Reviewed by Adrian Sneed, Charter Broker at Sneed Charters — a family brokerage arranging Mediterranean charters since 1992. Greek rates, VAT and cruising fees checked September 2026.

What a crewed week in Greece costs

Greece is the cheapest of the major Mediterranean grounds to charter, and the reason is tax rather than yachts: VAT on a crewed week is 13% here against 20% in France, 21% in Spain and 22% in Italy — the full comparison is on our Mediterranean charter page. On a €60,000 week that difference is about €5,400 — most of a day’s cruising, or a chef’s provisioning for the week.

Shoulder is May, June, September and October. Peak is July and August.

Those are market ranges, not a menu. What you actually pay turns on the yacht, the week and how early you ask — and the same catamaran that lists at €15,000 in August is frequently €12,000 in late September, with warmer water and no meltemi.

What APA, VAT and TEPAI add on top

Budget 25–35% of the charter fee as an APA, 13% VAT, and a discretionary crew gratuity of 10–15%. On a €60,000 week starting in Greece that is roughly €15,000–€21,000 of APA, €7,800 of VAT and €6,000–€9,000 of gratuity.

One thing worth knowing, because almost nobody volunteers it: 13% is the statutory rate, and it is often not what appears on the invoice. Yachts certified under the Greek reduction regime are invoiced on a reduced taxable value, which puts the effective rate between 5.2% and 12% depending on the certificate and the itinerary — 6.5% is common on crewed catamarans. We will tell you which rate applies to the yacht before you sign, not after.

The meltemi, and which islands it rules out

The meltemi is a northerly wind that blows across the Aegean from May to September and peaks between mid-July and mid-August. It regularly holds above 29 knots with gusts of 39 to 49, builds through the afternoon, and can run for one to seven days without a break. It is the single biggest variable in a Greek week, it is forecastable, and it decides which islands are a good idea in which month.

Where it blows hardest

The Cyclades sit in the middle of it. The straits accelerate it further — Euboea to Andros, Kea to Kythnos, Paros to Naxos — and in the open corridor between the Cyclades and the Dodecanese it has more than a hundred nautical miles of clear fetch to build sea against.

Be careful with anyone who offers the Dodecanese as the calm alternative. The south-east Aegean runs five to six Beaufort in its own right; the shelter there is specifically in the lee of the Turkish promontories, not in the island group as a whole.

Where it does not reach

The Ionian sits outside the system altogether — three to five Beaufort is a typical summer day, and the hops between Corfu, Paxos, Lefkada and Meganisi are short enough that a bad afternoon costs you an hour rather than a day. The Saronic is genuinely softer than the Cyclades: the meltemi reaches it, but with less regularity and less force, and Aegina, Poros, Hydra and Spetses are all within a morning of Athens.

What we do when it blows

• For a July or August week with guests who are not sailors, we book the Ionian or the Saronic, not the Cyclades. You lose the Mykonos photograph. You keep the week.
• In the Cyclades we set the direction on the forecast, not the itinerary. The same islands run clockwise or anticlockwise depending on which way the wind lets you go home.
• Long legs start at dawn. The wind is at its lightest overnight and reaches its maximum after noon, so the miles get covered before breakfast rather than after lunch.
• We aim to be alongside before 14:00. In peak season the berth shortage is what actually ruins a day in the Cyclades, and it is at its worst exactly when the wind is up and everyone is looking for shelter.
• Anchorage choice changes. Off Mykonos, Ornos and Karmou Ammos are open to the northerlies; Elia on the south coast and Skinos across on Rineia hold in a meltemi.

Choosing your island group

Five grounds, and the honest version of what each one asks of you. Best months are our recommendation, not an industry standard.

The Sporades carry something no other Greek ground does. The National Marine Park of Alonnisos covers 2,260 square kilometres — the largest marine protected area in Europe, established by presidential decree in 1992 — and it exists for the Mediterranean monk seal. Zone A is closed to vessel approach and mooring altogether; Zone B is open. It is the one Greek week where the itinerary is shaped by something other than wind and berths.

When to go

Aegean figures are Mykonos, on 1991–2020 normals.

September is the month to want. The sea is warmer than it was in July, the meltemi has eased, and the crowds have gone home — 41.6% of all Greek tourist nights fall in July and August alone. It is also, for the same reasons, the month the good yachts go first.

Where your week starts

Most Greek charters board at Athens, Corfu, Lefkas, Mykonos, Rhodes or Kos, and the choice does more than set the scenery — it fixes which islands are reachable in seven nights and whether anyone in your party needs a domestic flight.

Athens is the default for a reason. Alimos is the largest marina in Greece and the Balkans, with 1,100 berths and fifty of them for yachts over 25 metres, and it puts the Saronic within a morning and the Cyclades within a day. Lavrio, an hour further round the coast, saves that day if the Cyclades are the point of the week. Corfu and Lefkas serve the Ionian; Rhodes and Kos the Dodecanese and the Turkish lee.

The July and August version

Same seven nights, no open crossings. Athens to Aegina, Poros, Hydra and Spetses in the Saronic, or Corfu south through Paxos, Antipaxos, Lefkada and Meganisi in the Ionian. Both keep the hops under three hours, both stay out of the meltemi’s way, and both are the version we book most often for families and first-time charterers whatever the month.

What is included, and what is not

On MYBA terms the weekly rate covers the yacht, her full crew, insurance and the use of everything aboard. Fuel, food, drink, berthing, port charges and communications are paid from the APA. VAT, gratuity and any delivery fee sit outside both.

Greek rules worth knowing in 2026

TEPAI, the cruising tax

Greece charges TEPAI on every leisure vessel over 7 metres in its waters regardless of flag. Above 12 metres it is €8 per metre per calendar month, counted from the first metre, with a 25% reduction for vessels in exclusive professional use. A 40-metre yacht is therefore €320 a month before that reduction.

The 35-metre licensing threshold

Foreign-flagged commercial yachts over 35 metres charter in Greek waters under the e-Charter Permission regime, capped at 21 days a calendar year with a possible 7-day extension. Since 14 May 2026 charter agreements and passenger manifests are filed through the Ministry of Shipping’s e-Charterparty platform rather than with customs paperwork.

None of this is yours to administer — it is the yacht’s — but it is why a particular yacht may not be available to you in Greek waters late in the season, and it is worth knowing before you fall in love with one.

Your brokers

You get a named broker, not a call centre. The same person takes your first message, negotiates the contract and is reachable while you are aboard.

Get a shortlist for your dates

Tell us the group, the dates and roughly what you want to spend. Your broker replies within one business day with yachts that are actually free for your week, priced with APA and VAT included.

What happens after you send your dates

Your broker replies within one business day with yachts that are genuinely free for your week, priced with APA and VAT included so you are comparing landed cost rather than headline rate. There is no fee to you — the yacht’s owner pays our commission, and it is the same whether you book through us or direct.

1. You send dates, party size and a budget band. That is enough to start.
2. We check real availability — not a catalogue, the yachts actually open for that week.
3. You get a shortlist with landed costs: charter fee, APA estimate, VAT, delivery fees where they apply.
4. We negotiate and contract on MYBA terms. 50% on signing, balance about a month out.
5. Preference sheets go to the chef and captain before you fly.
6. Your broker stays reachable while you are aboard.

Frequently asked questions