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A 40 to 50m motor yacht northern Madagascar in the dry season (May to November 2026) runs $195,000 to $278,000 per week plus 25 to 30 percent APA, takes 8 to 12 guests, and bases out of Nosy Be (Hell-Ville) at the northwestern coast or the Crater Bay anchorage on the southern Nosy Be lobe. Madagascar's charter ground at the bracket is the northern archipelago corridor running from Nosy Be north through the Mitsio Islands at 35 nautical miles and the Radama Islands at 75 nautical miles south. The active 40 to 50m fleet using Madagascar through a typical dry-season week is 1 to 3 yachts, the thinnest commercial charter base in the southwest Indian Ocean for the bracket and a clear expedition-style product against the resort-and-marina infrastructure of the Seychelles or Maldives.
Why the bracket runs Madagascar at all
The expedition product. Madagascar at the bracket is structurally an expedition charter, not a resort-tied week. The bracket runs the destination as the wildlife, anchorage-only, off-infrastructure product against the Seychelles development arc and the destination's structural separation is the lack of resort and marina anchor amenity rather than a competitive variant of it. Charter clients booking Madagascar at the bracket want the empty anchorage and the lemur and snorkel programme, not the dressed evening week.
The dry-season window. The Madagascar charter window runs May to November on the dry season with the southeast trade winds running 12 to 22 knots through July and August, easing to 8 to 16 knots through September and October. The wet season (December through April) closes the destination for charter at the bracket because the cyclone risk on the eastern coast and the rainfall on the northern coast make the cruising ground structurally unworkable. Confirm cyclone-watch protocol at contract.
The Nosy Be embarkation. Nosy Be (Hell-Ville) on the northwestern coast carries the destination's only charter embarkation point with the Fascene international airport handling direct fixed-wing from Johannesburg, Réunion, Mauritius, Mayotte, and Paris on regular dry-season schedule. The Hell-Ville commercial quay handles the bracket alongside by arrangement with the harbour master and the Crater Bay anchorage on the southern Nosy Be lobe runs the standard pre- and post-charter overnight hold.
What the cruising area gives the bracket
The Mitsio Islands at 35 nautical miles north of Nosy Be carry the destination's marquee snorkel anchorages on Grand Mitsio, Tsarabanjina, and the Quatre Frères pinnacle. The bracket holds in 12 to 18 metres on sand bottom on the western and southern lees and tenders ashore to the resort beach on Tsarabanjina (the only inhabited resort in the archipelago) or the empty anchorage beach on Grand Mitsio. The Mitsio archipelago is the destination's structural day-anchor focus.
The Radama Islands at 75 nautical miles south of Nosy Be (Nosy Berafia, Nosy Antany Mora, Nosy Kalakajoro) run the secondary archipelago on the southwestern leg with the deeper-water snorkel and the empty-anchorage beach product. The Radama is the destination's quieter outer leg and the bracket runs it as a 3 to 4-night extension on the longer charter.
Lokobe Reserve on the eastern Nosy Be lobe runs the lemur and rainforest day-programme on a captain-led shore landing with the reserve guides. The lemur programme is one of the destination's structural product anchors and the bracket builds the day around it.
Nosy Komba at 6 nautical miles south of Nosy Be runs the secondary lemur and village day with the protected anchorage on the eastern lobe. Nosy Iranja at 24 nautical miles southwest runs the sand-spit marquee day-anchor with the empty beach product on the connecting tidal sandbar.
Nosy Tanikely at 5 nautical miles south of Nosy Be runs the marine reserve snorkel anchorage with the protected mooring field. The bracket holds on the outer roads in 14 to 20 metres and tenders ashore to the reserve.
Weekly rate map for 2026 dry season
Rates below are for the firm dry-season pricing May to November 2026, before APA at 25 to 30 percent and gratuity at 12 to 15 percent. The peak weeks (mid-July through August, mid-October through mid-November) run at 1.15 to 1.3 times the published rate. The wet season is unavailable for charter at the bracket.
| LOA bracket | Motor yacht (low to high) | Sailing yacht and large catamaran (low to high) |
|---|---|---|
| 40 to 43m | $195K to $222K per week | $168K to $192K per week |
| 43 to 47m | $222K to $248K per week | $192K to $222K per week |
| 47 to 50m | $245K to $278K per week | $218K to $250K per week |
Madagascar rates run roughly 4 to 8 percent above the equivalent Mauritius shoulder week at the same LOA because the expedition product and the thin charter market support the structural premium. The Seychelles equivalent dry-season week runs 8 to 14 percent above Madagascar because the Seychelles resort infrastructure carries the dressed-week product that Madagascar does not.
What is in the bracket in this bracket
Cabins. Five to six. The 40 to 50m expedition standard runs 5 cabins at 8 to 10 guests on the Madagascar pattern and the 6-cabin product at the upper end runs the multi-family expedition week. The Madagascar bracket runs the smaller guest count more often than the Mauritius or Seychelles equivalent.
Crew. Nine to twelve. The Madagascar crew bench is structurally thin and substitution flies in via Fascene airport on a 48 to 96 hour lead time from Johannesburg or Paris. Captain prior tenure on the Mitsio and Radama archipelago navigation (the channels carry tidal current and the holding-ground variability is real), on the Nosy Be Crater Bay approach, and on the Lokobe Reserve shore-landing programme is the variable that decides whether the expedition runs cleanly. The dive and snorkel guide programme runs separately from the standard crew complement and the guide bench needs to be confirmed at inquiry. Confirm captain prior Madagascar tenure and guide programme at inquiry.
Tenders. A primary 9 to 11m fast tender plus a 6 to 7m secondary, with the dive tender configuration on the secondary. The Mitsio snorkel programme, the Lokobe shore landing, and the Nosy Iranja sandbar landing run the tender work hard, and the expedition product expects the full complement. The hand-launchable inflatable is useful for the Lokobe river estuaries and the rainforest landings.
At-anchor stabilizers. Required. The Mitsio western lees and the Radama southwestern roads carry the anchor positions for the bracket on the dry-season swell pattern. The Nosy Be Crater Bay and the Nosy Tanikely mooring are sheltered. The stabilizers are load-bearing on the outer-island legs.
Helipad. Useful. The Fascene airport runs the inbound and outbound guest logistics from Johannesburg, Mauritius, Réunion, and Paris on direct fixed-wing. The helipad carries the Lokobe and Tsingy de Bemaraha day-trip programme (the Tsingy at the western mainland sits a 90-minute helicopter from the northern fleet position) and the inter-archipelago corridor logistics. The helipad is more structural here than the Mauritius equivalent because the Tsingy day-trip programme is one of the destination's marquee inclusions.
Trip shapes that fit the bracket
The 7-night Nosy Be and Mitsio round-trip. One night Crater Bay or Hell-Ville embarkation, three nights Mitsio archipelago (Tsarabanjina, Grand Mitsio, Quatre Frères), one night Nosy Iranja sandbar, one night Nosy Komba and Lokobe Reserve, disembark Hell-Ville. The standard expedition week and the most-built shape at the bracket. Suits couples-only and small family expedition weeks.
The 10-night Mitsio and Radama full archipelago arc. Embark Hell-Ville, three nights Mitsio archipelago, two nights Nosy Iranja and the central transit, three nights Radama Islands (Nosy Berafia and Nosy Kalakajoro), one night Lokobe and Nosy Komba, disembark Hell-Ville. The marquee Madagascar charter at the bracket. Suits the longer family week and the dedicated expedition couples week.
The 10-night Nosy Be to Mayotte or Comoros reposition. The dry-season reposition charter on the northern Mozambique Channel route. Two nights Mitsio archipelago, three nights Nosy Be northern coast, five nights inter-island transit to Mayotte or the Comoros. Suits operator-built reposition weeks on the longer Indian Ocean route. Confirm Mayotte and Comoros permitting at contract.
For destination context see Indian Ocean charter season and Best off-grid Indian Ocean charters.
What the bracket does not do well at Madagascar
The dressed evening Indian Ocean week. Madagascar at the bracket is the empty-anchorage expedition product, not the Soneva or Six Senses dressed week. The land hospitality at Tsarabanjina runs a single resort programme well and the Nosy Be resort strip at Andilana and Madirokely carries the beach-club dining at a workable level, but the volume runs materially below the Maldives or Seychelles. Clients who want the dressed week at the bracket book the Maldives or the Seychelles.
The wet-season charter. The Madagascar wet season closes the destination for the bracket on cyclone and rainfall risk and the cruising ground is unworkable from December through April. The wet-season Indian Ocean charter runs the Maldives on the northeast monsoon, not Madagascar.
The eastern-coast charter. Madagascar's eastern coast at Île Sainte-Marie, Toamasina, and the southeast carries the cyclone exposure and the open-ocean swell pattern that closes the bracket to the eastern side. The destination's charter ground at the bracket is structurally the northwestern archipelago corridor and the eastern coast is not the destination's product.
The standalone week with no archipelago focus. Nosy Be as a stand-alone embarkation week without the Mitsio or Radama extension is a structural three-day product and the seven-night charter compresses on the central Nosy Be alone. Build the trip on the Mitsio archipelago as the anchor and the secondary archipelago as the extension.
Our pick
For a couples-only 7-night Nosy Be and Mitsio expedition in late July as the dry-season peak: a 43 to 45m motor yacht with the 5-cabin layout, a captain holding prior Mitsio and Lokobe tenure, the full snorkel and dive tender complement, and the guide programme confirmed at contract. Budget: $238K plus APA at 27 percent, all-in roughly $318K. Booking lead time: 8 to 10 months.
For a family of 10, 10-night Mitsio and Radama full arc in early October as the shoulder-peak: a 45 to 47m motor yacht with the 6-cabin layout, the helipad for the Tsingy de Bemaraha day-trip, full tender complement, and the captain experience for the 75 nautical mile southwestern Radama transit. Budget: $335K plus APA at 28 percent, all-in roughly $445K. Booking lead time: 9 to 12 months.
Inventory
The live 40 to 50m Madagascar dry-season inventory through the 2026 season updates weekly.. For broker-side inquiry, see the brokers pillar and the Indian Ocean charter season report.