Planning a Cyclades yacht charter itinerary from Athens
A sample seven-day route built on real sailing hours and anchorage spacing, not a generic list of islands.
- Sample route
- 7 days, 5 islands
- Longest leg
- Serifos to Paros, about 6h
Building the route
A Cyclades yacht charter itinerary from Athens typically runs three to seven days, long enough to string together four or five islands without rushing between anchorages. The standard route starts at Kea, the closest Cycladic island to Alimos Marina, then works east through Kythnos and Serifos before reaching Paros and Mykonos. Shorter charters stop at Kythnos and turn back; a full one-week yacht charter Athens itinerary reaches as far as Mykonos before returning west.
Route order is set by wind, not preference. The meltemi blows from the north through July and August, so legs are planned to run with it rather than against it, and each overnight anchorage is chosen for shelter from that direction. A sailing itinerary for the Saronic and Cyclades keeps individual legs between three and six hours, enough distance to reach the next island without arriving after dark.
This is one fixed example of how an island hopping yacht charter in Greece can be sequenced from Athens; actual stops shift with the week's forecast, the guests' swimming and diving interests, and how many nights they want in any one place. The order below is the one we sail most often between April and October.
Day-by-day sample route
- 01
Day 1 – Alimos to Kea
Depart Alimos Marina mid-morning and sail roughly 20 nautical miles, about 4 hours, to the first overnight anchorage at Kea.
- 02
Day 2–3 – Kythnos to Serifos
Two shorter legs follow, Kea to Kythnos at about 15 nautical miles and Kythnos to Serifos at about 20, each roughly 3 to 4 hours under sail.
- 03
Day 4 – Serifos to Paros
The longest passage of the week, about 35 nautical miles and 6 hours, carries the yacht east into the central Cyclades.
- 04
Day 5 – Paros to Mykonos
A shorter 20-nautical-mile, 4-hour run reaches Mykonos, the furthest point of the route from Athens.
- 05
Day 6–7 – return to Alimos
The return leg retraces the route through Kythnos, about 45 nautical miles and 7 hours, before a final 20-nautical-mile, 4-hour sail back into Alimos Marina.
Adjust this itinerary to your dates
Tell us your charter dates, group size and the islands you want to prioritise, and we will adjust the stops and leg lengths accordingly.