Bahamas › Motor yachts
Bahamas motor yacht charter
TL;DR: A Bahamas motor yacht charter suits groups of six to twelve who want space, a full crew and the range to reach more cays in a week. Charter fees start around $40,000–$50,000 a week plus expenses. The number to watch is fuel: it's paid from the APA, so a fast, far-ranging route costs more than a slow one.
Last reviewed: October 2026. Rates are indicative and confirmed only in a charter contract.
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Who a motor yacht suits
- Groups who want indoor space: a proper saloon, air-conditioned cabins, somewhere to escape the midday sun.
- Weeks that cover ground: Nassau to the southern Exumas, or a detour to Eleuthera and Harbour Island.
- Guests who want service, with a stewardess, a deckhand for the toys and a dedicated chef.
- Groups that include non-swimmers or older guests, who appreciate stabilizers and a steady boarding platform.
If your group mainly wants calm anchorages, shallow beaches and a simple all-inclusive bill, a catamaran is usually the better fit. Compare the two in Bahamas crewed yacht charter.
Size, crew and weekly rate
| Length | Typical crew | Charter fee per week |
|---|---|---|
| 70–90 ft | 3–4 | about $40,000–$80,000 |
| 90–120 ft | 5–7 | about $80,000–$180,000 |
| 120 ft and up | 8 or more | $180,000 to over $1,000,000 |
Charter listings for the Bahamas in October 2026 ran from about $42,000 to $1.47 million a week. Most yachts take no more than 12 guests overnight, so a bigger yacht buys space and crew, not extra berths.
Motor yacht or superyacht?
The words overlap but aren't the same. "Motor yacht" is about how the yacht is driven. "Superyacht" usually means a professionally crewed yacht of about 24 meters (80 feet) or more, motor or sail. Most yachts on this page from about 80 feet up count as both. A superyacht charter in the Bahamas is, in practice, the top two rows of the table above.
Fuel, APA and the pace of your week
Motor yachts are almost always chartered plus expenses. You pay an APA of about 30–35% of the charter fee before the week, and the captain spends it on fuel, food, drink and dockage, with receipts. Fuel is the part you control: two long runs a day burn far more than short hops between anchorages.
Ask the captain for a fuel estimate for your route before you sign, and decide together whether the far cays are worth the extra hours underway.
The real weekly cost
Charter fee, plus APA of 30–35%, the 14% charter tax on foreign-flagged yachts, and a 10% gratuity (the standard; 20% for exceptional service adds another tenth of the fee):
| Charter fee | The week, all-in |
|---|---|
| $60,000 | about $92,000–$95,000 |
| $100,000 | about $154,000–$159,000 |
| $150,000 | about $231,000–$239,000 |
Unspent APA comes back at the end of the week, so the top of each range is a ceiling, not a forecast. The full breakdown is in Bahamas yacht charter cost.
Planning a motor yacht week
- Start point: most motor yachts are based in Nassau; some reposition from Florida. Whether a yacht can start in the US depends on its flag, so ask before you plan around it.
- Shallow water: a motor yacht draws more than a catamaran, so it anchors further out and the tender does the beach runs.
- Season: December to May. June to November is hurricane season.
- Where to go: see the sample Exumas week in yacht charter Bahamas.
Common questions
How much does a motor yacht charter in the Bahamas cost?
Charter fees for crewed motor yachts in the Bahamas start around $40,000 to $50,000 a week and run past $1 million for the largest superyachts. Add APA of about 30 to 35 percent, the 14 percent charter tax on foreign-flagged yachts, and a crew gratuity of 10 to 20 percent.
Is a motor yacht the same as a superyacht?
Not quite. Motor yacht describes how the yacht is driven. Superyacht usually means a professionally crewed yacht of about 24 meters (80 feet) or more, motor or sail. Many Bahamas charter motor yachts are superyachts; smaller ones aren't.
How many guests can a Bahamas motor yacht take?
Most charter yachts take up to 12 guests overnight, whatever their size. Larger yachts give those 12 more space and more crew, not more berths.
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Ask about motor yachts
Send your dates, group size and budget. We'll suggest an established charter brokerage that checks which Bahamas motor yachts are free and sends proposals with an estimated all-in cost.