Yacht Charter Cost per Person: Per Week and per Night

Nobody sells a crewed yacht charter by the person. The price is for the whole yacht for a week, and the figure per head is a division you do yourself. Two numbers decide it: the weekly rate and how many of you share it. The second has a ceiling, because most charter yachts take no more than 12 guests, so a group of 12 on a 40-metre yacht pays far less each than a couple on the same boat.

This guide does that division for five size bands from published rates, first on the base rate and then with the APA, VAT and crew tip added. All figures are indicative: the price of a specific yacht comes from the licensed charter agency that issues the contract.

Why is a yacht charter priced per yacht and not per person?

Because you are hiring the whole yacht and its crew, not a cabin. The yacht, the crew and their wages and the insurance are included in the fee whatever the number of guests; running costs such as fuel, food and berths are paid on top. So the rate is set per week for the yacht, and the group decides how to share it.

Burgess states it plainly in its charter FAQs: “Charter rates are quoted per week for the hire of the yacht.” IYC describes the same basis: the charter rate covers the yacht and the professional crew that runs it, along with insurance and equipment. MYBA, the industry association whose charter contract is widely used in the Mediterranean, lists what the charter fee includes: the yacht and its equipment in working order, crew wages and crew food, insurance, the ship’s linen and basic consumables.

So a per-person figure only exists once you know the group, and the APA, VAT and tip are all calculated on the fee for the yacht.

How many people can share a charter yacht?

On most charter yachts, 12 guests at most, whatever the length. Above 12, a yacht is legally treated as a passenger ship and has to meet a different set of rules, so many owners keep their yachts at 12. Smaller yachts often take fewer, and only a few specially built yachts take more.

YachtCharterFleet explains that yachts carrying more than 12 guests “are legally considered to be passenger ships” and must meet different criteria, which is why so many are capped at 12. Yachts built to the Red Ensign Group Yacht Code Part B, which replaced the Passenger Yacht Code in 2017, can carry more than 12 and up to 36 passengers. Burgess says the same from the market side: the majority of yachts cruise with 8-12 guests depending on their length, and some built to the passenger yacht standard take up to 36.

What this means for the price per person:

• You cannot keep dividing. Once a yacht is at 12, a bigger group needs a second yacht or one of the rare passenger yachts, not a cheaper share.
• Small yachts often have fewer berths. Ahoy Club says cabins on 18-24 m yachts usually sleep six to eight guests, and describes 27-33 m yachts as “enough yacht for ten guests”.
• Big yachts do not add beds. On 55-75 m yachts, Ahoy Club notes that guest capacity “usually remains twelve”. A larger yacht buys space, crew and facilities, not more people to share the bill, as our yacht size comparison explains.

How much is a yacht charter per person per week?

On the base rate alone, from about €5,000 per person for a week on an 18-24 m yacht with six guests to about €33,333 on a 55-75 m yacht with twelve. The calculation is the typical weekly rate divided by the number of guests; it does not yet include fuel, food, VAT or tip.

The rates below are the typical weekly figures that Ahoy Club publishes for the yachts it lists in euros, across all destinations (for example 126 of the 171 yachts it lists at 37-43 m; consulted November 2026). They are base rates, with running costs paid on top. The guest numbers are six on the smallest band, ten on 27-33 m, which Ahoy Club describes as enough for ten guests, and the full 12 above that.

The last figure is rounded to the nearest euro. Each band has a wide range behind the typical figure: Ahoy Club lists 37-43 m yachts from €3,500 to €285,000 a week and 55-75 m yachts from €100,000 to €990,000, so a specific yacht can be far from these numbers.

Fraser gives an example with the same figure as the first row, on a slightly longer yacht: on Coco VI, a 27-metre yacht listed from €30,000 a week, “a party of six guests can expect to pay around €5,000 each for the base price”.

How much is a yacht charter per person per night?

Divide the weekly figure per person by seven. On base rates, that gives about €714 per person per night on an 18-24 m yacht with six guests, €1,250 on a 37-43 m yacht with twelve and €4,762 on a 55-75 m yacht with twelve. Shorter charters usually cost more per night.

Seven is the right divisor because the week is the unit the industry prices in. Burgess says charters over seven days are calculated pro rata, using the weekly rate divided by seven, and that charters of fewer than seven days “usually attract a premium”. It also notes that a week is the standard length and most yachts will not consider anything shorter, except occasionally with last-minute availability.

Figures are rounded to the nearest euro. If you find a three- or four-night offer, do not assume it costs three or four sevenths of the weekly rate: ask for the actual figure.

What is the real cost per person with APA, VAT and tip?

About 1.61 times the base figure under our assumptions: a 30% APA, Spanish VAT at 21% and a 10% crew tip, all calculated on the charter fee. That puts a 37-43 m yacht with twelve guests at about €14,088 per person per week, or €2,013 per night.

The assumptions are the same as in our guide to how much a luxury yacht charter costs:

• APA at 30%. The Advance Provisioning Allowance pays fuel, food, drink and berths at cost. IYC puts it at around 25-40% of the charter fee and Ahoy Club at roughly 30-40%; 30% sits inside both ranges. How it works is in our APA guide.
• VAT at 21%. The general rate in Spain’s VAT Act (article 90), also shown in the European Commission’s table. Under article 70 of the same Act, a short-term hire of a vessel, up to 90 days, is taxed in Spain when the yacht is put into your possession there, as on a charter that starts in Palma in Mallorca. Other countries and reduced regimes give different figures; see our VAT guide by country.
• Tip at 10%. MYBA’s guidance says brokers generally suggest 5-15% of the charter fee, and only if the crew gave excellent service. Other sources put it higher: IYC and Ahoy Club 10-20%, Fraser 15-20%; at 15% the multiplier is 1.66. Customs vary by region; our crew tipping guide covers them.

The total for the yacht is the charter fee × 1.61 (1 + 0.30 + 0.21 + 0.10). Then the same two divisions as before.

Per-person figures are rounded to the nearest euro.

Worked example: a 40-metre yacht from Palma for twelve

Three things move this result. Part of the APA may come back at the end of the week if less is spent. The APA can also run higher: at 40%, the top of Ahoy Club’s range, the multiplier becomes 1.71 and the same yacht costs €14,962.50 per person per week. And the tip is voluntary: without it, the multiplier is 1.51.

The figures do not include getting to and from the yacht, or any delivery fee if the yacht has to come to a port that is not its base that week.

How much does the number of guests change the price per person?

A lot, because the fee stays the same while the divisor changes. On a 40-metre yacht at €105,000 a week, six guests pay €17,500 each on the base rate and twelve pay €8,750: half as much, on the same yacht and the same week.

The totals use the same 1.61 multiplier (€169,050 for the yacht). Figures with cents are rounded to the nearest euro.

The same logic applies at 27-33 m. With eight guests instead of the ten used in the tables above, the typical €55,000 rate works out at €6,875 per person per week and €982 per night on the base rate, against €5,500 and €786 with ten.

How does the season change the cost per person?

High season raises the weekly rate, and the increase is shared out like the rest of the fee. The published figures range from around €6,000 a week on 30-40 m yachts (BOAT International) and an average of 7% (IYC) to 10-15% on some yachts (Fraser). On a €105,000 yacht for twelve, that is roughly €500 to €1,300 more per person for the week.

IYC adds that shoulder-season prices are usually unchanged and low season often slightly lower. Fraser notes that the advertised price usually reflects the cheapest charter period. In practice, ask whether the rate you see is the high- or low-season one. Our guide on when to book a yacht charter covers the months and lead times.

Because APA, VAT and tip are calculated on the charter fee, a higher seasonal rate raises them too: under our assumptions, each extra euro of fee costs €1.61 in total.

Is a yacht charter cheaper per person than a hotel?

We have not found a published, like-for-like comparison with figures, so we do not give one. Fraser argues that the €5,000-per-guest example is good value compared with a luxury hotel, but it gives no hotel prices. What can be compared is what the per-person figure includes.

The base fee pays for the yacht, the crew and their food, insurance, linen and basic consumables (MYBA). The APA adds your food, drink, fuel and berths at cost. If you compare with a hotel, use the total per person, not the base rate, for the same number of nights.

How can you lower the cost per person?

Fill the cabins, choose a smaller yacht that still fits the group, and sail outside the peak weeks. Filling the cabins and matching the size to the group both have a large effect, because the fee does not change with the number of guests.

• Fill the berths you are paying for. On the €105,000 example, going from eight to twelve guests cuts the base cost per person from €13,125 to €8,750 a week.
• Match the size to the group. For six guests, an 18-24 m yacht at a typical €30,000 costs €5,000 each on the base rate; a 37-43 m yacht at €105,000 for the same six costs €17,500 each.
• Avoid the peak weeks. IYC and Fraser both point to lower rates outside high season, and every euro saved on the fee also lowers the VAT, APA and tip calculated on it.
• Start where the yacht is based. A delivery fee to bring the yacht to another port is extra.
• Compare all-inclusive and plus-expenses offers on the same basis. BOAT International puts the extra allowance on all-inclusive charters at around 5% of the fee, against 30-35% on plus all expenses terms. Add the APA before comparing per-person figures.

Cost per person: questions people often ask

Can we pay per person?

The price is set for the yacht, not per guest, and the APA, VAT and tip are calculated on that fee. How the group shares the total is up to you.

Do crew count towards the 12?

No. The limit is on guests; YachtCharterFleet describes it as 12 guests plus crew.

Ask for options priced for your group

To get a real figure per person, send the number of guests and how they pair up in cabins, your dates and flexibility, where you would like to start and a total budget for the group. A charter specialist will study your request and send options with the charter fee, the APA percentage, the VAT and the expected tip set out, so you can divide them yourself. The charter is contracted with the yacht’s owner through a licensed charter agency, normally under the MYBA agreement, with the full price and VAT clear before you sign. Tell us your plan.