Crewed Yacht Charter in Greece

The first question is not who they are, it is what they are carrying. A broker with a boat to fill will fill it; a broker with a week to get right has only your week to get right. There is no hull here we are under pressure to place, so the yacht we put in front of you is the one that fits your group, your dates and your budget, and nothing else. The rest is checkable and you should check it: IYBA Charter Active Member, listed in their public directory. MYBA-standard contracts, with base fee, APA, the yacht's certified VAT rate and the gratuity range written down before you sign anything. George Yachts Brokerage House LLC, a Wyoming company operating out of Athens, both on public record. Quoted in Forbes in May 2026. We work Greek waters only, weekly and fully crewed, starting on whichever day suits you rather than the Saturday the market defaults to, and the same person answers you from first enquiry to the morning you disembark. What we are not is an old house: this one was founded in 2026. If decades of trading history is your first filter, several Athens brokerages have that and we do not.

A crewed yacht charter is a private yacht taken for a week or more with her professional crew already aboard, so nobody in your party navigates, cooks, or cleans. At minimum that means a captain; from roughly 20 metres up it means a captain, a chef and a hostess, and on larger yachts a full brigade of stewardesses, deckhands and an engineer. You are chartering the yacht and her people together, not renting a boat. The practical difference from a bareboat is that no licence is required of you, the itinerary is proposed each morning against the real wind, and the week is planned around what you want rather than what you can handle.

Per the George Yachts Greek Charter Index, which is built from the rate cards of the yachts we actually represent: a crewed sailing catamaran runs EUR 17,000 to 22,000 per week net base at 12 to 16m and EUR 54,900 to 90,000 at 23 to 24m; a crewed power catamaran EUR 21,000 to 90,000 across the same span; motor yachts EUR 17,500 to 47,500 at 18 to 25 m, EUR 35,900 to 75,000 at 26 to 31m and EUR 59,900 to 150,000 at 35 to 40m; and the two yachts above 50m EUR 162,500 to 235,000. Add VAT at the yacht's certified rate, in practice 5.2% to 12% (statutory ceiling 13%, and 24% on short or bareboat charters), and an APA of 20 to 40% by yacht type for fuel, food and berthing.

The yacht and her full professional crew. Running costs of your week (fuel, provisioning, berthing fees) are paid from the APA, the Advance Provisioning Allowance, 20 to 40% of the base rate depending on the yacht, settled transparently at the end of the charter. VAT is charged on top of the base rate.

The statutory rates are 13% for the standard commercial crewed charter longer than 48 hours (every weekly charter) and 24% for short, static or bareboat arrangements. In practice most yachts are invoiced below that ceiling: certification-based reductions produce the 5.2%, 6.5%, 7.8% and 12% figures you see on 2026 rate sheets, and the exact rate for each yacht is stated in your written quote.

Typical booking lead time for peak July to August weeks is 6 to 12 months, and premium 40m-plus yachts often commit a year or more ahead. If your dates are fixed to school-holiday August, treat any available premium yacht as a same-week decision.

It is the Greek market's turnover convention: most yachts change guests on a Saturday, so the default week runs Saturday afternoon to the following Saturday morning. It is the rhythm the fleet, the marinas and the crews are built around, which is why a Saturday week is the easiest one to place. It is not a rule we impose: we will start your week on any day that suits your flights, and the only thing that matters fiscally is the length, because a commercial crewed charter running beyond 48 hours qualifies for the reduced VAT treatment, statutory 13% instead of 24%, and in practice 5.2% to 12% on certified yachts.

Three different holidays. Crewed means the yacht arrives with her professional crew already aboard, captain, chef and service, and nobody in your party navigates or cooks. Skippered means a captain and nothing else. Bareboat means you hold the licence and sail her yourself. This house writes crewed weeks only, in both fleets: the Motor Yacht Fleet with a full crew, the Catamaran Fleet with a crew of two to four. If you want the other two, a Greek bareboat operator is the right call and we will say so rather than sell you a week that does not fit.

Greek commercial regulations cap most charter yachts at 12 guests under way. Larger groups are handled legally with the right vessel class or a multi-yacht arrangement. George has written a complete guide on how groups of 14 and more do it.

Some yachts in this house welcome pets and some owners decline them; it is always the owner's policy, never a blanket rule. Tell me at the first conversation that a dog is coming and I shortlist only pet-friendly hulls, so the question never becomes a problem. Expect practical conditions such as a cleaning provision in the contract, and note that beaches and archaeological sites ashore have their own rules.

Yes, and it is the quiet advantage of working with an Athens-based broker rather than a call centre. I live where this fleet is based, I meet captains and crews across a season, and when I match a family to a yacht I am matching them to people I can call by first name. When something needs solving mid-charter, that phone call is answered.

Snorkelling, yes, everywhere: most yachts carry masks and fins and Greek water needs no persuasion. Scuba is arranged properly or not at all: certified guests dive through licensed local dive centres along the route, either rendezvous-style at anchor or ashore, and the itinerary is planned around the dive stops. Tell me certification levels at the brief and the crew builds the days accordingly.

On fully crewed yachts, yes: a dedicated chef cooks every meal aboard to your preference sheet, provisioning fresh in each port along the route. Dietary briefs are normal work, not special requests. On the smaller yachts the crew is two or three and the cooking is done by a cook rather than a dedicated chef. I will tell you plainly which yachts carry a true chef and which do not, because the difference shows three times a day.

Casually, yes: many yachts carry light tackle and trolling a line between islands is a Greek summer tradition, always at the captain's discretion and within Greek recreational rules. Serious sport fishing is a different craft with different boats; if that is the heart of your trip, say so at the brief and I will tell you honestly whether a dedicated day on a local sport-fishing boat serves you better than the charter yacht itself.

Most of the crewed fleet is based around Athens, which is why the Saronic Gulf and the Ionian are the best-value starting waters: little or no repositioning cost. Embarkation from other islands is arranged with a repositioning fee that George quotes up front.

Yes, and the timing is on your side: the 2027 calendars are open, owners publish their 2027 rate cards through the autumn, and the best crewed yachts commit their July and August 2027 weeks by late winter. Reserving early buys first pick of yacht and week, and George holds your preferred week while the rate card settles. The 2027 season calendar keeps the current picture.

A crewed week is not a platform purchase. The listing sites show the same yachts at the same owner rate cards; what changes the week is the broker who knows which crew is aboard this season and which yacht suits your party. George Yachts is a boutique IYBA-member brokerage house, US-headquartered (George Yachts Brokerage House LLC, Wyoming) and run from Athens, that places crewed sailing and power catamarans across Greek waters at one price per yacht per week with no fee to the guest. Every charter this house closed this season was booked by American guests. Send the dates and the party, and George answers with named yachts within two hours in season.

Six steps. One, the brief: dates, party, budget and what the week is for, by the form on this site or WhatsApp. Two, the shortlist: within two hours in season, three to six named yachts with deck plans and the current rate card, priced from the Greek Charter Index at one price per yacht per week, availability confirmed with each owner. Three, the contract: a MYBA-standard agreement with George Yachts Brokerage House LLC, with base rate, APA, Greek VAT at the certified rate and gratuity guidance itemised before signature; deposit and balance follow the schedule in the contract. Four, The Cabin: a private guest portal where the preference sheets live and the crew reads them before you board. Five, the itinerary: drafted by George around the forecast and the anchorages, agreed with the captain, who has the last word at sea. Six, boarding at Alimos, Lefkada or Corfu on the day that suits your flights, with George on the phone for the whole week.

Ask three things of any company, this one included. Who holds the yacht: a central agent represents the owner and lists the yacht, a retail broker represents you and can place you on any yacht in Greece, and a platform lists whatever it is sent. What contract you sign: it should be the MYBA form, with the yacht's certified VAT rate written in. And who will answer the phone in August: a named person who has been aboard the yacht, or a desk. This house is a retail broker, an IYBA Charter Active member contracting through a Wyoming company, and the person who answers is the broker, not a desk. The credentials page sets out how to verify all of that before we speak.

Per yacht per week, from EUR 17,000 base for a 15 metre crewed sailing catamaran and EUR 17,500 for an 18 to 21 metre crewed motor yacht, to EUR 235,000 for a 50 metre motor yacht with nine crew, on the Greek Charter Index 2026. Add APA of 20 to 30 per cent on catamarans or 30 to 40 on motor yachts, Greek VAT at the yacht's certified rate of 5.2 to 12 per cent, and a gratuity of 10 to 15 per cent of base: all-in, roughly 1.35 to 1.7 times the base fee. Never a price by the head.

Available: six crewed sailing monohulls of 24 to 31 metres are quoted through this house at EUR 24,000 to 55,000 a week net base, each with a captain and a chef aboard and a crew of three or four, and MELITI, a 26 metre Garcia 86 for six, carries a crew of four. They are held apart from the fleet count because they sail a different week: more miles under canvas, fewer cabins, the Ionian thermal in the afternoon. The sailing yacht charter page has each of them by name.