{ "destination": "greece", "name": "Greece", "question": "Is Greece good for a family or first-time yacht charter?", "answer": "By our method, Greece scores 100/100 for families in its best months (July to September) and 100 in July, and 100/100 for a first bareboat charter; mean winds are light and our route has long hops (about 10 nm on average, longest 23 nm). Licence or recognised certificate needed: Licence required (ICC, Coastal Skipper, ASA 104, IPC…); Day Skipper may be refused, confirm with operator. Emergency number: 112 (UK government travel advice).", "answer_markdown": "By our method, Greece scores 100/100 for families in its best months (July to September) and 100 in July, and 100/100 for a first bareboat charter; mean winds are light and our route has long hops (about 10 nm on average, longest 23 nm). Licence or recognised certificate needed: Licence required (ICC, Coastal Skipper, ASA 104, IPC…); Day Skipper may be refused, confirm with operator. Emergency number: 112 (UK government travel advice).", "checked": "2026-10-29", "canonical_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/greece/#suitability", "families_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/family-yacht-charter/", "beginners_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/beginner-yacht-charter/", "api_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/api/suitability/greece.json", "book_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/go/samboat?dest=greece&pos=api", "families": { "best_months": [ "July", "August", "September" ], "best_score": 100, "july": 100, "august": 100, "rank": 1, "partial": false, "average_hop_nm": 10.1, "longest_hop_nm": 23, "months": [ { "month": 1, "name": "January", "score": 69, "parts": { "wind": { "value": 8.1, "fraction": 0.79, "points": 23.700000000000003, "max_points": 30, "derived": true }, "legs": { "value": 10.091668012270135, "fraction": 0.993888799181991, "points": 24.847219979549777, "max_points": 25, "derived": true }, "sea": { "value": 15.9, "fraction": 0, "points": 0, "max_points": 25, "derived": true }, "season": { "value": 1, "fraction": 1, "points": 20, "max_points": 20, "derived": true } } }, { "month": 2, "name": "February", "score": 69, "parts": { "wind": { "value": 7.9, "fraction": 0.8099999999999999, "points": 24.299999999999997, "max_points": 30, "derived": true }, "legs": { "value": 10.091668012270135, "fraction": 0.993888799181991, "points": 24.847219979549777, "max_points": 25, "derived": true }, "sea": { "value": 15.1, "fraction": 0, "points": 0, "max_points": 25, "derived": true }, "season": { "value": 1, "fraction": 1, "points": 20, "max_points": 20, "derived": true } } }, { "month": 3, "name": "March", "score": 71, "parts": { "wind": { "value": 7.2, "fraction": 0.8800000000000001, "points": 26.400000000000002, "max_points": 30, "derived": true }, "legs": { "value": 10.091668012270135, "fraction": 0.993888799181991, "points": 24.847219979549777, "max_points": 25, "derived": true }, "sea": { "value": 15, "fraction": 0, "points": 0, "max_points": 25, "derived": true }, "season": { "value": 1, "fraction": 1, "points": 20, "max_points": 20, "derived": true } } }, { "month": 4, "name": "April", "score": 73, "parts": { "wind": { "value": 6.5, "fraction": 0.95, "points": 28.5, "max_points": 30, "derived": true }, "legs": { "value": 10.091668012270135, "fraction": 0.993888799181991, "points": 24.847219979549777, "max_points": 25, "derived": true }, "sea": { "value": 16.2, "fraction": 0, "points": 0, "max_points": 25, "derived": true }, "season": { "value": 1, "fraction": 1, "points": 20, "max_points": 20, "derived": true } } }, { "month": 5, "name": "May", "score": 79, "parts": { "wind": { "value": 5.9, "fraction": 1, "points": 30, "max_points": 30, "derived": true }, "legs": { "value": 10.091668012270135, "fraction": 0.993888799181991, "points": 24.847219979549777, "max_points": 25, "derived": true }, "sea": { "value": 18.9, "fraction": 0.14999999999999977, "points": 3.7499999999999942, "max_points": 25, "derived": true }, "season": { "value": 1, "fraction": 1, "points": 20, "max_points": 20, "derived": true } } }, { "month": 6, "name": "June", "score": 93, "parts": { "wind": { "value": 5.5, "fraction": 1, "points": 30, "max_points": 30, "derived": true }, "legs": { "value": 10.091668012270135, "fraction": 0.993888799181991, "points": 24.847219979549777, "max_points": 25, "derived": true }, "sea": { "value": 22.3, "fraction": 0.7166666666666668, "points": 17.91666666666667, "max_points": 25, "derived": true }, "season": { "value": 1, "fraction": 1, "points": 20, "max_points": 20, "derived": true } } }, { "month": 7, "name": "July", "score": 100, "parts": { "wind": { "value": 6, "fraction": 1, "points": 30, "max_points": 30, "derived": true }, "legs": { "value": 10.091668012270135, "fraction": 0.993888799181991, "points": 24.847219979549777, "max_points": 25, "derived": true }, "sea": { "value": 24.5, "fraction": 1, "points": 25, "max_points": 25, "derived": true }, "season": { "value": 1, "fraction": 1, "points": 20, "max_points": 20, "derived": true } } }, { "month": 8, "name": "August", "score": 100, "parts": { "wind": { "value": 5.5, "fraction": 1, "points": 30, "max_points": 30, "derived": true }, "legs": { "value": 10.091668012270135, "fraction": 0.993888799181991, "points": 24.847219979549777, "max_points": 25, "derived": true }, "sea": { "value": 25.9, "fraction": 1, "points": 25, "max_points": 25, "derived": true }, "season": { "value": 1, "fraction": 1, "points": 20, "max_points": 20, "derived": true } } }, { "month": 9, "name": "September", "score": 100, "parts": { "wind": { "value": 6.1, "fraction": 0.99, "points": 29.7, "max_points": 30, "derived": true }, "legs": { "value": 10.091668012270135, "fraction": 0.993888799181991, "points": 24.847219979549777, "max_points": 25, "derived": true }, "sea": { "value": 24.9, "fraction": 1, "points": 25, "max_points": 25, "derived": true }, "season": { "value": 1, "fraction": 1, "points": 20, "max_points": 20, "derived": true } } }, { "month": 10, "name": "October", "score": 94, "parts": { "wind": { "value": 6.4, "fraction": 0.96, "points": 28.799999999999997, "max_points": 30, "derived": true }, "legs": { "value": 10.091668012270135, "fraction": 0.993888799181991, "points": 24.847219979549777, "max_points": 25, "derived": true }, "sea": { "value": 22.8, "fraction": 0.8000000000000002, "points": 20.000000000000004, "max_points": 25, "derived": true }, "season": { "value": 1, "fraction": 1, "points": 20, "max_points": 20, "derived": true } } }, { "month": 11, "name": "November", "score": 79, "parts": { "wind": { "value": 8.1, "fraction": 0.79, "points": 23.700000000000003, "max_points": 30, "derived": true }, "legs": { "value": 10.091668012270135, "fraction": 0.993888799181991, "points": 24.847219979549777, "max_points": 25, "derived": true }, "sea": { "value": 20.4, "fraction": 0.39999999999999974, "points": 9.999999999999993, "max_points": 25, "derived": true }, "season": { "value": 1, "fraction": 1, "points": 20, "max_points": 20, "derived": true } } }, { "month": 12, "name": "December", "score": 70, "parts": { "wind": { "value": 7.5, "fraction": 0.85, "points": 25.5, "max_points": 30, "derived": true }, "legs": { "value": 10.091668012270135, "fraction": 0.993888799181991, "points": 24.847219979549777, "max_points": 25, "derived": true }, "sea": { "value": 17.8, "fraction": 0, "points": 0, "max_points": 25, "derived": true }, "season": { "value": 1, "fraction": 1, "points": 20, "max_points": 20, "derived": true } } } ] }, "beginners": { "best_months": [ "May", "June", "July", "August" ], "best_score": 100, "july": 100, "august": 100, "rank": 1, "partial": false, "average_hop_nm": 10.1, "longest_hop_nm": 23, "months": [ { "month": 1, "name": "January", "score": 92, "parts": { "wind": { "value": 8.1, "fraction": 0.79, "points": 27.650000000000002, "max_points": 35, "derived": true }, "legs": { "value": 10.091668012270135, "fraction": 0.993888799181991, "points": 34.78610797136969, "max_points": 35, "derived": true }, "sea": null, "season": { "value": 1, "fraction": 1, "points": 30, "max_points": 30, "derived": true } } }, { "month": 2, "name": "February", "score": 93, "parts": { "wind": { "value": 7.9, "fraction": 0.8099999999999999, "points": 28.349999999999998, "max_points": 35, "derived": true }, "legs": { "value": 10.091668012270135, "fraction": 0.993888799181991, "points": 34.78610797136969, "max_points": 35, "derived": true }, "sea": null, "season": { "value": 1, "fraction": 1, "points": 30, "max_points": 30, "derived": true } } }, { "month": 3, "name": "March", "score": 96, "parts": { "wind": { "value": 7.2, "fraction": 0.8800000000000001, "points": 30.800000000000004, "max_points": 35, "derived": true }, "legs": { "value": 10.091668012270135, "fraction": 0.993888799181991, "points": 34.78610797136969, "max_points": 35, "derived": true }, "sea": null, "season": { "value": 1, "fraction": 1, "points": 30, "max_points": 30, "derived": true } } }, { "month": 4, "name": "April", "score": 98, "parts": { "wind": { "value": 6.5, "fraction": 0.95, "points": 33.25, "max_points": 35, "derived": true }, "legs": { "value": 10.091668012270135, "fraction": 0.993888799181991, "points": 34.78610797136969, "max_points": 35, "derived": true }, "sea": null, "season": { "value": 1, "fraction": 1, "points": 30, "max_points": 30, "derived": true } } }, { "month": 5, "name": "May", "score": 100, "parts": { "wind": { "value": 5.9, "fraction": 1, "points": 35, "max_points": 35, "derived": true }, "legs": { "value": 10.091668012270135, "fraction": 0.993888799181991, "points": 34.78610797136969, "max_points": 35, "derived": true }, "sea": null, "season": { "value": 1, "fraction": 1, "points": 30, "max_points": 30, "derived": true } } }, { "month": 6, "name": "June", "score": 100, "parts": { "wind": { "value": 5.5, "fraction": 1, "points": 35, "max_points": 35, "derived": true }, "legs": { "value": 10.091668012270135, "fraction": 0.993888799181991, "points": 34.78610797136969, "max_points": 35, "derived": true }, "sea": null, "season": { "value": 1, "fraction": 1, "points": 30, "max_points": 30, "derived": true } } }, { "month": 7, "name": "July", "score": 100, "parts": { "wind": { "value": 6, "fraction": 1, "points": 35, "max_points": 35, "derived": true }, "legs": { "value": 10.091668012270135, "fraction": 0.993888799181991, "points": 34.78610797136969, "max_points": 35, "derived": true }, "sea": null, "season": { "value": 1, "fraction": 1, "points": 30, "max_points": 30, "derived": true } } }, { "month": 8, "name": "August", "score": 100, "parts": { "wind": { "value": 5.5, "fraction": 1, "points": 35, "max_points": 35, "derived": true }, "legs": { "value": 10.091668012270135, "fraction": 0.993888799181991, "points": 34.78610797136969, "max_points": 35, "derived": true }, "sea": null, "season": { "value": 1, "fraction": 1, "points": 30, "max_points": 30, "derived": true } } }, { "month": 9, "name": "September", "score": 99, "parts": { "wind": { "value": 6.1, "fraction": 0.99, "points": 34.65, "max_points": 35, "derived": true }, "legs": { "value": 10.091668012270135, "fraction": 0.993888799181991, "points": 34.78610797136969, "max_points": 35, "derived": true }, "sea": null, "season": { "value": 1, "fraction": 1, "points": 30, "max_points": 30, "derived": true } } }, { "month": 10, "name": "October", "score": 98, "parts": { "wind": { "value": 6.4, "fraction": 0.96, "points": 33.6, "max_points": 35, "derived": true }, "legs": { "value": 10.091668012270135, "fraction": 0.993888799181991, "points": 34.78610797136969, "max_points": 35, "derived": true }, "sea": null, "season": { "value": 1, "fraction": 1, "points": 30, "max_points": 30, "derived": true } } }, { "month": 11, "name": "November", "score": 92, "parts": { "wind": { "value": 8.1, "fraction": 0.79, "points": 27.650000000000002, "max_points": 35, "derived": true }, "legs": { "value": 10.091668012270135, "fraction": 0.993888799181991, "points": 34.78610797136969, "max_points": 35, "derived": true }, "sea": null, "season": { "value": 1, "fraction": 1, "points": 30, "max_points": 30, "derived": true } } }, { "month": 12, "name": "December", "score": 95, "parts": { "wind": { "value": 7.5, "fraction": 0.85, "points": 29.75, "max_points": 35, "derived": true }, "legs": { "value": 10.091668012270135, "fraction": 0.993888799181991, "points": 34.78610797136969, "max_points": 35, "derived": true }, "sea": null, "season": { "value": 1, "fraction": 1, "points": 30, "max_points": 30, "derived": true } } } ] }, "licence": { "regime": "required", "regime_text": "Licence or recognised certificate needed", "basis": "secondary", "summary": "Licence or recognised certificate needed: Licence required (ICC, Coastal Skipper, ASA 104, IPC…); Day Skipper may be refused, confirm with operator", "url": "https://catamaranindex.com/licence-by-country/greece/" }, "emergency": [ { "text": "Emergency (ambulance, fire, police): 112, according to UK government travel advice, which adds: \"Calling 999 from a UK mobile in Greece will automatically transfer you to the Greek emergency services.\"", "status": "official", "sources": [ { "id": "su_fcdo_gr", "name": "UK FCDO (GOV.UK)", "title": "Greece travel advice: getting help", "url": "https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/greece/getting-help", "checked": "2026-10-29", "note": "UK government travel advice, not the destination government's own page. No date shown.", "tier": "official" } ] }, { "text": "112 is available everywhere in the EU, free of charge, from fixed and mobile phones (European Commission).", "status": "official", "sources": [ { "id": "su_eu_112", "name": "European Commission", "title": "112: the European emergency number", "url": "https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/112", "checked": "2026-10-29", "note": "Last update 23 June 2026.", "tier": "official" } ] } ], "sea_rescue": [ { "text": "Hellenic Coast Guard number: the official page returned an error to us, so we give no number.", "status": "not_verified", "sources": [] } ], "health": [ { "text": "If you are insured in an EU country, the European Health Insurance Card gives you the same rights to necessary state healthcare as people insured in the country you visit; it does not cover private healthcare, or rescue and repatriation (European Commission, Your Europe).", "status": "official", "sources": [ { "id": "su_eu_ehic", "name": "European Commission (Your Europe)", "title": "Unplanned healthcare: temporary stays (European Health Insurance Card)", "url": "https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/health/unplanned-healthcare/temporary-stays/index_en.htm", "checked": "2026-10-29", "note": "Last checked by the publisher 16 September 2026.", "tier": "official" } ] } ], "marinas": [ { "text": "We found no official marina count for this destination that we could read, so we give none.", "status": "not_verified", "sources": [] } ], "method": { "label": "our method (editorial; not a source's rating)", "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 } }, "thresholds": { "calm_wind_kn": 6, "rough_wind_kn": 16, "short_leg_nm": 10, "long_leg_nm": 25, "cold_sea_c": 18, "warm_sea_c": 24 }, "components": { "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).", "licence_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." }, "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_scale_source": { "id": "su_metoffice_beaufort", "name": "Met Office", "title": "Beaufort wind force scale", "url": "https://weather.metoffice.gov.uk/guides/coast-and-sea/beaufort-scale", "checked": "2026-10-29", "note": "UK national weather service. No page date. Force 2 (light breeze) 4–6 kn; force 4 (moderate breeze) 11–16 kn. We use 6 and 16 kn as the anchors of our wind score. Force 5 (fresh breeze) 17–21 kn; force 6 (strong breeze) 22–27 kn. We use 17 and 22 kn as the thresholds of our strong-wind day counts.", "tier": "official" }, "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)." ], "not_in_the_score": "Sheltered anchorages: we found no official source that rates or counts them, so they are not in our score; your charter base's briefing is the best guide. Healthcare, marina density and price are not scored either." }, "derived": "All scores, points, fractions, average hop and ranks are our method or our calculation.", "not_verified": [ "Coast Guard number from an official page.", "Marina count.", "Hospitals or clinics near the route: we have not checked official hospital lists; ask your charter base where the nearest clinic is." ], "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." }, "sources": [ { "id": "su_fcdo_gr", "name": "UK FCDO (GOV.UK)", "title": "Greece travel advice: getting help", "url": "https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/greece/getting-help", "checked": "2026-10-29", "note": "UK government travel advice, not the destination government's own page. No date shown.", "tier": "official" }, { "id": "su_eu_112", "name": "European Commission", "title": "112: the European emergency number", "url": "https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/112", "checked": "2026-10-29", "note": "Last update 23 June 2026.", "tier": "official" }, { "id": "su_eu_ehic", "name": "European Commission (Your Europe)", "title": "Unplanned healthcare: temporary stays (European Health Insurance Card)", "url": "https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/health/unplanned-healthcare/temporary-stays/index_en.htm", "checked": "2026-10-29", "note": "Last checked by the publisher 16 September 2026.", "tier": "official" }, { "id": "su_metoffice_beaufort", "name": "Met Office", "title": "Beaufort wind force scale", "url": "https://weather.metoffice.gov.uk/guides/coast-and-sea/beaufort-scale", "checked": "2026-10-29", "note": "UK national weather service. No page date. Force 2 (light breeze) 4–6 kn; force 4 (moderate breeze) 11–16 kn. We use 6 and 16 kn as the anchors of our wind score. Force 5 (fresh breeze) 17–21 kn; force 6 (strong breeze) 22–27 kn. We use 17 and 22 kn as the thresholds of our strong-wind day counts.", "tier": "official" }, { "id": "nasa_power_monthly", "name": "NASA POWER", "title": "Prediction Of Worldwide Energy Resources: Monthly API (T2M, WS10M)", "url": "https://power.larc.nasa.gov/docs/services/api/temporal/monthly/", "checked": "2026-10-28", "note": "Monthly point data for 2016–2025 pulled on 28 Oct 2026 with scripts/fetch-weather.mjs (API v2.10.0, community RE, parameters T2M = temperature at 2 m in °C and WS10M = wind speed at 10 m in m/s; meteorological grid ½° × ⅝° per https://power.larc.nasa.gov/docs/methodology/). One request per reference point, in the form https://power.larc.nasa.gov/api/temporal/monthly/point?parameters=T2M,WS10M&community=RE&longitude=&latitude=&start=2016&end=2025&format=JSON (coordinates in src/data/weather.ts). Route points for the Dubrovnik and Cyclades itineraries are in src/data/weather-routes.ts (scripts/fetch-route-weather.mjs, pulled 29 Oct 2026). Credit: https://power.larc.nasa.gov/docs/referencing/ . The pages we opened did not state a licence; NASA data is described to us as free for any use. Palma (Mallorca) reference point for the Mallorca vs Ibiza comparison in src/data/weather-routes.ts (scripts/fetch-route-weather.mjs, pulled 29 Oct 2026)." }, { "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" }, { "id": "it_osm_nominatim", "name": "OpenStreetMap (Nominatim geocoder)", "title": "Nominatim search API: coordinates of each itinerary stop", "url": "https://nominatim.openstreetmap.org/", "checked": "2026-10-29", "note": "Coordinates © OpenStreetMap contributors, available under the Open Database Licence (https://www.openstreetmap.org/copyright). One query per stop, run by scripts/fetch-stop-coords.mjs; the queries are in src/data/itinerary-stops.json. Community map data, not an official gazetteer.", "tier": "secondary" } ], "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." }