How to Charter a Private Yacht in Mykonos and Santorini

Some links on this page are partner links. If you book through one, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. It never changes what we recommend or what you pay.

What you are actually choosing between#

The word "charter" covers five quite different products at wildly different prices. Getting this choice right matters more than any other decision you will make.

The five ways to do this

	Day charter	Crewed catamaran	Crewed sailing yacht	Motor yacht
Typical party size	2 to 10	6 to 10	4 to 8	6 to 12
Duration	4 to 8 hours	Three days to two weeks	Three days to two weeks	Week minimum, usually
Crew	Skipper, sometimes a host	Skipper plus host or cook	Skipper plus host	Captain, crew, chef, stewardess
Indicative high-season cost	Low four figures per day	Mid five figures per week	Low to mid five figures per week	Six figures per week upward
Stability and space	Varies	Excellent - the main reason to choose one	Narrower, heels under sail	Maximum
Speed between islands	Fast	Moderate	Moderate	Fast
Best for	Mykonos to Delos, a Santorini caldera day	Families and groups wanting a week	Sailors who want to actually sail	Those for whom the boat is the destination

Our callFor a first Cyclades charter with family or friends, a crewed catamaran is almost always the right answer. It gives you cabins with real beds, a flat deck nobody falls over on, a shallow enough draft for the good bays, and a crew who know where to anchor when the wind turns.

The costs nobody puts in the headline price#

The advertised charter fee buys the boat and the crew. Everything that happens on board is extra, and it is organised through a mechanism most first-time charterers have never heard of.

How the money actually works

1. The charter fee

   The base rental of the yacht and its crew for the period. This is the number in the listing. It is typically 55 to 70 percent of what you will ultimately spend.

2. APA - the Advance Provisioning Allowance

   Usually 25 to 35 percent of the charter fee, paid before departure into the captain's hands. It covers fuel, berthing fees, port taxes, food, drink, water and anything else consumed. The captain accounts for it and returns the unspent balance at the end. Heavy motoring and marina berths in Mykonos burn through it quickly; a week of quiet anchorages barely dents it.

3. VAT

   Greek charters carry VAT, and the rate applied depends on the yacht's registration, the itinerary and whether time is spent outside Greek waters. Your broker should state the rate on the contract in writing before you sign. Do not accept a verbal answer on this.

4. Crew gratuity

   Customary rather than compulsory, and typically in the region of 5 to 15 percent of the charter fee, paid at the end and at your discretion. Budget for it from the start.

5. Delivery and redelivery

   If you want to start in Mykonos and finish in Santorini, someone has to bring the yacht back. One-way charters usually carry a repositioning fee. Round trips from the same base avoid it entirely.

The meltemi: the single most important thing to understand#

From roughly mid-July through August, a dry north wind called the meltemi funnels down the Aegean. In the Cyclades it can blow at force 6 to 8 for several consecutive days. It is not a storm, it is a season, and it is the reason experienced charterers avoid peak August in these particular islands.

What it means in practice:

• Crossings get cancelled or rerouted. A good captain will simply refuse an exposed passage, and they are right to. Your itinerary is a wish list, not a schedule.
• Anchorages become one-sided. The south coasts of the islands are calm, the north coasts are untenable. Your captain's local knowledge of which bay works in which wind is the thing you are genuinely paying for.
• The best months are June and September. Warm sea, long light, dramatically more settled wind, and a fleet that is not fully booked.

You are not chartering a boat. You are chartering a captain who knows which bay is flat tonight.

Mykonos, Delos and the bays that matter#

Mykonos works well as a charter base. The New Port at Tourlos handles large yachts, Ornos and Platis Gialos are straightforward tender runs to the beach clubs, and the island's south coast gives shelter when the meltemi blows.

The genuine highlight sits two miles west. Delos - birthplace of Apollo in myth, and one of the most significant archaeological sites in the Mediterranean - is uninhabited, closed to overnight visitors, and quite extraordinary. Arriving by private tender in the early morning, before the excursion boats, is one of the best hours available anywhere in Greece.

Immediately north of it, Rinia is empty, undeveloped and has the clearest water in the group. Most charters anchor there for lunch after Delos.

Santorini by sea, and why it is different#

Santorini is a flooded volcanic caldera. The water inside it is hundreds of metres deep almost up to the cliff, which means conventional anchoring is largely impossible. There are a small number of mooring buoys, a modest marina at Vlychada on the south coast, and the commercial port at Athinios, which is busy and unpleasant.

The practical consequence: Santorini is a day destination or a terminus, not a cruising base.

What it does brilliantly:

• The caldera cruise at sunset, with the cliff villages lit above you. Objectively the best way to see Santorini, and the one that avoids the crowds entirely.
• The hot springs at Palea Kameni, a short tender ride from the anchorage.
• Thirassia, the small inhabited island on the far rim, where lunch happens at the waterline with almost nobody around.

A week that actually works#

The route we would book

1. Days 1 to 2 - Paros and Antiparos

   Board at Paros or Naxos. Ease in with Antiparos, Despotiko and the shallow turquoise bays on the south side. Short hops, no pressure, everyone finds their sea legs.

2. Day 3 - Delos and Rinia

   Early start north to Delos for the site before the excursion boats arrive, then anchor off Rinia for swimming and lunch.

3. Day 4 - Mykonos

   Berth at the New Port or anchor off the south coast. One night ashore for dinner and whatever follows it. This is the day your APA takes the hit.

4. Days 5 to 6 - the Small Cyclades

   South to Koufonisia, Schinoussa and Iraklia. Almost nobody is here, the water is the best in the group, and this tends to be the part people remember.

5. Day 7 - Ios, then Santorini or back

   Either continue to Santorini for the caldera and a one-way drop, or loop back to base and take the fast ferry down for the final nights ashore - usually the cheaper and more flexible option.

Where the money goes on a typical crewed week

Charter fee

~62%

APA (fuel, berths, food)

~24%

VAT

varies

Crew gratuity

~5-15%

Booking it without getting burned#

Use a broker or an established platform, not an Instagram account. The charter market has a long tail of unlicensed operators. A proper charter runs on a written contract - the MYBA form is the industry standard for crewed yachts - with the yacht, crew, dates, fee, APA, VAT treatment and cancellation terms all stated.

Check the licence. Commercial charter yachts in Greece must be registered and carry the correct professional licence, and day-charter operators must be licensed too. Ask.

Meet the captain before you commit, if you can. A short video call tells you more about how your week will go than any photograph of the saloon.

Read the cancellation and weather clauses. Specifically: what happens if the meltemi makes your planned route impossible. The honest answer is "the captain reroutes and you still have a wonderful week", and a good contract says so plainly.

Frequently asked questions

How much does it cost to charter a yacht in Greece for a week?

It spans an enormous range. A crewed catamaran for six to eight people in high season typically lands in the mid five figures in euros for the week before APA and VAT; a large motor yacht runs well into six figures. The reliable way to calibrate is to look at live availability for your exact dates rather than at an average.

What is APA in a yacht charter?

The Advance Provisioning Allowance - usually 25 to 35 percent of the charter fee, paid upfront to the captain to cover fuel, berthing, port fees, food and drink. The captain keeps accounts and refunds whatever is unspent at the end of the charter.

Do you need a licence to charter a yacht in Greece?

For a bareboat charter, yes - at least one person aboard needs a recognised sailing qualification and usually a second as co-skipper. For crewed charters you need nothing; the licensed skipper is included, which is why most visitors choose crewed.

When is the best month to charter in the Cyclades?

June and September. The sea is warm, the light is long, and the meltemi is far less insistent than in late July and August. September also has the warmest water of the year.

Can you sail from Mykonos to Santorini in a day?

Yes - it is roughly 70 nautical miles, so a long day under sail or a comfortable run on a fast motor yacht. Most charters break it with a night at Ios or Paros rather than doing it in one push, and in a strong meltemi the captain may route differently or wait.

Is a catamaran better than a sailing yacht for a family?

Almost always. Catamarans stay level, give every cabin its own space, draw less water so they reach better bays, and have a large flat deck that makes life easier with children. The trade-off is that they sail less excitingly and cost more per week.

The short version#

Book a crewed catamaran out of Paros or Naxos for June or September, budget the charter fee plus 40 percent, and let the captain choose the bays. Treat Santorini as the postcard at one end rather than the cruising ground.

Do that and the week costs less, sails better, and ends with a crew you will want to book again.