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A 50m yacht in Port Hercule, Monaco, during Grand Prix week 2026 was quoted between €10,000 and €15,000 per night on confirmed dock-agent bookings. The same berth in early September was around €1,800. The same yacht in a fishing port in northern Sardinia was €600. Mediterranean dockage fees are not a single number. They are a curve, and the curve is steepest in July and August, at five marinas where every captain wants the same week.
Charter clients pay these fees from the APA, not the base charter rate. Owners pay them from operating cost when not on charter. Either way, the per-night number lands on someone's invoice, and the gap between what brokers quote in shoulder season and what gets billed in peak is enough to absorb 15% to 20% of an APA budget. We work through the marinas, the per-night bands, the dock-agent layer, and the lines clients should ask their captain to walk back.
How dockage is billed
A Mediterranean superyacht marina charges by yacht length (LOA) and beam. Some charge by GT. Most charge a base rate per metre plus a beam supplement plus a peak-season multiplier. A 50m yacht with 9m beam in a marina that charges €30 per metre per night in low season would be €1,500 base. The same marina in peak might apply a 2.5x multiplier, taking the night to €3,750. Larger yachts pay disproportionately more because the per-metre rate also rises with LOA brackets.
Marinas also charge:
- Water and shore power (usually metered, €5 to €25 per cubic metre of water, €0.40 to €1.20 per kWh for three-phase 380V or 480V power)
- Waste and grey-water pump-out (€100 to €400 per pump-out, often required nightly on yachts above 50m)
- Wi-Fi (some marinas, around €50 per day, increasingly included)
- Security and dock-master service (sometimes a flat €100 to €300 per night surcharge on top yachts)
The headline berth rate covers the slot. Everything else is metered or invoiced separately and flows through APA.
Monaco: Port Hercule and Port de Fontvieille
Monaco runs two marinas. Port Hercule is the headline berth, with Quai des États-Unis as the prime visible row directly opposite the casino and the Grand Prix circuit. Port de Fontvieille is the smaller, quieter marina on the southwest side.
In 2026, Port Hercule per-night quoted rates for a 50m yacht with 9m beam:
- Low season (October to April): €1,500 to €2,200, when available
- Shoulder (May, September): €1,800 to €2,800
- Peak (June, July, August): €3,000 to €5,500
- Grand Prix week (late May): €10,000 to €15,000+ with a minimum stay (usually four nights), and the prime berths sell out 12 months in advance
For an 80m yacht the peak numbers roughly double. Grand Prix week is the most expensive yacht-berth fee in Europe, and the marina is sold out by January for the following May. The Yacht Club de Monaco runs a member-priority allocation that shapes which yachts get the prime berths.
Port de Fontvieille is roughly 25% to 35% cheaper for equivalent LOA in peak, with the trade-off that you are walking through a residential area rather than stepping onto Casino Square. For a charter client who wants Monaco as a stop, not as the centre of the week, Fontvieille is the cheaper berth.
Booking is direct with the marina office or through Monaco Port Agency. Dock-agent commissions are 10% to 15% on top of the berth.
Capri: Marina Grande
Capri Marina Grande is the most over-demanded berth in the western Mediterranean during August. The marina has a small commercial fleet sharing the basin with the ferries and the yacht moorings. Berths above 50m are limited, and yachts above 70m typically anchor outside the breakwater on day moorings and tender in.
Per-night quoted rates for a 50m yacht in 2026:
- Low season (October to April): not relevant; the marina is largely closed to transient yacht traffic outside the May to October window
- Shoulder (May, October): €2,500 to €4,000
- Peak (June 15 to September 15): €5,000 to €8,500
- August peak weeks: €6,500 to €10,000, with a stay-minimum of three nights now standard
The marina works through a small group of port agents who consolidate captain requests. Vincenzo Pane, Capri Charter, and Capri Yacht Services are the three names that surface most often. The agent fee is typically 10% on top of the berth, paid via APA.
What changes the price more than the marina list rate is when you book. A captain who calls 12 weeks out gets a quote that is materially higher than a captain who has a relationship with the agent and called in February. Charter clients are not in this conversation directly; the captain handles it. But a charter quote that assumes Capri at marina-list rate is a quote with €5,000 to €10,000 of optimism baked into the APA.
Saint-Tropez: Vieux Port and the alternatives
Vieux Port de Saint-Tropez is the headline berth, with the stern-to row facing Quai Jean Jaurès. The port is managed by the Société d'Économie Mixte du Port de Saint-Tropez. Berths are short and shallow; large yachts (above 60m) typically cannot enter and anchor off Pampelonne instead.
Per-night rates for a 50m yacht with 9m beam in 2026:
- Low season (October to April): the marina runs a winter program but yacht traffic is minimal
- Shoulder (May, September): €2,000 to €3,500
- Peak (July, August): €4,500 to €7,500
- Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez week (late September to early October): €5,500 to €8,000
Berths in Vieux Port are allocated through a request-list managed by the port office. The captain or the dock agent submits in writing, with preferred and alternative dates. Returning yachts get preference, particularly those that paid the previous summer's berth fees promptly. New yachts in the system fall down the list.
Charter clients should not assume Vieux Port is bookable on any week of August. A captain calling on Monday for Wednesday almost always gets no for a 50m+ yacht. The fallback is anchoring off Pampelonne with the Saint-Tropez anchorage permit, which is a separate cost (€500 to €1,200 per night depending on the buoy and the LOA) but a different conversation.
Port Gallice and Port Vauban in Antibes are the practical alternatives at 30% to 40% lower per-night rates, with Antibes offering the deepest superyacht berths in the central Riviera.
Porto Cervo and the Costa Smeralda
Marina di Porto Cervo and Marina dell'Orso (Poltu Quatu) are the headline Sardinian berths. Both are managed by the Costa Smeralda Consortium, with allocation rules that favour Yacht Club Costa Smeralda members.
Per-night rates for a 50m yacht in 2026:
- Low season (October to April): closed or skeleton operation
- Shoulder (May, September): €2,000 to €3,000
- Peak (mid-July to late August): €4,500 to €8,000
- Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup week (early September): €5,000 to €7,500
Porto Cervo is the only Mediterranean marina where a yacht's calendar can be effectively locked out for the season if the owner is not a YCCS member. Members get priority allocation, lower published rates, and access to events. Non-member yachts pay the published rate and take whatever berth is available. For charter clients, this is invisible. For owners, it is one of the structural reasons yachts based in Sardinia tend to have YCCS-member owners.
Portofino and the Italian Riviera
Marina di Portofino is the smallest of the headline marinas. It has fewer than 20 yacht berths and a wait-list that runs years deep for premium spots. Yachts above 60m typically cannot enter and anchor in Paraggi Bay or off the Promontorio di Portofino.
Per-night rates for a 50m yacht in 2026:
- Shoulder (May, September): €3,500 to €5,500
- Peak (July, August): €5,500 to €9,000
What you pay for in Portofino is access to the village rather than facilities. The marina has limited shore power, no real superyacht infrastructure, and a strict noise and operating regime. Captains who want a smooth night choose Santa Margherita Ligure or Genoa and tender in. Clients who want the view of the harbour from the saloon pay the Portofino rate.
Marina del Rey, Sant Carles, and the Spanish list
The Spanish equivalents are Port Adriano (Mallorca), Marina Ibiza, Port de Sant Miquel (Ibiza), and the OneOcean Port Vell (Barcelona, with a longer-stay program).
Indicative 2026 per-night rates for a 50m yacht in peak:
- Port Adriano: €3,500 to €5,000
- Marina Ibiza: €4,500 to €6,500
- OneOcean Port Vell: €3,000 to €4,500 (with monthly contracts at a discount)
- Sant Carles Marina (Tarragona): €1,500 to €2,200 (the choice for winter storage and refit)
Ibiza pricing reflects the demand pattern of the island; the discount in Mallorca and Barcelona is structural.
Greek and Croatian comparison
Greek and Croatian dockage is materially cheaper than France and Italy for equivalent LOA. A 50m yacht in Hydra, Mykonos, or Hvar will pay €1,200 to €2,500 per night in peak, with reduced beam-and-power supplements. The trade-off is fewer berths above 40m and a more variable shore-power and water service.
For a charter routing that spends most nights at anchor and only enters port for fuel and provisioning, Greek and Croatian itineraries reduce the dockage line in the APA materially. A typical Med charter on the French and Italian Riviera will spend two to three nights in marina in a week. The same charter on a Greek itinerary may spend zero or one. The APA reflects the difference.
What the captain books and what the client sees
In 2026, captains book marinas through dock agents directly. The client does not see the agent invoice. They see the APA reconciliation at the end of the week.
The APA reconciliation has line items for each marina night with the marina name, the date, the gross berth fee, the agent fee, the water and power, and any add-ons. A clean reconciliation matches the marina's standard publication. A reconciliation with mystery line items (a "service fee" that is 25% of the berth, or a "high-season supplement" that does not appear on the marina's published rate card) is worth asking about.
We have seen reconciliations where the dock agent invoice was 25% above the marina's actual receipt, with the captain unaware. The client paid the gap through APA. This is a captain-side accountability question, not a broker question, but the client has the right to request the marina's underlying receipts on any berth above €5,000. Good captains provide them without being asked.
The friction about marina bookings
We would push back on a marina booking that exceeds two nights in Monaco for a non-Grand-Prix week. The cost-per-night is not justified for routine harbour access. Better answer: stay in Cap Ferrat or Villefranche, tender in for dinner.
We would push back on a captain proposing Marina di Portofino as a base for a multi-day stay above 50m. The yacht cannot deliver service in that basin. Stay in Santa Margherita, tender in for the village.
We would not skip Saint-Tropez Vieux Port if it can be booked. The vantage point is the point. We would skip Saint-Tropez entirely on an August weekend and route around the peak.
The honest disclosure
Marina rates change quarterly. The numbers in this piece are as of May 2026 from confirmed dock-agent quotes, marina publications, and APA reconciliations on charters in 2025 and early 2026. We will update this piece every quarter. The companion pieces on anchorage fees, APA explained, and hidden charter costs sit alongside it. For destination-level routing, the French Riviera and Amalfi Coast pages cover the strategic decisions about where to sleep, where to anchor, and where to skip. For pre-charter and post-charter shore stays in Monaco and Saint-Tropez, our network site villasforkings.com covers the villa side.
FAQ
Are dockage fees included in the weekly charter rate? No. They flow through APA, on top of the base charter fee.
What is the most expensive marina-night in the Med? Port Hercule in Monaco during Grand Prix week, with quoted rates of €10,000 to €15,000+ per night for a 50m yacht.
Can the client book the marina directly? No. The captain books, usually through a dock agent. The fee is paid from APA.
What is a dock-agent commission? 10% to 15% on top of the marina's gross berth fee, paid through APA.
How much should a 50m charter budget for marina nights in a week in July? €15,000 to €35,000 of APA depending on routing. A French-Italian Riviera week absorbs more. A Greek or Croatian week absorbs less.
Do we have to stay in marinas at all? No. A well-routed week can spend zero nights in marina. The trade-off is more tender movement and reduced provisioning windows.