Money and the contract
What a charter week in Phuket really costs
How much does a yacht charter in Phuket actually cost, with everything included?
The short answer
How much does a yacht charter in Phuket actually cost, with everything included?
Take the advertised weekly rate and add roughly half again. On a fifty thousand dollar week you pay the base rate, an advance provisioning allowance of 25 to 35 percent, 7 percent Thai VAT on the base rate, national park fees of 300 to 500 baht per person per park, and a customary crew gratuity of 10 to 20 percent. That lands between about seventy-two and seventy-eight thousand dollars. The APA is a deposit against real spending and whatever is not spent comes back, so the final figure depends on how much fuel your itinerary burns.
Every operator in this market advertises the base rate. Almost none of them advertises the total. That is not fraud, it is convention, and the convention exists because the total genuinely varies. But it means a first-time charterer compares two quotes that are both incomplete in slightly different ways.
The worked example
| Line | Basis | On a $50,000 week |
|---|---|---|
| Base charter rate | The advertised figure | $50,000 |
| Advance provisioning allowance | 30 percent of base, midpoint of the 25 to 35 range | $15,000 |
| Thai VAT | 7 percent of the base rate | $3,500 |
| National park fees | Phang Nga at 300 baht plus Phi Phi at 400 baht, 8 adults | about $172 |
| Crew gratuity | 12.5 percent, midpoint of 10 to 20 | $6,250 |
| Total | about $74,900 | |
| Refundable | Unspent APA | up to $15,000 |
So the honest answer to what a fifty thousand dollar week costs is: about seventy-five thousand dollars committed, of which up to fifteen thousand may come back, with the final figure driven mostly by fuel.
Why the APA is the swing factor
The advance provisioning allowance is not a fee. It is a float the crew spend on your behalf against receipts: fuel, food, drink, marina and mooring fees, park entry, diving, anything the itinerary needs. What is left over is returned at the end.
Fuel is why the range runs from 25 to 35 percent. A sailing catamaran doing Phang Nga anchorages barely touches the allowance. A planing motor yacht crossing to the Similans twice will run through it, and the crew will ask for a top-up mid-charter, which is normal and should be explained at the outset rather than announced on day four.
The lines people forget
- National park fees are per person, per park, in cash, at the ranger station. A route that crosses two parks pays two fees. Divers pay a supplement in some parks.
- Gratuity is 10 to 20 percent in this market. It is not in the contract and it is not optional in practice. Budget it from the start rather than discovering it on the last evening.
- Delivery or repositioning, when the yacht is not lying where you want to board. Frequently zero, occasionally several thousand dollars.
- Flights, transfers, hotel the night before and travel insurance. None of these are in any charter quote.
What the base rate does include
The yacht, the crew and their wages, the yacht's insurance, and the standard equipment aboard: tender, snorkelling gear and usually paddleboards. On a well-specified yacht it also covers the water toys listed in the brochure. It does not cover the fuel that runs them, which comes out of the APA.
When you compare two quotes, compare the base rate, the APA percentage and the gratuity expectation as three separate numbers. An operator quoting a low base with a 35 percent APA can be more expensive than one quoting a higher base with 25 percent.
Where the market actually sits
| Segment | Indicative base rate per week |
|---|---|
| Bareboat catamaran, 12 to 14 m | $4,000 to $9,000 |
| Crewed catamaran, 15 to 18 m | $16,000 to $50,000 |
| Motor yacht, 24 to 30 m | from about $50,000 |
| Sailing yacht, crewed, average across the market | about $65,000 |
| Superyacht, 35 m and up | from about $250,000 |
Questions people also ask
- Is the APA refundable?
- Whatever is not spent is returned at the end of the charter, against receipts. It is a float, not a fee. If the crew spend it all, they will ask for a top-up before it runs out.
- Is VAT charged on the APA as well?
- The 7 percent applies to the charter fee. The APA is a spending float rather than income, so it is not taxed as such, though the goods and services bought with it carry their own tax.
- Can I pay the crew gratuity by card?
- Sometimes, through the operator, and sometimes not. Ask in advance, because arranging several thousand dollars in cash on Phuket on the last afternoon of a holiday is a poor use of the last afternoon of a holiday.
Next
- APA explained: what it pays for and what comes backWhat is the Advance Provisioning Allowance on a yacht charter?
- National park fees, park by parkWhat are the national park fees for a yacht charter in Thailand, and who pays them?
- Crew gratuity: how much, when and howHow much should I tip the crew on a yacht charter?
Last checked 6 September 2026. Rates, fees and regulations in this market change every season, so figures on this page are correct as at that date and not afterwards. How the figures are gathered.