Sailing around Greece, the azure Ionian lapping against the stern and the smell of sea bream wafting off the barbie, is unquestionably the best way to experience the country’s islands.
Phew, we feel like we’ve just been on holiday even typing that.
The Greek Islands are spread across the four seas around the mainland – the Aegean Sea, Ionian Sea, Cretan Sea and Mediterranean Sea, and many of the most isolated, unexplored coves, beaches and caves are accessible only by boat, and superb for exploring while on board.
What’s more, by organising your own sailing holiday in Greece, you can plan your own route, avoiding the crowded, ponderous local ferries and the hefty queues. Instead, you can hop from island to island, drop anchor in little bays, swim and snorkel, and moor up in time for dinner at a beachfront taverna. Heaven!
That said, some planning and foresight is required for you to make the most of your trip. With that in mind, here are 5 tips for your sailing holiday in Greece.
AYE AYE, SKIPPER
Sailing in Greece is really flexible and whether you’re completely unqualified with no experience of sailing, a new skipper or an old hand, there’s a sailing holiday to suit all levels. There are loads of boat chartering companies which offer:
Skippered charter: Here you rent a boat and pay a skipper to sail it for you. The skipper should have extensive local knowledge so can plan your itinerary to your requirements. All you have to do is sit back and enjoy the ride.
Bareboat charter: You rent the boat and sail it yourself. However, you’ll need a qualification like the RYA Day Skipper International Certificate of Competence (ICC). In fact, two people on board will need to have a license (the skipper and the co-skipper). If the co-skipper doesn’t have a license, a ‘Declaration of Honour’ is required, which basically means that they are competent enough to sail the boat.
Flotilla – Coming from the Spanish word small flota (or, ‘fleet’ of ships), here, a group of yachts is sailed by people with mixed ability.
It’s worth noting here that for motorboats with horsepower up to 30hp, you don’t need a licence.
There are, of course, pros and cons to each. Flotillas are great for social sailing and allow people with little experience to have a go at manning the boat. If you’re an experienced sailor, bareboat charters are perfect for solo sailors wanting to be at one with the waves and no one else.
However, even if you know your way around a boat, having a skipper on board to take the helm – one who knows the lay of the land and sea, including shallow waters and reefs, both of which are abundant around the Greek islands – is reassuring and liberating.
Knowing how to handle Meltemi winds – strong, dry seasonal winds that blow over the Aegean sea and can reach 7-8 on the Beaufort scale during the summer months of July and August – is also a huge bonus. And this knowledge only comes with experience!
Read: 5 IDEAL Greek islands to visit on your next holiday
BEST TIME TO SAIL
The guys at Click and Boat, who are experts in Greece yacht charters, tell us that “The sailing season starts in mid-April and ends around late September or in some cases October when temperatures are still as high as 20 degrees. However, you can find value for money deals when hiring a boat in Greece in May, early June or September, before the high season in July and August”.
We couldn’t have put it better ourselves.
Read: 5 IDEAL tips for your Greek island hopping holiday
WHERE TO SAIL
Here at IDEAL, we’re particular fans of the Ionian Islands – Corfu, Paxos, Lefkada, Ithaca, Kefalonia, Zakynthos and Kythira.
Sitting to the west of Greece and separated from Italy by the Ionian Sea, the cluster of islands has a decidedly Italian influence in its architecture, culture and cuisine, having been under both Venetian and Ottoman rule.
And if you’re sailing for the first time, they are the ideal to focus your adventure. Indeed, as the Independent reports, “The most popular learn-to-sail venues in the Med are the Ionian Islands, off northern Greece, where the calm harbours of Lefkas and Meganissi provide many with their first experience of warm-weather sailing”.
Even if you’re an old hand, these islands give experienced skippers the opportunity to relax and enjoy the scenery- and that’s what a holiday in Greece is all about, right?
For a different perspective, Click Boat recommend starting with the islands of the Saronic Gulf or the Sporades islands, close to the port of Volos. The former, including Hydra, Spetses, Aegina and Poros are close to continental Greece, not far from Athens and with winds that are rarely strong.
Wherever you choose, we recommend focusing on an island group rather than trying to tackle four separate seas and 6’000 islands. Here’s a breakdown of some of them:
Ionian Islands: Corfu, Paxos, Lefkada, Ithaca, Kefalonia, Zakynthos and Kythira.
Argo-Saronic: Hydra, Spetses, Poros, Aegina, Kilada, Salamina and Agistri.
Dodecanese and Samos: Patmos, Kos, Tilos, Symi, Rhodes, Kalymnos, Leros.
Cyclades: Mykonos, Tinos, Sifnos, Syros, Serifos, Paros, Antiparos, Santorini, Kea, Andros, Koufonisia, Milos, Naxos, Amorgos, Ios, Folegandros and others.
Read: 7 secluded spots to visit on your Ionian Island hopping holiday
THE LOWDOWN ON YACHT WEEK
If you’re looking for high jinks on the sea, then look no further than Yacht Week. Thrillist bills it as an “exclusive seven-day, spring break-like flotilla for kind-of grownups that involves sailboats, exotic locales, and hard-partying young people from around the world”, and that sums it up perfectly. This one isn’t sedate, serene or slow; it’s a fast-paced affair, and we love it.
Yacht Week’s tagline is that the event is ‘an adventure like no other, and there’s some truth in that. By day, yachts sail as part of a flotilla. Come nightfall, there are events and exclusive parties on the island – the infamous White Party on Ermioni Island is perhaps the most raucous of them all.
Hmm, perhaps we’ll just retire to that seaside taverna we mentioned for an early dinner and bed. You go enjoy yourselves!
PRICE
Sailing holidays have the – somewhat unfair – reputation of being exorbitantly expensive, given the glamorous treatment by yacht hopping billionaires. But if you compare the prices of boat hire and an all-inclusive hotel, you’ll find there’s very little difference when you add everything up.
As reported by Greece Is “As a benchmark, to rent a 36-38 ft sailboat, fully equipped with 3 cabins and 2 bathrooms, the cost during high season will come to 2.000 euros per week….That means that each passenger would pay roughly 60 euros per day, which is roughly equivalent to the price of an average hotel room on a popular Greek island.”
However, this estimate does not include fuel or harbour fees, which account for several hundred more euros each day.
Most boats also have a well-equipped galley, which means you can do as much cooking as you’d like, while stopping at places which are less frequented by tourists to grant the opportunity to taste authentic and reasonably-priced local specialities. As for day-trips, your holiday is one endless rendezvous into the exciting unknown. How’s that for value for money?
To get a taste of the food you might be sampling on your Greek sailing holiday when you lay at anchor for the day, check out this guide to where to eat in Mykonos Old Town. It really is the IDEAL day out for foodies!
