What Does a Crewed Tuamotu Charter Actually Cost — and What’s Included?

A crewed Tuamotu charter costs the weekly base rate for the yacht, plus an advance provisioning allowance (APA) of roughly 25% to 35% of that rate, plus gratuity of roughly 10% to 20%, plus VAT if it applies to your yacht’s flag and contract. On an illustrative $15,000-a-week catamaran, APA and gratuity alone typically add $5,250 to $8,250 for the week — call it $20,250 to $23,250 all-in before VAT (if applicable) and before flights. That is the number to plan around, not the headline weekly rate on its own.

We would not recommend budgeting only the base charter fee and hoping the rest is minor. In a destination built around lagoon passes, remote provisioning, and dive-heavy days, the extras are not an afterthought — they typically add 35% to 55% on top of the base rate once APA and gratuity are counted, before any VAT that might apply. Below is what actually makes up the number, and where guests get caught out.

What the weekly base rate actually buys

The base rate covers the yacht itself and its full crew: captain, chef, and mate or deckhand depending on the boat’s size. It typically includes the vessel’s insurance and standard onboard equipment. It does not typically include fuel, food, drinks, dockage, or the toys you’ll actually use every day, such as tenders and dive gear consumables.

In the current French Polynesia fleet, catamaran base rates start around $10,000 a week for smaller boats and rise well into six figures for the largest luxury multihulls. Motor yachts start higher, often above $40,000 a week, and climb further for the largest vessels. These are typical market levels as of 2026 and shift with season, fuel costs, and currency, so the number that matters for you depends on group size, cabin count, and how many atolls you want to cover — ask us for current pricing on specific yachts you’re considering rather than relying on any single “typical” figure.

The Tuamotus reward a catamaran-first approach. Lagoons here are shallow, passes are coral-lined, and a shoal-draft hull can sit closer to a motu (islet) and tender guests ashore more easily than a deep-draft motor yacht can. Most of the fleet built for this region is power catamaran rather than displacement motor yacht, and that is a deliberate design choice by the operators who work these waters regularly, not a coincidence of what happens to be available. A larger motor yacht can still be a good fit for some groups, but it changes where the boat can anchor and how much of the lagoon interior you can actually reach by tender.

Cabin count tracks fairly closely with base rate across the fleet. A group of 2 to 4 is usually well served near the lower end of the catamaran range; a group of 8 to 10 needs a larger multihull or a motor yacht, and the rate moves up accordingly. We would not encourage a small group to overbook a large vessel just to have more space, since the extra cost shows up again in a larger APA and gratuity base — both are calculated as a percentage of the boat’s rate and crew size, not the number of guests aboard.

What gets added on top of the base rate

The advance provisioning allowance, usually called APA, is the biggest addition. It’s a deposit the crew draws down for fuel, food, drinks, and dockage, settled against actual spend at the end of the trip, and it’s standard practice across crewed charter globally, not something specific to French Polynesia. For a Tuamotu charter, budget 25% to 35% of the base rate. On a $15,000-a-week catamaran, that’s $3,750 to $5,250 for a 7-night charter. The exact percentage is set out in your charter contract — confirm it before you compare two boats side by side, since it changes the total more than guests expect.

VAT may apply depending on the yacht’s flag, registration, and the specific charter agreement, and on some contracts it is also applied to APA. This detail is written into the contract, so check it before you compare two boats side by side. There is no single fixed rate we can quote in general — ask your broker for the applicable VAT position on any yacht you’re considering.

Crew gratuity is a further separate line, and it is customary across crewed charter generally. For a Tuamotu week, industry practice is to budget 10% to 20% of the base rate, with 15% a reasonable planning figure for most crews. On a $15,000 base rate, that’s $1,500 to $3,000, or roughly $2,250 at the 15% mark. Gratuity is paid to the crew directly at the end of the charter — confirm the arrangement with your broker before you sail.

Water toys are also usually a separate line rather than a built-in feature of the base rate. In a diving-led destination like this one, confirm what’s aboard as standard (paddleboards, kayaks, snorkel gear) versus what’s charged as an extra (compressor time, dive gear rental, additional tanks per day).

• Base rate: yacht, captain, chef, mate, standard insurance
• APA: 25% to 35% of the base rate — fuel, food, drinks, dockage, incidentals
• VAT: may apply depending on the yacht’s flag and contract, sometimes on APA too — confirmed by your broker, not a fixed universal rate
• Gratuity: 10% to 20% of the base rate, 15% a reasonable planning figure
• Extras: chef upgrades, dive gear, extended water toy use, international and domestic flights

The part guests underestimate

Why the crew is worth the premium here

The Tuamotus are a water-first archipelago: low coral atolls surrounding enormous lagoons, connected to the ocean through narrow passes where the current reverses with the tide. Scuba diving is the centerpiece of this itinerary, stronger here than in the Society Islands, and the shark-dive spots that make Fakarava and Rangiroa famous sit right in those pass currents.

This is why the crew matters as much as the yacht itself. Timing a pass transit against the tide, and knowing which side of a given atoll holds calm water on a given day, is local knowledge that takes seasons to build. A captain who has run Fakarava’s south pass repeatedly knows the difference between a manageable slack-tide window and a current that will push an unprepared tender straight into the reef. The same logic applies at Rangiroa’s Tiputa and Avatoru passes, and again at the quieter, less-visited passes around Tikehau and Manihi, where there is less local traffic and less margin if something goes wrong.

The rest of the day, once the diving is done, is what our team calls motu time: quiet anchorages, a private beach setup on an uninhabited sandbank, long swims across lagoon water so shallow you can see the bottom from the deck. A good crew reads that rhythm without being asked, moving the boat while you’re still asleep so you wake up somewhere better. That kind of route planning also depends on the crew knowing which anchorages hold good protection when the trade winds pick up, and which ones look fine on a chart but turn uncomfortable the moment the wind shifts.

What a realistic Tuamotu charter budget looks like

The two examples below are illustrative — they show how the pieces add up, not a quote for a specific yacht. Ask us for current pricing on the boats that actually fit your group.

For a couple or a small group of 2 to 4 guests wanting a focused 7-night charter around one atoll, a catamaran toward the lower end of the fleet’s rate range is the sensible starting point. Using an illustrative $15,000-a-week base rate: budget roughly $3,750 to $5,250 in APA (25% to 35%) and $1,500 to $3,000 in gratuity (10% to 20%) — call it $20,250 to $23,250 all-in for the week before VAT (if it applies to your contract) and before flights. Add a domestic flight from Papeete to Fakarava or Rangiroa on top, since that leg is never part of the charter fee. Keeping the itinerary to one atoll also keeps provisioning simpler for the crew, since they’re working from one local supply base rather than restocking mid-trip.

For a family or friend group of 8 to 10 guests wanting 2 atolls over 10 to 14 nights, a larger catamaran further up the range gives the cabin capacity and range needed without pushing into motor-yacht territory that the shallow lagoons don’t reward. Using an illustrative $55,000-a-week base rate for a 14-night charter: that’s a $110,000 base, plus roughly $27,500 to $38,500 in APA and $11,000 to $22,000 in gratuity — call it $148,500 to $170,500 all-in before VAT (if applicable) and before flights. This is the tier where a chef upgrade tends to pay off most, since more nights and more guests mean more meals built entirely around what the crew can source locally, rather than what can be flown or shipped in.

Guests set on a larger motor yacht should know that vessel size stops being the main constraint in the Tuamotus and draft becomes the issue instead. If a bigger platform matters more to you than shallow-lagoon access, we’d steer that conversation toward the wider South Pacific fleet or the French Polynesia region more broadly, where the Society Islands offer deeper anchorages alongside the atolls, and where a larger yacht can move between islands without the pass and lagoon constraints that shape a Tuamotu-only route.

If budget is the primary constraint, our yachts under $60k list is the most realistic starting filter for a Tuamotu week; guests chasing the top end of the fleet should look at our luxury yachts page instead. For a wider view of how these numbers compare across regions, our charter insights section covers cost breakdowns for other destinations we place guests into.

Does the weekly rate include food and drinks?

No. Food, drinks, fuel, and dockage are covered by the advance provisioning allowance (APA), which is billed separately from the base charter fee and settled against actual spend at the end of the trip. Budget 25% to 35% of the base rate for APA; the exact percentage is set out in the contract for the yacht you book.

How much should I budget for APA and gratuity together?

Together, APA and gratuity typically add 35% to 55% on top of the base weekly rate — roughly 25% to 35% for APA and 10% to 20% for gratuity. On a $15,000-a-week catamaran, that’s an extra $5,250 to $8,250 for the week, before VAT (if it applies to your contract) and before flights.

What isn’t covered even after APA and gratuity?

International flights to Papeete, the domestic flight to your starting atoll, travel insurance, and any dive certification courses beyond what the crew includes as standard are all separate from the charter budget.

How far ahead should I book a Tuamotu charter?

Book as early as you can once your dates and month are fixed. The fleet suited to shallow lagoon work is small, and the May-to-October window is the one most guests want, so the right boat for your group size gets reserved well ahead of the season. If your trip is less than six months away, we’d still check availability, but your realistic choice of yacht narrows quickly the closer you get to peak months.

Is diving insurance included in the charter?

Not automatically. Confirm dive coverage is written into your contract before you travel; if it isn’t, arrange separate dive insurance ahead of the trip, since scuba is the central activity in this destination.

How is a Tuamotu charter different from a Society Islands charter around Tahiti or Bora Bora?

The Tuamotus are shallower, more remote, and built around diving and pass navigation, while the Society Islands offer deeper water, more shore-based dining and infrastructure, and an easier itinerary for guests who want a mix of water time and land time. Many first-time French Polynesia guests combine a few nights in the Society Islands with a Tuamotu leg rather than choosing one region exclusively; see our Tahiti charter cost guide for how that budget compares.

Our Top Recommendations

We put these shortlists together because most travellers don’t need to weigh up every yacht on the water — just the handful that consistently get this kind of trip right. Each guide below digs into the boats, the best months to go, and the trade-offs worth knowing before you book.