A crewed gulet charter voyage
Cyclades charter itinerary
Small Cyclades & the Quiet West — Mykonos to Athens
An eight-day route built for a group whose first priority is secluded, off-the-beaten-path beaches — and who still want a proper town for dinner. It leaves Mykonos on day one rather than lingering, works south through the Lesser Cyclades that most charters sail past (Koufonisia, Schinoussa, Iraklia), anchors off the Despotiko excavations and the uninhabited cliffs of Polyaigos, and finishes through Milos and Sifnos, the island Greeks travel to for the food, before the last swim at Kolona and the crossing to Athens.
The voyage at a glance
Day 1
Embarkation — Mykonos, Delos & south to Naxos
Day 2
Koufonisia — Pori Bay & the Lesser Cyclades
Day 3
Schinoussa & Iraklia — the quiet islands
Day 4
Despotiko & Antiparos — then Naoussa for dinner
Day 5
Polyaigos — the empty island
Day 6
Milos — Kleftiko & Sarakiniko
Day 7
Sifnos for lunch, then north to Kolona
Day 8
A last swim at Kolona — disembarkation, Athens
Day 1
Embarkation — Mykonos, Delos & south to Naxos
Board at Tourlos Marina at midday. Rather than settling into Mykonos, you slip straight out to Delos — the sacred island at the centre of the Cyclades, uninhabited since antiquity and reachable only by sea. An hour among the mosaics and the terrace of lions, then a gentle afternoon crossing south to Naxos. Dinner ashore in the old town beneath the Portara, the marble doorway of an unfinished temple that has framed the sunset here for two and a half thousand years.
Ashore nearbyView of Alefkandra (Little Venice) · Panorama Windmill · Soulmates mykonos · Kavos Taverna
Day 2
Koufonisia — Pori Bay & the Lesser Cyclades
A short morning hop east into the Lesser Cyclades, the scatter of small islands between Naxos and Amorgos that most charters sail straight past. Pori is a wide crescent of pale sand over a sandy bottom, the water so clear the anchor is visible from the deck. Swim, paddleboard, and take the walk along the low cliffs to the sea caves at Ano Koufonisi. A single village, a few tavernas, and no roads to speak of.
Ashore nearbygalleria spigolo · Ksylompatis Caves · Armira & Pioto · Neo Remezzo
Day 3
Schinoussa & Iraklia — the quiet islands
The two quietest anchorages in the chain, an hour apart. Morning at Iraklia, where fewer than 150 people live year-round: anchor off Livadi, one of the emptiest good beaches in the Cyclades, and walk inland if the group fancies it. Then west to Schinoussa for the night — Tsigouri for the afternoon swim, Mersini for a sheltered overnight, and a hilltop village of one street where dinner is whatever the kitchen has that evening.
Day 4
Despotiko & Antiparos — then Naoussa for dinner
West to the channel between Antiparos and the uninhabited islet of Despotiko, where an important Archaic sanctuary is still being excavated a few metres from the shore. The anchorage here is turquoise and shallow, sheltered from the meltemi, and empty by late afternoon. When the group is ready, a short run north to Naoussa on Paros — a working fishing harbour turned evening town, and the best dinner ashore of the week.
Ashore nearbyMpakas Seafood Restaurant · Zombos
Day 5
Polyaigos — the empty island
A longer passage southwest, breaking at Kimolos for lunch, to reach Polyaigos: the largest uninhabited island in the Aegean and a protected reserve. White volcanic cliffs drop into water that reads almost luminous green in the coves on the north shore. There is nothing here at all — no village, no taverna, no other boats by evening. For a group whose first priority was secluded and off the beaten path, this is the day the brief pays off.
Ashore nearbyBlue Bay · Afritis · Το ραβέντι
Day 6
Milos — Kleftiko & Sarakiniko
Milos is a drowned volcano, and its coastline is the strangest in the Cyclades. Morning at Kleftiko, a maze of white sea-stacks and swim-through arches reachable only from the water — the tender and the paddleboards earn their keep. In the afternoon, round to Sarakiniko: a moonscape of wind-smoothed white rock with a narrow inlet to anchor in. Evening ashore at Adamas if the group wants a town.
Ashore nearbyKleftiko · Sykia Cave
Day 7
Sifnos for lunch, then north to Kolona
The passage north, broken where it should be. Sifnos is the food island of the Cyclades — Greece's most famous cookery writer was born here, and the clay pots that give revithada and mastelo their names are still thrown in the village workshops. Anchor at Kamares and go up to Apollonia for a long lunch ashore. Then on to Kythnos for the last night at Kolona, the sandspit joining the island to the islet of Agios Loukas, with a beach on either side and shelter whichever way the wind sits.
Ashore nearbyArchaeological Museum of Kythnos · Kolona Beach · OYSTER · Aella Restaurant
Day 8
A last swim at Kolona — disembarkation, Athens
No delivery trip on the final morning. Breakfast at anchor and a last swim off the Kolona sandspit, then an easy afternoon crossing of the Saronic Gulf to Zea Marina in Piraeus. You arrive in good time for a quiet dinner on board, with Athens a fifteen-minute drive away for anyone staying on.
Ashore nearbyStavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center (SNFCC) · Θωρηκτό Γ.ΑΒΕΡΩΦ- Naval Museum Battleship HS Georgios Averof · Varoulko Seaside Restaurant · seafood Antonia
Make it yours
Request this voyage
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