Greece vs Turkey for a yacht or catamaran charter

Each pick is our rule applied to the data, not an opinion; the rules are under how we decide.

See catamarans for rent in Greece on SamBoat · See boats for rent in Turkey on SamBoat

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Prices are 12 Knots' average weekly asking prices in euros ("Updated October 2026"). Rows marked our rule, our arithmetic or our calculation are ours; the others are quoted.

Gulet prices: not verified yet. See catamaran, monohull and motor yacht compared.

Inputs are 12 Knots' prices and The Globe Sailor's September 2026 catamaran table (secondary), food at €20–40 per person per day; the per-person totals are our arithmetic. The Globe Sailor's table does not state a period for every column: the skipper fee is per day and the port fee per night (read from the article text); fuel per week is our reading. Tax and permit lines we could not verify (never added to a total):

• Greece: Whether TEPAI is passed on to charter guests, and its current rates.
• Greece: Port fees in municipal harbours.
• Turkey: Transit log fees and any guest tax in Turkey.

Full breakdown: true cost in Greece · true cost in Turkey

Greece. Yes in practice: charter companies and the RYA say the skipper of a bareboat in Greece needs a recognised sailing licence and recommend the ICC, but we could not find the Greek legal text, so this rests on secondary sources. Anchor lists the ICC, RYA Coastal Skipper or Yachtmaster (practical), ASA 104, SLC and IPC as accepted and says Greek port police no longer accept the RYA Day Skipper, although its own summary still lists Day Skipper, so confirm with your operator.

Turkey. Yes: Turkey's Maritime Tourism Regulation says a Turkish-flag yacht in a licensed charter business, with no more than 12 passengers, can be chartered without crew only if at least one renter holds a licence of sufficient standard, but the regulation does not say which foreign certificates count. The RYA lists evidence of competence as required in Turkey and recommends the ICC, so ask the operator what it accepts.

Licence rules in Greece · Licence rules in Turkey · Sailing licence requirements, explained

Straight line, our calculation from OpenStreetMap coordinates; the road or ferry trip is longer. Nearest airport to the base is our choice (not the airport with the best connections). Distances are straight lines between OpenStreetMap coordinates, our calculation; the road or ferry trip is longer. We make no claim about flights. Great-circle distance between OpenStreetMap (Nominatim) coordinates, Earth radius 6,371.0088 km, 1 nm = 1.852 km. Straight lines: the sailed distance is longer. Coordinates © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL (openstreetmap.org/copyright).

• Greece: No licence, but only Greek-flagged boats may fish. Foreign-flagged charter yachts may not fish in Greek waters. The Hellenic Coast Guard says only Greek-flagged vessels may fish there. Before you book, ask the charter company which flag the yacht flies. Fishing rules in Greece.
• Turkey: From a boat only (avlanma fişi). Fishing rules in Turkey.

Warm-sea months (24 °C or more, NOAA mean, our count): 3 in Greece and 4 in Turkey. Snorkel and dive in Greece · Snorkel and dive in Turkey.

See catamarans for rent in Greece on SamBoat

See boats for rent in Turkey on SamBoat

Listings and prices on SamBoat are SamBoat's own and change daily; the figures on this page are 12 Knots averages. We may earn a commission if you book through our links, at no extra cost to you (disclosure).

• The Greek cruising fee on leisure boats (TEPAH) and whether charter guests pay it: the tax authority's pages returned an error to us, so we give no rate.
• Gulet prices: not verified yet.
• Transit log fees and any guest tax in Turkey.
• Flights and connections: we make no claim about them. The airport is our choice of the nearest one to the base.

• [Secondary source]: From a newspaper, NGO, guide or tour operator; not official.
• [Not verified]: We could not confirm it. We leave it open rather than guess.
• No label: Read in an official text: government, park authority, ministry or official tourism board.
• our arithmetic: a mean, a difference, a percentage or a per-person total we calculated from the cited figures.
• our calculation: a distance, a weather mean or a day count we calculated from NASA POWER, NOAA or OpenStreetMap data.
• our rule: a verdict. Every "better pick" is a published rule applied to the data (see how we decide), not a ranking by any source.
• our choice: a reference point, an airport or a tie band.

None of this is a forecast, a safety rating or a recommendation to book a particular boat.

• V1. On a budget, flexible dates: the side with the lower 12-month mean of 12 Knots' average weekly asking prices (our arithmetic). A gap under 5% of the lower mean is "about the same" (our choice).
• V2. Fixed dates: no single pick. We list the months in which each side has the lower 12 Knots price (our arithmetic).
• V3. Summer holidays: the side with the lower mean of the July and August prices; a gap under 5% of the lower figure is "about the same" (our choice).
• V4. Christmas and New Year: the side with the lower December price; a gap under 5% is "about the same".
• V5. Families with children: the higher best-month family score on our published method (calm wind, short hops, warm sea, season); scores within 5 points are a tie (our choice). No pick where a score is partial (Thailand) or both sides share one dataset (Mallorca and Ibiza).
• V6. First charter without a sailing licence: the side whose licence regime is lower in the order none, résumé, not confirmed, licence required (our classification of the sources); the same regime is a tie. Beginner scores on our method are printed beside it.
• V7. Steady wind or calm: no single pick. We print each side's force 6 days per year (22 kn or more, NASA POWER, 2016–2025, our calculation) and which side has more; a gap within 2 days is a tie (our choice).
• V8. Warm water, snorkelling: the side with more months at 24 °C or more by NOAA's mean sea temperature at our reference point; equal counts are a tie.
• V9. Seasonal weather risk: no pick. We quote each side's weather-risk answer and link its page.
• V10. Fishing from the boat: no pick. We quote each side's licence rule and any warning from our fishing pages.

Constants (our choices): price ties under 5% of the lower figure; score ties within 5 points; wind ties within 2 force 6 days.

True cost per person = (12 Knots charter fee + fuel + 6 marina nights + mandatory extras + food at €20–40 per person per day) ÷ 6 people (our arithmetic, The Globe Sailor's September 2026 figures). Where a side has no Globe Sailor row (BVI, Bahamas, Thailand) the total is partial and the like-for-like row uses charter + food only for both sides.

Nearest airport to the base is our choice (not the airport with the best connections). Distances are straight lines between OpenStreetMap coordinates, our calculation; the road or ferry trip is longer. We make no claim about flights.

Verdicts are our rules applied to the data, not a ranking by any source. Means, differences, per-person totals, distances and verdicts are our arithmetic or our rules.

Data: JSON.

• 12 Knots: Catamaran charter in Greece (secondary, not official), checked 27 Oct 2026.
• 12 Knots: Catamaran charter in Turkey (secondary, not official), checked 28 Oct 2026.
• NASA POWER: Prediction Of Worldwide Energy Resources: Monthly API (T2M, WS10M) (official), checked 28 Oct 2026.
• Tyrlis & Lelieveld, Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences: Climatology and dynamics of the summer Etesian winds over the eastern Mediterranean (2013, 70(11): 3374–3396) (reference, not official), checked 29 Oct 2026.
• The Globe Sailor: What it really costs to charter a yacht (secondary, not official), checked 28 Oct 2026.
• OpenStreetMap (Nominatim geocoder): Nominatim search API: coordinates of airports and the Palma reference point (secondary, not official), checked 29 Oct 2026.
• NASA POWER: Prediction Of Worldwide Energy Resources: Daily API (WS10M_MAX, WD10M) and Monthly API (PRECTOTCORR) (official), checked 29 Oct 2026.
• Met Office: Beaufort wind force scale (official), checked 29 Oct 2026.
• Anchor (formerly Helm): What qualifications do I need to charter a yacht? (secondary, not official), checked 27 Oct 2026.
• Island Sailing: Yacht charter Greece: qualifications (secondary, not official), checked 28 Oct 2026.
• RYA: Evidence of competence abroad (ICC) (reference, not official), checked 28 Oct 2026.
• The Moorings: Experience guide: Level 3 sail (secondary, not official), checked 27 Oct 2026.
• Turkish Official Legislation Information System (mevzuat.gov.tr): Deniz Turizmi Yönetmeliği (Maritime Tourism Regulation), art. 34, consolidated text (official), checked 28 Oct 2026.

Method: methodology. Data: JSON.

• Greece: charter guide
• Best time to charter in Greece
• True cost in Greece
• 7-day sailing itinerary: the Ionian from Lefkada
• 7-day sailing itinerary: the Cyclades from Lavrio
• Greece: weather
• Fishing rules in Greece
• Turkey: charter guide
• Best time to charter in Turkey
• True cost in Turkey
• 7-day sailing itinerary: from Göcek
• Turkey: weather
• Fishing rules in Turkey
• All comparisons
• Catamaran Index home