{
  "what_it_is": "Best yacht charter destinations for families and for first-time charterers, scored with our published method (calm mean wind, short hops, warm sea, season): the same answers as https://catamaranindex.com/family-yacht-charter/ and https://catamaranindex.com/beginner-yacht-charter/ . Scores are our method, not a source's rating. Every month and component, the licence gate, emergency numbers, gaps and sources: api_url.",
  "checked": "2026-10-29",
  "method": {
    "label": "our method",
    "formula": "score = round(100 × Σ weight × fraction ÷ Σ weight), summed over the components that have a source for that destination.",
    "weights": {
      "families": {
        "wind": 30,
        "legs": 25,
        "sea": 25,
        "season": 20
      },
      "beginners": {
        "wind": 35,
        "legs": 35,
        "sea": 0,
        "season": 30
      }
    },
    "rules": {
      "families": "Weighted sum (our weights: wind 30, short hops 25, warm sea 25, season 20) of four fractions between 0 and 1, scaled to 100.",
      "beginners": "Weighted sum (our weights: wind 35, short hops 35, season 30; no sea-temperature component) of three fractions between 0 and 1, scaled to 100.",
      "wind": "Calm wind = 1 at 6 kn or less and 0 at 16 kn or more, straight in between. 6 kn and 16 kn are the upper limits of Beaufort force 2 and force 4 (Met Office); using them is our choice. The input is our NASA POWER monthly mean wind at one reference point.",
      "legs": "Short hops = 1 at an average leg of 10 nm or less and 0 at 25 nm or more (our choice), where the average leg is the total straight-line distance of our classic 7-day route divided by its number of legs (our calculation). It is the same in every month.",
      "sea": "Warm sea = 0 at 18 °C or less (the edge of our 5 mm wetsuit band) and 1 at 24 °C or more (our warm-water mark), straight in between, from the NOAA OISST 1991–2020 monthly mean. Families only.",
      "season": "Season = 1 outside any season risk; in hurricane areas 0.5 in June, July and November and 0 in August, September and October (NOAA hurricane season, peak mid-August to mid-October); in French Polynesia 0.5 in the November–April wet season (Tahiti Tourisme); 1 in the Mediterranean. Thailand has no season source: it is left out and its score is scaled over the other components (partial, not ranked).",
      "gate": "Licence rules are a gate shown next to the beginner score (yes, no or unclear from our licence pages); they are never added to it. Without a certificate, take a skipper."
    },
    "caveats": [
      "Mean wind at one reference point is not gusts, sea state or local winds such as the meltemi or bora; a calm monthly mean can hide windy days.",
      "Leg length comes from our own editorial 7-day route (straight lines, not yet reviewed by a sailor); another route in the same area would score differently.",
      "The Croatia, Greece, Italy and Turkey weather points sit in grid cells that include land (grid-cell elevation in the NASA POWER data: Croatia 212 m, Greece 138 m, Turkey 546 m, Italy 187 m), so their means are indicative.",
      "The weights and thresholds are ours. Change them and the order changes: the JSON gives every component so you can reweight.",
      "Not in the score: sheltered anchorages, healthcare, marina density, price (no comparable official source for all ten; see each section)."
    ]
  },
  "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."
  },
  "families": [
    {
      "destination": "greece",
      "name": "Greece",
      "rank": 1,
      "partial": false,
      "best_months": [
        "July",
        "August",
        "September"
      ],
      "best_score": 100,
      "july": 100,
      "august": 100,
      "licence_regime": "required",
      "canonical_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/greece/#suitability",
      "api_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/api/suitability/greece.json",
      "book_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/go/samboat?dest=greece&pos=api"
    },
    {
      "destination": "balearics",
      "name": "Balearic Islands",
      "rank": 2,
      "partial": false,
      "best_months": [
        "July",
        "August"
      ],
      "best_score": 97,
      "july": 97,
      "august": 97,
      "licence_regime": "required",
      "canonical_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/balearics/#suitability",
      "api_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/api/suitability/balearics.json",
      "book_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/go/samboat?dest=mallorca&pos=api"
    },
    {
      "destination": "turkey",
      "name": "Turkey",
      "rank": 3,
      "partial": false,
      "best_months": [
        "August",
        "September",
        "October"
      ],
      "best_score": 96,
      "july": 94,
      "august": 96,
      "licence_regime": "required",
      "canonical_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/turkey/#suitability",
      "api_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/api/suitability/turkey.json",
      "book_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/go/samboat?dest=turkey&pos=api"
    },
    {
      "destination": "italy",
      "name": "Italy",
      "rank": 4,
      "partial": false,
      "best_months": [
        "August"
      ],
      "best_score": 96,
      "july": 93,
      "august": 96,
      "licence_regime": "required",
      "canonical_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/italy/#suitability",
      "api_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/api/suitability/italy.json",
      "book_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/go/samboat?dest=italy&pos=api"
    },
    {
      "destination": "bahamas",
      "name": "Bahamas",
      "rank": 5,
      "partial": false,
      "best_months": [
        "May"
      ],
      "best_score": 87,
      "july": 81,
      "august": 70,
      "licence_regime": "resume",
      "canonical_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/bahamas/#suitability",
      "api_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/api/suitability/bahamas.json",
      "book_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/go/samboat?dest=bahamas&pos=api"
    },
    {
      "destination": "croatia",
      "name": "Croatia",
      "rank": 6,
      "partial": false,
      "best_months": [
        "July",
        "August"
      ],
      "best_score": 80,
      "july": 80,
      "august": 80,
      "licence_regime": "required",
      "canonical_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/croatia/#suitability",
      "api_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/api/suitability/croatia.json",
      "book_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/go/samboat?dest=croatia&pos=api"
    },
    {
      "destination": "belize",
      "name": "Belize",
      "rank": 7,
      "partial": false,
      "best_months": [
        "January"
      ],
      "best_score": 80,
      "july": 66,
      "august": 60,
      "licence_regime": "unclear",
      "canonical_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/belize/#suitability",
      "api_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/api/suitability/belize.json",
      "book_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/go/samboat?dest=belize&pos=api"
    },
    {
      "destination": "bvi",
      "name": "British Virgin Islands",
      "rank": 8,
      "partial": false,
      "best_months": [
        "April"
      ],
      "best_score": 80,
      "july": 62,
      "august": 57,
      "licence_regime": "resume",
      "canonical_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/bvi/#suitability",
      "api_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/api/suitability/bvi.json",
      "book_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/go/samboat?dest=bvi&pos=api"
    },
    {
      "destination": "french-polynesia",
      "name": "French Polynesia",
      "rank": 9,
      "partial": false,
      "best_months": [
        "May"
      ],
      "best_score": 73,
      "july": 69,
      "august": 69,
      "licence_regime": "none",
      "canonical_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/french-polynesia/#suitability",
      "api_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/api/suitability/french-polynesia.json",
      "book_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/go/samboat?dest=french-polynesia&pos=api"
    },
    {
      "destination": "thailand",
      "name": "Thailand",
      "rank": null,
      "partial": true,
      "best_months": [
        "March",
        "April",
        "May",
        "November"
      ],
      "best_score": 83,
      "july": 76,
      "august": 75,
      "licence_regime": "resume",
      "canonical_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/thailand/#suitability",
      "api_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/api/suitability/thailand.json",
      "book_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/go/samboat?dest=thailand&pos=api"
    }
  ],
  "beginners": [
    {
      "destination": "greece",
      "name": "Greece",
      "rank": 1,
      "partial": false,
      "best_months": [
        "May",
        "June",
        "July",
        "August"
      ],
      "best_score": 100,
      "july": 100,
      "august": 100,
      "licence_regime": "required",
      "canonical_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/greece/#suitability",
      "api_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/api/suitability/greece.json",
      "book_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/go/samboat?dest=greece&pos=api"
    },
    {
      "destination": "balearics",
      "name": "Balearic Islands",
      "rank": 2,
      "partial": false,
      "best_months": [
        "June",
        "July"
      ],
      "best_score": 97,
      "july": 97,
      "august": 96,
      "licence_regime": "required",
      "canonical_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/balearics/#suitability",
      "api_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/api/suitability/balearics.json",
      "book_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/go/samboat?dest=mallorca&pos=api"
    },
    {
      "destination": "italy",
      "name": "Italy",
      "rank": 3,
      "partial": false,
      "best_months": [
        "August"
      ],
      "best_score": 95,
      "july": 93,
      "august": 95,
      "licence_regime": "required",
      "canonical_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/italy/#suitability",
      "api_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/api/suitability/italy.json",
      "book_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/go/samboat?dest=italy&pos=api"
    },
    {
      "destination": "turkey",
      "name": "Turkey",
      "rank": 4,
      "partial": false,
      "best_months": [
        "April",
        "May",
        "June",
        "August",
        "September",
        "October",
        "November"
      ],
      "best_score": 94,
      "july": 92,
      "august": 94,
      "licence_regime": "required",
      "canonical_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/turkey/#suitability",
      "api_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/api/suitability/turkey.json",
      "book_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/go/samboat?dest=turkey&pos=api"
    },
    {
      "destination": "bahamas",
      "name": "Bahamas",
      "rank": 5,
      "partial": false,
      "best_months": [
        "May"
      ],
      "best_score": 85,
      "july": 74,
      "august": 58,
      "licence_regime": "resume",
      "canonical_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/bahamas/#suitability",
      "api_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/api/suitability/bahamas.json",
      "book_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/go/samboat?dest=bahamas&pos=api"
    },
    {
      "destination": "bvi",
      "name": "British Virgin Islands",
      "rank": 6,
      "partial": false,
      "best_months": [
        "April"
      ],
      "best_score": 76,
      "july": 52,
      "august": 42,
      "licence_regime": "resume",
      "canonical_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/bvi/#suitability",
      "api_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/api/suitability/bvi.json",
      "book_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/go/samboat?dest=bvi&pos=api"
    },
    {
      "destination": "belize",
      "name": "Belize",
      "rank": 7,
      "partial": false,
      "best_months": [
        "January",
        "May",
        "December"
      ],
      "best_score": 74,
      "july": 54,
      "august": 44,
      "licence_regime": "unclear",
      "canonical_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/belize/#suitability",
      "api_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/api/suitability/belize.json",
      "book_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/go/samboat?dest=belize&pos=api"
    },
    {
      "destination": "croatia",
      "name": "Croatia",
      "rank": 8,
      "partial": false,
      "best_months": [
        "June"
      ],
      "best_score": 73,
      "july": 72,
      "august": 72,
      "licence_regime": "required",
      "canonical_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/croatia/#suitability",
      "api_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/api/suitability/croatia.json",
      "book_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/go/samboat?dest=croatia&pos=api"
    },
    {
      "destination": "french-polynesia",
      "name": "French Polynesia",
      "rank": 9,
      "partial": false,
      "best_months": [
        "May"
      ],
      "best_score": 66,
      "july": 61,
      "august": 61,
      "licence_regime": "none",
      "canonical_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/french-polynesia/#suitability",
      "api_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/api/suitability/french-polynesia.json",
      "book_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/go/samboat?dest=french-polynesia&pos=api"
    },
    {
      "destination": "thailand",
      "name": "Thailand",
      "rank": null,
      "partial": true,
      "best_months": [
        "March",
        "April",
        "May",
        "November"
      ],
      "best_score": 72,
      "july": 64,
      "august": 62,
      "licence_regime": "resume",
      "canonical_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/thailand/#suitability",
      "api_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/api/suitability/thailand.json",
      "book_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/go/samboat?dest=thailand&pos=api"
    }
  ],
  "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."
}