What a private catamaran in Cancún actually costs

Private charters are priced by the boat, not the seat

This is the thing that confuses most first-time bookers. A shared tour sells you a seat, so the price scales with how many people you bring. A private charter sells you the whole vessel, so the price is fixed and the cost per person falls as your group grows.

That single difference changes the maths completely, and it is why a private boat is often cheaper than it sounds.

The actual range in Cancún

Across our fleet of fourteen catamarans, whole-boat rates run from $1,050 USD to $6,500 USD. Where you land depends almost entirely on how many people you are bringing:

• Up to 14 guests — from $1,050 USD (the Azure 35). About $75 per person at capacity.
• 15 to 30 guests — $1,300 to $1,500 USD. The GreenTastic and Solar Ice land near $50–75 per person.
• 30 to 75 guests — $2,100 to $3,500 USD. This is where per-person cost bottoms out: the Noe Island at 75 guests works out to roughly $37 each.
• 75 to 250 guests — $5,100 to $6,500 USD for event-scale vessels.

The full table, boat by boat, is on the prices page.

What is included — and what is not

Our published rates include the captain, mate and snorkelling guide, open bar on board, hot buffet at the beach club on Isla Mujeres, snorkelling gear and the sound system. There is nothing to buy on board.

Two things are genuinely extra, and any operator who does not mention them upfront is setting you up for a surprise:

• Dock fee: $20 USD per person. This is a marina charge, not ours. It applies on almost every charter in Cancún. On a few boats — the Slide Party Boat and the events catamaran — it is already built into the rate.
• Hotel transport. Optional. Priced by group size and where you are staying. See how to get to the marina for what that costs.

Beyond that, upgrades exist if you want them — premium catering, decoration, a photographer, a DJ — but nothing on that list is required to have the standard day.

The comparison people actually care about

A shared catamaran tour in Cancún typically runs $79 to $139 USD per person. Run the arithmetic on a group:

• 10 people on a shared boat at $99 each: $990 — you are $60 away from having your own 35 ft catamaran.
• 14 people at $99 each: $1,386 — that is $336 more than chartering the entire Azure 35 privately.
• 30 people at $99 each: $2,970 — roughly double the cost of the whole Solar Ice.

Past about a dozen guests, a private boat usually costs less than buying seats, and you are not sharing the deck with eighty strangers. We wrote a fuller comparison in private charter vs shared tour.

Why so many sites hide the price

Partly because rates move with season and availability, which is fair. Partly because a quote request is a lead, and a lead is worth more than an informed visitor who decides you are too expensive.

We publish ours because the numbers hold up. High season — December to April, July, Easter, Thanksgiving — is tighter on availability and rates can move; low season is softer, and several boats offer a cash discount on the balance when you book directly. What we quote you in writing is what you pay.

What a deposit looks like

A deposit confirms the date and the balance is settled before departure. Card and bank transfer both work. Nothing is charged before you have the details in writing, and the FAQ covers the weather policy — including what happens to your money if the port closes.