Greece charter info needed

[huntexpress]

Hello all, we will be chartering out of Rhodes the last week of May for 3 weeks. I have. A few questions

1. We are using ISTION YACHTING. so far they seem competent. Has anyone had any negative experiences with them?

2. Departing Rhodes heading to Santorini. Any suggestions on anchorage locations In Santorini, Milos or any others you can recommend

3. Any areas you would recommend to stay away from?

4. We would like to dive in Santorini, milos, and Rhodes. It seems there are numerous locations. Does anyone have any favorite spots. We will have gear onboard. No dive charters needed[emoji106]

Any other information you have to offer would be wonderful.

[meirriba]

Santorini is not a great place for mooring. However it is possible either in the marina on the east end of the island (need careful entry) or below the town on a buoy near the ferry dock.
I found that the best solution is to stop at Ios and go to Santorini by ferry.

[huntexpress]

Thanks for the info.

[yeloya]

Originally Posted by huntexpress

Hello all, we will be chartering out of Rhodes the last week of May for 3 weeks. I have. A few questions

1. We are using ISTION YACHTING. so far they seem competent. Has anyone had any negative experiences with them?

2. Departing Rhodes heading to Santorini. Any suggestions on anchorage locations In Santorini, Milos or any others you can recommend

3. Any areas you would recommend to stay away from?

4. We would like to dive in Santorini, milos, and Rhodes. It seems there are numerous locations. Does anyone have any favorite spots. We will have gear onboard. No dive charters needed[emoji106]

Any other information you have to offer would be wonderful.

Isthion can deliver the boat anywhere from Athens to Dodocanese. They are not particularly well established in Rhodes but it shouldn't be a big problem.

Departing from Rhodes to Santorini is not a good idea.. That's hell a lot of upwind saiiling, long way and will miss couple of good spots. After Rhodes, go to Chalki alongside the Rhodes with the wind on the beam. 2 nm before Chalki there is a splending anchorage in Alimia logoon. (no restaurants or jetty..) Then turn up to Simi, either to the port of Simi or to Panormitis on the west edge of the island. Then to the north west to Nsiros where there is a good marina and couple of good restaurants. Spend one day, rent a car or bike and go the vulcano, worth a trip. Then Astipalia and finally Santorini or Ios. Santorini has no anchorage and the marine is messy; plenty of swells and shallow water on the entry. (39 ft Bavaria remained stack in front of me..)

You have 3 weeks , why rushing.. Santorini, Mikanos will be windy, I mean WINDYYYYY... If you are not experienced you will have hard time, hence spend more time in Dodocanese..

Cheers

Yeloya

[huntexpress]

Truly wonderful. Looking into. Thanks so much for the help

[DMCantor]

Beware...

We had a terrific charter from Corfu, but the first boat we were given had a major bedbug infestation. We did not accept the charter company's assurance that a quick spritz from the exterminator would solve the problem, and ended up on another boat. Important to check before heading out!

[huntexpress]

Would you be willing to provide yacht size. Name of the people that took care of you Also the condition. We will be chartering a 2011 Sun odyssey 409. The pics that they sent were boiler plate charter pics. When asked for actual pics they replied the boat was just coming out of winter storage. They did send a couple. However it was hard to see the condition completely. They assured us that it would be wonderful and well maintained. Any further info you can provide would be extremely helpful. Cheers👍

[Stakaman]

http://www.odysseysailing.gr/index.html
I worked for them for 2 seasons .large fleet and many options !! Check them out ...

[beirutsailor]

Originally Posted by yeloya

Isthion can deliver the boat anywhere from Athens to Dodocanese. They are not particularly well established in Rhodes but it shouldn't be a big problem.

Departing from Rhodes to Santorini is not a good idea.. That's hell a lot of upwind saiiling, long way and will miss couple of good spots. After Rhodes, go to Chalki alongside the Rhodes with the wind on the beam. 2 nm before Chalki there is a splending anchorage in Alimia logoon. (no restaurants or jetty..) Then turn up to Simi, either to the port of Simi or to Panormitis on the west edge of the island. Then to the north west to Nsiros where there is a good marina and couple of good restaurants. Spend one day, rent a car or bike and go the vulcano, worth a trip. Then Astipalia and finally Santorini or Ios. Santorini has no anchorage and the marine is messy; plenty of swells and shallow water on the entry. (39 ft Bavaria remained stack in front of me..)

You have 3 weeks , why rushing.. Santorini, Mikanos will be windy, I mean WINDYYYYY... If you are not experienced you will have hard time, hence spend more time in Dodocanese..

Cheers

Yeloya

Very true that Santorini is not a good place for mooring. However, it may come as a surprise that this once most beautiful island is now a nightmare, what with huge cruise ships and day tourist via plane and ferries making the streets almost impassable and the famous architecture invisible. Luckliy, we cruisers have alternatives, as noted by others.

[huntexpress]

2 of the main reasons why we are thinking Santorini. The reviews for diving. And there are a few things my wife would like to see. Personally I like to stay off the beaten path. I am open to any suggestions. Alternative locations. If they should pursued my wife to choose something different... that wouldn't hurt my feelings.. keep the info coming.

[Stakaman]

If you need dive centers at santorini , dive with them !!!
http://navyswaterworld.gr/
And for sure you have to take the night dive they offer .
Also they have some very interesting deep dive courses !!

[huntexpress]

Thanks I will certainly look into them.

[DougAnnapolis]

WE did a bare boat charter in Greece two years ago.
Kiriokoulas (sp?) Here are my suggestions:
* check everything - you might think the boat is 100% ready to go, but remember the boats go out with pretty sketchy people, they come back beat up.
so Check the windlass ( I had to re-wire our windlass ) and you need the ability to anchor in Greece.
* check the refrig - what are all the switches you need to have on to keep the refrig function.
* check the chart plotter - does it have charts for all the of areas you are visiting?
* check the gang-plank - you will need this to exist from med-mooring.
* check all of the nav lights - are they functioning.
* re cell coverage - if you need cell coverage or plan to use your iPad, make sure - when you buy a SIM card that you all - and I mean all of the log in codes. Once you leave the mainland, you won't get tech support from anyone. Test drive your iPad or cell phone in the shop and make sure you purchase from a manager. the Store clerks are happy to sell you anything, but if you have trouble , the next day - they won't be there.

bottom line - we had a great time sailing (bare boat) in Greece. we did not go as far as santorino but loved all of the small islands along the way. Hydras was our favorite. People are great, Greek gov. is totally screwed up, but that does not interfere with tourists.

[huntexpress]

That is very useful information. It sounds like we will need to perform a complete survey and spend a few hours triple checking all systems. Thanks to all who are offering advice.

[patprice]

The Ionian Islands are wonderful! But do not tell anyone.