2025 Yacht Charter Season in Greece and What to Expect

Boots on the Ground:

2025 Yacht Charter Season in Greece and What to Expect

The yacht charter season in Greece is developing unexpectedly, 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 for the ongoing issues in the Greek infrastructure – not enough marinas to match the demand on other islands and continued over-tourism of key Cycladic yacht charter locations. In addition, 2023 and 2024 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.

Recent Events in the Greek Yacht Charter Industry

Positive Trends

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• More luxury yachts are gearing up to meet the EU requirements for Large Group Charters (12+ guests). Check out our Top 10 Large Group Charters verified by our Brokers!

A Year-Over Year Decrease in Demand

• The cost of a July airplane ticket went from $900 to $1,400, year over year.
• US inflation of 4-9% year over year weakens the purchasing position of the major charter market
• Continued negative coverage of key Greek islands, from overcrowding of Santorini to DK Oyster restaurant scams on Mykonos, continues to dominate the headlines
• 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 the 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.

Market Saturation and Construction Delays

• Santorini Marina – still in construction, unknown delays
• Corinth Canal – successfully reopened on June 22 after repeated construction works on 22 and 23! after walls repeatedly collapsed due to landslides.
• Slow Opening of New Marinas – Licencing issues – limited births restrict navigation of charter vessels
• 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.