There is no single answer to this, but there is a rule behind it: the further ahead you book, the more you are choosing, and the closer you leave it, the more you are accepting. Both can produce a good week. They just work differently.
The Greek sailing season runs from April to October. Within that window, some weeks are effectively sold out months in advance and others are still open a fortnight before departure. Which of the two you are dealing with depends almost entirely on the dates you have picked and how specific you are about the yacht.
Here is how the season actually fills, and what is still realistic at each stage. If you already know your dates, the fleet is the place to start.
How the season fills
Charter availability does not run down evenly. It goes in waves, and the waves are driven by school holidays rather than by weather.
Bookings for the following summer begin in the autumn, as soon as the current season closes and the next year’s calendar opens. Through the winter the specific yachts start to go: the newest models, the larger catamarans and anything with a layout that suits a big group. By spring the fleet is still substantial, but the choice within any given week has narrowed to what is left rather than what you would have picked.
What disappears first is not availability in general. It is the combination of a particular yacht, a particular base and a particular Saturday. Two of those three are usually still gettable at short notice. All three together are not.
Peak weeks
July and August are the peak, and within them the middle of August is the tightest fortnight of the year. Greek and Italian holidays overlap with the rest of Europe, the catamarans go first, and the larger yachts of every type follow.
If your dates fall in that window and you are not flexible about them, book the winter before. That is not a sales line. It is arithmetic: there are only so many yachts in each base, and most of them are chartered on the same Saturday-to-Saturday cycle.
The same applies to any group large enough to need a specific boat. A crew of eight who need four cabins and four bathrooms are choosing from a much smaller pool than a couple, and that pool empties earliest.
Shoulder season
May, June, September and October are the months that experienced charterers quietly prefer. The weather is excellent, the crowds are smaller, the harbours are not full at six in the evening and the sea is warm from June onwards.
Availability behaves differently here. There is more of it, it lasts longer, and a booking made two or three months ahead will usually still give you a real choice of yacht. Even six weeks out is often enough outside the peak.
| Month | What the week is like | How far ahead |
|---|---|---|
| April | Season opening, cooler, quiet harbours, changeable weather | A few months, often less |
| May | Excellent weather, few crowds, sea still cool | Two to four months |
| June | Warm, long days, harbours filling but not full | Three to six months |
| July | Peak, hot, busy harbours, everything running | The winter before |
| August | The busiest fortnight of the year in the middle of the month | The winter before |
| September | Excellent weather, warm sea, crowds thinning | Two to four months |
| October | Quiet, warm sea, season winding down | A few months, often less |
Last minute
Late bookings are not a lost cause. Cancellations happen, bases release yachts that have not gone, and a week that looked full in March can have four boats free in June.
What changes is the order of the questions. Instead of choosing a yacht and then a week, you start from what is free and work backwards. If you can move your dates by a few days, or take a different base, or accept a yacht a year or two older than the one you had in mind, a good last-minute charter is entirely possible, especially outside July and August.
What rarely works at short notice is a specific catamaran, in a specific marina, on a specific August Saturday, for a group of ten. If that is the plan, the plan needs months rather than weeks.
What you lose by waiting
Waiting costs choice before it costs anything else. The first thing to go is the yacht you actually wanted, then the base that suits your flights, then the week itself.
There is a second, quieter cost. Booking early gives you time to arrange the parts of the trip that are easier when nobody is in a hurry: flights that land at a sensible hour, a skipper if you decide you want one, provisioning organised in advance, dietary requirements passed on properly. Booked three weeks out, all of that becomes a scramble.
What waiting does not usually buy you is a better boat. The yachts that are still free late in the day are the ones that were not everyone’s first choice in January, and that is the trade you are making.
What to send when enquiring
Whatever stage of the cycle you are at, an enquiry gets answered faster when it contains the things a charter office actually needs to check availability.
Send these and you will get a real answer
- Your dates, and whether they can move by a few days
- How many people, and how many of them are couples
- Cabins and bathrooms you need, rather than a yacht length
- Whether you want it bareboat, skippered or fully crewed
- Whether anyone on board holds a sailing certificate
- The area or base you have in mind, or that you are open to suggestions
- Anything fixed: flights already booked, a celebration, mobility needs
That list takes two minutes to write and saves a week of back and forth. Common questions about licences, payments and what is included are answered on the FAQs page, which is worth reading before the first enquiry rather than after it.
One more thing worth knowing: an enquiry does not commit you to anything. Availability can usually be held for a short period while you confirm flights or check with the rest of the group, which is far better than losing a week to indecision.
Frequently Asked Questions
When should I book a yacht charter in Greece?
For July and August, the winter before. For the rest of the season, a few months ahead is usually enough to have a real choice of yacht.
When is the sailing season in Greece?
The season runs from April to October, with May, June, September and October offering excellent weather and fewer crowds.
Can I still find a yacht at the last minute?
Often, yes, particularly outside the peak. Cancellations free up boats through the season, but you choose from what is available rather than from the whole fleet.
Which weeks sell out first?
The middle of August, followed by the rest of July and August. Larger yachts and catamarans go earliest in any week because there are fewer of them.
Does booking early get me a better yacht?
It gets you the choice. Early in the cycle you pick the yacht and then the week; late in the cycle the availability picks for you.
Sources
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Greece, Official holidays. https://www.mfa.gr/missionsabroad/en/singapore-en/about-us/official-holidays.html
- Hellenic Coast Guard, Law 4256/2014: Tourist vessels and other provisions (in Greek). https://isktheea.hcg.gr/nomothesia/%CE%9D.4256-14.pdf
- Royal Yachting Association, Greece – Country specific advice. https://www.rya.org.uk/boating-abroad/country-specific-advice/greece/
Send us your dates and the size of your group and we will come back with what is actually free, whether that is next August or a fortnight from now.
Send your dates and group size