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Yacht & Catamaran Charter in Corfu, Greece

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Corfu yacht and catamaran charter

Sailing from Corfu

It's easy to see why sailors rave about the Ionian islands as they offer perfect conditions for sailing - brilliant sunshine, warm and reliable winds, and plenty of islands with anchorages and marinas to explore. People have been sailing around here for thousands of years, and the Ionian is a sea that has been traversed by Odysseus and Achilles, amongst millions more.

From Corfu, you'd usually explore the North Ionian: the beautiful Paxi islands offer stunning cliffs, clear beaches, and great places to snorkel; Parga, on the mainland is a colourful village built around the marina with tavernas serving the freshest seafood; there's incredible beaches along the coast of Corfu; and the fantastic authentic fishing villages of Sagiada and Petriti. We can help you find and book your ideal yacht or catamaran, with one of our trusted Charter Partners - just get in touch or search in the pink box with live prices and availability!
 

Must See if you're Sailing from Corfu

 SAILING RATING:  Beginner - With easy line-of-sight navigation, clear waters and light winds it's a great start point for sailors (and an easy cruising ground for experienced ones).  Peak season is July & August, but you can sail here from March to October.

 MUST-SEE:  Our full suggested itinerary is further down the page, but we'd highly recommend taking in the authentic fishing village of Petriti, the beautiful islands of Paxos and Antipaxos, and picture-postcard Parga.

 WHAT WE CAN OFFER:  We have a great range of yachts and catamarans available for charter from our trusted Charter Partners, all available bareboat or Skippered. We can also arrange a Hostess, Personal Chef and other crew.

 GETTING THERE:  The Marina is only 20 minutes from Corfu Airport. We can organise transfers for you - a 4 person taxi is c. €40 - 50.

 WHY BOOK WITH US?  We only work with the very best professional charter operators, who we have met, know, and trust to give you the same outstanding customer service as you'll get from PlainSailing.com.
 

 WHAT NEXT?  Use the pink box to search for yachts or catamarans with LIVE pricing & availability - if you have any other questions or requests, get in touch via Live Chat, the Contact Form, or by phone.

We're yacht and catamaran charter experts, and can find you the best boats in Greece, Croatia and anywhere else in the Med or Caribbean - yacht, catamaran or superyacht-bareboat, skippered or crewed

We're UK based, only work with the best Charter Companies, offer exceptional customer service from start to finish and will match any price!
 
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6-day Sailing Itinerary from Corfu

Corfu is big enough to offer plenty of things to explore without even leaving the island, but there are outstanding sandy beaches and clear seas throughout the region, and it is a pleasure to sail around them. You could head off in almost any direction from Corfu and come across a pretty fishing village, a beautiful secluded bay, or a long sandy beach before long – so it's not always vital that you have a rigid plan for your holiday before you go - often it’s best to see what the wind is doing, and plan your route from there. Of note, Paxos and Antipaxos are areas of outstanding natural beauty, Petriti and Sagiarda are cute fishing villages, and Parga is a lively and spectacular-looking tourist town.

Corfu 6 day sailing itineraryThis is a 6-day itinerary which takes in the very best that the North Ionian, with a diverse mix of towns, beaches and hidden gems so that you can make the most of your time on a luxury private boat. It's only 6 days because often you might not get checked-in and stocked up on the first day until it's too late to do any meaningful sailing.

In total, this route is 98 nM and covers the best parts of Corfu and the surrounding area - so you’ll be able to say that you’ve literally seen it all! This means sailing an average of just under 20 nM a day. An average yacht should be able to travel at over 5 knots an hour, so most days should be fairly relaxed and you should have plenty of time to stop at bays and beaches as you pass them if you wish.
 

 Day 1. Gouvia to Sagiada – 16 nM Sagiada
Check that everything is stowed below deck, check that no other yachts are moving off, and lets get out of here! You can go early to beat the traffic, or go late in the hope that the boats next to you have already left, so you have an easier start to the week. Wave to Gouvia town as you meander out of the marina, then point the nose of the boat in a South-Easterly direction like a pro. After a couple of miles, you’ll get a brilliant view of Corfu old town on the starboard side, with its imposing fortress making an interesting backdrop for your first photos to send home.

After admiring the old town, we're heading off pretty much due East - it should be a straightforward reach across the prevailing wind to end up at delightful Sagiada. Sagiada is technically on the Greek mainland, and only a few kilometres from the Albanian border, but it has a real island feel to it, and it takes hours to drive to the nearest big town. One of the local tavernas here - Alekos - claims to offer the freshest (and tastiest) prawns in the Med, so if you're a fan of seafood, you really ought to give them a go!
 

 Day 2. Sagiada to Sivota Mourtos – 16 nM Sivota Mourtos
From Sagiada, we're following the beautiful Ionian coast-line south to our next port of call. There's plenty of bays you could stop at along the way to Sivota Mourtos - feel free to stop somewhere, throw down the anchor and dive in. You should be running with the prevailing wind, and, if you’re feeling up to it, you could even throw in a bit of goose-winging for the thrill of it.

Sivota is a name you’ll come across a lot as it used to be used to name the safest port in the area. Regrettably, the moniker ‘Mourtos’ means death in Greek, and it recalls the massacre of the Turkish army here in 680 BC! Thankfully, the bay has been transformed from a graveyard into a very cute Greek village with the best views of the sunset in the whole Ionian (so grab a drink or your camera, and settle in).

Owing to the fact that this is also a popular tourist resort with landlubbers, there's a great choice of places to eat, drink and relax. The islands nearby also offer great places to bathe if you want to get a little further away from the beaten track.
 

 Day 3. Sivota Mourtos to Parga – 13 nM Parga
From Mourtos, we're just hopping through the islands and around the Greek mainland to nearby Parga, which is a popular tourist resort with young and old alike, and which will be our last big town for the week (so stock up here for a few days to avoid paying excessive island prices).

Follow the coast South then South-East, with the prevailing wind behind you, and Parga will appear all of a sudden on the port side – a glorious amphitheatre of buildings perched on the hillside around the bay. If you couldn't see it for yourself, you really would imagine that it was photoshopped, and it’s about as picture-postcard as you can get.

Parga itself is a delightful place to stroll around, with narrow cobbled streets and tiny bars and restaurants (almost all with a view and fine seafood) and live music performances throughout the summer creating a vibrant and atmospheric place to be.
 

 Day 4. Parga to Gaios (Paxos) – 14 nM Gaios
Leaving Parga, you can probably see the Paxi islands, just 15 nM away. They’re in a South-westerly direction which means that you’ll be reaching across the wind, paying attention for the few ferries a day that link Preveza and Lefkas to Corfu.

The Paxi islands are made up of Paxos and Antipaxos. Both outstandingly beautiful, but both very different. The uninhabited Antipaxos is full of beaches and vineyards, whilst Paxos has a number of towns and is mainly focused on growing olives. It has stunning scenery, combining dramatic cliffs and caves, long sandy beaches, cute little villages and green arable land. To appreciate the best of both worlds, we recommend dropping the anchor on the north side of Antipaxos and visiting Voutoumi beach – arguably the best beach in the whole of Europe, and certainly the best unspoilt one. Swim in the warm crystal clear waters here and it’s hard not to feel ultimately relaxed.

From here, we’re heading Northwards to Gaios, the capital of Paxos island, for more stunning views. The locals will give you a friendly welcome into the port, and you can stroll around the old Venetian town and find a bar. Those who have already had enough nature and are missing civilisation will be glad to hear that Gaios is also the home of the only nightclub for around 25 nautical miles!
 

 Day 5. Gaios to Petriti – 21 nM Petriti
Today is the longest day of our trip, but at 21 nM it shouldn't feel too arduous. We're heading back to Corfu island, which will see us beating up the prevailing wind, or ideally, close-hauled if the wind allows, as we work our way from Paxos past all the major Corfiot tourist resorts on the South coast, and up to the enchanting fishing village of Petriti.

Despite being in the middle of tourist-central, Petriti is hidden away from the major resorts by lush green forests, and the atmosphere is of peace and tranquillity as opposed to the giant strips of bars, clubs and karaoke outlets which are just up or down the coast. The village is focussed around the marina area, and bursts into activity in the morning and early evening, when the local fishermen get to work.

The town is big enough to have a reasonable array of shops and restaurants, and it's a beautiful place to spend the last night.
 

 Day 6. Petriti to Gouvia – 18 nM Corfu
And finally. Unfortunately, we’re round to the last leg already. Where has the time gone? It only feels like yesterday that you were diving in Antipaxos or dancing in Parga. Today we're completing the final leg of our tour around the Ionian, a place which has hopefully captured your imagination (and your heart). Our journey home sees us beating up the prevailing wind back past Corfu old town, and to get safely tucked up back in Gouvia marina.

Once in the marina, head to the fuelling station, where there will likely be some form of semi-chaotic queue during the peak season as everyone returns their boats during the same 3 hour window! Our yacht charter partner will come and inspect the yacht, and tomorrow morning you’ll need to check-out and get the plane home.

If you’ve not had the chance to go to Corfu old town, it is well worth the trip (when are you likely to be in Corfu again) and the old town is now a huge UNESCO world heritage site, with castles, cobbled streets, loads of tavernas, and even a cricket pitch to see. That said, Gouvia is also a fun place to be, particularly on the last night of people’s holidays, and when all the sailors will be out in their finest, and with stories to tell.

Hopefully you have enjoyed the week, and the sailing, the boat and the crew have all impressed you. It’s been a pleasure to sail with you, and we'd love to hear about your adventures on the seas. And next week, when you’re feeling nostalgic and missing the sea, come back to us and start planning your next adventure!
 


Sailing Conditions

 WHAT ARE THE WINDS LIKE? 
Greece Sailing - Wind ConditionsGreece has built up its reputation as the biggest and best cruising ground for two main reasons – the exciting-ness of the cruising zone (with all the islands and cute fishing villages), and weather that is as much perfect for sailing as it is dependable – in summer, the sun will shine, and the wind will blow.

In the Ionian islands, from May to September, there are prevailing winds of Force 3 to Force 6 which whistle down the coast of the Greek mainland, from a Northerly direction. The winds mean that you can quickly work your way up and down the coast, though you'll make more progress running South with the wind behind you, than beating your way back Northwards.

Given the potential heat, having dependable winds means that there is a way of getting cool, and you'll certainly notice the difference in temperatures between when you're in the marina and when you're out in the open seas. Winds tend to calm down after dusk, sometimes to nothing, depending upon how warm a day it has been.

 HOW HOT WILL IT BE? 
Corfu - Average Temperature Corfu has long been loved by the British for its fine weather, so it should be no surprise that the weather is warm pretty much all year long. In summer, the average temperatures hide the fact that there can regularly be days where the temperatures reach the high-thirties. The beauty of the climate is that you can dig out your shorts, t-shirts and flip-flops from around April to September, and you can be sure that almost every day will give you an excuse for getting an ice-cream. Bliss.

 HOW WARM IS THE SEA? Corfu - Sea Temperature
The Ionian is a sheltered part of the Mediterranean, so the sea doesn't tend to drop below fifteen degrees (which is on the cold side of mild). It warms up nicely come May-time, when temperatures reach a more comfortable (but still fresh) 20 degrees, and by July, you could mistake the sea for a heated swimming pool, when it hits an incredible 25 degrees.


Marina Details - Gouvia Marina, Corfu

Gouvia Marina is the biggest marina in Greece, as well as being the first to be privately owned and run. It offers excellent facilities, including a collection of shops, multiple bars and restaurants, and even a post office.  Gouvia town is a short walk away from the Marina, which is a popular package-holiday resort and caters for every holiday-makers whims.

If your flights don't quite work with the Saturday-Saturday sailing schedule, we'd recommend a night or two in the following places: Telesilla Hotel, Art Hotel Debono or the Arcadion Hotel.

Gouvia Marina, Corfu
 WEBSITE:  www.d-marin.com/en/marinas/gouvia/ | ADDRESS: Gouvia Marina, Gouvia, Corfu, 49100
 GETTING THERE:  Corfu has excellent travel connections from across Europe, particularly during summer. Arriving by air is the easiest way to get to Corfu, but it is possible to fly to Preveza on the Greek mainland and get a ferry across if required. Gouvia marina is 7km away from the airport, which is a 15 to 20 minute taxi ride – talk to our team if you would like us to arrange a transfer for you. Public transport options are available, but not very straight-forward, and buses are often a bit sporadic, so it’s not something we’d recommend.
 PROVISIONING:  The nearest decent-sized supermarket is the AB (though the locals might call it the ‘Vassilopoulos’), which is just 200m away from the marina and has everything you could need, including a great selection of local produce. The address is 60 Palaiokastritsas, Kontakali
 FUELLING AT END:  There is a fuelling berth in the Marina - head there before you head back to your home berth (there might be a queue...)
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 WHAT NEXT?  Use the pink box to search for yachts or catamarans with LIVE pricing & availability - if you have any other questions or requests, get in touch via Live Chat, the Contact Form, or by phone.

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Independent Service Rating based on 439 verified reviews.