GREECE

Athens

The capital of Greece, Athens, is a city nearly ten thousand years old and has always been world-known for its history and its people. Grab a Souvlaki sandwich, mediterranean-style grilled meat with vegetables in a pita, from a street food stand and make your way down to the ancient city centre. Towering above all stands the Acropolis, transformed from being a fortress to housing temple complexes dedicated to the greek gods , it is the most famous sight and embodies the cultural history of Greece. Giant temples, their entries embellished with the famous Doric columns are here to be marveled at. Certainly nightlife isn’t anywhere near being dull with lively bars, lovely restaurants and thrilling discos for you to discover. The marina of Athens is where we set sail towards other destinations on our journey through the Aegean Sea.

Lavrion

If you were looking for a more relaxed and chilled-out start into your Aegean yacht cruise adventure - then the harbor city of Lavrion might be the best suit for you! A lot smaller than Athens and definitely a whole lot less people, the city offers you the same qualities to dive into the adventure. Besides being an alternate starting point, Lavrion also has the best possibilities to go snorkeling, diving or just relaxing at the golden sand beach - and if you just wanted to savour the city itself, you will find delicious local cooking as well as inviting bars down by the marina.

Home to numerous vineyards, healing springs and calm, but modern villages - Kythnos has a lot to offer even by night! Nightlife is qualitative on the island with regional gourmet cuisine and fresh cheese that is produced on the island itself. Cycladean architecture inbetween fawn, barren hills with gorgeous sandy bays full of the turqouise mediterranean water.

If Syros’ nightlife wasn’t enough for you, Mykonos is famous for being a party island - attracting internationally famous DJs to the countless island clubs and bars as well as being open-minded and gay-friendly clubbing destination. By daylight Mykonos changes to a more postcard-like scenery with tiny churches, windmills and rocky landscape -definitely a sight to show off.

Paros

Paros is the island on this route with the most traditional greek charm - it seems as if time stood still on this island. Yet the island gives you the opportunity to try out different watersports at the plenty waterparks as well as the sandy bays you find on Paros.

Sitting right on top of an inactive volcano, the island of Milos really shines out on our route through the Aegean Sea. Thermal springs to visit and hot gas leaks to marvel are common on this island and the landscape is a different one. The most diverse coastline you can find in the whole mediterranean so to say, from white rugged cliffs to soft golden sand beaches - don’t you worry, it’s surely worth the coin! A special feature here are the Syrmata houses - Houses that are built on sea level for the fishermen to drive their boats into their colorful “garages”, definitely an amusing sight!

Kea First stop on our route is the mountainous island Kea and while getting closer you can already see the wreck of the Britannic - the sister ship of the famous Titanic. After hitting a german landmine in the first world war the ship sank and is now a sight lying on the shores of the island. Another notable sight is the Lion of Kea, a statue of a lion chiseled in granite that is nearly twenty feet long and ten feet tall - dated back to the 6th century BC. Other than that, this island is not too popular with tourists, so relaxing at the beaches or plenty bays is a must - the mediterranean heat and the rocky landscape is a nice view to have.

Sailing further from Kea across the Aegean Sea, our next recommended stop is Siros - the pearl of the greek culture. The charm of these tiny villages on the island, which stood true to their origin is genuine. Hills of lush green olive trees and your typical mediterranean island fauna of birds and reptiles - most notably though the mediterranean seal. The coast is characterized by caves and untouched beaches of golden sand. For the nightlife enthusiasts among yourselves is Syros also recommendable, gourmet restaurants and hip bars even a casino is waiting there for you.

Much more barren than Mykonos, Naxos has mostly the same look - the typical cycladean architecture of white square houses with the rocky landscape going into a pebble beach with a pearl blue water right underneath. A beautiful old town with ancient ruins and stories to tell from times long ago and temple complexes, that unfortunately never got finished - all of this is easily explored on a day trip. For the aces among you: Wind- & Kitesurfing is also possible with the strong Meltemi winds blowing towards the island.

For the real holiday feeling, visit the island of Kos - more than 12 miles of pure golden sand beaches around the whole island, a plethora of delicious local restaurants and lively bars, shopping streets with charming boutiques. Because of the elongated shape of the island, it really does not matter where you are - the beach is always just a jump away. Hop off your yacht and enjoy the greek culture!

Kalymnos is a really mountainous and interesting island. Segmented in mountainous hill ranges and valleys of whitewashed stone houses, the island has a different shape compared to the others - which makes hiking trips much more interesting here. The valleys also offer smaller, more private beaches of golden sand with calm, turquoise waters. Step away from all the noise and enjoy the silence of these bays.

A paradise for nature lovers, the island of Leros flaunts you with untouched and unspoilt nature with forests of pine, oak, eucalyptus and your typical regional olive groves - a green oasis for those looking for rest and relaxation. Another impressive sight is the fortress built by the Knight of St. John in the 14th century throning on top of a hill and overlooking most of the island itself.

One of the smaller dodecanese islands, Lipsi is surrounded by more than a dozen of tiny islets - so no matter where you go, you will always discover something new. Hidden sea caves, vivid underwater animal life and plenty of bays of golden sand to choose from - the possibilities are never ending!

Although being a very small island compared to the other Dodecanese, Patmos is more important than it seems. A very important place of pilgrimage for the greek-orthodox community with one of the most important monasteries situated on the island: The monastery of St. John. Also the birthplace of the Book of Revelation - so, as you can see a really important place for christian culture. Other than that, the island has a characteristic landscape with green hills of mediterranean forests and a lot of lonesome, crystal clear blue bays to relax in.

Rhodes

Pale, rugged rocky shoreline and crystalline water - the two most mediterranean features as seen on nearly every Aegean island. What makes Rhodes much more than this, is its colorful and rich history - so rich that even at times they had a giant bronze statue dedicated to the sun god Helios to watch over their harbor. Step foot into the old town and delve into times long ago, but not forgotten as this island has had nearly a dozen different peoples leave their footprints. Also known as the “Island of the Sun”, Rhodes has all year long radiant sunshine to offer and hot summery temperatures. Being the largest of the Dodecanese islands, everybody finds something worth their time: relaxing, shopping, adventurous day trips or just enjoying greek culture and local cuisine.

Colorful houses, more than a whole lot monasteries and chapels, a really rugged shoreline and views to the island of Rhodes and the neighbouring land of Turkey. A whopping number of 364 monasteries and chapels can be found on this tiny island and most importantly the Panormitis monastery dedicated to the holy archangel Michael with a worthy museum right next to it.

Untouched, unspoilt nature in the form of naked, tan hills and valleys of lush, green forests and ever-bubbling springs - combined with an animal life that is more than vibrant and unmatched in its diversity, no surprise that this island was the inspiration for poets and painters alike. Enjoy your stay on this beautiful piece of island and savour every last bit - Tilos is a gorgeous place and will leave its mark.

Sitting on the volcanic island of Nisyros, the harbor town of Mandraki flaunts you with its gorgeous marina surrounded by the whitewashed stone houses typical for the Aegean. Fancy, little local restaurants and inviting bars are right next to the sea and if you were to explore the island itself - that’s where Nisyros really shines: Being purely of volcanic origin, the inland is dominated by its caldera - the Stefanos crater - and the shorelines are all kinds of diverse. The southern and western coastline is rugged and full of cliffs, so anchoring here and enjoying the lonesome bays of deep blue crystalline waters is a must - if you were looking for a more relaxing and complete experience, the northern as well as the eastern coastline is gorgeous with the light brown volcanic sand beaches and lovely restaurants and bars all around.