SAIL THE GREEK ISLANDS
Greece, One Island at a Time
Greece has the longest coastline in the Mediterranean, and around 6,000 islands and islets are scattered across the Aegean and Ionian seas. Over seven days you could swim beneath the white volcanic rocks of Milos, wander the car-free lanes of Hydra and eat grilled octopus on a quay where fishing caïques moor beside the yachts. By yacht, the islands become a chain of short hops: a new harbour each evening, a different chora to climb and a fresh bay for the morning swim.
Many Islands, Many Characters
NO TWO ISLAND GROUPS ARE ALIKE.
The Greek islands come in clusters, and each cluster looks, sails and eats differently. The Saronic islands lie within a short cruise of Athens. The Cyclades, scattered across the central Aegean, are the white villages and windmills most people picture. The Ionian Islands, off the west coast, are green and Venetian in feel, while the Dodecanese and the Sporades sit at opposite corners of the Aegean, one close to the coast of Türkiye and the other covered in pine forest.
Hops between islands are rarely long. Aegina lies less than 20 nautical miles from Piraeus, most passages between the Cyclades take two or three hours, and in the Ionian Sea, Lefkada, Meganisi, Ithaca and Kefalonia are an easy morning’s sail apart.
Days ashore follow an easy Greek rhythm: a long taverna lunch of grilled fish beside the beach, an afternoon climb to the chora, the island’s main village, and a drink on the quay at dusk while the fishing boats head out.
The wind shapes a Greek charter more than anything else. In July and August the meltemi, a strong northerly wind, blows across the Aegean, and captains plan each day around it. That is one reason guests often return: a June week in the Ionian and a September week in the Cyclades feel like two different countries.
Six Island Groups to Explore
Each of these island groups is a week’s cruising in its own right, from the Saronic Gulf off Athens to the pine-clad Sporades in the north.
The Sporades
The Saronic Gulf
Mykonos and Paros
Santorini and Milos
The Ionian Islands
The Dodecanese
The Sporades
The Saronic Gulf
Mykonos and Paros
What to Do Along the Way
Swim off Beaches with No Road
Greece’s clearest water often lies below cliffs with no road down to it. Lalaria on Skiathos and the sea caves of Kleftiko on Milos are approached from the sea, and the coves of Antipaxos lie minutes away by tender. Masks, fins and paddleboards wait on the swim platform for whoever wants them. On meltemi days the captain moves you to a bay in the lee of the island, so the day’s swim stop may change at short notice.
Visit Temples from the Anchorage
History is never far from the anchorage. At Cape Sounion, the Temple of Poseidon, built between 444 and 440 BC, stands on a cliff almost 60 metres above the sea, and it is one of the finest sights on the way out of Athens. Delos, the Bronze Age town of Akrotiri on Santorini and the acropolis of Lindos on Rhodes are all a short trip from the yacht. A licensed guide, booked by the crew, will explain in an hour what a guidebook takes a chapter to say.
Cross the Lava of Nea Kameni
Santorini’s volcano is still active, and its youngest islands sit in the middle of the caldera. Take the tender to Nea Kameni and follow the path across black lava to the crater, then swim in the warm springs off Palea Kameni. On Milos the whole coast is volcanic, from the white rock of Sarakiniko to the red and ochre cliffs and warm springs of Paliochori. Go in the morning, before the heat and the day boats.
Wander a Cycladic Chora
Most Cycladic islands have a chora, a main village, often built on a hill away from the shore. Its narrow, winding lanes are said to have been laid out partly to confuse pirates and partly to break the wind. Whitewashed houses, small churches and shaded squares make them a pleasure to explore on foot, especially in the early evening. Plaka on Milos, Parikia on Paros and the Chora of Patmos, around its monastery, are among the finest.
Join a Summer Festival
Summer is the season of the panigyri, the village festival held on a saint’s feast day, with music, dancing and food long into the night. The biggest is on 15 August, the feast of the Dormition of the Virgin, when Greeks head to the islands and the harbours fill up. In September, Spetses holds the Armata, marking its naval battle of 1822 with the burning of a replica Ottoman flagship in the bay. Ask the crew which festivals fall during your week.
What to Eat and Drink
Choose Your Fish from the Ice
On the islands, start with the seafood. Tavernas usually sell whole fish by weight: you choose from the morning’s catch on the ice, and the kitchen grills it simply and serves it with ladolemono, olive oil whisked with lemon. Octopus is hung on a line to dry in the sun, then grilled over charcoal and dressed with oil, vinegar and oregano. Go early for the widest choice, as the best fish rarely lasts until evening.
Eat a Real Greek Salad
A Greek salad, or horiatiki, is a village salad of tomato, cucumber, onion, green pepper and olives, with a thick slice of feta on top, dried oregano and plenty of olive oil, and no lettuce. Since 2002, feta sold in the EU must come from designated regions of Greece and be made from sheep’s milk, or sheep’s milk with a little goat’s. On Santorini, look for the island’s small, sweet tomatoes and fava, a smooth purée made from a yellow pulse grown in the volcanic soil.
Share a Table of Meze
Meze are small plates for sharing, and a long meze lunch is one of the great pleasures of Greece. Expect tzatziki, taramosalata, grilled aubergine, dolmades, fried cheese and meatballs, ordered a few at a time. In an ouzeri they come with ouzo, the anise-flavoured spirit that turns cloudy white when water or ice is added. Ouzo can only be made in Greece and Cyprus, and Plomari on Lesvos is especially known for it.
Taste the Island Specialities
Each island group has its own dishes. Corfu’s cooking shows its Venetian past, with pastitsada, a spiced meat stew served with pasta, and sofrito, veal in a sauce of garlic and white wine. Skopelos is known for its cheese pie, a spiral of thin pastry fried until crisp, and Symi for its tiny red shrimp, fried and eaten whole, shells and all. In the Cyclades, try kopanisti, a soft, peppery cheese that is a favourite on Mykonos.
Eat Like a Local Ashore
For a quick lunch ashore, do as the Greeks do and order a souvlaki: grilled pork or chicken on a skewer, or gyros sliced from a vertical spit, wrapped in pitta with tomato, onion and tzatziki. For something sweet, try baklava, layers of filo pastry with chopped nuts and syrup, or loukoumades, small fried dough balls with honey and cinnamon. On Aegina, buy a bag of the island’s pistachios, which have their own protected status.
Taste Assyrtiko on Santorini
Santorini makes some of Greece’s best-known wines. Its vines are trained low into baskets, the kouloura, to shelter the grapes from the wind and sun, and phylloxera, the pest that destroyed Europe’s vineyards in the 19th century, never took hold in the island’s volcanic soil. Assyrtiko, a crisp, mineral white, is the main grape, and Vinsanto, a sweet wine made from sun-dried grapes, is served after dinner. On Kefalonia, look for Robola, a white from the island’s mountain vineyards.
The Greek Sailing Calendar
Most Greek charters take place between May and October, and in the Aegean the wind shapes the plan as much as the heat. The meltemi, a dry northerly, blows from about mid-May to mid-September, peaking in July and August, and is strongest in the Cyclades. It can reach force 6 or more for days at a time, so captains sail in the calmer early morning, run south with the wind behind them and anchor on the sheltered southern side of the islands. The Ionian Sea and the Saronic Gulf are calmer in high summer.
Best for ruins, wild flowers and empty quays
Spring is the season for walking, wild flowers and archaeological sites. Hillsides are green, harbours are half empty and the air is warm but not yet hot, while the sea, at around 17–20°C, is bracing rather than balmy. Greek Orthodox Easter, which falls in April or early May, is the biggest festival of the year, with candlelit processions and fireworks at midnight.
APRIL AND MAY
Best for long evenings and a lighter meltemi
In June the sun sets late, dinners on deck run long, and the water off the islands reaches about 21–23°C. The meltemi is usually lighter and less frequent than it will be in high summer, and the Greek holiday rush is still weeks away, so the Ionian, the Cyclades and the Dodecanese are all at their best.
JUNE
Best for hot days and the liveliest islands
High summer brings the year’s peak heat, the most yachts on the water and sea temperatures of around 24–26°C. The meltemi is at its strongest, so routes in the Cyclades are planned around it, while the Ionian and the Saronic Gulf are calmer. August is when Greece itself goes on holiday, and around the feast of the Dormition on 15 August ferries are full and popular harbours and anchorages fill early in the day. Reserve your dates well in advance.
JULY AND AUGUST
Best for warm water after the crowds leave
After a whole summer of sun the water holds its warmth, at around 24–25°C, while the islands empty noticeably once Greek schools go back. The meltemi eases as the month goes on, and Spetses celebrates the Armata, marking the anniversary of its naval battle of 1822. Warm water, quieter quays and softer light make it hard to beat.
SEPTEMBER
Best for soft light and quiet islands
Swimming carries on through October, with the sea at around 21–23°C, and the season lingers longest in the Dodecanese and the southern Aegean. Expect the odd unsettled day and earlier sunsets. Some tavernas and beach bars shut for the winter as the month goes on, and part of the charter fleet heads for its winter berths, so it pays to reserve October weeks early.
OCTOBER
ruins, wild flowers and empty quays
long evenings and a lighter meltemi
hot days and the liveliest islands
warm water after the crowds leave
soft light and quiet islands
PLAN YOUR CHARTER
More on Greece by Yacht
- Yacht Charter in GreeceThe island groups, a sample route and how to plan your charter.
- Cyclades Itinerary from AthensSeven nights from Lavrio to Kea, Syros, Mykonos, Paros, Antiparos and Sifnos.
- Where to Eat and DrinkOur pick of tavernas, bars and beach clubs, pinned on a map of the islands.
- Yachts in GreeceEvery crewed yacht we list in Greek waters.
Pick Your Island Group
Trying to see all of Greece in a week means long days at sea. Pick a single island group, perhaps the Saronic Gulf near Athens, the Cyclades, the green Ionian, the Dodecanese or the Sporades, and you will spend more time swimming and less time on passage.
Perhaps your week is about sea caves, sandbars and slow taverna lunches, or about temples, monasteries and hilltop villages. Most Greek charters end up mixing both.
Share your travel dates, your group size and the islands you are curious about. From those three answers we can shortlist yachts already based in that part of Greece and sketch a route that respects the season and the meltemi.