Best time to charter a yacht or catamaran, by destination
Best months to charter in 10 destinations: a month-by-month heat map of price, temperature and wind, sweet spots, hurricane and wet seasons. Sourced.
Mediterranean sweet spot
September
4 of 5 areas: warm, not peak-priced (our rule)
Sources: 12 Knots, NASA POWER, checked
Caribbean best weather
Dec–May
Outside the hurricane season (our rule)
Sources: NOAA National Hurricane Center, NASA POWER, checked
Hurricane season
Jun–Nov
Atlantic; peak mid-Aug to mid-Oct
Source: NOAA National Hurricane Center, checked
In the Mediterranean, our sweet spot (warm, but not one of the three priciest months) is September in Croatia and Italy, September and October in Greece and the Balearics, and June in Turkey; the cheapest single month in our index is Croatia in March at €3,558 per week (12 Knots, checked 27 Oct 2026). In the Caribbean and Belize the best weather is December to May, outside the Atlantic hurricane season (NOAA National Hurricane Center, checked 27 Oct 2026), while the cheapest months (August to October) fall in its peak; French Polynesia's sweet spot is May, June and October in the dry season (Tahiti Tourisme, checked 27 Oct 2026), and Thailand is cheapest in June, August and September (from €4,996), where we have no verified rainfall source.
Last checked: 27 Oct 2026 (12 Knots prices) and 28 Oct 2026 (NASA POWER weather). "Best value", "best weather", "sweet spot" and "avoid" are our rules on these figures (how we decide). This page starts from the destination; to start from a month, see where to sail by month.
Best time to charter, month by month
Three views of the same 12 months for every area: price against that area's own cheapest month, mean air temperature and mean wind. Darker cells mean pricier, warmer or windier. Click an area for its full month-by-month guide.
| Area | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Croatia | +7, shoulder | +7, low season | 0, low season | +0, low season | +49, shoulder | +125, peak season | +162, peak season | +149, peak season | +88, shoulder | +11, shoulder | +12, shoulder | +13, shoulder |
| Greece | +1, low season | +0, low season | 0, low season | +2, shoulder | +42, shoulder | +86, peak season | +106, peak season | +111, peak season | +79, shoulder | +20, shoulder | +13, shoulder | +16, shoulder |
| BVI | +29, shoulder | +38, peak season | +43, peak season | +33, peak season | +21, shoulder | +15, shoulder, hurricane season | +9, shoulder, hurricane season | +1, low season, hurricane season | 0, low season, hurricane season | +5, low season, hurricane season | +19, shoulder, hurricane season | +30, shoulder |
| Bahamas | +43, shoulder | +54, peak season | +64, peak season | +61, peak season | +47, shoulder | +36, shoulder, hurricane season | +25, shoulder, hurricane season | +2, low season, hurricane season | 0, low season, hurricane season | +12, low season, hurricane season | +44, shoulder, hurricane season | +45, shoulder |
| Turkey | +1, low season | +1, low season | 0, low season | +10, shoulder | +32, shoulder | +45, shoulder | +50, peak season | +56, peak season | +60, peak season | +39, shoulder | +8, shoulder | +5, shoulder |
| Italy | +2, low season | +3, shoulder | +3, shoulder | +4, shoulder | +17, shoulder | +56, peak season | +88, peak season | +90, peak season | +39, shoulder | +4, shoulder | 0, low season | +3, low season |
| Mallorca | 0, low season | +1, low season | +2, low season | +9, shoulder | +51, shoulder | +100, peak season | +130, peak season | +127, peak season | +94, shoulder | +30, shoulder | +25, shoulder | +22, shoulder |
| Ibiza | +10, low season | 0, low season | +12, low season | +24, shoulder | +28, shoulder | +64, peak season | +82, peak season | +79, peak season | +44, shoulder | +22, shoulder | +21, shoulder | +17, shoulder |
| Thailand | +105, peak season | +99, peak season | +83, shoulder | +63, shoulder | +7, shoulder | +1, low season | +2, shoulder | 0, low season | +0, low season | +34, shoulder | +88, shoulder | +103, peak season |
| French Polynesia | 0, low season, wet season | +16, low season, wet season | +50, shoulder, wet season | +88, shoulder, wet season | +85, shoulder | +89, shoulder | +111, peak season | +106, peak season | +104, peak season | +95, shoulder | +49, shoulder, wet season | +35, low season, wet season |
| Belize | +69, shoulder | +78, peak season | +81, peak season | +71, peak season | +38, shoulder | +19, shoulder, hurricane season | +16, shoulder, hurricane season | +7, low season, hurricane season | +7, low season, hurricane season | 0, low season, hurricane season | +32, shoulder, hurricane season | +54, shoulder |
| Area | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Croatia | 8 | 9 | 10 | 14 | 18 | 23 | 26 | 26 | 22 | 17 | 13 | 10 |
| Greece | 11 | 11 | 13 | 16 | 19 | 24 | 27 | 28 | 24 | 20 | 16 | 13 |
| BVI | 26 | 26 | 26 | 27 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 28 | 27 |
| Bahamas | 23 | 23 | 23 | 24 | 26 | 28 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 27 | 25 | 24 |
| Turkey | 7 | 8 | 10 | 15 | 20 | 25 | 30 | 29 | 25 | 19 | 14 | 9 |
| Italy | 10 | 11 | 12 | 14 | 18 | 24 | 27 | 27 | 23 | 19 | 14 | 11 |
| Balearic Islands | 14 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 19 | 23 | 27 | 27 | 25 | 22 | 18 | 15 |
| Thailand | 27 | 28 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 27 |
| French Polynesia | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 27 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 27 | 27 |
| Belize | 26 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 28 | 27 | 26 |
| Area | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Croatia | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 8 |
| Greece | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 |
| BVI | 13 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 11 | 10 | 12 | 13 |
| Bahamas | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 12 | 11 | 12 |
| Turkey | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| Italy | 11 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 10 |
| Balearic Islands | 12 | 10 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 12 | 11 |
| Thailand | 7 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 7 |
| French Polynesia | 11 | 11 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 10 |
| Belize | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 |
- Price: 0 to +100% or more vs cheapest · Temperature: under 15 to 28 °C or more
- Wind: under 7 to 13 kn or more
- Underlined: one of the area's 3 priciest months · dotted: one of its 3 cheapest (our labels)
- Atlantic hurricane season (NOAA) · Tahiti's wet season (Tahiti Tourisme)
Air temp and wind: Air temp = NASA POWER monthly mean 2 m air temperature (T2M); wind = monthly mean 10 m wind speed (WS10M), converted from m/s to knots (kn) with 1 m/s = 3600/1852 kn. For each calendar month we average the 2016–2025 values (10 full years). POWER's meteorological grid is ½° latitude by ⅝° longitude (roughly 55 × 50 km at these latitudes), so one cell cannot show local sea breezes or coast-to-hill temperature differences. They are our calculation of average conditions, not a forecast, not gusts, and not sea conditions. Mean wind is lower than the peak winds you will feel on the water. Mallorca and Ibiza share the Ibiza Town point. Weather data obtained from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Langley Research Center's Prediction Of Worldwide Energy Resources (POWER) Project, funded through the NASA Earth Science Division (pulled 2026-10-28) (NASA POWER, checked 28 Oct 2026). We changed the data: we averaged the monthly values for 2016–2025 and converted wind from m/s to knots (our calculation).
Best months by destination
| Destination | Best value (cheapest 3) | Best weather (our rule) | Sweet spot | Avoid | Rent |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Croatia | February, March and April (from €3,558) | June to September | September | June, July and August | SamBoat |
| Greece | January, February and March (from €4,527) | June to October | September and October | June, July and August | SamBoat |
| British Virgin Islands | August, September and October (from €6,816) | December to May | December, January and May | February, March and April; August to October (hurricane peak) | SamBoat |
| Bahamas | August, September and October (from €6,591) | December to May | December, January and May | February, March and April; August to October (hurricane peak) | SamBoat |
| Turkey | January, February and March (from €5,044) | June to September | June | July, August and September | SamBoat |
| Italy | November, December and January (from €5,082) | June to September | September | June, July and August | SamBoat |
| Balearic Islands | January, February and March (from €4,170) | June to October | September and October | June, July and August | SamBoat |
| Thailand | June, August and September (from €4,996) | Not labelled (no rainfall source) | – | December, January and February | SamBoat |
| French Polynesia | December, January and February (from €5,009) | May to October | May, June and October | July, August and September; November to April (wet season) | SamBoat |
| Belize | August, September and October (from €6,343) | December to May | December, January and May | February, March and April; August to October (hurricane peak) | SamBoat |
We may earn a commission if you book through the SamBoat links, at no extra cost to you (disclosure).
Mediterranean vs Caribbean: opposite seasons
- Mediterranean (Croatia, Greece, Turkey, Italy, Balearic Islands): the three priciest months are June to August (Croatia, Greece, Italy, Balearic Islands); July to September (Turkey), and the cheapest are February to April (Croatia); January to March (Greece, Turkey, Balearic Islands); November to January (Italy). Months that are warm (≥ 20 °C at our reference points) in all 5: June to September. September is a sweet spot in 4 of the 5.
- Caribbean and Belize (British Virgin Islands, Bahamas, Belize): the three priciest months are February to April and the cheapest August to October, inside the hurricane season's peak.
- French Polynesia: priciest in the dry season, cheapest in the wet season.
- Thailand: prices roughly halve from May to September; we have no verified rainfall source to explain why.
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How we decide "best"
- Best value: The 3 cheapest months of 12 Knots' monthly average weekly catamaran price (our ranking).
- Warm / cool: Mean air temperature of 20 °C or more at our reference point (our threshold). Cool: below 15 °C.
- Best weather: Warm (≥ 20 °C) and outside the Atlantic hurricane season (1 June–30 November, NOAA) or Tahiti's wet season (November–April, Tahiti Tourisme). Not given where we have no season or rainfall source.
- Sweet spot: Best-weather months that are not among the 3 priciest months (our rule).
- Avoid: The 3 priciest months (if price matters), plus August–October in hurricane areas (NOAA: most activity mid-August to mid-October) or the wet season in French Polynesia.
- Families: The calmest best-weather months by mean wind (our suggestion; mean wind is not gusts or sea state).
- Wind: The windiest months by mean wind speed at our reference point (our ranking).
These are our editorial thresholds applied to sourced figures, not the sources' own labels. Air temperature is not sea temperature, and mean wind is not gusts or sea state (sea temperature, waves, gusts and rainfall: not verified yet).
Sources
- 12 Knots: Catamaran charter in Croatia, checked 27 Oct 2026. Page states "Updated October 2026".
- 12 Knots: Catamaran charter in Greece, checked 27 Oct 2026. Page states "Updated October 2026".
- 12 Knots: Catamaran charter in the BVI, checked 27 Oct 2026. Page states "Updated October 2026".
- 12 Knots: Catamaran charter in the Bahamas, checked 27 Oct 2026. Page states "Updated October 2026".
- 12 Knots: Catamaran charter in Turkey, checked 28 Oct 2026. Page states "Updated October 2026".
- 12 Knots: Catamaran charter in Italy, checked 27 Oct 2026. Page states "Updated October 2026".
- 12 Knots: Catamaran charter in Mallorca, checked 27 Oct 2026. Page states "Updated October 2026".
- 12 Knots: Catamaran charter in Ibiza, checked 27 Oct 2026. Page states "Updated October 2026".
- 12 Knots: Catamaran charter in Thailand, checked 27 Oct 2026. Page states "Updated October 2026".
- 12 Knots: Catamaran charter in French Polynesia (Tahiti), checked 27 Oct 2026. Page states "Updated October 2026".
- 12 Knots: Catamaran charter in Belize, checked 27 Oct 2026. Page states "Updated October 2026".
- NASA POWER: Prediction Of Worldwide Energy Resources: Monthly API (T2M, WS10M), checked 28 Oct 2026. Pulled 28 Oct 2026; 2016–2025 monthly means (our calculation).
- NOAA National Hurricane Center: Tropical cyclone climatology, checked 27 Oct 2026.
- Tahiti Tourisme: Tahiti weather, checked 27 Oct 2026.
Price data: CSV · JSON API · methodology.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best month to charter a yacht in the Mediterranean?
On our rules, September in Croatia and Italy, September and October in Greece and the Balearics, and June in Turkey: warm (20 °C or more at our reference points) but not among each area's three priciest months, which are mostly June to August (12 Knots, October 2026; NASA POWER, our calculation).
What is the best time to charter a catamaran in the Caribbean?
December to May, outside the Atlantic hurricane season (1 June to 30 November, NOAA). Prices are lowest in August to October, the peak of hurricane activity, and highest in February to April in the BVI (12 Knots, October 2026).
Where is it cheapest to charter a catamaran?
In our index, Croatia in March, at €3,558 per week (12 Knots' average asking price, updated October 2026). For each month's cheapest destination, see where to sail by month.