How Much Does It Cost to Rent a Yacht in Miami: Prices by Size, Hours and Fees
In the Yacht Charter Advisor catalog, how much it costs to rent a yacht in Miami depends largely on length: about $2,400 for 4 hours on a typical 40 to 59 foot boat, with listed prices from $700 to $38,000. Six hours add about 20%, eight hours about 40%, and the crew tip comes on top of the listed price.
The figures come from the October 2026 catalog prices of 147 yachts, with two listings left out because of data errors. Other companies can price a similar boat differently and may add tax, fuel or card fees on top.
If you are planning a birthday, a bachelorette party or a family day for 6 to 13 people, this gives you a realistic budget before you ask for quotes.
How much does it cost to rent a yacht in Miami by size?
A yacht under 40 feet costs about $1,500 for 4 hours in the catalog, a 40 to 59 footer about $2,400, a 60 to 79 footer about $4,200 and an 80 to 99 footer about $6,500. Yachts of 100 feet and up have a median of $10,000 for the same 4 hours.
The median is the middle price: half of the yachts in a group cost less and half cost more. The Most yachts cost column shows the middle half of each group, so a few very cheap or very expensive boats do not stretch the range. Prices are catalog prices as of October 2026, and the length of six Azimut models is taken from the model name.
Bigger yachts also cost more for every foot. The median works out to about $46 per foot under 40 feet, $50 at 40 to 59 feet, $60 at 60 to 79 feet, $72 at 80 to 99 feet and $93 at 100 feet and up. A single rate per foot would undercount the large boats, so use the row for your length.
The cheapest 4-hour rental in the catalog is $700 for a 27-foot Monterey or Regal. The most expensive is $38,000 for the 222-foot Nichols Seafair. If your group is small and the budget is tight, small yacht rentals in Miami give the lowest entry price. Check how many guests each boat carries before you compare.
How much more do 6 or 8 hours cost than 4?
On a typical 40 to 59 foot yacht the median is $2,400 for 4 hours, $2,900 for 6 hours and $3,500 for 8 hours. Across all 147 yachts, 6 hours cost about 20% more than 4 and 8 hours about 40% more.
In the 40 to 59 foot class the jump to 8 hours is bigger than the overall 40%, yet the price per hour still falls:
For 143 of 147 yachts, the hourly rate on an 8-hour rental is lower than on a 4-hour rental. A group that wants a swim stop, lunch and a sunset gets more time on the water for less per hour with the longer booking.
Boats under 40 feet price hours differently: on them, 6 hours run about 38% above the 4-hour price and 8 hours about 79% above it, so the hourly saving is smaller. For 3 of the 9 small yachts the 8-hour rate per hour is the same as or higher than the 4-hour rate. On a boat that size, book the hours your group needs rather than extra time to save money.
What is included in a yacht rental price?
The catalog lists the captain, fuel for a standard Miami route, ice and water in the standard price, plus a steward on yachts from 50 feet. For a group of 7 or more, who supplies the captain depends on the charter setup, so confirm it in writing.
A steward is a crew member who serves drinks and food and looks after guests on deck. The catalog lists these items as part of a standard price:
- the captain (see the note on groups of 7 or more) and fuel for a standard Miami route;
- ice and water;
- towels, a floating mat, a cooler and a Bluetooth speaker;
- a steward on yachts from 50 feet and on all two-deck yachts.
Guests may bring their own food and alcohol. The guest section below explains the charter setups, and tax, the tip and payment fees are covered in the next section.
Which fees can push the total above the listed price?
Several Miami companies whose terms were read for this guide add 7% Florida sales tax, a crew tip and a card fee of 3 to 5% on top of the listed price. Combined, those lines can add up to about 30% to a quote, so ask whether tax is already inside the price.
The 7% figure is the Miami-Dade rate: 6% state sales tax plus a 1% county surtax, per Florida Department of Revenue rates. The 1% county surtax applies only to the first $5,000 of a single item, so the effective rate on a larger charter can be lower. Terms published on company websites and read on October 25, 2026 show how much companies differ:
- A party boat company states that its rates do not include 7% Florida sales tax and gas, with a gasoline surcharge of $15 per hour.
- A charter company adds a 7% tax and an 18% gratuity to the total automatically.
- One operator charges a card fee of 3% for U.S. cards and 5% for international cards on vessels priced at $2,500 or more, and sets a minimum gratuity of 15%.
- Another charges 4% for card, Venmo and Cash App payments and waives the fee for Zelle and Apple Pay.
- At the other end, one party boat company lists fuel, taxes and the marina fee as included in its quoted price.
Listed prices in the catalog already include tax and carry no payment fees. The crew tip, usually 15 to 20%, is left to you.
The example below takes the same $2,400 under two sets of terms. The first is illustrative and combines lines from different companies, so no single company is guaranteed to charge all of them. The tip is counted on the base price, and the card fee on the subtotal.
Fees added on top:
- Listed price: $2,400
- Sales tax 7%: +$168
- Automatic tip 18%: +$432
- Card fee, 4% of the $3,000 subtotal: +$120
- Total: about $3,120
Tax included, tip left to you:
- Listed price with tax included: $2,400
- Tip from 15 to 20%: +$360 to +$480
- Total: $2,760 to $2,880
A gap of that size can reverse which of two quotes is cheaper. To run the numbers on specific boats, Miami yacht rental prices shows the listed price of each yacht for 4, 6 and 8 hours.
How many guests can you bring, and what does it cost per person?
In the Yacht Charter Advisor catalog a standard yacht is listed for up to 13 people, counting the charterer, the person who books the boat. That is a catalog condition, and the legal limit for your booking depends on how the charter is set up. A $2,400 booking split between 10 guests costs $276 to $312 each, depending on whether tax is included and the tip is automatic.
How many people a boat can legally carry depends on how the charter is set up. A Certificate of Inspection is the Coast Guard document showing a vessel passed a safety inspection for carrying passengers. Federal law separates these cases:
- an individual who charters the vessel is not counted as a passenger (46 U.S.C. § 2101, published by Cornell Law School);
- a vessel of less than 100 gross tons chartered with a crew provided by the owner needs a Certificate of Inspection once it carries more than 6 passengers;
- a vessel chartered with no crew from the owner, known as a bareboat charter, needs that certificate once it carries more than 12 passengers.
For a group of 7 or more, ask any company you book with three things in writing before you pay: how many guests this exact yacht may carry, whether the captain is supplied by the owner or chosen by you under a charter without crew, and a copy of the Certificate of Inspection if the boat has one. For groups above 13, the catalog lists the Skipperliner 100 for up to 50 guests from $12,000 for 4 hours. Ask for its Certificate of Inspection before you book.
In February 2026, Coast Guard Sector Miami and partners reported terminating five illegal charter voyages. In the Coast Guard press release, passengers are urged to confirm that the captain has a safety plan and a Merchant Mariner Credential, the federal license for professional mariners. Operating against a Captain of the Port order, a federal order that bars a vessel from operating, can cost the owner up to $117,608 per day.
Six guests on a boat under 40 feet pay about $250 each for 4 hours before tip, based on the $1,500 median. The same six on a 40 to 59 foot yacht pay about $400 each, so a smaller boat saves money only if everyone fits.
How much do catering, water toys and decor add?
Add-ons are priced separately: a flyboard is about $550 per hour with a 2-hour minimum, a Seabob $600 per session and catering from about $45 per guest. Orders go in at least 48 hours before the trip.
A flyboard is a water-jet board that lifts the rider above the surface, and a Seabob is a hand-held underwater scooter. Catalog add-on prices are set with the Miami market median of October 2026 as a reference.
Catering, a chef, a bartender, a DJ, a photographer, decor and transfers can all be arranged. A request made the day before may be too late, so settle add-ons when you confirm the date.
For a bachelorette party of 10, the add-ons stack up fast. Decor starts at $250, a platter is $110, a catering menu for 10 starts at $450 and a flyboard is $1,100 for the 2-hour minimum. Bringing your own food and drinks, which the catalog allows, keeps the food line close to zero.
How much is it to rent a yacht for several days or a week?
Multi-day trips on 40 to 60 foot yachts from Miami are priced around $4,250 per day as a market guide, the median of 10 prices from 3 companies, with a range of $2,250 to $6,000. On top of the day rate comes an APA, a pre-paid budget for running costs.
The APA, short for advance provisioning allowance, pays for fuel, provisions and marina fees, while the day rate covers the yacht and crew. According to IYC, a yacht charter company, the APA is calculated as a percentage of the charter fee and can vary from 25 to 40%, with any unused balance refunded. For Miami multi-day trips the guide figure is 30 to 35%.
A full charter day is priced above a long day trip: the $4,250 day rate sits above the $3,500 median for 8 hours on a 40 to 59 foot yacht, and the APA comes on top.
For a wider view, here are weekly averages for crewed motor yachts worldwide, according to yacht.com:
These are global averages from one marketplace. If you are planning a week on the water, a weekly yacht charter from Miami is quoted on request, so ask for the day rate and the APA percentage up front.
How to compare yacht quotes and avoid budget mistakes
Turn every quote into one all-in total for the same hours and guests: base price, add-ons, tax, tip and card fee, divided by the number of people. Then check the pickup point, the cancellation rule and the deposit terms.
- Ask every company for the same date, hours and guest count.
- Write down the base price and ask whether it includes fuel, the captain and a steward.
- Add the extras you plan to order: food, water toys, decor.
- Add tax, tip and card fee the way the fees section shows: tax only if it sits on top of the price, the tip at the rate the company adds or the amount you plan to leave, and the card fee unless another payment method avoids it.
- Divide the total by the number of guests and compare quotes per person.
Here is a worked case for 10 guests on a 40 to 59 foot yacht for 6 hours with tax included: $2,900 base, catering at $45 per guest ($450) and a 15% tip on the charter price ($435) come to $3,785, about $379 per guest.
Two things sit outside the formula. The first is the pickup point: one Miami charter company states that some custom pickup locations may involve additional delivery, dockage, crew or fuel fees, so get the pickup marina in writing.
The second is cancellation. The catalog lists free cancellation and rescheduling up to 24 hours before departure, and later cancellations are not refunded. A company that asks for several days of notice or keeps a non-refundable deposit raises your risk, because weather and guest lists often change.
Before you send a deposit, ask to read the rental contract and get the total, the exact yacht, the pickup point and the weather rule in writing. Then ask who receives the deposit, whether it comes back if you cancel, and until which hour.
Frequently asked questions
Does a yacht rental cost more on weekends in Miami?
No. Listed prices in the Yacht Charter Advisor catalog stay the same on weekdays, weekends and holidays. Other Miami companies may charge more on busy dates, holidays or peak months, so ask each one whether its quote changes with the day before you compare totals per person.
How much deposit do you pay to book a yacht?
The deposit is 30% of the rental price in the Yacht Charter Advisor catalog, and the balance is paid at the dock on the day of the trip. Payment carries no fee in the catalog, while some companies add a card fee of 3 to 5%.
Is it cheaper to rent a yacht without a captain?
There is no saving to compare in the catalog: its listed prices cover a captain, and groups of 7 or more should confirm the setup in writing. Without a captain you operate the boat yourself, and in Florida anyone born on or after January 1, 1988 needs a state boating safety ID (FWC) or a temporary certificate to run a boat of 10 horsepower or more.
What happens to your money if the weather is bad?
If the captain calls the trip off for a rain forecast of 80% or more or wind of 25 mph or more, you can move to any open date at no charge. A full refund applies if no date suits. Light rain is not a reason to cancel, and weather that turns at sea is not compensated.
Can you hold a yacht date before you pay?
Yes, the Yacht Charter Advisor catalog offers a free date hold. If another guest asks for the same yacht while you hold it, you get 24 hours from that request to decide whether to book. Until then, your group can agree on the date without paying a deposit.
25.10.2026