribbean run on different rate cards, different APA conventions, and different VAT rules. We split them by region rather than by size, because the same 50m yacht in Cannes and Tortola produces a different total check.
- Yacht charter cost by size is the top-down view, from 30m up to 100m, with weekly rates and full-check estimates by size class.
- Mediterranean charter weekly rates covers Côte d'Azur, Italy, the Balearics, Croatia, Greece, and Turkey, with peak and shoulder bands.
- Caribbean charter weekly rates covers the BVI, Bahamas, the Leewards, and the Windwards, with the Christmas, New Year, and Presidents' Week premiums called out.
- APA explained and APA percentages by size and region cover the second-largest line item. APA on a 50m motor yacht in Greek waters runs 25 to 30 percent of the weekly rate. The same yacht in the Bahamas runs 28 to 35 percent. The difference is fuel and provisioning logistics, not broker margin.
- Yacht crew gratuity by region covers the 5 to 15 percent line item that most first-time charter clients underbudget. The Mediterranean norm is 10 percent on motor and 7 percent on sailing. The Caribbean norm is closer to 12 percent on motor and 10 percent on sailing. Specific regional adjustments are on the page.
- Yacht fuel costs covers the APA breakdown most readers care about, with consumption rates by size and cruising speed.
- Yacht dockage fees Mediterranean covers the August Cannes, Monaco, Saint-Tropez, and Porto Cervo dock rates that drive a meaningful chunk of APA in peak weeks.
Charter cost guides at the destination level cover Croatia, Greece, BVI, Bahamas, and Amalfi, with rate tables for each region's most-booked size classes.
Size-specific cost guides cover the 30m, 50m, 80m, and 100m brackets, with weekly rates, APA, VAT, and gratuity worked out as a full check.
Day charter cost guides
The day charter market is fragmented enough that the same boat in Mykonos can quote four different day rates depending on the operator, the route, and the booking platform. We cover the markets where the variance is biggest.
- Day charter prices Mykonos covers Greek-flag operators around the Delos and Rhenia route, with August premiums of about 35 percent over May or October.
- Day charter prices Ibiza covers Formentera-day operators and the cala-hopping fleet, the largest in the Mediterranean.
- Day charter prices Saint-Tropez covers the Riviera marina premium and the Pampelonne lunch routes.
The day charter cost calculator at the top of each destination index page does the math live for hours, route, and crew count.
Brokerage and ownership cost guides
The brokerage side has the longest tail of cost. A 50m motor yacht purchase at $30M does not finish its cost story at close. The annual operating cost on the same yacht is typically 8 to 12 percent of the purchase price, depending on use, region, refit cycle, and flag.
- Yacht ownership annual costs is the headline view, broken down by crew, fuel, dockage, insurance, refit reserve, classification, and management fee.
- Yacht purchase cost 30m, 50m, and 80m cover the new versus pre-owned bands by size, with current asking prices.
- Yacht refit costs covers full refit, partial refit, paint cycle, machinery refit, and interior refit, with northern European and Mediterranean yard rates.
- Yacht insurance costs covers hull and machinery, P&I, and the cruising-area surcharges most owners trip over the first season.
What every cost guide includes
Three things. A rate table with current peak, shoulder, and low-season figures, marked with the as-of date. A worked example with a real (anonymized) charter or sale and a full check. A list of the line items most often missed by first-time buyers in each category, with the reason each gets missed.
If a rate has not been re-verified within the last 90 days, the page carries a banner saying so. Charter rates from broker fleets are refreshed at the start of each Mediterranean and Caribbean season. Day-charter rates are refreshed twice a year per market. Ownership and refit costs are refreshed annually, with mid-year updates where steel or labor pricing has moved meaningfully.
A note on broker quotes
Brokers who quote a weekly rate without surfacing APA, VAT, and gratuity in the same email are doing one of two things. Either they assume the client knows, which is fair on a fourth charter, or they are hoping to anchor the budget low and surface the rest at contract. The guides here exist so the reader can spot the second case and ask the right question before signing. Brokers who handle the full math up front in the pitch are the brokers we mark up in our broker reviews. Brokers who do not are the brokers we pass on.
The yacht is the trip. The check is the part of the trip that does not appear in the brochure.