Skiathos Flotilla in Greece

To charter a yacht bareboat or on flotilla you should be Day Skipper standard and be assisted by at least one competent crew.

At present you need an RYA Day Skipper qualification or RYA International Certificate of Competence (ICC) for charters in Croatia, Montenegro, Mallorca, Tenerife and Malta.

The RYA ICC will be ever more required by overseas port authorities but if you have skipper experience it is easily obtained in a day from RYA sailing schools in the UK such as Hamilton Sailing or Brixham Sea School

Whether you are an experienced sailor or setting foot on a yacht for the first time, we can offer you a holiday afloat to suit you. We have given all the sailing areas a level with 'Experience Level 1' suitable for less experienced crews and 'Experience Level 3' for the experts.    

This takes into account the wind strength, tidal range and currents, distances between stops and ease of mooring. Of course even experts may choose to sail in Level 1 areas as they still offer stunning scenery and great sailing.

Experience Level 1: Ionian

Generally light winds Force 2-4, line of sight navigation, shorter sailing distances under 20nm. You will be Day Skipper standard having sailed at least 1 week or 100nm as skipper

Experience Level 2: Saronic Gulf & Sporades

Stronger winds up to Force 3-5 with some longer passages up to 30nm. You will be Day Skipper standard having sailed at least 2 weeks or 200nm as skipper

Experience Level 3: Aegean & Dodecanese

Stronger winds up to Force 4-7 which can lead to bigger seas on long passages between the islands. You will be Coastal Skipper standard with experience to a higher level having sailed at least 4 weeks or 400nm as skipper

The October 2011 issue of Sailing Today had a Charter Special report by Joe Adams who went on his first flotilla in Skiathos with girlfriend Emma Lucas.  A rusty Day Skipper more use to racing than cruising, Joe didn’t take long  to master stern-to mooring and have a wonderful trip. “I felt like I had had an adventure and Emma was suitably tanned and relaxed. Mission complete.” Click here to read the article >>

The island of Skopelos is your favourite in the Sporades. There's two harbours - Skopelos town and Glossa - both small, traditional and unashamedly Greek. There are some lovely beaches and anchorages, such as the pine-clad bay of Panormos. The secluded inlet on the south side of the bay features in Michael Carroll’s Gates of the Wind, which describes these enchanted islands before tourism. Watch out for the chapel on the cliff at Kastri where the wedding scene of the movie ‘Mamma Mia’ was shot.

If there’s one thing that sets Skiathos apart from some of the other Greek islands, it has to be the beaches. And the best one is at Koukounaries on the south west coast. It's been called the best beach in Greece. It’s a particularly eye-catching crescent-shaped sweep of soft, golden sand, fringed with palm trees, that looks like it might have been transported to Skiathos grain by grain from the Caribbean.

The Alonnisos Marine Park is a protected habitat for the Monk Seal, one of the largest seals in the world but now numbering only 600 worldwide, making it one of the most endangered mammals in the world. These shy seals have tried to avoid human contact by breeding in the underwater coastal caves of Alonnnisos, rather than on beaches but this is more dangerous for the new born pups which have a high mortality rate.