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A 40 to 50m motor yacht Vanuatu in the dry-season window (April to October 2026) runs $192,000 to $275,000 per week plus 25 to 30 percent APA, takes 8 to 12 guests, and bases out of Port Vila harbour on the southwestern coast of Efate at 17 degrees south latitude. Vanuatu is an 80-plus island Y-shaped chain stretching 1,300 kilometres north to south in the southwest Pacific, with four cruising grounds at the bracket: the southern Efate and Tanna leg, the central Pentecost and Ambrym volcanic chain, the northern Espiritu Santo wreck-diving and Champagne Beach ground, and the offshore Banks and Torres outer-island expedition product. The active 40 to 50m fleet using Vanuatu through a typical dry-season week is 1 to 3 yachts. This is the South Pacific's smallest commercial charter market at the bracket and a structural expedition specialty.
Why the bracket runs Vanuatu at all
The volcano product. Mount Yasur on Tanna is the world's most accessible active volcano, with continuous Strombolian eruption visible from the crater rim on a 30 to 45-minute approach hike from the yacht's helicopter or shore tender drop. The Ambrym caldera carries the secondary volcanic product with the Marum and Benbow lava-lake observation points. The bracket runs Vanuatu for the volcano product first and foremost.
The wreck-diving product. The SS President Coolidge wreck off Espiritu Santo (sunk 1942, 200 metres long, accessible from 20 to 70 metres depth) is the world's most-dived large wreck and the Million Dollar Point USN war-surplus dump site is the secondary wreck-diving product. The bracket runs the Espiritu Santo leg as the dedicated wreck-diving charter.
The cultural product. The Pentecost land-diving ritual (the structural ancestor of bungee jumping, performed April through June on yam-harvest cycles) and the kastom traditional village programme across the central islands run the cultural charter. The cultural product requires arrangement at contract.
The off-season. The cyclone season runs November to March. The destination closes for charter at the bracket through the wet calendar. April and October are shoulder weeks. The Pentecost land-diving runs April through early July and the volcano-and-land-diving combined week is the bracket's marquee shoulder product.
What the cruising area gives the bracket
Port Vila and the southern Efate coast carries the embarkation week with the Hideaway Island, Mele Bay, and Havannah Harbour anchorages. The bracket holds at anchor in 12 to 18 metres on sand bottom inside Port Vila's outer harbour or takes a berth at the Yachting World marina inner harbour.
Tanna at 110 nautical miles south of Efate carries the Mount Yasur volcano product with the Lenakel Bay anchorage on the western coast and the Port Resolution anchorage on the eastern side. The bracket runs Tanna as a four to five-day leg with the volcano hike, the helicopter approach (if the yacht carries a helipad), and the Yakel kastom village shore programme.
The central Pentecost, Ambrym, and Malekula chain at 80 to 120 nautical miles north of Efate carries the cultural and volcanic product. Pentecost is the land-diving island (April-June), Ambrym carries the active caldera, and Malekula runs the cultural shore programme. The bracket holds at anchor on the leeward lees on each island.
Espiritu Santo at 200 nautical miles north of Efate carries the marquee northern leg with the Champagne Beach anchorage at the northern coast, the President Coolidge wreck on the eastern coast, the Million Dollar Point dive site, and the Luganville town landing. The bracket runs Espiritu Santo as a five to six-day leg with the wreck-diving programme and Champagne Beach as the marquee anchor. The Luganville Sanma Province airport carries the inbound and outbound fixed-wing for the standalone Espiritu Santo charter.
Weekly rate map for 2026 dry season
Rates below are firm dry-season pricing for April through October 2026, before APA at 25 to 30 percent and gratuity at 12 to 15 percent. Peak weeks (mid-July through August and the Pentecost land-diving April-June window) run at 1.10 to 1.20 times the published rate.
| LOA bracket | Motor yacht (low to high) | Sailing yacht and large catamaran (low to high) |
|---|---|---|
| 40 to 43m | $192K to $218K per week | $168K to $192K per week |
| 43 to 47m | $218K to $245K per week | $192K to $218K per week |
| 47 to 50m | $245K to $275K per week | $218K to $245K per week |
Vanuatu rates run roughly 5 to 8 percent below the equivalent Fiji dry-season week at the same LOA because the active charter fleet is smaller, the inter-island transit work harder (the north-south 200 nautical mile spread is a structural transit cost), and the destination thinner on shore infrastructure. The fuel and provisioning cost base at Port Vila runs roughly 10 to 15 percent above the Fiji equivalent, recovered through APA.
What the bracket buys you in this bracket
Cabins. Five to six. The 40 to 50m South Pacific standard runs 5 cabins at 8 to 10 guests on the standard dry-season week and the 6-cabin product at the upper end runs the multi-family week.
Crew. Nine to twelve. The Vanuatu crew bench is thin. Substitution flies in via Port Vila on a 48 to 72 hour lead time from Nadi (Fiji), Brisbane, Sydney, and Auckland. Captain prior tenure on the Tanna Mount Yasur approach (Lenakel Bay carries reef structure), on the Ambrym caldera anchorages, on the Espiritu Santo wreck-diving anchor positions, and on the 200 nautical mile north-south transit is the variable that decides whether the charter runs cleanly. Confirm captain prior Vanuatu tenure 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 Espiritu Santo wreck-diving programme works the dive tender hard, the Champagne Beach shore landing carries the dressed-anchor work, and the Tanna and Ambrym shore-volcano hikes run the tender shore-landing work. Full tender complement required.
At-anchor stabilizers. Required. The Tanna anchorages (Lenakel and Port Resolution) carry the swell on the southeast trade-wind days, the Pentecost and Ambrym anchorages are exposed on the western lees, and the long north-south transit carries the seaway. The stabilizers are load-bearing on the volcano leg and the inter-island transit.
Helipad. Structurally useful. Port Vila Bauerfield international runs the inbound and outbound guest logistics on Brisbane, Sydney, Auckland, and Nadi connection. The helipad carries the Tanna volcano hike (compresses the 110 nautical mile southern transit to 35 minutes for the volcano-only day-trip), the Ambrym caldera approach, the Pentecost land-diving inland transfer, and the Espiritu Santo inter-island repositioning. The helipad earns the bracket on the volcano-and-land-diving compressed week.
Trip shapes that fit the bracket
The 7-night Efate, Tanna, and southern Vanuatu volcano round-trip. One night Port Vila embarkation, two nights southern Efate (Mele Bay, Havannah), three nights Tanna with the Mount Yasur evening hike and the Yakel kastom village shore programme, one night Port Vila return, disembark. The standard volcano-focused week at the bracket. Suits couples weeks and family weeks tied to the marquee volcano product.
The 10-night Efate, Tanna, Ambrym, and Pentecost extension (April-June Pentecost window). Embark Port Vila, two nights Tanna and Mount Yasur, three nights Ambrym caldera, two nights Pentecost land-diving (April-June only), three nights central return, disembark Port Vila. The marquee shoulder-season charter at the bracket. Suits the dedicated cultural-and-volcano week and the multi-family week with the helipad-enabled volcano-cultural compressed product.
The 14-night Efate, Tanna, central chain, and Espiritu Santo full archipelago expedition. Embark Port Vila, two nights southern, two nights Tanna, two nights Ambrym, two nights Pentecost (April-June), four nights Espiritu Santo wreck-diving and Champagne Beach, two nights central return, disembark Port Vila or Luganville. The marquee Vanuatu charter at the bracket. Suits the dedicated archipelago expedition couples week and the diving-focused multi-family week. The Luganville disembarkation requires fixed-wing repositioning to Port Vila international.
For destination context see Charter French Polynesia, South Pacific charter season, and 40-50m Fiji.
What the bracket does not do well at Vanuatu
The dressed-resort anchor week. Vanuatu does not run a Mamanuca-style dressed-resort programme. Outside the Hideaway Island and the Port Vila town landings, the destination runs the structural expedition and cultural product. The dressed-week brief is wrong for Vanuatu.
The compressed seven-night Efate-to-Santo charter. The 200 nautical mile north-south transit is structurally a two to three-day leg and the seven-night charter does not run the full archipelago. Build the trip as an Efate-Tanna seven-night, a central archipelago ten-night, or a fourteen-night full archipelago.
The Pentecost land-diving on the wrong calendar. The land-diving ritual runs April to early July on yam-harvest cycles. Outside this window the cultural product is unavailable and the Pentecost leg compresses to a shore-village programme. Verify the land-diving calendar at contract.
The wet-season charter. The Vanuatu cyclone season (November to March) closes the destination on cyclone risk and the bracket does not write the calendar. The wet-season South Pacific charter runs the Australian summer charter at the Whitsundays or the New Zealand summer charter at the Bay of Islands, not Vanuatu.
Our pick
For a family of 8, 7-night Efate and Tanna volcano round-trip in mid-July at the dry-season peak: a 43 to 45m motor yacht with the 5-cabin layout, a captain holding prior Tanna tenure, helipad for the Mount Yasur compressed day, full tender complement, and the Yakel kastom village shore programme arranged at contract. Budget: $235K plus APA at 27 percent, all-in roughly $315K. Booking lead time: 7 to 10 months.
For a couples-only 14-night full archipelago expedition in late May at the Pentecost land-diving peak: a 45 to 47m motor yacht with the 6-cabin layout, helipad for the Tanna, Ambrym, and Pentecost compressed approach, the captain experience for the 200 nautical mile north-south transit, full tender complement with dive configuration for Espiritu Santo, and Pentecost land-diving timing confirmed at contract. Budget: $330K per week, all-in for 14 nights roughly $845K including APA. Booking lead time: 12 to 18 months.
Inventory
The live 40 to 50m Vanuatu and South Pacific dry-season inventory through the 2026 calendar updates weekly.. For broker-side inquiry, see the brokers pillar and the South Pacific charter season report.