The Greek peninsula at the far south east of Europe is made up of the mainland and the islands in the Aegean and Ionian Seas. The Greek cruising area for bareboat and crewed yacht charters offers about 2000 islands and 10,000 nautical miles of coastline.

The yacht charter season in Greece starts early April and ends in November. High season runs from the last week of July till the first week of September.

If you charter a yacht in Greece in the high season you should take into account the following:

* The most crowded sailing areas will be Corfu, Lefkas and the Saronic.
* You will also find a lot of non-sailing tourists on the popular islands of Mykonos, Ios, Santorini, Kos, Rhodes, Lesvos, etc.
* In the Aegean Sea the strong Meltemi could not only be a nuisance but also a hazard for sailors.
* Yacht charters will be about 10% more expensive.
* You will have more choice of cabin charters, flotillas and charter flights.
* All tavernas, museums, mineral baths, etc will be open.

Reasons to have your sailing vacation in Greece in April, May and June:

* An abundance of flowers & lush and green islands due to the spring rains of March. This particularly concerns the Cyclades and Dodecanese, which will gradually turn dry and barren during the high yacht charter season. Despite losing some of its freshness and most of the flowers, the Ionian and Northern Aegean islands will remain green and fertile throughout the whole sailing season.
* Cheap yacht charters: the high - and most expensive - season starts last week of July and ends after first week of September. Before May even cheaper.
* Fewer charter yachts; even when arriving late in the afternoon there will be ample space in ports and anchorages, yet most tavernas are already open.
* In the Ionian the Maistro already delivers steady reliable winds much like in the Aegean where there are no strong Meltemi winds yet.
* Orthodox Easter: The next Easter Sunday will be on May 1, 2005, and is the biggest church holiday in Greece, traditionally celebrated with sumptuous amounts of wine and the roasting of a quite a lot of lambs. Ascension is 40 days after Easter and Pentecost is 50 days after Easter.

Only one downside:
The water temperature will reach "pleasant swimmable" levels in May but early April the sea temperature is usually around 17° C/63° F, in my view a bit chilly but this rapidly improves to a very pleasant 23° C/74° F in the beginning of June.

All this considered, I have found the optimum to sail Greece to be around the last two weeks of May and the first two weeks of June.
Reasons to sail Greece in September and October

* Again fewer yachts and tourists: Especially in the popular areas of the Ionian Sea and around Athens the amount of tourists will drop dramatically after the first week(s) of September.
* Still steady winds in the Ionian (Maistro wind) and no Meltemi winds in the Aegean.
* Sea water with tropical temperatures, ideal for snorkeling and diving: 29-31° C/84-88° F.

Again only one downside:
Typically the Cyclades can suffer from shortages of fresh water: except for Naxos none of the cycladic and dodecanese islands have perennial rivers and are therefore already rather barren, dry and rugged in the yacht charter high season. Also, for (charter) yachts it will be more difficult and expensive here to fill the water tanks. Yet, the northern Sporades and the Ionian islands stay green and fertile all year round, but are even more beautiful in springtime when covered in colorful flowers.

In Greece, one of the most popular sailing vacation areas are the Cyclades. This group of islands, which is situated in the Aegean Sea is made up of 56 islands of various sizes.  Just South of Cape Sounion there are a couple of islands that are far more removed from mainstream tourism, and thus a lot quieter. The landscape varies from island to island, but is generally quite barren. The climate is dominated by a Northerly wind, which blows weakly in May and June, but can be quite strong in July and August. Even around Christmas, the temperature still climbs to 16 – 20 degrees. Due to its warmer climate, this area is be particularly recommended for March, April, September and October, when it is much colder in central and western Europe and America.

The Northern Sporades is the proper name for what people usually call the Sporades, and consist of the scattered (hence: sporadic) remote and fertile islands of Skiathos, Skopelos, Alonissos, Skyros, Pelagos or Kira Panayia and the uninhabited Peristera, Skantzoura, Yioura, Piperi and Psathoura. In contrast, the less travelled Eastern Sporades refer to the sailing vacation area that includes the islands of Lesbos, Limnos and Chios, which string along the Turkish coastline.

The bigger islands in the Northern Sporades sustain small populations - mostly of craftsmen, farmers and fishermen - and the only proper towns double as ports: Skiathos town, Skopelos town, Patitiri on Alonissos and Linaria on Skyros.

Moreover, on Skopelos island Glossa (via Loutraki port) and on Alonissos island Steni Vala port are also well worth visiting, especially to look for good tavernas in the typically narrow winding streets. But also near the popular beaches on Skiathos and Skopelos you will find lots of tourists in the season, yet as a rule the tavernas and bars tend to be twice as expensive and half as good as in the traditional places.

Indeed, five or six beaches on Skiathos and Skopelos are considered the best in the eastern Mediterranean and near the ports these beaches can be crowded, however if you have your own yacht there are an abundance of stunning bays to drop anchor where you will be all by yourself. If fact the Northern Sporades are as famous for the beautiful scenery and beaches as for the amount of secluded anchorages and wildlife, hence ideal for yacht charter holidays. For this sailing area the ultimate charter base is the marina in Skiathos port, which even seems to have its own airstrip (planes landing will nearly touch your mast).

North of Evia, and away from the usual sailing vacation routes, lie the green islands of the Sporades. All the islands are fertile, gentle, and idyllic, being known for their white beaches and rich under water fauna. Those islands that are more readily accessible have developed into popular holiday destinations. Peace and quiet is the trademark of Alonissos, the tree-covered Skopelos, Peristera (with just 25 inhabitants), the uninhabited Psathura, Palagonisi, and Skiros in the South. Alonissos stretches out quite far and along with the islands just off its coast makes up the “Sea Park”, a natural reserve that is home to the Mediterranean seal and dolphins. The islands are very closely grouped, being about 15 to 20 nautical miles apart, and are thus an ideal area for family sailing holidays and inexperienced yachtsmen.

Saronic, Argolic & Athens sailing holidays

The Peloponnese - and with it the Argolida - was once linked to Attica by the Isthmus of Corinth and now breached by the Corinth Canal and is a vast and mountainous peninsula that was known in the Middle Ages as Morea. These two landmasses enclose the Saronic Gulf, which is by far the most famous sailing vacation and yacht charter area in Greece due to its proximity to Athens. A second excellent yachting area is the Argolic Gulf (see map below).
The Peloponnese landmass itself is made up of high peaks, inland basins caused by subsidence and irrigated coastal plains.
At the centre, between 600m and 800m - above sea level, lie the pasture lands of Arcadia.
The eastern coastal plain, the Argolida, Argolis or Argolid, which is dominated by the citadels of Argos and Mycenae, is devoted to cereals, as well as orchards and market gardens.
The southern coast is split into three promontories; the longest, an extension of the Taygetos massif, is Mani , a wild limestone region inhabited by people of spirit.
Taygetos is flanked by alluvial plains, free from winter frost: Lakonia round Sparta and Messinia round Kalamata. The smiling fields produce grain and early vegetables while the figs and olives of Kalamata are well known for their quality.

Athens & Saronic sailing vacations on bareboat and crewed charter yachts

The Saronic gulf is - due to its proximity to Athens - the prime yacht charter area in Greece. Apart from the location also the rich ancient history of places like Epidavros, Sounion, Poros, Aegina and Methana attracts tourists and sailors alike to these waters.  Most bareboat charter yachts are based at the marinas along the Attic coast where the majority of the bareboat yacht charter companies operate. As a result of this concentration, many yachts follow the same trail and flock together at Aegina, Poros, Hydra and so forth. To avoid this pass these places at the start of your sailing vacation and sail on (in front of the herd) for the east coast of the Peloponnese, where there are unspoilt harbours and anchorages.
The western coast of the Saronic is mainly mountainous with a ridge running parallel to the shore (600 - 900 m) and rising to 112 m near the Methana peninsula. Higher up the land remains barren, but below densely wooded areas can be found.
The normal summer winds depend heavily on where you are. During the summer the meltemi is the normal wind in this area. Along the mainland coast from the Corinth Canal to cape Sounion as well as the area between Methana and the mainland (Attica) it will blow Force 4-6, from NNE - NE. The winds are less strong near the Methana peninsula and Poros, whereas near cape Sounion they might be stronger. Furthermore, the meltemi blows with less regularity than in the Cycladic waters.
 

Cyclades sailing vacations

The Cyclades lay in a circle (Greek: kyklos) around the sacred island of

Delos, the birthplace of Apollo, and consists of 23 large islands and some 200 smaller ones. The archipelago is based on a submarine plateau which extends in an arc from the most easterly point of Attica and Evia towards the coast of Asia Minor. All the islands are hilly. The northern ones consist predominantly of Cretaceous limestone, micaceous schists, gneisses and marbles; those to the south consist in part of volcanic materials.

With the exception of Naxos the islands have no perennial rivers, and as a result of the prevailing sharp sea-winds (the Meltemi in summer) are lacking in trees. Characteristic features of the landscape are the cubed whitewashed Cycladic houses and the thatch-roofed windmills, very romantic and ideal for a sailing vacation.

Looking for high end luxury yachts? Log on to www.luxury-yachtcharters.com

Top yachts, exceptional rates, fast service - We make great sailing vacations!