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A 30 to 40m charter yacht Mozambique in the 2026 May-to-November dry season prices at $86,000 to $122,000 per week, plus a 30 percent APA, takes 8 to 10 guests, and bases out of either Vilanculos and the Bazaruto archipelago in the south or Pemba and the Quirimbas archipelago in the north. The Mozambique coast runs 2,400 kilometres along the southeastern African seaboard, but the practical charter cruising area for the bracket is concentrated in two 200-kilometre arcs: Bazaruto (latitude 21 to 23 south) and Quirimbas (latitude 11 to 13 south). The cyclone season runs December through March on the central coast. The bracket holds 1 to 2 yachts in either archipelago in any given week and the Mozambique charter market is entirely expedition. There is no superyacht marina south of Maputo and the bracket lives at anchor.
Why Mozambique is a two-archipelago charter, not a coastal cruise
Mozambique is geographically long and operationally bifurcated. Bazaruto and Quirimbas are 1,800 kilometres apart and do not connect as a single charter itinerary; the bracket commits to one archipelago for a week and treats the other as a separate trip. Bazaruto is the more developed, with the andBeyond Benguerra and the Anantara Bazaruto lodges as the land-side anchors and Vilanculos airport as the access. Quirimbas is wilder, with the Ibo Island colonial-Portuguese texture, the Vamizi lodge, and Pemba airport as access. Charter clients who want the soft-resort lodge dimension book Bazaruto; charter clients who want the expedition dimension book Quirimbas.
Vilanculos (VNX) handles connections from Johannesburg (LAM and Airlink). Pemba (POL) handles connections from Maputo and seasonally from Dar es Salaam. The Quirimbas access in particular adds a half day each way and rewards charter weeks of 10 nights or more.
What the Mozambique cruising area offers
Bazaruto Archipelago National Park. Five sand-and-dune islands (Bazaruto, Benguerra, Magaruque, Santa Carolina, Bangue) over a 220 square kilometre marine park. White-sand banks, dugong sightings (rare globally, real here), and the marquee fishing grounds. The marquee Mozambique southern destination.
Pansy Island and the southern Bazaruto sandbars. Tidal sandbars exposed at low water, the bracket's standard day stop. Tender-and-picnic position.
Vilanculos and Inhassoro. Provisioning, agent contact, and the southern airport access. The town itself is small; the bracket uses Vilanculos for clearance and logistics, not for cultural texture.
Quirimbas Archipelago. 32 islands over a 200 kilometre arc north from Pemba to the Tanzanian border. The Quirimbas National Park covers the southern 11 islands. Ibo Island for the Portuguese colonial-era texture (the silversmiths, the Fortim de São João), Vamizi for the upscale lodge, Medjumbe for the central reefs.
Pemba and the Pemba Bay. Northern access. Pemba's deepwater bay is one of the largest natural harbours in Africa and the practical Mozambique northern charter base.
The Inhambane coast and Tofo. Off the standard bracket charter map. The 1,200 kilometres from Inhambane north to Pemba runs as a repositioning leg only, not a charter cruise.
Weekly rates from Mozambique in 2026
Ranges below are for the dry-season firm pricing before APA at 30 percent and gratuity at 12 percent. The Quirimbas itinerary runs at the higher end of the bracket because fuel and provisioning logistics through Pemba run heavier than Bazaruto-through-Vilanculos.
| LOA bracket | Motor yacht (low to high) | Sailing yacht and motor-sailor (low to high) |
|---|---|---|
| 30 to 33m | $86K to $98K per week | $64K to $86K per week |
| 33 to 36m | $94K to $112K per week | $76K to $100K per week |
| 36 to 40m | $106K to $122K per week | $86K to $116K per week |
The December cyclone window is closed. The November shoulder runs at a 10 to 15 percent discount and is a charter-marginal window; book only with a captain who has the Mozambique channel weather in his contact list. The July to September South African school-holiday windows run at a 12 percent premium on the Bazaruto base.
What this bracket does in Mozambique
Quay berths. None for the bracket. Vilanculos and Pemba are ports with no superyacht stern-to capacity. The bracket lives at anchor for the duration.
Anchorages. Bazaruto: Two Mile Reef, Pansy Island, Magaruque, Santa Carolina ruins. Quirimbas: Ibo south anchorage, Quilalea, Medjumbe, Vamizi. All are sand at 6m to 14m and accept the bracket.
Tenders. Two tenders is the minimum. A fast tender for the Quirimbas inter-island runs (15 to 40 kilometres) and the Pansy Island tidal runs. A comfortable tender for the beach landings.
At-anchor stabilizers. Required at the open-side anchorages on a building Kusi monsoon day in July through September. Pemba Bay and the southern Bazaruto channel are protected.
Provisioning. Limited. Vilanculos covers fresh fish, fruit, vegetables, basic dry stores. Premium European wine and dairy is flown in from Johannesburg through the yacht agent on a 7 to 10 day advance order. Pemba is thinner than Vilanculos; the Quirimbas charter runs heavier on yacht-stocked dry stores from the embarkation provisioning load. The 2M beer, the South African and Portuguese wine lines, and the fresh prawns from Beira are the regional differentiators.
Trip shapes that work
The 7-night Bazaruto round-trip. Embark Vilanculos, two nights Bazaruto Island and Two Mile Reef, two nights Benguerra and Pansy, two nights Magaruque and Santa Carolina, one return Vilanculos. The standard southern Mozambique week.
The 10-night Quirimbas round-trip. Embark Pemba, two nights Ibo Island (the colonial-Portuguese cultural day), three nights central Quirimbas (Quilalea, Medjumbe, Matemo), three nights northern Quirimbas (Vamizi, Mocimboa da Praia), two nights return through the Pemba Bay. The marquee Quirimbas expedition.
The 14-night Quirimbas to Tanzania one-way. Embark Pemba, full Quirimbas circuit, push north into the Mafia and Mnemba reefs, disembark Stone Town. The Swahili-coast extension, run by yachts repositioning north for the Zanzibar season. See the 30-40m Zanzibar page for the northern end.
What does not work at this bracket in Mozambique
The cyclone-season week. December through March is closed. We do not book Mozambique December to March.
The high-volume cultural week. Mozambique's land hospitality is concentrated in lodges; the cities (Maputo, Beira, Pemba) are not standard charter cultural stops. Ibo Island is the exception and the cultural high point.
The pure-diving week. Quirimbas and Bazaruto both have good Indian Ocean diving and the Quirimbas in particular is a marquee destination for the south-bay diving and the Two Mile Reef wall, but the Maldives remains the marquee Indian Ocean diving destination. Specialist diving weeks should base in the Maldives.
What we would book
For a couples-only 10-night Quirimbas in late September: a 36m motor yacht with at-anchor stabilizers, full tender complement, and a captain who has at least three Quirimbas seasons in his logbook and a relationship with the Pemba agent. Budget: $158K plus APA, all-in roughly $228K. Booking lead time: 12 months.
For a family of 8, a 7-night Bazaruto round-trip in late July: a 33m motor yacht with full tender complement, the Vilanculos clearance and the Anantara Bazaruto land-day arrangement, and the captain who knows the Pansy Island tide-window. Budget: $98K plus APA, all-in roughly $142K. Booking lead time: 10 months.
What sits next to this page
The neighbouring siblings are 30-40m Zanzibar, 30-40m Madagascar, 30-40m Mauritius, and 30-40m Seychelles. For destination editorial, see Charter Seychelles and Best expedition yachts 2026. For the season logic, see Indian Ocean charter season and Indian Ocean charter weekly rates.
Land-side context is on VillasForKings Mozambique and HotelsForKings Bazaruto.