Grecia Frequently Asked Questions

We recommend a week. Greek charters operate Saturday to Saturday, and the seven-day window is the country's standard charter unit — built around marina turnaround logistics and the way the inventory is offered. The five Greek routes (Northern Cyclades, Southern Cyclades caldera tour, Saronic Gulf, Ionian, Dodecanese) are each designed to fit comfortably into seven days; pace varies by region but the unit is the same. Longer charters (10–14 days) are possible by chaining two consecutive weeks. The most common pairings are Saronic + Cyclades from Athens, or Ionian + Saronic for guests who want both the gentle northwest and the cultural southeast. Cross-region transitions add a positioning day; we walk through which combinations work before booking. Shorter charters (4–5 days) are uncommon — most operators don't break the Saturday-to-Saturday week, and the geography of every Greek route rewards the full seven days.

Greece operates on the Mediterranean plus-expenses model — different from the Caribbean's all-inclusive default. The base weekly rate covers the yacht and the professional crew (typically captain, chef, and stewardess on catamarans and small motor yachts; larger motor yachts run a full crew of five or more), plus standard yacht-side equipment — water sports gear, snorkel kit, paddleboards, kayaks, linens, and towels. A typical Greek charter runs two meals a day on board. Most weeks shake out as breakfast and lunch with the chef and dinner ashore at a taverna — Greek harbors are dense with the kind of waterfront seafood places guests come back for, and ashore dining is part of the experience, not an exception to it. Your chef and captain build the rhythm around the route and your group's preferences; lunches occasionally end up ashore in town and dinners occasionally stay aboard on quieter anchorage nights. There's no fixed structure. Not included in the base rate, paid through APA: food and provisioning for the week (which covers both the chef's cooking and any meals taken ashore), beverages (wine, spirits, beer), fuel, marina dockage, harbor and port fees, water and electric, and port-tax registration. Crew gratuities — customary at 10–15% of the base rate in the Mediterranean — are paid directly to the captain on disembarkation. Greek charter VAT of 12% (a reduced rate for yacht charters, separate from the country's 24% standard VAT) is added to the base rate at booking. Charters run Saturday to Saturday as standard.

APA stands for Advance Provisioning Allowance — a pre-paid fund (typically 30–35% of the base charter rate in Greece) that covers food, beverages, fuel, marina dockage, harbor fees, and the day-to-day running costs of the week. Your captain keeps an itemized account, and any unused balance is refunded at the end of your charter; if costs exceed the APA, the difference is settled at trip end. For planning purposes, the APA is realistic — most weeks consume 80–100% of the funded amount, depending on how much guests dine ashore at tavernas, how many marina nights vs anchorages, and how much premium wine is on the bar. Before booking we walk through provisioning preferences with you so the chef and captain stock to your group.

The Greek charter season runs May through October. The trade-offs across the season: May, June, September, and October are the best balance of the year. Water temperatures reach swimming range by late May and stay there through October, daytime highs sit in the upper 70s to mid-80s, the Meltemi softens, the tavernas have tables, and rates run 20–30% below peak. June and September are when most Greek-charter regulars book. July and August are peak — the highest temperatures, the strongest Meltemi (often 25–35 knots through the central Cyclades), the most reliable wind for the Northern Cyclades sailing route, and the highest rates (25–40% above shoulder). The Ionian and Saronic stay sheltered from the Meltemi and run quietly through these weeks. Christmas-week analogues — the August Greek school break — fill the islands with European charter traffic. The best yachts and crews go 9–12 months in advance for July and August. November through April is off-season; most of the Greek fleet hauls out for refit.

Greece is the deepest charter ground in the Mediterranean — five different one-week itineraries across four cruising regions, and the right one depends on what you want from the trip and the yacht you're on. Northern Cyclades (Athens → Mykonos, one-way, ~200 nm). The classic postcard-Greece week. Mykonos windmills above Little Venice, the marble Portara of Naxos, whitewashed villages stacked on barren hillsides, and the Meltemi pushing the boat downwind through the chain. Built around a sailing yacht's strengths. Southern Cyclades caldera tour (Athens round-trip, ~310 nm). The bucket-list week. Santorini's caldera at sunset, Milos's lunar volcanic shoreline, the sea-cave arches at Kleftiko, Sifnos for the food. Requires a planing motor yacht — too much ground for a sailing week. Saronic Gulf (Athens round-trip, ~140 nm). The first-Greek-charter week. A 2,500-year-old Doric temple on Aegina by lunch on Day 1, Hydra's car-free harbor in the afternoon, a play in the 4th-century BC theatre at Epidaurus under the stars. Sheltered from the Meltemi, short legs, ideal for families and multigenerational groups. Works on either yacht type. Ionian Islands (Corfu round-trip, ~130 nm). The gentle side of Greece. Out of the Meltemi entirely, thermal afternoon breezes, forested anchorages, a taverna walk every night. The route the kids come back happiest from. Works on any yacht type. Dodecanese (Kos → Rhodes, one-way, ~240 nm). The cultural-depth week. Rhodes's medieval walled old town, Symi's pastel neoclassical harbor, the hilltop Monastery of St. John on Patmos where the Book of Revelation was written, the active volcano on Nisyros. Eastern Aegean along the Turkish coast. Built for motor yachts on the longer legs. We walk through your group, your travel dates, and the yacht options before booking — the right Greek week is the intersection of all three.

Greek charters run Saturday to Saturday as standard. Saturday is the country's consolidated turnaround day — yachts return to the embarkation marina, get cleaned and provisioned, and depart again with new guests by Saturday afternoon. This is a Mediterranean-wide convention rooted in the shorter Med season; turning over the entire fleet on the same day keeps inventory efficient. Weekday start dates are uncommon in Greece, though some operators will accommodate a Sunday or Friday start on certain yachts for an additional fee or by combining with an off-week. If your travel dates require a non-Saturday start, tell us early and we'll check availability — but plan around Saturday-to-Saturday as the default.