Greece and its array of sun-kissed islands offer endless opportunity for yachting adventures, with a wide selection of companies offering private yacht charter deals in this part of the Mediterranean.
A sailing yacht at Kleftiko on Milos Island, Greece (Photo: dronepicr via Flickr / CC BY 2.0)
The nation known as the “cradle of Western Civilization” carries with it a sense of mystery and allure that attracts a steady stream of visitors from far and wide throughout the year. Greece is particularly popular with private yacht charter clients, thanks to its seemingly never-ending blue skies and shimmering turquoise waters making for idyllic cruising grounds. Below are 3 of the best companies for booking memorable sailing holidays in Greece.
Ritzy Charters
Billed as a “trusted community marketplace” for yacht rental deals, Ritzy Charters is our favourite resource for crewed yachts in Greece. The company offers a huge variety of crewed yachts across several categories, including motorboat, catamaran and sailbost charter. According to our searches, the cheapest available boat currently listed for charter in Greece is priced at €3,500 per week, which gets you a 19.5-metre sailboat charter yacht that sleeps six and has a crew of two. There are also 84 catamaran charter options. The booking process itself is intuitive and simple – all you do is fill in some key details about your trip, including number of guests, dates, preferred itinerary and special requests, then you ask for a quote and wait for the company to send back a short-list of vessels based on your requirements.
SamBoat
A leading player in peer-to-peer boat rentals, SamBoat makes the rental process simple. You search for boats according to rates, size, travel dates and other requirements, then when you’ve picked out an available vessel that suits your tastes and needs you send a booking request to the owner. If accepted, you pay for the rental online, deposited to the owner on day one of your rental. When the day comes, you board the boat and make sure it corresponds to the descriptions before signing on the dotted line and heading off on your charter adventure. When we searched for charters in Greece, we found hundreds of vessels available (both crewed yacht and bareboat charter) with the majority being motorboats and sailboats. Prices started at just $47 per week for a 5-person fibreglass Centre Console vessel that’s available bareboat.
Sailo
A few years ago the influential Conde Naste Traveller magazine described Sailo as “the Airbnb of boats and yachts”, and a peruse of their website soon tells you why. Sailo are an international luxury yacht charter company that allows boat owners and renters to find charter companies and their vessels. Visitors can pick from thousands of uncrewed and crewed yachts based on date, location, price, size, and user reviews, and you can also create bespoke searches based on your specific trip preferences. When we looked for yacht charters in Greece, we found hundreds of vessels, all available bareboat. If you’re looking specifically for a catamaran, then Sailo also impress with 161 available in total.