Do You Need a Licence to Charter a Yacht in Greece?

A crewed yacht asks nothing of you. The captain is licensed, insured and responsible; the crew list is his paperwork; the guests are guests. An American family that has never set foot on a boat charters a 20 metre catamaran with a chef on the same terms as a family of sailors, and the week is the same holiday. That is the product this house writes, and the licence question does not arise. A bareboat asks a great deal. Greek regulation requires the skipper of a bareboat to hold a recognised certificate, and a second person aboard to be competent and declared; the port police check the papers before the lines are cast off and the charter company checks them before the deposit. An American licence or an RYA certificate is accepted; experience without paper is not. It is the market for people who sail, and it is a different market from this one. The crewed week is the one this house writes. From EUR 17,000 base for a 15 metre catamaran for eight, the holiday is yours and the work is the crew's: the captain holds the licence, the cook-hostess holds the galley, and a sailor among the guests may take the helm in open water when the captain says so. Who you are dealing with. George Yachts Brokerage House LLC is a United States company, registered in Wyoming, with its brokerage desk in Athens, a few minutes from the marinas the yachts leave from. It is a boutique house: one broker, George P. Biniaris, Founder and Managing Broker, a licensed sailing skipper with a powerboat licence valid to 25 metres, handles every file himself, from the first message to the quay on check-in day, and is reachable on WhatsApp at +1 786 798 8798. The house is listed as an IYBA Charter Active Member, writes every charter on the MYBA form of agreement, was featured in Forbes in May 2026, and holds a 5.0 rating on Google. The APA, the VAT at each yacht's certified rate and the gratuity are set out line by line in every proposal, so nothing arrives as a surprise.