Greece & the Cyclades

The Cyclades are best just before and just after the peak. June, or September into early October, gives you warm water and long days without the August fleet and the meltemi, the hard northerly that funnels through the islands in high summer and dictates when boats move and when they do not. The shoulders are calmer on the water and quieter ashore.

Thirteen nights, a city and then the sea. A few days in Athens to begin, then a chartered yacht through the Cyclades for the length of the trip, Milos, Folegandros, Delos and Santorini among them, with the route set by the wind rather than a fixed schedule. The boat is the accommodation and the freedom; it is the difference between seeing the islands and queuing for them.

Athens rewards an early start, the Acropolis before the heat and the crowds, the Acropolis Museum, and Cape Sounion at the end of the day. On the water it is Delos, the sacred island you cannot sleep on; the volcanic coast and the sea caves of Milos at Kleftiko; the quiet of Folegandros; and Santorini seen properly, from the caldera at anchor, rather than from the cruise-ship rail. Swimming off the boat is most of the day and none the worse for it.

The aviation and the sea share the work. Athens takes long-range aircraft; the island airfields at Mykonos, Santorini and Paros handle smaller types and turboprops, but the yacht is the better spine and the meltemi makes island flying unreliable in July and August in any case. We join you to the boat at the most convenient port and let it carry the trip.

Among our preferred hotel partners we use the Four Seasons Astir Palace and the Hotel Grande Bretagne in Athens, and a chartered motor yacht through the Cyclades, with Canaves Oia held on Santorini for anyone who wants a night ashore.

Ask your advisor about the Acropolis before opening, a chartered yacht rather than the ferries, and Santorini taken from the water at anchor.