This guide covers the requirements, the real cost of a bareboat week, how check-in and check-out work at Greek bases, and which regions suit which level of experience. For the wider picture, see our guide to yacht charter in Greece.

What you need to charter a bareboat yacht in Greece

• A recognised skipper’s qualification: the ICC with sail endorsement is the safest choice. RYA Coastal Skipper, Yachtmaster and ASA 104 are widely accepted; other national licences depend on the operator and may need a sworn English translation.
• A second crew member: Greece requires a second named person on the crew list. They usually do not need a licence, but must be an adult with some boating experience.
• The original documents: bring your certificates in original form; photocopies and phone photos are often refused at the base.
• A sailing CV: many operators ask for a short résumé of your experience, boats and sailing areas.
• A VHF certificate (recommended): requirements vary, but an SRC removes any risk of being turned away.

RYA Day Skipper is the grey area: some sources say Greek port authorities stopped accepting it in 2019, while some operators still do. Confirm in writing before you book. All the details are in our licence requirements for Greece.

How much does a bareboat charter in Greece cost in 2027?

These are weekly charter fees. On top, budget for:

• Security deposit: €2,000–€6,000, refundable, or replaced by a damage waiver costing around 5% of the charter fee.
• End cleaning and linen: €150–€600 depending on boat size, often mandatory.
• Moorings: €10–€20 a night on most town quays; €60–€250 a night in popular marinas such as Mykonos in high season.
• Fuel: modest on a sailing yacht, more on a catamaran with two engines.
• VAT: 12% on most Greek charters, sometimes included, sometimes not.

Split across six people with food included, a bareboat week typically comes to €400–€700 per person. Our Greece yacht charter cost page breaks down every line.

How a bareboat week works: from booking to check-out

1. Booking: for July and August, book by January or February; for June and September, three to four months ahead is usually enough.
2. Paperwork: send scans of the skipper’s and co-skipper’s certificates two to four weeks before departure, and the crew list one to two weeks before, depending on the operator. The port authority approves the crew list before you leave.
3. Check-in (usually Saturday afternoon): most bases hand over the boat from around 17:00. Expect a technical briefing, an inventory check and the deposit or damage waiver. Many crews spend the first night in the marina and leave on Sunday morning.
4. The week: you choose the route, moor stern-to in town harbours or anchor in bays, and keep the boat in the condition you received it.
5. Return (usually Friday evening): most operators want the boat back in the base marina by about 18:00 on Friday, refuelled, with a final check by the base team.
6. Check-out (Saturday morning): you leave the boat by around 09:00 and the deposit is released once the inspection is clear.

Where to go bareboat in Greece, by experience level

If this is your first bareboat charter, the Ionian or the Saronic Gulf is the safe choice. Save the Cyclades for a later trip, or sail them in June or September with a route that leaves room for the wind, like our 7-day Cyclades sailing itinerary. Our guide to charter bases helps you pick the right starting marina.

Bareboat tips for Greek waters

• Arrive early: in July and August, popular harbours fill by 2–3 pm. Arriving late often means anchoring outside.
• Practise stern-to mooring: it is the standard in Greek harbours, with your own anchor dropped ahead. Rehearse it on the first afternoon.
• Sail in the morning: in the Aegean, wind usually builds through the afternoon.
• Watch fuel and water: not every island has a fuel dock, so top up when you can.
• Keep a plan B: pick two or three possible harbours each day rather than one fixed destination.

Bareboat or something in between?

If you are not sure your crew is ready, there are two middle grounds. A flotilla lets you sail your own boat with a lead crew on hand for briefings and mooring help; our guide to sailing holidays in Greece explains how it works. A bareboat with a hired skipper, at roughly €180–€250 a day, removes the licence requirement while keeping the boat private. When the full costs are compared, a crewed charter is often closer in price than you would expect: see our bareboat vs crewed comparison.

This guide compares the five types of sailing holiday in Greece, what each costs per person, which region suits which crew, and the mistakes first-timers make. It is part of our wider guide to yacht charter in Greece.

The five types of sailing holiday in Greece

Bareboat sailing holidays

You rent the boat and sail it yourself. It is the cheapest and freest way to sail in Greece, but it is also the only format with paperwork: the skipper needs a recognised qualification such as the ICC, and a second named crew member is required. Our bareboat charter guide and licence requirements cover the details.

Flotilla sailing holidays

A flotilla is a group of 8–10 charter yachts that sail the same route for a week, each crewed by its own guests, with a lead boat carrying a skipper and an engineer. Every morning the lead crew gives a briefing on the day’s route and weather; every evening they help each boat moor in the next harbour. Daily legs are short, often around 10 nautical miles, and social evenings are part of the package.

Flotillas run mainly in the Ionian (Lefkas, Kefalonia, Corfu) and the Saronic Gulf, with some in the Sporades and the Dodecanese. Prices are usually quoted per boat. One UK operator’s Lefkas flotilla, for example, ranges from about £1,400 a week per yacht in low season to around £5,000 in the peak summer weeks, flights not included. Some operators also sell “informal” flotilla support (mooring help, weather updates and a helpline) as an add-on to a normal bareboat charter, for a few hundred pounds per boat per week.

A flotilla is still a bareboat charter in legal terms, so most operators want at least one person on board with Day Skipper or ICC-level skills. If nobody has that, many flotilla companies can put a skipper on your boat for the week.

Skippered sailing holidays

You charter the boat and hire a professional skipper to sail it, for roughly €180–€250 a day plus their food. The skipper handles navigation, mooring and the weather calls; you can help sail as much or as little as you like. It is the best format for complete beginners who want a private boat, and the one most crews choose for the Cyclades in high summer.

Crewed sailing holidays

A crewed yacht or catamaran comes with a skipper and a hostess or cook. Meals are prepared on board and an Advance Provisioning Allowance (APA), usually 25–35% of the charter fee, covers food, fuel and moorings. It costs more on paper, but our bareboat vs crewed comparison shows the real all-in gap is often under 15%.

Learn-to-sail holidays

Several sailing schools in Greece run RYA and similar courses during the season, from a first Competent Crew week to Day Skipper. You live aboard with an instructor and come home with a certificate, which is the first step towards your own bareboat charter.

How much does a sailing holiday in Greece cost per person?

Charter prices are quoted per boat, so the cost per person depends on how many of you share it. These are typical weekly figures, before flights.

The crewed figure comes from our worked example on a Lagoon 50: about €20,600 all-in for the week, or roughly €735 per couple per day. Full price ranges by boat and season are on our Greece yacht charter cost page.

Where to go: the best regions for a sailing holiday in Greece

• Ionian Sea: the gentlest sailing in Greece and the home of most flotillas. Short hops, a steady afternoon breeze and a taverna at almost every stop. The best choice for beginners and families.
• Saronic Gulf: starts about 40 minutes from Athens airport, with short legs to Aegina, Poros, Hydra and Spetses. Busy in August, ideal for a first week in June or September.
• Cyclades: Mykonos, Paros and Naxos, Santorini and the Small Cyclades. Spectacular, but exposed to the meltemi; best for experienced crews or with a skipper. See our 7-day Cyclades sailing itinerary.
• Dodecanese: Kos, Rhodes and the islands near the Turkish coast. A good second or third Greek sailing holiday.

Sailing holidays in Greece for beginners

If this is your first time on a sailing boat, three choices make the week far easier:

1. Pick the Ionian or the Saronic. Both are sheltered from the strongest summer wind and have short distances between harbours.
2. Go in June or September. The water is warm, prices are lower and the wind is gentler than in July and August. Our guide to the best time to charter a yacht in Greece explains the month-by-month differences.
3. Choose a flotilla or a skipper. Either way, someone experienced handles the harbour manoeuvres that worry most first-timers.

Sailing holidays in Greece for families and groups

Families usually prefer a catamaran: no heeling, flat decks for children, and four en-suite cabins. A 40–46 ft cat in the Ionian is the classic family sailing holiday in Greece. Larger groups of friends often split one or two boats in a flotilla, or book a crewed catamaran so nobody has to cook. Our catamaran charter guide and catamaran vs monohull comparison help you choose the boat.

Planning tips for your Greek sailing holiday

• Book early for summer: by January or February for July and August, three to four months ahead for June and September.
• Fly to the right airport: Preveza for Lefkas, Corfu for the northern Ionian, Athens for the Saronic and the Cyclades. Our guide to charter bases compares them.
• Pack soft bags: hard suitcases do not fit in a boat’s lockers.
• Plan a flexible route: two or three possible harbours each day beat a fixed plan, especially when the wind picks up.

This guide covers what a catamaran charter in Greece really costs, which regions suit a multihull, the boats you will find in charter fleets, and how sailing a cat in Greek harbours differs from a monohull. If you are still deciding between the two, start with our catamaran vs monohull comparison; for the wider picture, see our guide to yacht charter in Greece.

How much does a catamaran charter in Greece cost in 2027?

Prices depend on the length of the boat, its age and the week you sail. These ranges are weekly charter fees for bareboat catamarans, before extras.

Low season (April and October) can drop a 42–46 ft cat to €3,500–€5,500. Newer boats sit at the top of each range, and the newest or best-equipped models can go beyond it in the peak weeks of mid-July to mid-August.

The extras to add to the charter fee

• Security deposit: typically €2,000–€6,000, often at the top of that range for a catamaran. Most operators let you replace it with a non-refundable damage waiver of a few hundred euros a week.
• Charter or comfort package: end cleaning, bed linen, towels and the outboard for the tender, usually €250–€600 a week on a cat.
• Fuel: two engines instead of one. Under sail a cat burns little, but a week of motoring in light wind adds up.
• Moorings: ports and marinas usually charge a catamaran more than a monohull of the same length, because of the extra beam.
• VAT: 12% on most Greek charters. Check whether your quote includes it.

Our Greece yacht charter cost breakdown covers every extra in detail, for monohulls and catamarans alike.

Bareboat, skippered or crewed catamaran?

The same catamaran can be chartered three ways. The format changes the price, the licence you need and how much work you do on board.

A crewed catamaran is closer to a small floating hotel than a rental, and the all-in gap with bareboat is smaller than the charter fee suggests once you price in food, fuel and moorings. We set out the full calculation, on a real Lagoon 50, in our bareboat vs crewed comparison.

Where to charter a catamaran in Greece

Greece’s catamaran fleet is concentrated where the water is calmest. The region you choose matters more on a cat than on a monohull, because a wide, high boat feels strong wind more.

• Ionian Sea (Lefkas, Corfu, Kefalonia): the best region in Greece for a catamaran. No meltemi, short legs, sheltered bays where a cat’s shallow draft lets you anchor close to the beach. Lefkas has one of the largest catamaran fleets in the country.
• Saronic Gulf (Athens): the easiest start, from Alimos marina, about 40 minutes from Athens airport. Calmer than the Cyclades, though Hydra’s harbour is tight for a wide boat.
• Cyclades (from Athens, Lavrio or Paros): the most beautiful and the most demanding. In July and August the meltemi can blow 25–30 knots for days; a cat handles it with an experienced crew and early reefs, but it is not the place for a first multihull week. Our 7-day Cyclades sailing itinerary shows how to plan around the wind.
• Dodecanese (Kos, Rhodes): good fleets and lively islands, with a strong summer wind in the north of the chain.

For pick-up logistics, airports and fleet sizes, see our guide to charter bases in Greece.

Which catamarans will you find in Greek charter fleets?

Charter fleets in Greece are built around a handful of production catamarans. Knowing the names helps you compare quotes like for like.

• Lagoon 40, 42 and 46: the most common charter catamarans in Greece. Four cabins, four heads, room for 8–10 guests.
• Bali 4.2 and 4.6: recognisable by the opening front door to the foredeck lounge; very open living space.
• Fountaine Pajot (Astréa 42, Elba 45, Saona 47): slightly more performance-minded, with good light-wind sailing.
• Lagoon 50 and larger: five or six cabins, often with crew quarters. The usual choice for crewed charters and big groups.

A boat from the last three to four years costs more but usually comes with a watermaker, solar panels and a generator on larger models. On an older boat, ask what is broken before you sign, not after.

Sailing a catamaran in Greece: what changes

A catamaran is easier to live on and, in many ways, easier to manoeuvre. Greek conditions add a few rules that first-time multihull skippers learn quickly.

• Mooring stern-to: most Greek harbours use stern-to mooring with your own anchor. Two engines make a cat very precise in reverse, but the boat takes up almost two monohull widths, so arrive by 2–3 pm in July and August.
• Reef by the numbers: a catamaran does not heel to warn you it is overpowered. Reef at the wind speed set in your boat’s handbook, not by feel, especially in the meltemi.
• Anchoring: always use the bridle, and choose bays sheltered from the afternoon wind direction.
• Shallow draft: around 1.2–1.4 metres on most charter cats, which opens up coves a deep-keeled monohull has to skip.

For a bareboat catamaran charter, the licence rules are the same as for a monohull: a recognised qualification such as the ICC, and a second named crew member. Some operators also ask for previous multihull experience on your sailing CV. See our licence requirements for Greece.

Is a catamaran charter in Greece right for you?

A catamaran makes the most sense for groups of 6–10, families with young children, anyone prone to seasickness from heeling, and crews who will spend more time at anchor than sailing hard. It makes less sense for a couple on a budget, or for an inexperienced crew set on the Cyclades in August.

If you choose one, book early, favour the Ionian or the Saronic for a first week, and compare at least two or three quotes on the same model so the extras are easy to spot.

The meltemi at its peak

August is when the meltemi is most likely to blow for several consecutive days rather than a single afternoon. In the central and southern Cyclades, sustained 25–30+ knots is genuinely common, with stronger gusts around headlands and straits. This has two direct, practical consequences:

1. Catamarans need to arrive at anchorages early — by 2–3pm, popular bays and marinas are full, and a wide multihull competing for space with monohulls in a crowded, gusty port is a real problem, not a theoretical one (more in our catamaran vs monohull guide).
2. Route flexibility isn’t optional. A fixed day-by-day plan with no bailout options is the single biggest mistake first-time August charterers make in the Cyclades. Our 7-day Cyclades sailing itinerary shows how to build in bailout options.

If high wind isn’t your idea of a relaxing week, the Ionian Sea (Lefkas, Corfu, Paxos) is sheltered from the meltemi almost entirely and is a genuinely better choice for August than fighting the Aegean.

The holiday nobody warns you about: August 15th

Dekapentavgoustos (the Assumption of Mary, August 15th) is one of the biggest holidays in the Greek calendar — effectively a second, smaller “August exodus” on top of the already-packed month. Expect:

• Ferries and domestic flights booked out well in advance around this date.
• Marinas and popular anchorages busier than any other week of the year.
• Some island businesses closed or reduced for the holiday itself.

If your dates are flexible at all, avoid the week either side of August 15th — the rest of August is already peak, but this specific week is peak-of-peak.

What an August charter costs

Interestingly, average weekly sailboat rates across Greece run marginally lower in August than in July in some fleet data — the gap is small and boat-dependent, so don’t assume August is automatically the pricier month. Compare every season on our Greece yacht charter prices page. What August does guarantee is that the best boats are gone first: by May, strong August weeks are already thinning out.

Booking timeline

For an August charter, particularly around the 15th, book by December or January of the same year if you want a specific boat. Waiting until spring means choosing from what’s left, not what’s best.

What a July charter actually costs

Weekly sailboat charter rates in Greece average around €4,400 in July, up from roughly €3,300 in June and €2,300 in the January low season — nearly double the winter low-season price for the same boat.

Book by February or March if you want a specific boat on a specific week — by June, the best July inventory is largely gone. Full price ranges by season are on our Greece yacht charter cost page.

The meltemi, honestly

July is when the meltemi — the dry, north-to-northeast wind that defines Aegean sailing in summer — starts blowing consistently, though it’s not yet at its August peak. Expect:

• Sustained 15–25 knots most afternoons in the Cyclades, gusting higher around headlands and between islands (the “venturi effect” through channels like the Paros–Naxos strait).
• Mornings often calmer than afternoons — a genuine reason to plan longer passages before midday.
• Multi-day blows are possible but less common than in August; you’re more likely to get a mix of strong and moderate days.

This isn’t a reason to avoid July — it’s a reason to sail with an experienced skipper if you’re not confident reefing a sail in 25 knots, and to build slack into your itinerary rather than fixed daily targets.

Where the wind matters less in July

Not every Greek region gets hit the same way:

• Ionian Sea (Lefkas, Corfu, Paxos) — sheltered by the Greek mainland, meltemi barely reaches here. The Ionian’s own wind, the maistro, is gentler and more predictable.
• Saronic Gulf (near Athens) — closer to the mainland, generally calmer than the open Cyclades.
• Central and Southern Cyclades (Mykonos, Paros, Naxos) — the most exposed, and where July wind is most likely to actually change your plans.

If you’re nervous about strong wind but set on July dates, the Ionian is the easier choice. August is windier still: see our August yacht charter guide.

What to pack and plan for

• A light jacket for wind chill on deck, even in 30°C air temperature — apparent wind on a moving boat drops the felt temperature noticeably.
• Flexible daily plans. A route with 2–3 viable anchorages per day beats one with a single fixed destination.
• Sun protection that survives wind and spray — regular sunscreen washes off faster than you’d expect on an active sailing day.

The one thing that shapes every Santorini charter: there’s no real harbour

Most Cyclades islands have a working port where charter boats tie up stern-to. Santorini doesn’t, at least not in the caldera itself:

• Vlychada Marina (south coast) — the island’s only proper marina, modern, sheltered, and the standard base for charter pickup. It’s a 20–30 minute taxi from Fira or Oia.
• Athinios Port — the main ferry terminal; not really a charter base, mostly commercial traffic.
• Ammoudi Bay (below Oia) — traditional mooring for smaller boats, stunning setting, very exposed in bad weather and not viable for anything but a day stop.

If your charter photos show a yacht anchored right below Oia’s blue domes, that’s a day-anchorage, not where the boat is based. Budget the taxi time to Vlychada into your first and last day.

How much does a Santorini yacht charter cost?

Day charters, yacht rental and catamaran cruises

The group vs. private distinction matters more here than on most islands: a shared catamaran tour to the hot springs and Red Beach is genuinely good value if you don’t mind sharing with 15–20 other passengers. A private boat costs more per person but is the only way to set your own route and pace.

Santorini catamaran cruise: shared, private or sunset?

The Santorini catamaran cruise is the island’s best-selling boat trip, and most follow the same caldera loop: the volcano at Nea Kameni, a swim at the hot springs of Palaia Kameni, then Red Beach and White Beach on the south coast, usually with a meal and drinks on board.

There are three formats. A shared cruise (€85–150 per person) is the cheapest, with 15–20 other passengers and a fixed schedule. A private catamaran (from about €800 for a full day) lets you set the route and the pace. A sunset cruise (€350–600 private, around 3 hours) times the return so you watch the sun go down over the caldera near Oia. It is the most requested slot and the first to sell out in summer.

Most cruises leave from Vlychada Marina or Ammoudi Bay below Oia, and hotel transfers are often included. If one day is not enough, a weekly charter from Vlychada lets you combine the caldera with Ios, Folegandros and Milos: see our 7-day Cyclades sailing itinerary.

Weekly charters

Add fuel, a security deposit (€2,000–5,000), end cleaning (€150–300), and Vlychada or Ammoudi mooring fees (€30–60/night) on top of any quoted rate. Our Greece yacht charter prices page breaks these extras down.

Where to sail from Santorini

Volcano and hot springs (half-day) — the classic. Nea Kameni’s crater and the warm sulphur springs at Palaia Kameni, both inside the caldera, no long crossing needed.

Thirasia (half-day to full day) — the quiet island across the caldera from Oia, with a working fishing harbour and almost none of Santorini’s crowds.

Ios or Anafi (multi-day) — if you’re chartering a full week rather than a day trip, Ios adds nightlife and a real harbour, Anafi adds genuine isolation and some of the emptiest anchorages in the Cyclades. Heading north instead? Our Mykonos yacht charter guide covers the other end of the Cyclades.

What you need to know before booking

Licence: required for bareboat only. An ICC is the safest option; other certificates and any VHF/SRC requirement depend on the operator, so confirm in writing (see our licence requirements guide). Day charters and crewed weeks always include a skipper.

Best months: June and September give you the same caldera views with 20–30% lower prices and less meltemi wind than July–August (see the best time to charter a yacht in Greece).

Boat type: the Cyclades’ meltemi winds favour a sturdy monohull for open-water passages; if you’re set on a catamaran, book early — Santorini’s catamaran fleet is smaller than mainland Greek hubs like Athens. Our catamaran vs monohull guide explains the trade-off.

What each option actually means

Bareboat: you rent the boat empty. You (or a hired skipper) sail it, you provision it, you’re responsible for it day to day. Requires a valid sailing licence (see our licence requirements for Greece), or a hired skipper if you don’t have one.

Crewed: the boat comes with a professional skipper and, usually, a hostess or cook. You pay an Advance Provisioning Allowance (APA) — typically 25–35% of the charter fee — which covers fuel, food, drinks and moorings, and any unspent APA is refunded at the end. Some operators market this as an all-inclusive yacht charter: check whether the APA is included in the quoted price or added on top.

The real comparison, using an actual boat

Here’s a full breakdown for a Lagoon 50 catamaran (4 cabins, 8 guests), one week in Greece:

The charter fee alone makes crewed look 80% pricier. All-in, it’s about 8% more — for a boat that comes fully staffed, provisioned, and sailed by someone who knows the waters.

What you’re actually paying the extra 8% for

• No planning. Someone else handles provisioning, route decisions in bad weather, docking in a crowded August marina.
• Local knowledge. A professional skipper knows which anchorages are actually sheltered in a given wind direction — not just which ones look good in photos.
• No licence needed. You don’t need any sailing qualification for a crewed charter.
• Service. A hostess/cook on a crewed catamaran means meals prepared, cabins made up, and someone managing logistics — closer to a small floating hotel than a rental.

Where bareboat genuinely wins

• Privacy and control. No crew on board means the boat is entirely yours — useful for some groups, awkward for others.
• Smaller boats, bigger savings. The 8% gap above is for a large catamaran with a lot of built-in crewed overhead. On a smaller 35–40 ft monohull, bareboat can still be meaningfully cheaper in absolute terms, even if the percentage gap looks similar.
• Flexibility to skip provisioning you don’t need. A lean bareboat week (basic groceries, minimal extras) can undercut the numbers above significantly — the comparison above assumes a comparable standard of food and service on both sides.

Who should choose which

Choose bareboat if: you or someone in your group is a licensed, confident sailor, you want full control of the route, and you’re comfortable handling docking, provisioning and troubleshooting yourselves.

Choose crewed if: nobody in your group has a sailing licence, you want a genuinely relaxing week rather than a sailing-focused one, or you’re chartering during peak meltemi season (especially in August) and would rather have local expertise handling the weather calls.

Hybrid option: bareboat with a hired skipper (no hostess) sits between the two — you keep more control and lower cost than full crew, while removing the licence requirement and the navigation workload. Budget roughly €180–250/day for the skipper on top of standard bareboat costs. This skippered yacht charter is a common choice for first-time crews in Greece. Once you have picked the format, our catamaran vs monohull guide helps you choose the boat.

Ready to choose? Read our bareboat charter guide or compare every format in sailing holidays in Greece.

Month-by-month at a glance

What actually changes month to month

The meltemi is the single biggest variable. This dry north wind defines Aegean sailing from roughly mid-June through September, building steadily to a peak in July–August and then easing off. It rarely appears before June and is essentially gone by October.

Price roughly doubles from low to high season for the same boat — average weekly sailboat rates run around €2,300 in the January–March low season, climb to €4,400 in July, and drop back to around €2,600–2,750 by November. See our Greece yacht charter prices for current ranges by boat type.

Water temperature lags air temperature. September’s sea is nearly as warm as August’s, even though the air has cooled and the crowds have thinned — one of the best value trades of the season.

Best month by priority

Best overall compromise: early-mid September. Warm water, manageable wind, meaningfully lower prices, everything still open. Sailing in Greece in September also means warmer water than in June, because the sea is still holding the summer’s heat.

Best for first-time bareboat crews: June. The meltemi hasn’t fully built yet, so you’re less likely to lose a sailing day to strong wind, and prices are well below peak.

Best for experienced sailors who want real wind: July–August. No question the most dynamic sailing, if you’re comfortable reefing in 25+ knots and building slack into your route.

Best for budget and solitude: May or October. Lowest prices of the season, quiet anchorages — the trade-off is a real chance of a cooler or unsettled day, and some island restaurants and services running reduced hours.

Does the best month change by region?

Yes, meaningfully. The Ionian Sea (Lefkas, Corfu, Paxos) is sheltered from the meltemi by the Greek mainland and stays sailable and comfortable across a wider window, roughly May through October. The Cyclades and southern Aegean, where the meltemi hits hardest, are where the month you choose matters most. For a route built around the wind, see our 7-day Cyclades sailing itinerary.

Greece yacht charter prices by boat type and season

These are charter fee ranges only — the real cost of a week on the water includes several things almost no listing price covers.

Bareboat vs crewed: what each really costs in Greece

On the charter fee alone, a crewed yacht looks 60–80% more expensive than the same boat bareboat. Once you add what a bareboat week needs anyway (food, fuel, moorings and often a skipper), the all-in gap shrinks to roughly 8–15%. For a Lagoon 50 catamaran over one week, our worked example comes to about €19,000 bareboat against €20,600 crewed, or €680 against €735 per couple per day.

The full line-by-line calculation is in our bareboat vs crewed charter comparison.

Costs almost nobody puts in the headline price

Security deposit — €2,000–6,000, refundable, or replaceable with damage waiver insurance at roughly 5% of the charter fee.

Port and mooring fees — €10–20/day at most Greek ports outside peak marinas; private marinas and popular islands (Mykonos, Santorini) run higher, sometimes €60–250/night for a 45-footer in high season.

VAT — 12% on most Greek charters, sometimes shown separately, sometimes buried in an “all-inclusive” figure. Always ask which it is.

End-of-charter cleaning — €150–600 depending on boat size, often mandatory even on bareboat.

Fuel — motor yachts and long passages under engine can burn €200–800+ a day; sailboats mostly under sail cost far less.

Skipper, if you don’t have a licence — €180–250/day plus their food, for a bareboat charter.

By region: is Greece more or less expensive than nearby options?

Average Greek charter rates run broadly comparable to Croatia for similar boats, and meaningfully below the French Riviera or Balearic Islands, where marina fees and demand push prices up. Greece’s cost advantage is strongest outside the Cyclades’ most famous islands (Mykonos, Santorini) — the Ionian and Dodecanese offer similar boats for noticeably less. If you are weighing up a bigger boat, our catamaran vs monohull guide shows what the extra money buys.

How to actually save money

• Shift by two to three weeks. The gap between “just before” and “peak” high season (early July vs. mid-August; see our guides to chartering in July and August) can be 20–30% on the same boat.
• Start from Athens, Lefkas or Kos rather than Mykonos or Santorini. Base fees and marina costs are lower at the larger fleet hubs.
• Ask exactly what “all-inclusive” includes before comparing two quotes — one operator’s all-in price sometimes excludes fuel or APA while another’s doesn’t, making direct comparison meaningless without asking.

Sailing licences accepted for a bareboat charter in Greece

• ICC (International Certificate of Competence) with sail endorsement: the safest and most widely recognised
• RYA Coastal Skipper or higher, including Yachtmaster
• ASA 104 Bareboat Cruising or equivalent US qualification
• Other national coastal or offshore certificates, subject to the charter company’s approval

Important: sources disagree on RYA Day Skipper. Several guides say it has not been accepted by Greek port authorities since March 2019 because it covers daytime sailing only; other guides and some operators still accept it. Treat it as “confirm in writing before you book”.

Acceptance of any certificate is always decided by the charter company and the port authority, so ask your operator to confirm your qualification in writing.

The second crew member

Greece requires a second named person on the crew list. They usually do not need their own licence, but must be 18 or older, have some boating experience, and often sign a declaration of competence.

Do you need a VHF certificate?

This is where guides disagree. Some say Greece does not require a separate VHF certificate for pleasure charter; others say a short-range certificate (SRC) is needed for the radio. Charter boats carry VHF/DSC radios, and many operators want someone aboard qualified to use them. Our advice: ask your operator, and if you can, get the SRC. It is a short course and removes the risk of being turned away at the base.

What to send the charter company

Send scanned copies of every skipper and co-skipper certificate two to four weeks before departure, and a crew list at least seven days before. Bring the originals. French and other European licences may need a sworn English translation, and coastal licences with a 6-mile limit can be refused for island-hopping, so an ICC is the simplest fix.

No licence? Your options

Hire a skipper (roughly €180–€270 a day plus meals), book a crewed charter, or join a flotilla, a common format for first-timers in the Ionian. See our bareboat vs crewed comparison.

Once your licence is sorted, our bareboat charter guide for Greece covers costs, check-in and the best regions for your level.