Cyclades Islands
The crown jewel of the Aegean Sea
When people say that they love sailing in the Greek islands, it is usually the Cyclades islands thay are talking about. Geografically, the Cyclades is a group of islands lying in the middle of the Aegean Sea that form an imaginary circle around the island of Delos (that’s near Mykonos) . These unique Greek islands are distinguished worldwide for their rough, rocky and elemental landscape, their white washed houses and windmills, narrow paths with colorful pots and flowers, brilliant clear blue seas and most recently their never ending nightlife in some of them.
As a starting base for a yacht charter in the CYCLADES, EASY SAILING suggests either Lavrion close to Athens or Parikia port in Paros island. Alimos marina in Athens is also an option due to its volume and choice of charter yachts based there, but it takes about 3 hours more to reach the Cyclades islands compared to Lavrion.
- Itineraries
- Cyclades Area Places
1 Week Itinerary from/to PAROS island including Mykonos and Santorini …
Cyclades Sailing Itinerary 10 days – departure Lavrion or Alimos …
1 Week CYCLADES sailing Itinerary One-Way from Athens to PAROS …
CyClades Map
Talking about sailing holidays in the Greek islands, we should look at the winds of the area:
The prevailing wind in the summer months is the one coming from North and is well known as the “Meltemi”.
It begins to blow in mid June, gets strongest in mid/late July and most in August and fades out by the begining of September. In July and August the wind blows at force 5-6 and may reach force 7-8. It may blow for 1-3 days or sometimes blow for 4-5 days in a row. During the rest of the months of the year the wind force is less (around force 3-4 Beaufort scale).
TIP: In the Northern Cyclades (islands of Andros, Tinos, Mykonos, Kea, Syros etc.) it blows from North-North East.
In the Middle Cyclades (islands of Paros, Naxos, Kthnos, Serifos, Donousa, Amorgos etc.) from the North.
In the Southern Cyclades (islands of Ios, Milos, Sifnos, Sikinos, Santorini, etc.) it turns North-North West.
In the South West Cycladic islands (South of Sifnos, in Milos, Folegandros islands) it is significantly less strong.
In spring and autumn, it is possible to meet winds coming from the South and South West. In general, the Aegean is much more demanding in terms of sailing skills and experience than in other areas of Greece therefore, it is advisable the Cyclades route is chosen for a minimum two weeks sailing holiday. In case 7 days sail yacht charter in the Greek islands is the only option, then the captain / charterer should be aware in advance of the prevailing weather conditions and keep close to the return base.
People wishing to SAIL FOR 1 WEEK onLY in the Aegean sea in order to see the 2 famous islands of Myconos & Santorini may need also to check the following information.
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