From the desk
Five weeks I proposed this season
These are not sample routes written for a website. Each one below was written for a real enquiry this season and sent out as part of a proposal, then copied here word for word. The families and the yachts stay private. The weeks do not need to.
Every one of them is a full week out of Athens, and every one was changed again after the first conversation. That is the point of them: a starting shape, not a fixed product.
Saronic · June · Seven nights from Athens
A Family Week in the Saronic
The Saronic is the gentlest water in Greece and the shortest legs, which is exactly what a week with children needs.
Written for: A family of eight, four adults and four children aged seven to fourteen.
- Day 1Athens → AeginaBoard at noon and slip into the Saronic. A first swim off Moni islet, then Aegina's pistachio harbour by dusk.
- Day 2Aegina → PorosThrough the lemon groves to Poros. Calm bays for the children, ice cream on the waterfront at sunset.
- Day 3Poros → HydraOn to car-free Hydra. Donkeys instead of traffic, and clear water off the rocks for the braver ones.
- Day 4Hydra → SpetsesDown to Spetses. Horse carriages, the little Bekiris sea cave, and soft sand at Agia Paraskevi.
- Day 5Spetses → Dokos → PorosA quiet day at Dokos, snorkelling above an old wreck, seabobs for the kids, then back toward Poros.
- Day 6Poros → AgkistriTurquoise shallows at Aponisos on Agkistri, the gentlest water of the week, made for small swimmers.
- Day 7Agkistri → AthensA slow last swim and breakfast on deck, then an easy sail home to Athens by noon.
Ports of call: Athens · Aegina · Poros · Hydra · Spetses · Dokos · Agkistri. More on Saronic yacht charter.
Cyclades · October · Seven nights from Athens
Cyclades Mykonos & Paros
The classic Cycladic loop with a full day held back for Mykonos, so the island gets a day rather than an afternoon.
Written for: A group of ten.
- Day 1Athens → KeaLate embarkation, a first swim off Kea as Athens falls away, then an easy dinner ashore to settle in.
- Day 2Kea → SyrosAcross to Ermoupoli, the elegant Cycladic capital. Marble lanes, a grand harbour, your first dinner out.
- Day 3Syros → MykonosInto Mykonos by afternoon. Little Venice at sunset, then the first night out wherever the mood leads.
- Day 4Mykonos → MykonosA full day on Mykonos. Beach club by day, town by night, the evening the group will keep talking about.
- Day 5Mykonos → ParosSouth to Naoussa, a fishing port turned quietly glamorous. Dinner among the boats in the old harbour.
- Day 6Paros → AntiparosA slow day at Antiparos. Private coves, the Blue Lagoon swim, long lunch at anchor, the pace finally yours.
- Day 7Antiparos → AthensAn unhurried cruise home, one last swim in open water, coffee on deck as the Attic coast returns.
Ports of call: Athens · Kea · Syros · Mykonos · Paros · Antiparos. More on Cyclades yacht charter.
Cyclades · October · Seven nights from Athens
Mykonos, Paros & Santorini
The southern loop. It is the only one of these weeks that reaches the Santorini caldera and comes home past Milos.
Written for: A group of ten.
- Day 1Athens → SyrosA purposeful first run to Ermoupoli, arriving for dinner in the marble capital. The week starts early.
- Day 2Syros → MykonosA short hop to Mykonos. Little Venice at sunset and the first night out before the route turns south.
- Day 3Mykonos → ParosDown to Paros with a swim stop on the way. Naoussa's old port by night, calmer glamour after Mykonos.
- Day 4Paros → IosSwim stops through the little islands, then Ios. Golden beaches by day, an easy, lively evening ashore.
- Day 5Ios → SantoriniInto the caldera. Anchor beneath the cliffs, the Oia sunset from the water, tender ashore for dinner.
- Day 6Santorini → MilosWest to Milos. The Kleftiko sea caves, lunar Sarakiniko, hidden coves you reach only by tender.
- Day 7Milos → AthensThe long, lazy leg home. A final swim in deep blue, then the mainland rising slowly off the bow.
Ports of call: Athens · Syros · Mykonos · Paros · Ios · Santorini · Milos. More on Cyclades yacht charter.
Cyclades · May · Seven nights from Athens
The Cyclades, Quietly
The same islands in the shoulder month, anchored on the quiet sides. Written for guests who wanted the Cyclades without the season.
Written for: Six to eight guests.
- Day 1Athens → KeaBoard at midday and slip straight out of the city. Swim at Kolona, then dinner at anchor.
- Day 2Kea → SyrosErmoupoli at dusk. Marble streets and neoclassical facades, a working town rather than a resort.
- Day 3Syros → MykonosAnchor on the quiet southern shore. The famous town is there if you want it, on your own terms.
- Day 4Mykonos → ParosNaoussa harbour, small fishing tavernas around the old port, an easy evening ashore.
- Day 5Paros → AntiparosSwim off Despotiko, an uninhabited islet with ancient ruins on the beach and nobody else there.
- Day 6Antiparos → KythnosThe longest leg of the week, lunch under way. The sandbar at Kolona is usually yours alone.
- Day 7Kythnos → AthensAn unhurried morning and a last swim on the way in. Ashore after breakfast the following day.
Ports of call: Athens · Kea · Syros · Mykonos · Paros · Antiparos · Kythnos. More on Cyclades yacht charter.
Saronic · May · Seven nights from Athens
The Saronic, Unhurried
The slowest week I write. Two nights of the seven have nothing scheduled at all beyond a swim and lunch on deck.
Written for: Six to eight guests.
- Day 1Athens → AeginaBoard at midday and cross the gulf, swimming off Agistri before you reach the anchorage.
- Day 2Aegina → PorosPine forest running down to the water and a narrow channel to slip through. Quiet at anchor.
- Day 3Poros → HydraNo cars on the island. Stone lanes, donkeys, and a harbour that has not changed in a century.
- Day 4Hydra → SpetsesAlmond trees and old sea captains' houses. Dinner in the old harbour, a short walk from the boat.
- Day 5Spetses → DokosAn empty bay, clear water, nobody ashore at all. The quietest night of your week.
- Day 6Dokos → PorosA slow morning, a long swim, lunch cooked on deck. Nothing on the schedule but the water.
- Day 7Poros → AthensA last swim below the temple at Cape Sounio. Ashore the following morning after breakfast.
Ports of call: Athens · Aegina · Poros · Hydra · Spetses · Dokos. More on Saronic yacht charter.
If one of these reads like your week, tell me the month and the group and I will send the yachts that fit it. If none of them does, that is more useful still: write to George and the next one gets written for you.
