{
  "destination": "turkey",
  "name": "Turkey",
  "question": "Can you snorkel and dive from a charter boat in Turkey, and how warm is the sea?",
  "answer": "Yes, but we could verify little: the one current rule we found is that from the 2026 season yachts may not anchor in designated zones of the Göcek bays and must use paid, pre-booked mooring buoys (a trade-magazine report; the official prices were not published when it ran). The sea averages 17.0 °C in March and 27.3 °C in August (NOAA, 1991–2020 mean at our reference point); by our rule of thumb July to October are the months at 24 °C or more, when a rash vest or 1–2 mm shorty is enough, while March calls for a 7 mm wetsuit, or a drysuit for diving.",
  "canonical_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/snorkel-dive/turkey/",
  "markdown_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/snorkel-dive/turkey.md",
  "destination_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/turkey/",
  "best_time_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/best-time/turkey/",
  "fishing_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/fishing/turkey/",
  "api_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/api/snorkel-dive/turkey.json",
  "book_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/go/samboat?dest=turkey&pos=api",
  "checked": "2026-10-28",
  "sea_temperature": {
    "unit": "celsius",
    "source": "NOAA OISST v2.1 long-term monthly mean",
    "period": "1991–2020",
    "reference_point": {
      "place": "Fethiye Bay off Göcek",
      "lat": 36.625,
      "lon": 28.875
    },
    "note": "NOAA OISST v2.1 long-term mean, 1991–2020, one 1/4° sea cell per destination. It is the sea surface; shallow bays can be warmer and water at depth cooler.",
    "warm_water_threshold_c": 24,
    "months": [
      {
        "month": 1,
        "name": "January",
        "sea_c": 18,
        "warm_water": false,
        "wetsuit_rule_of_thumb": "5 mm full wetsuit"
      },
      {
        "month": 2,
        "name": "February",
        "sea_c": 17.1,
        "warm_water": false,
        "wetsuit_rule_of_thumb": "7 mm wetsuit, or a drysuit for diving"
      },
      {
        "month": 3,
        "name": "March",
        "sea_c": 17,
        "warm_water": false,
        "wetsuit_rule_of_thumb": "7 mm wetsuit, or a drysuit for diving"
      },
      {
        "month": 4,
        "name": "April",
        "sea_c": 17.7,
        "warm_water": false,
        "wetsuit_rule_of_thumb": "7 mm wetsuit, or a drysuit for diving"
      },
      {
        "month": 5,
        "name": "May",
        "sea_c": 19.9,
        "warm_water": false,
        "wetsuit_rule_of_thumb": "5 mm full wetsuit"
      },
      {
        "month": 6,
        "name": "June",
        "sea_c": 22.7,
        "warm_water": false,
        "wetsuit_rule_of_thumb": "3 mm full wetsuit"
      },
      {
        "month": 7,
        "name": "July",
        "sea_c": 25.5,
        "warm_water": true,
        "wetsuit_rule_of_thumb": "3 mm shorty"
      },
      {
        "month": 8,
        "name": "August",
        "sea_c": 27.3,
        "warm_water": true,
        "wetsuit_rule_of_thumb": "rash vest or 1–2 mm shorty"
      },
      {
        "month": 9,
        "name": "September",
        "sea_c": 26.4,
        "warm_water": true,
        "wetsuit_rule_of_thumb": "rash vest or 1–2 mm shorty"
      },
      {
        "month": 10,
        "name": "October",
        "sea_c": 24.3,
        "warm_water": true,
        "wetsuit_rule_of_thumb": "3 mm shorty"
      },
      {
        "month": 11,
        "name": "November",
        "sea_c": 21.9,
        "warm_water": false,
        "wetsuit_rule_of_thumb": "3 mm full wetsuit"
      },
      {
        "month": 12,
        "name": "December",
        "sea_c": 19.6,
        "warm_water": false,
        "wetsuit_rule_of_thumb": "5 mm full wetsuit"
      }
    ],
    "derived": "warm_water and wetsuit_rule_of_thumb are our rules applied to the NOAA mean; sea_c is NOAA's, rounded to 0.1."
  },
  "wetsuit_rule": "Our rule of thumb for snorkelling, applied to the monthly mean: 28 °C or more: swimsuit or rash vest; 26–28 °C: rash vest or 1–2 mm shorty; 24–26 °C: 3 mm shorty; 21–24 °C: 3 mm full wetsuit; 18–21 °C: 5 mm full wetsuit; below 18 °C: 7 mm wetsuit, or a drysuit for diving. Divers lose heat faster and meet cooler water at depth: go one band thicker. People feel cold differently; this is a guide, not a source's advice.",
  "sites": [
    {
      "name": "Göcek bays",
      "kind": "bay",
      "where": "Fethiye–Göcek, Turquoise Coast",
      "facts": [
        {
          "text": "Yachting Magazine reported in February 2026 that from the 2026 season yachts may not anchor in designated zones of the Göcek bays and must use paid mooring buoys run by the Turkish Environment Agency (TÜÇA) and ÇEYAŞ, booked online; free anchoring areas remain elsewhere.",
          "status": "secondary",
          "sources": [
            {
              "id": "dive_tr_yachting",
              "name": "Yachting Magazine (Turkey)",
              "title": "Smart buoys, not anchor: new mooring rules in Göcek",
              "url": "https://www.yachting-mag.com/catalog/2026/661867/",
              "checked": "2026-10-28",
              "note": "Trade magazine article dated 16 February 2026. It says the official price list was still pending and gives conflicting buoy counts (about 200 installed; 880–890 planned). We found no ministry, TÜÇA or ÇEYAŞ page.",
              "tier": "secondary"
            }
          ]
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "fees": [
    {
      "item": "Göcek mooring buoys",
      "amount": "Not verified",
      "status": "not_verified",
      "note": "Yachting Magazine said the official price list was still pending and that fees are not included in charter rates.",
      "sources": [
        {
          "id": "dive_tr_yachting",
          "name": "Yachting Magazine (Turkey)",
          "title": "Smart buoys, not anchor: new mooring rules in Göcek",
          "url": "https://www.yachting-mag.com/catalog/2026/661867/",
          "checked": "2026-10-28",
          "note": "Trade magazine article dated 16 February 2026. It says the official price list was still pending and gives conflicting buoy counts (about 200 installed; 880–890 planned). We found no ministry, TÜÇA or ÇEYAŞ page.",
          "tier": "secondary"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "mooring_and_anchoring": [
    {
      "text": "Göcek: no anchoring in the designated buoy zones from the 2026 season; buoys are booked through an online platform and paid separately from the charter (Yachting Magazine, February 2026).",
      "status": "secondary",
      "sources": [
        {
          "id": "dive_tr_yachting",
          "name": "Yachting Magazine (Turkey)",
          "title": "Smart buoys, not anchor: new mooring rules in Göcek",
          "url": "https://www.yachting-mag.com/catalog/2026/661867/",
          "checked": "2026-10-28",
          "note": "Trade magazine article dated 16 February 2026. It says the official price list was still pending and gives conflicting buoy counts (about 200 installed; 880–890 planned). We found no ministry, TÜÇA or ÇEYAŞ page.",
          "tier": "secondary"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "diving": [
    {
      "text": "Turkish rules on recreational diving (where it is allowed, and whether you must dive with a licensed centre): not verified.",
      "status": "not_verified",
      "sources": []
    }
  ],
  "visibility": {
    "text": "We found no official or survey source for underwater visibility, so we give no figure. Ask the local dive centre on the day.",
    "status": "not_verified",
    "sources": []
  },
  "not_verified": [
    "An official ministry, TÜÇA or ÇEYAŞ text on the Göcek buoy zones, and the buoy prices.",
    "Snorkel and dive sites and rules elsewhere (Kaş–Kekova, Bodrum).",
    "Turkish diving rules for visitors.",
    "Underwater visibility."
  ],
  "source_counts": {
    "official": 1,
    "secondary": 1
  },
  "status_legend": {
    "official": "Read in an official text: government, park authority, ministry or official tourism board.",
    "secondary": "From a newspaper, NGO, guide or tour operator; not official.",
    "not_verified": "We could not confirm it. We leave it open rather than guess."
  },
  "caveat": "Park rules change and some are seasonal. Check with the park, the charter base or a local dive centre. The answer, wetsuit column and warm-water flag are our wording and rules applied to labelled facts and NOAA means.",
  "sources": [
    {
      "id": "dive_tr_yachting",
      "name": "Yachting Magazine (Turkey)",
      "title": "Smart buoys, not anchor: new mooring rules in Göcek",
      "url": "https://www.yachting-mag.com/catalog/2026/661867/",
      "checked": "2026-10-28",
      "note": "Trade magazine article dated 16 February 2026. It says the official price list was still pending and gives conflicting buoy counts (about 200 installed; 880–890 planned). We found no ministry, TÜÇA or ÇEYAŞ page.",
      "tier": "secondary"
    },
    {
      "id": "noaa_oisst_ltm",
      "name": "NOAA PSL (NOAA/NCEI OISST v2.1)",
      "title": "NOAA High-resolution Blended Analysis: OISST v2.1 long-term mean monthly sea surface temperature, 1991–2020 (sst.mon.ltm.1991-2020.nc)",
      "url": "https://psl.noaa.gov/thredds/catalog/Datasets/noaa.oisst.v2.highres/catalog.html",
      "checked": "2026-10-28",
      "note": "NOAA's published 1/4° monthly climatology (climo_period 1991/01/01–2020/12/31; every month of every cell we use rests on 30 years). Read on 28 Oct 2026 through PSL's THREDDS point service by scripts/fetch-sst.mjs; we chose one sea cell per destination and rounded to 0.1 °C. Satellite-and-in-situ analysis of the sea surface, not a beach or depth reading.",
      "tier": "official"
    }
  ],
  "attribution": "Cite \"Catamaran Index\" with a link to the canonical_url of the page the figure comes from, and name the original source listed with it.",
  "affiliate_note": "book_url links go through /go/samboat, an affiliate link: Catamaran Index may earn a commission on bookings, at no extra cost to the traveller. It never changes the data."
}