Destinations for dream vacations in Greece

We try to build the route around two main principles. The first is the profile of your group: how many hours you would like to sail each day, whether you are travelling with children, whether there are particular islands you definitely want to see, and what you generally enjoy doing - sightseeing, history, local life, swimming, snorkeling or simply spending time on the water.

The second is the weather at the time of your arrival. These two things need to work together in order to create a trip that feels pleasant and relaxed rather than adventurous for the wrong reasons.

Distance also comes into the equation. A successful week needs to strike a balance between many different things, not just sailing. You want time to enjoy the food, explore the islands, meet the locals, discover some history, read a book, paddleboard, snorkel, swim - or simply do absolutely nothing. All of this needs to find its place within the week.

That also means having realistic expectations about how far you plan to go. We don't consider sailing endlessly just to reach another island part of the fun. Spending more hours at sea simply to tick destinations off a list can easily take away from everything else the trip has to offer.

Last but not least, the yacht itself plays a role. A longer hull can generally achieve higher cruising speeds and cover distances more efficiently. Larger catamarans also place you higher above the waterline, offer more space and comfort, and can generally handle more demanding sea conditions with greater ease. So, beyond the accommodation and layout, the yacht you choose can also influence what makes sense for your itinerary.

All in all, there are several things to consider when planning the week. Your group sets the priorities, your yacht helps define what is comfortable and realistic, and the weather always has the final say.

There is no better region - only the one that better suits your group. Both are equally beautiful when experienced by yacht, but they offer a very different rhythm.

The Saronic Gulf offers generally calmer waters and shorter distances between destinations, leaving more time for swimming, exploring ashore and actually getting to know the places you visit. The islands are rich in character and history, with traditional towns, ancient sites, local restaurants and a very different atmosphere from one stop to the next.

The Cyclades bring the iconic whitewashed villages and open-Aegean scenery many guests picture when they think of Greece. They also generally involve longer passages and greater exposure to the wind, meaning that more of the week may be spent travelling between islands.

For guests who value more time in the water, shorter sailing days and more time exploring the islands themselves, the Saronic can often be the better fit. For those drawn specifically to the character and landscape of the Cyclades and happy to spend more time sailing, they can be equally rewarding.

Ultimately, the aim is not simply to sail through Greece, but to experience it - its islands, history, culture, food and people - from the unique perspective that travelling by yacht makes possible.

Santorini is not realistically suited to a one-week charter from Athens. The distance requires long hours at sea and can quickly turn a relaxed sailing holiday into a trip focused simply on reaching one destination.

If Santorini is important to you, we strongly recommend spending two nights there before or after your charter. Flights from Athens are short, and this gives you the opportunity to experience Santorini for what actually makes it exceptional.

The real magic of Santorini is on the island, not around it. Its villages, history, dramatic cliffs, caldera views and sunsets are the experience. The surrounding waters are very deep and the coastline steep and rocky, offering a very different setting from the bays, beaches and swimming stops that make other islands so rewarding by yacht.

Our advice is simple: Santorini is absolutely worth visiting - but visit it as an island, and save your sailing week for the places best experienced from the water.

With a two-week charter, the picture changes and Santorini can become part of a broader Cyclades itinerary without forcing the entire trip to revolve around reaching it.

Yes, depending on the weather, the yacht you choose and the pace you would like for your week. A Cyclades itinerary can include islands such as Mykonos, Naxos, Paros, Sifnos, Kythnos or Kea, but we do not recommend approaching the trip as a checklist.

There is little value in saying you visited six islands if most of your time was spent travelling between them. The idea is to actually experience the places you reach - walk through a village, discover some history, have lunch somewhere local, swim in a beautiful bay and have enough time to understand why one island feels completely different from the next.

For some groups that means visiting more islands; for others, fewer islands and more time in each place creates a much better week. Weather and distances will always help determine what is realistic.

There is no fixed number of hours, because this depends on the region, the weather and the itinerary we build together.

In the Saronic Gulf, distances between many destinations are relatively short, which can leave considerably more time for swimming, exploring ashore and enjoying the yacht. In the Cyclades, passages are generally longer and some days can involve several hours at sea.

But sailing is only one part of the experience. A good itinerary needs time for everything else: exploring an island, visiting a historical site, sitting down for a long lunch, swimming, snorkeling, paddleboarding or simply staying in a beautiful bay because nobody feels like leaving.

We therefore prefer to think in terms of the balance of the entire day, rather than trying to achieve a certain number of sailing hours or islands.

Weather is part of sailing, and your captain follows the forecast closely throughout the week. Stronger winds may mean changing the order of the islands, choosing a more protected destination, leaving at a different time or occasionally heading in a different direction altogether.

Starting from Athens gives us excellent alternatives. When conditions are suitable, the Cyclades may be an option; when the Aegean becomes more demanding, the more protected Saronic Gulf can offer a completely different - and equally rewarding - experience.

A change of route should not be seen as losing part of the holiday. The purpose of the week is to experience Greece, not to complete a predetermined sailing course. There will almost always be another island, bay, town or piece of history worth discovering.

It is technically possible, but during a one-week charter we generally prefer to experience one region properly rather than spend valuable holiday time moving between two.

Trying to cover both can mean more hours sailing and less time doing the things that give each destination its character - exploring the towns, discovering the history, swimming, eating ashore and simply allowing the pace of the islands to become part of the trip.

With two weeks, the possibilities become much broader. Distances become easier to absorb into the itinerary and different regions can be combined without making sailing the main activity of the holiday.

There is no ideal number. The right number is the one that gives your group enough variety without turning the week into a race from one destination to the next.

Some islands deserve an afternoon; others may make you want to stay until the following day. Sometimes a swimming stop becomes the best part of the week and nobody wants to leave. That flexibility is one of the reasons to choose a private yacht in the first place.

We would rather help you experience four or five places properly than simply say you have been to seven or eight. The quality of the week matters much more than the number of pins you can put on a map.

Usually, the two decisions develop together.

Your group size and preferred level of comfort will naturally influence the yacht, but the kind of itinerary you have in mind matters as well. Larger catamarans can generally cover longer distances more efficiently and offer greater comfort when conditions become more demanding, while a more relaxed itinerary with shorter passages may not require the same priorities.

Tell us who is travelling, what you would like to see and how you imagine spending the week. From there, we can help you find the right balance between the yacht, the region and the experience you want to have.