Greece · Cyclades
The Cyclades, Athens to Santorini
Seven nights south through the islands — Kythnos, Paros, Naxos and Mykonos, finishing inside the Santorini caldera.
7 nights · Athens to Santorini
The Cyclades are the Greece people picture, and they are also the hardest week in this list: the meltemi blows hard from the north through July and August, the distances are real, and the islands are bare rock. It is worth all of it, and it wants a crew who know the wind — which is why the route runs downwind, north to south.
The route, day by day
Day 1
Athens
Board at Alimos or Lavrio and cross to Kea or Kythnos, which is far enough from the mainland to feel like the week has started and close enough to reach on the afternoon of arrival.
Day 2
Kythnos
Kolona, the sandbar joining the island to an islet with water on both sides, is the most photographed anchorage in the Cyclades and deserves the reputation.
Day 3
Serifos
South-east. The chora sits on a cone above the harbour and is a forty-minute walk or a short taxi, and the anchorages on the south side are empty.
Day 4
Paros
Naoussa on the north coast for the harbour, and Antiparos opposite with the cave and the shallow channel between the two islands.
Day 5
Naxos
The largest and the greenest — mountains, villages inland, and the Portara standing on the islet by the harbour: a marble doorway to a temple that was never finished.
Day 6
Mykonos
North for a night, or skipped entirely without loss. If you go, anchor away from the town and take the tender in — the harbour in August is not a place to sleep.
Day 7
Santorini
The long southern leg into the caldera, which is a drowned volcano and the most dramatic arrival in Greece. The anchorage is deep and the mooring is on buoys.
Worth knowing
- Two yachts are based in Greece; the rest are positioned from the eastern Mediterranean for your dates
- The meltemi blows hard from the north in July and August — the route runs downwind, north to south, for that reason
- This is the least forgiving week in this list: for a first time on the water, take the Ionian instead
- Athens and Santorini both have airports, which is what makes the one-way route practical
- Santorini's caldera is deep — mooring is on buoys rather than at anchor, and needs arranging ahead
Where this route goes
Yachts that sail this route
Itineraries
Sail this route
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