Greece Yacht Charters

Ah, the wonders of Greece. Spend a couple of days marveling at the ancient wonders of Athens.  Enjoy wandering through the shops and tavernas of the Plaka, below the Acropolis of Athens.  The sun drenched Greek Islands with their white washed buildings, beaches and historic ruins await you.
Start your charter from Pireaus, the port of Athens and experience the Gulf Islands, close to Athens, yet a world away. Other cruising areas are the fabled Cycladic Islands, including Mykonos and Santorini. There are the Dodocanese Islands, the Ionians, and others, in all there are over 1400 Greek Islands to explore!

WEATHER

You will find early May to be cool during the evenings and lovely in the day. The waters will be too chilly for a swim until into June, but there is plenty to do ashore, so do not overlook the beginning and end of the season. Late September and October will also find the days cooler and the water a bit cool, but still possible to go for a dip.
July and August are the months when you are most likely to experience the Meltimi, the strong wind that makes the seas very choppy. These months also tend to be quite hot. During these months you will find the area very crowded with European tourists and students. We recommend May and June and then September and October for the best weather and less crowds.

SIDE TRIPS

One of the pleasures of chartering in Greece is the easy availability to ancient sites. You can visit old catacombs, and see the stately ruins of various historic sites. You may enjoy haggling with the vendors of leather goods, pottery and brass items. Greece is known for its gold jewelry designs and you can buy nice pieces both in the shops and in the bazaars.

YACHTS

Yachts will run from the small and basic to the large and luxurious. Overall, the yachts tend to have more berths for yacht size than a comparable yacht in the Caribbean. Yachts tend to have a much more basic interior decor . They will be clean but perhaps not fancy. The number of crewed power yachts or motor sailors does outnumber the sailing yachts. It is often times more practical to charter a motorsailor or powerboat since the seas can be calm and motoring is necessary to reach the next island. The rate of a sailing yacht will normally include 4 hours of fuel per day. This should be sufficient unless you have an ambitious itinerary.

CREWS

The Greeks are great lovers of the sea and the heritage of ships and shipping runs deep. You will find that the yachts have exclusively male crews. Occasionally you may find a husband/wife team, but this is rare. What is normal is the excellent knowledge of the cruising area.

MEALS

Yachts in Greece are normally offered on a "plus all expenses" basis. Meals tend to be taken ashore where the food is good, plentiful and inexpensive. You will get a chance to experience the local tavernas too. You may choose to have your crew provision the yacht for "half board" which is breakfast and one other meal for the fee of $50 per person per day.