Yacht Charter Greece

I want to see Santorini and Mykonos, my tickets are purchased for fixed dates three months from now in August and I need to start and finish in Athens, chartering a catamaran.

This is one of the most common inquiries, and one of the hardest to fulfill. Why?

1. Time to charter – with 3 months to charter, your best options are long gone. Ideally book 9-12 months before the charter
2. Flights vs Charter Location – with the distance between Athens and Santorini being 150 miles, the itinerary might not be possible due to weather, especially if we want to do Mykonos as well. Ideally, you’ll want to fly to Mykonos or Santorini or at least not plan fixed date island activities.
3. Fixed dates- One day up or down can completely change the offer of yachts available – you might need just that one that already has another charter booked for the day before you’re planning to return. It is a great idea to have your charter booked before you purchase your tickets.
4. Catamaran and long distances – as someone who does Athens – Santorini fairly regularly, it’s a great sail – for sport sailing. You’re on the open Aegean Sea and hiding behind islands is possible but further increases the distance – count 24 hours of sail one way and divide among the days of charter (24 hours x 2 ways / 7 days = 7 hours of sailing per day with a catamaran). Not a pleasurable experience.
5. Time of year – Santorini in August is equivalent to Times Square on New Year’s Eve. It can be a fantastic place if you have the correct expectations. There are 6,000 islands in Greece – plenty of alternatives for high end restaurants, history, Greek cuisine and peaceful or more popular places. Notice places like Milos and Lefkada are being increasingly crowded as well.
6. Despite all the above – inquire. We’re well connected with local providers in all areas and are able to provide non-public offers or creatively fulfill your requirements.

The summer yacht charter season in Greece is developing in an unexpected manner, with an unprecedented number of higher-end yachts posting price reductions – an unthinkable development given the record-setting 2022 Summer Med Season.

The increased airplane fares are partly to blame, in connection to the ongoing issues in the Greek infrastructure – not enough marinas to match the demand on other islands and continued over-tourism of key Cycladic charter locations. In addition, 2022 and 2023 have seen record increases in the numbers of new yachts – some 235 crewed boats were added to the yacht charter fleet, while most of the older yacht inventory got a refurbishment – in part also due to the EU funds promoting tourism.

The key events in the Greek yacht charter industry in 2023

1. A year-over-year decrease in demand
   1. The cost of a July airplane ticket went from $900 to $1,400, year over year.
   2. US inflation of 4-9% year over year weakens the purchasing position of the major charter market
   3. Continued negative coverage of key Greek areas, from overcrowding of Santorini to DK Oyster restaurant scams on Mykonos continues to dominate the headlines
   4. Turkey – following the Ukrainian conflicts, Turkey offered a safe haven to many Russian-owned yachts that risked being confiscated in Greece. In addition to the competitive VAT in Turkey (1% in Turkey vs 12% in Greece – in constant threat to be increased to full standard 24% with possible retroactivity of signed charters executed in future) – visit https://myturkishcharter.com for up-to-date and complete yacht offer of Turkish charter yachts. Greece has found itself in between the EU legislators and non-EU Turkish competition.
2. Market Saturation and Construction Delays
   1. Santorini Marina – still in construction, unknown delays
   2. Corinth Canal – successfully reopened June 22 after repeated construction works on 22 and 23! after walls repeatedly collapsed due to landslides.
   3. Slow Opening of New Marinas – Licencing issues – limited births restrict navigation of charter vessels
   4. Inflation of the Charter Fleet following record-setting 2022 yacht returns and EU subsidies for tourism that were leveraged for the purchase of new vessels
3. Positive Trends
   1. Increase of Ultra High Net Worth Individuals casting a spotlight – just Mykonos has seen Elon Musk, George Clooney, Christian Bale Matt Damon, Chris & Liam Hemsworth.
   2. New, Upcoming Locations offer an alternative to the – “by now dead romantic idea of Mykonos and Santorini.” Antiparos is a hot charter location frequented by Tom Hanks, Jeff Bezos and Anderson Cooper. Anafi, Ikaria, Kythira, and Nisiros are coming up and the clients are more educated and receptive to the idea of chartering off the beaten and crowded paths.
   3. A New Client Preference for Secluded Locations – A storm of documentaries have our clients requesting new experiences – we thank My Greek Odyssey and Peter Meneas on a journey of discovering his Kytherian descent and going much beyond and more with his yacht Mia Zoi or Costas Spiliadis – chef and owner of Estatorio Milos with the yacht Milos at Sea enable us to offer new immersive experiences creating not tourists, but travelers.
   4. New Experiences – from having one or multiple jetskis onboard your yacht to chartering a Greek temple for your event, things are just easier to do in Greece. We’ve considerably expanded our concierge offering to accommodate requests ranging from beach horseback riding and spearfishing to luxury cars and entertainment events.