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A 50 to 60m yacht Madagascar in the 2026 shoulder calendar (May to October and the April plus November edges) runs $260,000 to $385,000 per week plus 28 to 32 percent APA, takes 10 to 12 guests across 6 cabins, and carries 14 to 18 crew. Madagascar at this LOA is the Indian Ocean's structurally off-grid product, running the western Nosy Be archipelago as the base and the Mitsio plus Radama archipelagos as the off-grid extension. The active 50 to 60m fleet at any shoulder week is 1 to 2 yachts, the thinnest charter base in the western Indian Ocean at the bracket and an expedition-shaped programme rather than a resort-circuit week. The bracket holds the Nosy Be Hell-Ville port-of-entry on the main island northwestern face on prior agent clearance, the Nosy Komba and Nosy Tanikely day-anchor positions on the protected inner archipelago, and the Mitsio plus Radama archipelago anchorages on the wider expedition pattern. The cyclone window runs January to March on the northwestern coast and the bracket does not run that calendar. Embarkation runs through Fascene International (NOS) on Nosy Be from Saint-Denis Reunion (RUN), Mauritius (MRU), Mahé Seychelles (SEZ), Johannesburg (JNB) on a transit, or Antananarivo (TNR) on the cross-Madagascar domestic leg.
Why the bracket calls at Madagascar specifically
The western Indian Ocean off-grid expedition product. The 50 to 60m bracket runs Madagascar as a 7 to 14 night off-grid expedition rather than a resort-circuit week, with the Nosy Be archipelago as the structural base and the Mitsio and Radama archipelagos as the extension into the lightly visited western coast. The destination's product separation against the Seychelles or the Maldives at the same calendar runs through the off-grid anchorage variety, the lemur and baobab shore programme, and the manta-ray plus whale-shark plus humpback-whale season layered across the May to October window. The bracket reads Madagascar as the western Indian Ocean's expedition destination at the LOA.
The cyclone-window reality. The southern Indian Ocean cyclone season runs January through March with named storms tracking across the northwestern Madagascar coast. The bracket does not run charter through that window and the insurance underwriting writes out of the zone for that calendar. The structural charter calendar runs May through October on the southern winter trade-wind window with the April and November shoulder edges holding the cyclone-watch protocol. Confirm cyclone-watch routine with the captain at inquiry, particularly for the April and November shoulder edges.
The Nosy Be archipelago on the northwestern coast. Nosy Be (the main island) sits 150 nautical miles north of the Mahajanga coast, with the protected inner archipelago at Nosy Komba and Nosy Tanikely on the southern face of the main island, and the wider archipelago extending north to Nosy Mitsio and the Quatre Frères islets. The Nosy Be inner archipelago holds the bracket on 6 to 18 metres of sand-and-coral bottom with the protected northeasterly trade-wind hold through the May to October window. The bracket calls Nosy Tanikely as the marquee daylight call against the marine-reserve snorkel and the lemur shore programme at Nosy Komba.
The Mitsio and Radama archipelagos to the north and south of Nosy Be. The Mitsio archipelago 30 nautical miles northeast of Nosy Be holds the off-grid anchor positions at Grande Mitsio and the Quatre Frères islets on 8 to 16 metres of sand-and-weed bottom with the structural advantage that the archipelago carries no permanent population and the bracket holds the anchorage on prior coordination with the Mahajanga port authority. The Radama archipelago 35 nautical miles southwest of Nosy Be holds the equivalent off-grid anchor on the southern side with the Nosy Iranja day-call on the twin-island sandbar.
The Fascene International airport (NOS) on Nosy Be takes regional fixed-wing from RUN, MRU, SEZ on the inter-island corridor and from TNR on the cross-Madagascar domestic leg, with the bracket-fit guest transfer running 25 minutes from NOS to the Hell-Ville port-of-entry tender pickup or to the Andilana western face anchor pickup. The cross-corridor international guest logistics typically route JNB to TNR to NOS with the 24-hour Antananarivo stopover or RUN to NOS direct on the seasonal Air Austral rotation. The Madagascar yacht-charter agent's prior airport-to-tender handoff routine is the structural shore-side question on the embarkation week.
Weekly rate map for shoulder 2026 to 2027
Rates below are shoulder season (May to October 2026 plus the April and November shoulder edges, with the 2027 calendar repeating), before APA at 28 to 32 percent and gratuity at 12 to 15 percent. The Hell-Ville port-of-entry clearance fee, the Nosy Tanikely marine-reserve entry, and the Mitsio plus Radama archipelago permit fees run through the APA on the daily basis. The Madagascar yacht-charter agent's clearance and provisioning routine through Hell-Ville and Mahajanga is the structural cost line on the wider expedition pattern.
| LOA bracket | Motor yacht (low to high) | Sailing yacht and motor-sailor (low to high) |
|---|---|---|
| 50 to 53m | $260K to $300K per week | $215K to $260K per week |
| 53 to 57m | $300K to $340K per week | $250K to $300K per week |
| 57 to 60m | $335K to $385K per week | $285K to $345K per week |
The peak Caribbean and Mediterranean windows do not apply at Madagascar because the destination's calendar runs the southern shoulder months only. The June to August central winter window runs the bracket's strongest fit on the protected northeasterly trade-wind hold and pulls a 5 to 8 percent premium against the May and October shoulder edges. The April and November shoulder edges run the cyclone-watch premium on the insurance underwriting at roughly 8 to 12 percent above the central winter figure. The Madagascar all-in week at the bracket runs roughly 5 to 8 percent above the equivalent Mauritius week on the expedition-product positioning and the off-grid permit routine, and roughly 8 to 12 percent below the equivalent Seychelles week on the structurally lighter charter-base infrastructure. For broader context see Charter Seychelles, Indian Ocean charter season, and the 40-50m Madagascar bracket.
What the bracket includes in this bracket
Cabins. Six standard. The Madagascar shoulder pool at the bracket runs the on-deck master plus VIP plus four guest doubles as the layout. The destination's product reads multi-couple expedition weeks tied to the off-grid Mitsio and Radama programme rather than the multi-cabin family Caribbean pattern.
Crew. Fourteen to eighteen. The Madagascar call rewards a captain bench with prior Hell-Ville port-of-entry tenure (the Madagascar customs and immigration clearance through the Hell-Ville agent runs on a 72-hour prior coordination at this LOA), the Mitsio and Radama archipelago anchorage routine on the off-grid hold, and the cyclone-watch protocol on the shoulder edges. The chef bench is calibrated to the South African and French Indian Ocean pool, with the Madagascar local provisioning route through Hell-Ville and the cross-corridor provisioning through MRU or SEZ on the wider rotation. The dive instructor's prior experience on the Nosy Tanikely marine-reserve and the Mitsio archipelago manta-ray plus whale-shark window is the load-bearing technical crew question.
Tenders. Primary 11 to 12m fast tender plus a 7 to 8m beach tender plus a chase boat plus a dedicated dive tender. The Mitsio archipelago off-grid call runs tender-heavy through the daylight programme, with the dive tender on the manta-ray plus whale-shark window and the chase on the shore landings. The Nosy Tanikely marine-reserve daylight call runs the primary on the snorkel programme.
At-anchor stabilizers. Required. The Nosy Be inner archipelago and the Mitsio plus Radama archipelago anchorages hold the protected hold on the southern winter trade-wind, but the open-ocean swell wraps around the western face of the main island on the southwest swell window through August and September and the Mitsio archipelago takes the prevailing easterly chop on the outer anchorages. The 2018-and-newer hulls running the zero-speed product hold the bracket fit through the wider expedition pattern.
Beach club. Required. The Nosy Tanikely, the Nosy Iranja, and the Mitsio archipelago daylight anchorages run the beach club open hard through the 24 to 27 degree water band, and the beach-club programme through the wider expedition reads as the structural daylight anchor against the off-grid shore-call rhythm.
Helipad. Cat A useful at the upper end. The cross-archipelago helicopter shuttle from the Nosy Be Andilana helipad to the Mitsio and Radama archipelagos shaves the 2 to 3 hour cross-archipelago tender leg and holds the bracket-fit upper-end programme on the off-grid extension. The bracket also runs the cross-Madagascar shore programme to the Avenue of the Baobabs at Morondava on a fixed-wing leg from NOS to Morondava (MOQ) on prior captain coordination.
Trip shape that fits the bracket
The bracket's Madagascar call sits inside a 7 to 14 night western Madagascar expedition rather than a standalone resort week. The 7-night Nosy Be archipelago round trip runs NOS embarkation, one night at Hell-Ville for the port-of-entry clearance and the daylight call to the village, three nights at the Nosy Komba and Nosy Tanikely inner archipelago with the marine-reserve snorkel programme and the lemur shore call, two nights at the Nosy Sakatia and Nosy Iranja western-face anchorages with the twin-island sandbar daylight, one night at the Andilana western-face anchor for the disembark to NOS.
The 10-night Nosy Be plus Mitsio archipelago expedition runs NOS embarkation, one night at Hell-Ville for the clearance, three nights at the inner archipelago Nosy Komba and Nosy Tanikely, four nights at the Mitsio archipelago split between Grande Mitsio and the Quatre Frères islets with the manta-ray plus whale-shark window in the June to August central winter, two nights at the Nosy Iranja and Andilana for the disembark. The 10-night routing is the bracket's strongest shape for spending material time at the off-grid Mitsio extension.
The 14-night western Madagascar full expedition runs NOS embarkation, one night at Hell-Ville, four nights at the Mitsio archipelago northern extension, four nights at the inner archipelago, four nights at the Radama archipelago southern extension with the Nosy Iranja daylight, one night at Andilana for the disembark. Fourteen nights. The bracket-fit expedition shape that runs the full Nosy Be plus Mitsio plus Radama programme.
What the bracket does not do well at Madagascar
The southern summer Madagascar week. The January to March cyclone season runs the structural closure at the bracket and the insurance underwriting writes out of the zone. We would pass on any December to April plan at Madagascar and position the bracket on the Maldives or the wider Indian Ocean reposition for the same calendar.
The eastern Madagascar coast at the bracket. The eastern face of the main island runs the open-ocean swell window through most of the calendar and the charter infrastructure on the eastern coast is thin against the western coast at this LOA. We would pass on any eastern-coast plan at the bracket and position the wider expedition on the northwestern coast at Nosy Be and the Mitsio plus Radama extension.
The standalone Hell-Ville port-of-entry overnight without the wider archipelago. Hell-Ville on the main island handles the customs and immigration clearance at the bracket but the town runs on a thin shore programme against the inner archipelago at Nosy Komba and Nosy Tanikely. We would pass on a Hell-Ville-only plan and route the clearance through Hell-Ville on a one-night call with the wider expedition through the inner and outer archipelagos.
The off-grid Mitsio archipelago without the Madagascar yacht-charter agent's prior permit routine. The Mitsio archipelago permit through the Mahajanga port authority and the Madagascar marine-park entry runs on the prior 72 to 96 hour coordination at the bracket. We would pass on any Mitsio plan without the permit confirmed in writing through the Madagascar yacht-charter agent at contract.
What to book
For two couples, 7-night Nosy Be archipelago round trip in late August with NOS embarkation, one night at Hell-Ville for the clearance, three nights at the inner archipelago Nosy Komba and Nosy Tanikely with the marine-reserve snorkel programme, two nights at the Nosy Sakatia and Nosy Iranja western-face anchorages with the twin-island sandbar daylight, one night at the Andilana western-face anchor for the disembark: a 53 to 55m motor yacht, 6 cabins, twin tenders plus chase plus dedicated dive tender, captain bench on the Hell-Ville port-of-entry routine and the inner-archipelago anchor positions. Budget $320K per week, all-in roughly $425K including APA at 30 percent. Lead time 7 to 10 months for the August whale-shark window.
For a family of 10, 14-night western Madagascar full expedition in mid-July with NOS embarkation, one night at Hell-Ville, four nights at the Mitsio archipelago northern extension with the manta-ray and whale-shark window, four nights at the inner archipelago Nosy Komba and Nosy Tanikely with the lemur shore programme, four nights at the Radama archipelago southern extension with the Nosy Iranja daylight, one night at Andilana for the disembark: a 56 to 58m motor yacht, 6 cabins, Cat A helipad useful for the cross-archipelago shuttle and the Morondava baobab daylight, captain bench on the off-grid permit routine and the Mitsio approach. Budget $365K per week, all-in roughly $485K. Lead time 10 to 14 months.
Inventory
The live 50 to 60m Madagascar and western Indian Ocean expedition inventory updates weekly through the shoulder calendar.. For broker-side inquiry, see the brokers pillar and the Indian Ocean charter season how-to.