Charter company recommendation for Greece - Turkey?

[aquadreams]

Greetings, oh wise CF members.

We're thinking of doing a charter in Greece or Turkey in October of this year. I'm hoping someone can make recommendations for a charter company or broker, since I'm not familiar with the charter operators in the region.

Specs would be a monohull in the 40-50' range. Bareboat, I'll skipper it myself. Interested in the the Cyclades and / or the Dodecanese regions. Really want to include Turkey since more interested in this versus Santorini or other heavily touristed Greek islands.

We're also interested doing a one way if that's possible, and ideally 10-14 days. Has anyone here done a one-way, maybe starting in Athens and drop off in Kos, Rhodes, or Bodrum?

Do charter companies offering one-ways allow you to start in Greece and drop off in Turkey? I ask because the ones I seen seem to start and end in only in Greece.

Thanks much!

Joe

[sveinung]

Subscribing to this one! Planning on the same for June. been looking at dream yacht charters, I like that you can pick between different makes, years and models instead of what size Jeanneau you want.
I'd rather have a more interesting 5, or 10 year old boat than a brand new one.

[yeloya]

Originally Posted by aquadreams

Greetings, oh wise CF members.

We're thinking of doing a charter in Greece or Turkey in October of this year. I'm hoping someone can make recommendations for a charter company or broker, since I'm not familiar with the charter operators in the region.

Specs would be a monohull in the 40-50' range. Bareboat, I'll skipper it myself. Interested in the the Cyclades and / or the Dodecanese regions. Really want to include Turkey since more interested in this versus Santorini or other heavily touristed Greek islands.

We're also interested doing a one way if that's possible, and ideally 10-14 days. Has anyone here done a one-way, maybe starting in Athens and drop off in Kos, Rhodes, or Bodrum?

Do charter companies offering one-ways allow you to start in Greece and drop off in Turkey? I ask because the ones I seen seem to start and end in only in Greece.

Thanks much!

Joe

Hi Joe,

We do offer bareboat charters starting from Turkey and ending in Turkey but it's allowed to visit Greek islands , if you wish so. One way also is possible but again you have to start in Turkey and finish in another location in Turkey. If you send me a PM, I can provide you with more details.

Cheers

Yeloya

[comesatime]

Check out:

https://www.istion.com/offers-and-deals

and

http://www.sailingissues.com/

You can contact the owner Diederik Willemsen for charter recommendations...

[DEAN2140]

I've chartered several times in both countries. The majors are Dream Yacht and Sunsail and they both are more than adequate. I like to have a relatively new boat so have favored DY but I would be guided by what types of boats are available in their fleet at the time you want to go and of course the price.

You can do one way charters in most places but you will pay substantially more than for a round trip. We did a two week jaunt in the Cyclades and never saw the same island twice so there is really no reason for a one way, in my opinion.

I doubt if you could leave the boat in a different country from where you began your charter, but you can inquire.

[captstu]

The licensing requirements for a batr Boat Greek charters seem very difficult to meet. I am a retired Master with the Coast Guard license and my son is a very experienced sailor and while they would provisionally except me they would not except him.

This is even after trying a company we chartered with before and asking them for referrals.

Great charter seem to of turned into a racket. Last time I chartered It was not difficult. Now, not possible. 17 of us had 2 big Cats in the virgin islands last year. Had two big model halls in Greece about 10 years ago. I guess with no accidents they feel were not capable any longer.

[Dooglas]

Originally Posted by sveinung

I'd rather have a more interesting 5, or 10 year old boat than a brand new one.

The reason that most boats in the charter trade are near new is that bareboat charters are pretty hard on a boat. Have you every looked at a boat which has been in bareboat charter for 5-10 years?

[P3sailor]

Sunsail offers some very nice packages. I've chartered from them and was very pleased, very friendly and easy to deal with. Never chartered from any other company but would guess that many are very similar or they wouldn't be in business too long.

[MartinR]

Offshore sailing (OSSYC) in Marmaris, Turkey. I have not chartered with them, but my boat was moored for one year at their base. This is an extremely professional outfit with very well maintained boats.

Also, Marmaris is in a very good location, with very good cruising areas nearby. October is perfect, the water is still warm, and the place is not crowded. Beginning November, water is still 20-22 and you have the whole area to yourself.

[Laowai]

I chartered a Bavaria 51 out of Athens last May, we went with a smaller/local company called Kiriacoulis. I’m sure a google search will turn them up. Of note, I am an experienced sailor but do not hold a CG license and had no trouble arranging the charter.

The boat was in good shape, slightly more used than the one-year old catamarans you see in The Moorings BVI fleet but perfectly acceptable for our needs. I would use Kiriacoulis again and can recommend them.

One thing I would do differently is starting from Athens. We did a Cyclades Islands circuit and essentially wasted one day sailing down at the beginning and another back up at the end. Each day is precious on a charter vacation and if I did it again I’d pay to have the boat delivered somewhere in the islands to maximize time.

A couple other observations: Mykonos was awful, overrun by cruise ships and tour groups; with so many better islands nearby I would never go back. Paros was a favorite among our group; we anchored in a bay near Naousa right off of an amazing seafood restaurant called Siparos that had a dinghy dock. Ended up not wanting to leave and staying several days, one year later we still talk about the delicious grilled octopus!

Feel free to PM me with any questions.

[suedstern1]

You will not be able to start in Greece and finish in Turkey or vice versa. But you can visit the other country in between. Clearing processes will be around 300 € depending on the port of entry used.
I can recommend GMM in Marmaris, quite new boats in a range from 36 to 64 foot and very professional team.
Weather in October can be a little challenging.. take care on upcomung southerlies
Btw both countries offer a lot of possibilities for a two week charter, from my point of view no need to change the country


Fred

[DEAN2140]

Originally Posted by captstu

The licensing requirements for a batr Boat Greek charters seem very difficult to meet. I am a retired Master with the Coast Guard license and my son is a very experienced sailor and while they would provisionally except me they would not except him.

This is even after trying a company we chartered with before and asking them for referrals.

Great charter seem to of turned into a racket. Last time I chartered It was not difficult. Now, not possible. 17 of us had 2 big Cats in the virgin islands last year. Had two big model halls in Greece about 10 years ago. I guess with no accidents they feel were not capable any longer.

The licensing is becoming more stringent. Many companies ask for an International Certificate of Competency (ICC) which requires completion of bareboat courses. I recently chartered in Corsica with Dream Yachts and they initially wouldn't accept me, though I have chartered with them and others before. I mentioned my CG license and they said it was only good for inland waters. In fact, I pointed out it is good for 100 miles offshore so they gave me the green light. Who knows what will be required next time?

[Rigamarole]

Originally Posted by MartinR

Offshore sailing (OSSYC) in Marmaris, Turkey. I have not chartered with them, but my boat was moored for one year at their base. This is an extremely professional outfit with very well maintained boats.

Also, Marmaris is in a very good location, with very good cruising areas nearby. October is perfect, the water is still warm, and the place is not crowded. Beginning November, water is still 20-22 and you have the whole area to yourself.

Of course Offshore Sailing is the same company that Yeloya owns from his post earlier in this tread. I can second a recommendation for this company and there are many here on the Cruisers Forum who can third to twentieth the company. Their boats are older than many companies but meticulously maintained.

Marmaris is in a great location to start a trip as you can see some of the best and pretty bays in Turkey for 4 or 5 days, head over to Rhodes, visit Symi and Tilos, then head back to Marmaris. The bay of Marmaris is one of the prettiest that I've seen.

The standard islands that American's go to are the worst to visit with a boat. Absolutely stay away from Santorini. Only visit via ferry. Mykonos can be nice if you know how to get away from the main village but there are so many more places to visit that are better. Naousa on Paros is one of my favorites and we went there often. It's too far away from Turkey to do in a couple weeks time.

Back to Rhodes - there is nothing like sailing into Mandraki Harbor between the Dama Dama deer. Yeloya has an agent there that expedites paperwork who is worth twice what he charges. He can also arrange assistance in Symi, which is worthwhile because the med mooring there is a true goat rodeo. If you go out of Marmaris let us know here on this thread and we can offer some very good advise on the route.

[Chalifour]

Check
Sk-Yachting.com out of Marmaris YachtMarine, Turkey. We know them well as they service our yacht during the winter.
Their yachts are well prepared and they provide assistance 24/7 to their customers. Nice and friendly people. Check on the possibility of sailing the Greek islands but we regularly see their ships in the Dodécanèse and the eastern Sporades. Good luck, fall is the best time to sail those areas!

[t588143]

We have chartered with Sailbest, operated by Dutch people. Boats are almost new, well maintained and clean.

https://www.sailbest.nl/index.php?mo...hlg&newLang=en