It depends entirely on how you charter, and the answer splits cleanly in two. If you want to sail the yacht yourself, yes, somebody on board needs a valid certificate. If you would rather someone else did the sailing, no, and nobody in your group needs any qualification at all.
That is the whole answer in two sentences, but the detail underneath it decides which yachts you can book and what you need to bring to check-in.
Short answer
| How you charter | Licence needed? |
|---|---|
| Bareboat | Yes. At least one crew member must hold a valid sailing certificate and have sufficient experience. |
| Skippered | No. A professional skipper handles the navigation and holds the qualifications. |
| Crewed | No. No sailing experience or licence is required. |
| Cabin charter | No. You are a guest on a yacht that is already skippered. |
Three of the four formats need nothing from you. Only bareboat puts the requirement on your side of the table.
Bareboat requires it
To charter a yacht bareboat in Greece, at least one member of the crew must hold a valid sailing certificate and have sufficient sailing experience for the yacht. That person is the skipper for the week, their name goes on the crew list, and the certificate is checked at the base before the yacht leaves.
The experience part is not a formality either. A certificate earned six years ago and unused since is not the same as one backed by recent seasons, and bases will ask. Nobody is trying to catch you out: the yacht is their asset and the week is your holiday, and both go better when the person at the helm has done this before.
Alongside the certificate, a bareboat charter also needs passports or identity cards for everyone on board, a signed charter agreement, the crew list and a security deposit taken at check-in.
Which certificates
Greece accepts sailing qualifications issued by the recognised national authority or sailing federation of the skipper’s own country, which covers most of the certificates people actually hold.
In practice that means national licences issued by an EU member state, the International Certificate of Competence, and recognised training-body certificates from other countries, confirmed case by case. Some bases also ask for a VHF radio operator’s certificate for the skipper.
What matters is that it is a real, current certificate from a body that issues them officially, not a course completion card or a club membership. If you are not sure whether yours will be accepted, ask before booking rather than at the quay, and the base will confirm it against the specific yacht. What is required before booking is set out on the bareboat charter page.
One practical note: bring the physical certificate, not a photograph of it. Check-in is a paperwork process and it goes faster when the paperwork is there.
The second crew member
The requirement that surprises people is the second one. A bareboat charter in Greece expects a second competent crew member alongside the skipper, not just the certificate holder alone.
The reasoning is obvious once you are on the water. Someone has to take the helm while the skipper handles lines, someone has to keep watch, and if the skipper is unwell for a day the yacht still has to be moved. That second person does not need to hold the same qualification, but they do need to be capable of sailing the boat.
Both names go on the crew list, and at some bases the second crew member signs a declaration of their experience. It is a short form rather than an examination.
If your group is one certificate and five people who have never sailed, that is worth raising when you enquire rather than assuming it will be fine.
If nobody is qualified
This changes nothing about whether you can have the holiday. It changes which format you book.
Working out what you need
- Does someone on board hold a valid certificate with real experience? If yes, bareboat is open to you.
- Is there a second capable crew member alongside them? If not, add a skipper anyway and treat it as insurance.
- Nobody qualified, but you want to sail and be involved? Take a skippered charter. The skipper navigates, you help as much or as little as you like.
- Nobody qualified and you want the week handled for you? Take a crewed charter. No experience or licence is required.
- Two people travelling alone? A cabin charter puts you on a skippered yacht without booking the whole boat.
Adding a skipper to a bareboat booking is also possible after the fact, and it is the most common adjustment made between enquiry and confirmation. It costs the skipper’s fee and one berth, and for a crew that is honest about its experience it is money well spent.
Motor yachts
A sailing certificate is not automatically the right document for a motor yacht. They are different vessels handled in different ways, and the qualification asked for reflects that.
For a small motorboat, a powerboat licence is what is required rather than a sailing certificate, and the threshold at which one becomes necessary depends on the boat’s engine power and size. For anything of real size, the practical answer is that power yachts are chartered with a professional skipper or a full crew, and the question of your own licence does not arise.
If you hold a sailing certificate and are looking at a motor yacht, confirm before booking that it covers you for that specific boat. The answer is often no, and it is much easier to find out in advance.
It is worth saying what happens if a certificate is not accepted at check-in, because it does occasionally happen. The yacht does not leave without a qualified skipper on board, so the practical outcome is that a skipper is arranged at short notice and charged for, or the departure is delayed while it is sorted out. Neither is a disaster, and both are avoidable by sending a copy of the certificate when you enquire rather than producing it at the quay. If you hold a qualification that is unusual, or one issued outside Europe, ask early: confirming it takes a day, not a season.
The same applies to the crew list. Names, dates of birth and passport or identity card numbers are needed for everyone on board, including children, and the list is submitted before the yacht sails. Having it ready in advance turns check-in from an hour of paperwork into fifteen minutes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a licence to charter a yacht in Greece?
Only for a bareboat charter. At least one member of the crew must hold a valid sailing certificate and have sufficient sailing experience. Skippered, crewed and cabin charters require nothing from you.
Which sailing certificates are accepted?
Qualifications issued by the recognised authority or sailing federation of your own country, including national EU licences, the International Certificate of Competence and the main international training-body certificates. Confirm yours before booking.
Does everyone on board need a certificate?
No. One certificate holder is required, plus a second competent crew member who does not need the same qualification but must be able to sail the yacht.
What if nobody in the group is qualified?
Book a skippered or crewed charter, or add a professional skipper to a bareboat booking. No sailing experience or licence is required on either.
Does a sailing certificate cover a motor yacht?
Not necessarily. Motor yachts generally call for a powerboat licence rather than a sailing certificate, and larger power yachts are usually chartered with a skipper or crew.
Sources
- Royal Yachting Association, Greece, Country specific advice. https://www.rya.org.uk/boating-abroad/country-specific-advice/greece/
- Hellenic Coast Guard, Law 4256/2014, Tourist ships and other provisions (in Greek). https://isktheea.hcg.gr/nomothesia/%CE%9D.4256-14.pdf
- Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Insular Policy, Circular 3342.2.1/01/2014 on Law 4256/2014 (in Greek). https://www.ynanp.gr/media/documents/document_iHFORac.pdf
Send us your dates and group size, and tell us what anyone on board holds. We will come back with what you can take bareboat and what makes more sense with a skipper.
Send your dates and group size