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A 40 to 50m motor yacht Mozambique in the dry season (May to October 2026) prices at $198,000 to $282,000 per week plus 25 to 30 percent APA, takes 8 to 12 guests, and bases out of one of two structurally distinct grounds: the Bazaruto Archipelago in the south (off Vilanculos at 22 degrees south) or the Quirimbas Islands in the far north (off Pemba town at 13 degrees south). Mozambique is a 1,600 nautical mile coastline state in southeast Africa and the bracket runs the two archipelagos as discrete charter products rather than a single integrated cruising ground because the 1,200 nautical mile coastal corridor between them is uncruised at the bracket. The active 40 to 50m fleet using Mozambique through any given dry-season week is 1 to 3 yachts, almost entirely on the Bazaruto and Quirimbas anchor positions, with the corridor between unused.
Why the bracket runs Mozambique at all
The dual-archipelago expedition product. Mozambique at the bracket runs as the dressed-expedition product in the Indian Ocean against the Madagascar archipelago expedition and the Seychelles development arc. The Bazaruto south carries the And Beyond and Anantara resort anchors and the Quirimbas north carries the And Beyond Vamizi and the Ibo Island programmes. Charter clients booking Mozambique at the bracket want the empty archipelago with resort-tied dining anchors, not the standalone expedition empty week.
The dry-season window. The Mozambique charter window runs May to October on the southeast trade-wind dry season with the trades running 12 to 22 knots through July and August. The cyclone season runs November through April with named storms tracking across the Mozambique Channel and the destination closes for charter at the bracket through the wet calendar. Confirm cyclone-watch protocol at contract.
The Pemba and Vilanculos embarkation points. Both archipelagos carry workable embarkation infrastructure. Pemba town (Mozambique) on the northern mainland coast handles the bracket alongside at the commercial quay by arrangement and the Pemba airport runs direct fixed-wing from Johannesburg, Maputo, and Nairobi on regular dry-season schedule. Vilanculos on the southern mainland coast handles the bracket at anchor in the bay with shore transfers to the Vilanculos airport which runs direct from Johannesburg and Maputo. Neither embarkation runs the volume that Stone Town Zanzibar carries but both are workable at the bracket.
What the cruising areas give the bracket
The Bazaruto Archipelago at the southern ground carries the five-island chain (Bazaruto, Benguerra, Magaruque, Santa Carolina, and Bangué) inside the 1,400 square-kilometre Bazaruto National Park marine reserve. The bracket holds at anchor in 8 to 16 metres on sand bottom on the western lees and tenders ashore to the And Beyond Benguerra, Anantara Bazaruto, or Kisawa Sanctuary anchor resorts. The dugong programme on the western Bazaruto channel and the Two Mile Reef diving on the eastern coast run the marquee daytime product.
The Quirimbas Islands at the northern ground carry the 32-island archipelago in the Quirimbas National Park stretching 200 nautical miles north from Pemba to the Tanzanian border. Ibo Island (the historic Portuguese colonial outpost), Quilálea, Matemo, Medjumbe, and Vamizi run the bracket's anchor positions and the And Beyond Vamizi, Anantara Medjumbe, and Ibo Island Lodge are the resort dining anchors. The bracket holds at anchor in 10 to 18 metres on sand bottom on the western lees and the snorkel and diving programme runs the Quirimbas reef walls. The Quirimbas is the destination's structural marquee at the bracket.
The Inhaca and Maputo embarkation runs the southernmost cruising ground at the bracket on a limited basis with the Inhaca Island anchor and the Maputo Bay embarkation, but the Inhaca cruising area is structurally a 2-day product and the bracket does not run the standalone week here. The Pemba Channel northern transit links the Quirimbas to the Tanzanian Mafia Island and the Zanzibar corridor on the operator-built reposition.
Weekly rate map for 2026 dry season
Rates below are firm dry-season pricing for May to October 2026, before APA at 25 to 30 percent and gratuity at 12 to 15 percent. The peak weeks (mid-July through August on the Bazaruto, mid-September through mid-October on the Quirimbas) run at 1.15 to 1.3 times the published rate. The wet season (November through April) 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 | $198K to $225K per week | $170K to $195K per week |
| 43 to 47m | $225K to $252K per week | $192K to $222K per week |
| 47 to 50m | $250K to $282K per week | $220K to $252K per week |
Mozambique rates run roughly 3 to 6 percent above the equivalent Zanzibar dry-season week at the same LOA because the resort-tied dining anchor programme and the larger archipelago run the structurally richer product. The Madagascar equivalent week runs 1 to 3 percent above Mozambique because the lemur and Tsingy de Bemaraha programme carries the marginal premium against the resort-tied Mozambique product. The Seychelles dry-season equivalent runs 4 to 8 percent above the Mozambique headline because the Seychelles infrastructure depth and the inter-island schedule run the larger commercial market.
What the bracket buys you in this bracket
Cabins. Five to six. The 40 to 50m East African expedition standard runs 5 cabins at 8 to 10 guests on the dressed-expedition pattern and the 6-cabin product at the upper end runs the multi-family Quirimbas week and the family Bazaruto week tied to the resort dining anchors.
Crew. Nine to twelve. The Mozambique crew bench is structurally thin and substitution flies in via Pemba or Vilanculos on a 48 to 96 hour lead time from Johannesburg. Captain prior tenure on the Bazaruto channel navigation (the dugong corridor and the western lee anchor positions carry specific local knowledge), on the Quirimbas reef approaches (the Vamizi and Medjumbe channels run shallow approaches with reef structure), on the Pemba and Vilanculos clearance procedure, and on the cross-border permitting if running the Quirimbas to Tanzania corridor is the variable that decides whether the charter runs cleanly. Confirm captain prior Mozambique tenure and the cross-border permitting 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 Bazaruto dugong programme, the Quirimbas reef snorkel and diving, and the resort shore landings run the tender work hard. The expedition product expects the full complement.
At-anchor stabilizers. Required. The Bazaruto western lees carry 0.8 to 1.5 metres of swell on the southeast trade-wind days and the Quirimbas western anchorages run the swell on the trade direction. The Pemba and Vilanculos embarkation roads are sheltered. The stabilizers are load-bearing on the outer-island legs in both archipelagos.
Helipad. Useful at the upper end. The Pemba and Vilanculos airports run the inbound and outbound guest logistics from Johannesburg, Maputo, and Nairobi on direct fixed-wing. The helipad carries the Niassa Reserve and Gorongosa safari day-trip programme (a 90 to 120-minute helicopter from the southern Bazaruto fleet position to the Gorongosa aircraft strip, longer from the Quirimbas) and the inter-archipelago reposition transfer when guests cross the Bazaruto to Quirimbas split on a charter sequence. The helipad is structural for the safari extension and the cross-archipelago guest transfer.
Trip shapes that fit the bracket
The 7-night Bazaruto Archipelago round-trip. One night Vilanculos embarkation, two nights Bazaruto Island and the dugong channel, two nights Benguerra at the And Beyond and Azura anchor, one night Santa Carolina or Magaruque, one night Bazaruto return to Vilanculos, disembark. The standard southern dry-season pattern for the bracket. Suits couples-only weeks and small family weeks tied to the resort dining anchor programme.
The 10-night Quirimbas full archipelago arc. Embark Pemba, two nights Quilálea and the southern Quirimbas, three nights Ibo Island and Matemo at the central archipelago, three nights Medjumbe and Vamizi at the northern lobe, two nights Pemba return, disembark. The marquee Mozambique charter at the bracket. Suits the family week with the diving focus and the dressed-expedition couples week.
The 14-night Quirimbas to Zanzibar or reverse corridor reposition. The dry-season reposition charter on the East African coastal corridor. Three nights northern Quirimbas, two nights cross-border transit, three nights Tanzanian Mafia Island, two nights Pemba Channel diving, four nights Zanzibar Mnemba and Stone Town. Suits the operator-built reposition week tied to the seasonal fleet rotation. Confirm Mozambique and Tanzania cross-border 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 Mozambique
The integrated single-week Bazaruto-and-Quirimbas charter. The 1,200 nautical mile coastal gap between the two archipelagos is uncruised at the bracket and the 7-night charter does not run both grounds. Build the charter on one archipelago or build the 14-night corridor reposition with structured cross-border permitting. Trying to compress both archipelagos into one short week is a structural mistake.
The wet-season charter. The Mozambique wet season (November to April) closes the destination on cyclone risk and rainfall. The wet-season Indian Ocean charter runs the Maldives on the northeast monsoon, not Mozambique. The bracket does not write the calendar.
The standalone Inhaca-and-Maputo charter. The Inhaca cruising ground is structurally a 2-day product and the bracket does not run the seven-night standalone charter on the south. The northern Quirimbas or the Bazaruto runs the week.
The dressed evening Indian Ocean week without the resort anchor programme. Mozambique runs the dressed evening week through the resort anchor programme at And Beyond Vamizi, Anantara Medjumbe, Kisawa Sanctuary, and And Beyond Benguerra. Without the resort-tied dining anchors and the captain's prior reservation arrangement, the empty archipelago runs the off-grid expedition product but does not run the dressed week. Build the resort programme into the charter at contract.
Two we would book
For a couples-only 7-night Bazaruto round-trip in mid-July as the southern dry-season peak: a 43 to 45m motor yacht with the 5-cabin layout, a captain holding prior Bazaruto dugong channel tenure, the resort dining anchor reservations confirmed at contract, and a full tender complement. Budget: $245K plus APA at 27 percent, all-in roughly $327K. Booking lead time: 8 to 10 months.
For a family of 10, 10-night Quirimbas full arc in late September as the northern shoulder peak: a 45 to 47m motor yacht with the 6-cabin layout, the helipad for the safari day-trip and the inter-archipelago reposition transfer, full tender complement including the dive configuration, the resort programme at Vamizi and Medjumbe confirmed at contract, and the captain experience for the Quirimbas reef approaches. Budget: $342K plus APA at 28 percent, all-in roughly $455K. Booking lead time: 9 to 12 months.
Inventory
The live 40 to 50m Mozambique dry-season inventory through the 2026 season updates weekly.. For broker-side inquiry, see the brokers pillar and the Indian Ocean charter season report.