I have travelled to Greece on multiple occasions but nothing quite prepared me for life aboard a luxury yacht with a top-notch crew, a group of besties, and the ability to seamlessly motor up to some of Greece’s most special islands. Each day, to be discovered as the mood suited us, as our Captain expertly navigated us through the seas of the dazzling Aegean.
First, pick your travel mates carefully; sharing a magical yachting experience should be among great friends and travels. Secondly, choose your yacht carefully – a beautiful vessel with top amenities, entertainment areas, water toys, and most importantly a professional, capable, and hospitable crew is key. Oh, and a fantastic chef, is instrumental in the equation! Finally, select a spectacular part of the world that is best explored by sea, such as the Greek Isles, the the Dalmatian Coast, the Galapagos, the Caribbean, the Bahamas, the French Riviera, Sardinia’s Costa Smerlada, the Florida Keys, and the British Virgin Islands.
The Friends
This group enjoys spending time together, but we also love to travel together which means easy-going, fun-loving, and an appreciation and willingness to do it RIGHT!
The Yacht
Introducing Souraya and her unbelievable, first-class crew…from the initial planning to the warm welcome, to the hospitable and warm service from sun up to sun down, we felt in competent hands but also as if spending time with old friends in the care of the yacht team on board Souraya.
The Destination
Greece’s Cyclades and Argo-Saronics
Weather can play a factor in where you will visit so when island-hopping in Greece, the best plan is no plan at all. Your trusted captain will have a plan – and a plan B, and C, etc. Wind means rough seas so your expert captain with his state-of-the-art navigational equipment will do his best to pivot and ensure you get the most out of your sightseeing and the smoothest sail possible. The windiest islands are the Cyclades in late July/August, though the Meltemi, the famous north wind that rages down the islands can blow 120 days a year, and comes in 3 strengths:
Kapelata: blows hats off
Kareklata: blows chairs over
Trapezata: blows tables over.
The Cycladic islanders call the Meltemi “the island doctor” as it keeps the islands cool and fresh so in essence, there are pros and cons. High season in Greece starts mid-June, so we SCORED by coming in the first half of June before crowds and pricing soared, and we have absolutely perfect weather!
Day 1: We boarded and toured Souraya, our home for the next 7 days and sailed to Poros
The Argo-Saronic Islands is an archipelago in Greece, named after the Saronic Gulf in which they are located, just off the Greek mainland. The main inhabited islands of this group are Salamis, Aegina, Agistri, and Poros. The islands of Hydra and Dokos, which lie off the northeast tip of the Peloponnese (technically between the Saronic Gulf and the Argolic Gulf), are sometimes included as part of the Saronic Islands.
Our adventure began in Poros, a charming island known for its lush pine forests and vibrant marina. As we sailed into the port, the picturesque town with its whitewashed buildings and vibrant bougainvillea greeted us.
Day 2: Milos – Minerals and moonscapes
Milos is different: Largely unspoiled despite its astonishing tourist riches, and with huge tracts of nature reserve, it sits on the southwest extremity of the Cycladic Galaxy facing Crete and lapped by the waters of the Cretan Sea to the south. It rivals Santorini in its weird and wonderful geological riches; sea caves, beaches, lunar landscapes of blinding white rocks, hot springs, fjords, striations of obsidian, manganese, Sulphur and other minerals that one would associate with Petra rather than a Greek island.
As if this weren’t enough, Milos has Roman catacombs, medieval castle ruins, steam geysers, bird sanctuary wetlands, gourmet tavernas, historical mines, museums, and somewhere the lost arms of the Venus of Milo, its most famous émigré.
BEST FOR
Easy access by plane twice a day in the summertime, (book well ahead!) a Speedrunner that takes cars, a fast Seajet stopping off at Sifnos and Serifos, and a conventional slow ferry boat.
Island hopping: Serifos, Sifnos, Kimolos, Folegandros, Santorini and Ios are all connected to Milos by boat.
Good food – Milos attracts some of Greece’s best young restaurateurs for the summer season.
Superb beaches, some of the best in Greece, mostly sandy and tiny colorful pebbles, more dramatic in the South. There are so many of them that there is always a beach to go to, no matter which direction the wind blows. Quite a few are organized with water sports, and many have tavernas.
WOULD SUIT
Young people looking for chilled beach days followed by relaxed but lively nightlife, groups of friends, families with children, hikers, geologists, photographers, beach nuts, pebble collectors, restless husbands who want to explore and sightsee, people wanting a Cycladic classic, historians.
Day 3: Paros – A Gentler Mykonos
Paros is the stuff of travel posters – whitewashed houses, narrow winding village streets, brilliant sun, wide sandy beaches, shallow waters and a deep blue sea. Low hills roll down to the sea, enclosing three plains with waving yellow August harvests, and two deeply cut bays providing sheltered harbors.
Hills with layers of marble and fertile valleys supporting agriculture, vineyards and olive trees. Its long, wide sandy beaches are a family heaven and there is a huge variety of activities and entertainment. Chic Athenians have houses here and come for weekends, raising the quality of restaurants and bars.
The Literature Mansion in Lefkes gathers sophisticated writers and poets. Pottery and crafts studios still line the way to the ancient quarries where the most translucent marble in the world was brought up by lamplight. If you find a sliver on the hillside and hold it up to the light it will be apparent that this wonderful lychnite has an incomparable radiant lightness, inspiring such creations as the Venus de Milo and the Hermes of Praxiteles. Paros is also home to Naoussa, one of the most photographed villages in Greece with its narrow maze of lanes, little bridges and flower-filled balconies. It is also one of the coolest with its tiny, hip bars and tavernas.
Parikia, the main port has the wonderful old Kastro fort, an Archaeological Museum, and the 6th century Church of the 100 Doors.
BEST FOR
Organized water and wind sports, easy access to many other islands, a wide choice of sandy beaches and villages including Antiparos.
ANTIPAROS – The Perfect Miniature Island
Antiparos is a small holiday paradise just across from Paros, from which it is divided by a shallow channel just a few meters deep. Guests here keep coming back as it is the closest thing to a private island – small, not much accommodation, low key. It’s the sort of thing children would come up with if asked to draw an imaginary Greek island. The island has 57 kilometers of beautiful coastline where golden sandy beaches and pebbly coves give way to small remote bays with blue-green waters. This is a great island to chill and enjoy an easy summer life. Arrival is by plane or Superfast ferry from Athens to Paros, and then a short hop over to Antiparos. The combination of being on a small and unsophisticated island, yet with the convenience of large and busy Paros next door, is very attractive.
BEST FOR
Everything that makes the Cyclades famous, but in a small, relaxed and easy form – yet with Paros nearby for transport possibilities and other activities. Sandy beaches; friendly locals; good fish tavernas; windmills; cute, whitewashed towns; and toothless, smiley old men on donkeys. There is a tiny roll-on-roll-off ferry that takes six minutes to cross the shallow channel from Paros, and leaves every half hour. Accommodation is mainly in villas, so a house-party atmosphere prevails with a chic, international in-crowd, and the exclusivity that comes from there not being quite enough villas to go around!
Day 4: Rineia
Rineia, a lesser-known gem, offered a peaceful retreat away from the hustle and bustle. We spent the day swimming and snorkeling in the pristine waters, exploring the uninhabited island at our leisure. The tranquility and natural beauty of Rineia made it a perfect stop on our journey.
Day 5: Syros – The Lady of the Cyclades
Syros has been the capital of the Cyclades for over two hundred years, so has both cherished and upheld the quality of Cycladic culture; music, food, dance, etc, and also been quick to absorb the best of outside influences – it was a wealthy and peaceful island, protected from many common dangers and hardships through its status as a Venetian dominion, which means it is still today home to a large Catholic community. In fact, of the three cathedrals that top the hills behind the main port, one is Catholic, which is unique in the islands. Syros has always welcomed immigrants from less fortunate islands, and still has a generous, cheerful, and friendly attitude to visitors.
BEST FOR
Good access to other islands. A varied holiday including sightseeing, eating and beaches. Feeling like a traveler rather than a tourist. Syros, with its rich history and elegant architecture, was our next destination. We docked in Ermoupoli, the island’s capital, and marveled at the neoclassical buildings and vibrant squares. A visit to the Apollo Theater and a walk through the Ano Syros neighborhood were highlights of our stay.
Day 6: Kythnos
Kythnos offered a taste of authentic Greek island life. The island’s unspoiled beauty and friendly locals made our visit truly special. In the evening, we enjoyed a traditional Greek meal at a local taverna, complete with live music and dancing.
Day 7: HYDRA – Muse to Poets, Painters, the Yacht-set and Stars
Arriving by ship from Athens, Hydra is a rocky world away, suddenly revealed from behind its guardian cliffs – a picturesque harbor-front town rising theatrically out of the sea. To the right and left are imposing mansions built on 19th century shipping fortunes, behind them, like a wreath around the hill of Kiapha, sit the houses of the bourgeoisie. Along the quay are the colorful shops of the marketplace. Narrow geranium-filled alleyways and steep staircases lead from one quarter to another and on to the fields and small settlements beyond.
The harbor remains the focus of all activity with art galleries, stylish boutiques, unique jewelry shops and countless bars and tavernas filling every nook and cranny. The setting of the 1950s film Boy and the Dolphin with Sophia Loren, Hydra was rapidly discovered by writers and painters who moved in and are still a part of the island’s cosmopolitan social fabric. The American painter Timothy Hennessy has lived and created here for close on 50 years and Leonard Cohen continues to come and go from his sea-captain’s house. Every famous visitor has sat in the Pirate Bar on the waterfront, from Hemingway to Grace Kelly, to Diana, Princess of Wales. On summer weekend evenings one of the most fashionable voltas in Greece unfolds. Fishing boats, the caique Eleni (star of the 1950s movie Zorba) ferry boats, unload all the necessities of life before an audience of resigned donkeys and ever hopeful cats. It has scarcely changed in years, is utterly charming, perfectly genuine, and yet it exists purely for tourists, the island’s only industry.
Seriously fashionable Athenian money is sunk in weekend homes here, but discreetly. Richard Branson tried to build a Caribbean-style hotel quite recently and the locals rebuffed such ostentation.
Hydra is an excellent base for sightseeing with Mycenae, Epidauros and Nauplion being a water taxi and easy car trip away, and Spetses and Poros just a water taxi hop.
BEST FOR
No-car policy. Cars are replaced by water taxis and mules. Beautiful if hot climbs and coastal walks through rockscapes and plateaus to chapels and monasteries, and to tiny pebbly swimming bays. Mule ride to Vlychos (with two delightful tavernas on the little quayside) or further round to the small beaches of Bitsi (good spearfishing), Kaoumithi (thick sand, pine trees), and Aghios Nikolaos where many boats anchor.
WOULD SUIT
Elegant bohemians wanting to eat and drink well, groups wanting a lively but easy town, teenagers who can walk everywhere at night or be safely transported by water taxi, donkey-mad children, snorkelers and spearfishermen, cultured visitors wanting sightseeing, and people who like speedboats.
Day 8: Nafplio
Nafplio, a historic town on the mainland, was next on my itinerary. I wandered through the old town’s narrow streets, visited the impressive Palamidi Fortress, and admired the Venetian architecture. A boat trip to the Bourtzi Castle, located on a small island in the harbor, was a highlight of the day. Nafplio’s rich history and charming streets made it a truly memorable stop.
Day 9: Spetses – An Aristocrat Among Islands
With its easy access from Athens by car and water taxi, or fast and frequent hydrofoils, Spetses to Athenians is what the Hamptons are to New Yorkers.
An island of pines, bougainvillea and heady jasmine, of grand neo-classical mansions – built with the prosperity from its merchant sailors 200 years ago – an island of proud history, of great contribution to Greece’s 1821 Revolution for Independence from domination by the Ottoman Turks, Spetses has long been the playground of influential wealthy Athenian and local families with their house parties. Spetses radiates out from its picturesque, car-free main port up into gentle hills covered with pine forests. It is easy to get to and easy to get to know.
Boating activities, water sports and excellent shopping by day, and a huge variety of cafes, bars, tavernas and nightspots for sundown and later offer entertainment for all ages. As a weekend destination, the island stays open practically all year round making it an ideal choice for off-season visits, when more remote islands can be rather too quiet.
If you are a fan of that 1970s cult novelist, John Fowles, this island was the model for his mythical Phraxos in “The Magus”.
Car-free for the main part, elegant ladies drive around on scooters, and the horse-drawn carriages still clop and tinkle their way past the high, white-washed walls hiding interior courtyards of pebbled mosaics and lush gardens, and the allure of another life.
Water taxis provide fast, fun, and glamorous transport to secluded bays and to the archaeological sites of Mycenae, Nauplion and Epidauros. The lovely island of Hydra is just half an hour away by hydrofoil. Despite the intrusions of modern life, the essential character of the island is indestructible, and the place is a magnet for those who can afford its real estate prices.
BEST FOR
Accessibility. The climate is mild, and it has activities and interests for everyone year round. A good off-season choice. The wining, dining and shopping are good, and calm summer seas allow wonderful swimming, boating, fishing and snorkeling.
This yachting journey through the Greek Isles was a dream come true, filled with stunning landscapes, rich history, and warm hospitality. Each island had its unique charm, making every day a new adventure. Sailing the Greek Isles with besties is an experience I will cherish forever.
