July 20, 2026•9 min read•By Maurits Dierick, Charter Broker & Former Yacht Captain
Cyclades Yacht Charter Itinerary: 8 Days from Mykonos to Milos (2026)
Eight days round trip from Mykonos through Delos, Tinos, Paros, Naxos and Ios, with two full days in Milos. Why Santorini isn't on it, what the week costs and when to go.
The most famous island in the Cyclades isn't on this route.
Santorini is hard to fit into a yacht week. The caldera is a drowned volcano, and its deep water leaves few places to anchor. You can take the ferry across from Ios for the day and we'll arrange it, but the boat stays where it is.
What the route gives you instead is Milos, at the far end, and we give it two days.
The week runs 184 nautical miles from Mykonos and back, 19.5 hours under way.
It starts in Mykonos rather than Athens because of the meltemi, the strong dry north wind that runs through the Aegean from about mid-May to mid-September, strongest in July and August. The legs south run with the wind behind the boat. The price is the long run home on the last day, which is why that one starts before dawn.
Eight days, 184 nautical miles, 19.5 hours under way. Round trip from Mykonos.
Day seven, at Milos, has no passage, and day one is only a short hop to Rhenia for lunch.
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Day 1: Mykonos
Board, then leave. You'll be back at the end of the week.
A short cruise to Rhenia, uninhabited, where the crew puts lunch on the sand. Then back for Little Venice at sunset, dinner at ZUMA, and as much of the night as the group wants.
Mooring: Mykonos New Port (Tourlos), Ornos Bay or Rhenia. Beach: Rhenia. Dining: ZUMA.
Day 2: Delos and Tinos
An hour, eight miles. The shortest leg of the week.
Delos was the religious and commercial centre of the ancient Aegean and the birthplace of Apollo. It's an uninhabited archaeological site you tender into: the Terrace of the Lions, the Temple of Apollo.
Plan two hours on Delos and bring water and sun cover, because there's no shade on the site. Try to be back at the boat before the day-trip boats from Mykonos arrive mid-morning.
Then Tinos, where marble carvers have worked the same stone for generations. The inland villages, Pyrgos and Volakas, are the reason to go, along with the Giannoulis Chalepas Museum. Dinner at Svoura.
Passage: 1 hour, 8 nm. Mooring: Tinos Port, Panormos Bay or Agios Ioannis. Beach: Agali. Dining: Svoura.
Day 3: Paros
Three hours through the archipelago.
Naoussa wraps around a small harbour on the north coast, with tavernas out on the stone quay. Time the arrival for golden hour.
Dinner at Olvo, with the sea.
Passage: 3 hours, 30 nm. Mooring: Naoussa harbour, Parikia Port or Santa Maria Bay. Beach: Kolymbithres. Dining: Olvo.
Day 4: Naxos
Eleven miles. The greenest island in the Cyclades and the largest.
The Temple of Demeter is 6th century BC. The Kouros is an unfinished statue left lying in its quarry. Chalki is a village of narrow alleys. Kalantos is a cove that stays quiet.
Twenty-five miles. Olive-covered mountains into the water, blue-domed chapels on the hills.
Anchor off Mylopotas. Chora is the hilltop town, old at the bottom and busy at the top. Homer's tomb is up there as an archaeological site. Dinner at Grandma's.
This is where the Santorini ferry runs from, if the group wants the day trip.
Passage: 2.5 hours, 25 nm. Mooring: Ios Port (Gialos), Mylopotas Bay or Manganari. Beach: Mylopotas. Dining: Grandma's.
Day 6: Milos
Four and a half hours, 45 miles, and an early start.
Milos is volcanic and it doesn't look like the rest of Greece. Kleftiko on the south coast is white rock stacks out of green water, and it was a pirate refuge. If conditions allow, anchor in Kleftiko Bay and take the tender through the gap to swim among the rock columns. Klima is a fishing village where the boat garages are painted every colour. Sarakiniko is white pumice.
Dinner at OKTO.
Passage: 4.5 hours, 45 nm. Mooring: Adamas Port, Kleftiko Bay or Sarakiniko. Beach: Kleftiko. Dining: OKTO.
Day 7: Milos again
The yacht stays at anchor.
This is the only scheduled stay-put day in our Greek routes. Take a car and go inland. Klima, Mandrakia where the boats are hauled into cave garages, Firopotamos. Sarakiniko is the one people photograph.
Lunch at Medusa in Mandraki. A cooking class with a local family, a winery, or the tender north to the caves. Dinner at Enalion.
No passage. Mooring: Adamas Port or Kleftiko Bay. Beach: Sarakiniko. Dining: Enalion.
Day 8: Mykonos
Leave before dawn. Sixty-five miles, six and a half hours, back across the archipelago.
Anchored at Mykonos by noon. Final lunch at Scorpios.
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Passage: 6.5 hours, 65 nm. Mooring: Mykonos New Port (Tourlos) or Paralia Platis. Beach: Paralia Platis Gialos. Dining: Scorpios.
The trade-off
Time. This is 184 miles with a 45-mile day and a 65-mile day in it, and the 65 is a pre-dawn start. Two of the days have no alarm and two need an early one.
What you get for it is range. Delos and Milos are on the same week and they have almost nothing in common.
The two Milos days are the part of this itinerary I'd defend hardest. Versions of this route that squeeze Milos into an overnight come back worse.
What the week costs
For the 2026 season, a small fully crewed catamaran with a captain and one crew member, the kind we'd recommend for a young family on a first Cyclades week, starts around €13,000 to €15,000 a week. The popular bracket for groups of eight or so on a 16-to-18-metre catamaran, with a crew of three or four and a chef on board, runs €22,000 to €35,000. Larger sailing catamarans and motor yachts run from €50,000 a week well into six figures.
Those numbers are before APA and VAT. The APA covers fuel, provisioning and mooring fees, and is typically around 30% of the charter fee on a sailing catamaran, more on a motor yacht. Greek charter VAT on a crewed week is usually 13% on a reduced base, so 5.2% to 7.8% in effect depending on the yacht's licence, one of the lower rates in the Mediterranean. The mechanics are in the APA explainer, the VAT guide and our real cost of a crewed catamaran week in Greece.
When to go
The Cyclades season runs May to October. June and September are the quieter and most consistent months, and late June and early September are the best windows for this route, with the islands fully open and the wind manageable. July and August work, but the meltemi is more demanding and the anchorages around Mykonos and Paros are busier. The middle two weeks of August are the busiest, with Mykonos at the centre of it.
Yes. It is a standard week's charter: 7 nights on board, shown as 8 days because the embarkation and disembarkation days both count. The route is a round trip from Mykonos through Delos, Tinos, Paros, Naxos, Ios and Milos, with 2 nights at Milos. Boarding and leaving are typically at noon on crewed charters, so both of those days give you time on board.
How far does the Mykonos to Milos route go, and how long are the passages?
184 nautical miles and about 19.5 hours under way across 7 nights, under 3 hours a day on average and well inside the MYBA limit of a 6-hour daily average. Most legs are short: 8 miles to Delos and Tinos, 30 to Paros, 11 to Naxos and 25 to Ios. The long ones are 45 miles to Milos and 65 back to Mykonos on the last day, which starts before dawn.
Can you take a charter yacht to Santorini?
Not on this route. Yachts do visit Santorini, but the caldera is too deep to anchor in close to the shore and the island's one marina has little room for visiting yachts, so a stop there means planning around mooring buoys, Thirasia or the south coast. This route stays with Ios instead: groups who want to see the caldera can take the ferry from Ios for the day.
Why does the route start in Mykonos rather than Athens?
Because of the meltemi, the north wind that blows through the Aegean from about mid-May to mid-September and is strongest in July and August. Starting in Mykonos lets the legs south run with the wind behind the yacht. The trade-off is the 65-mile run back north on the last day, which leaves before dawn, before the wind builds. A round trip also keeps the whole group on a single airport.
What does a crewed yacht charter in the Cyclades cost?
Most crewed yachts in the Cyclades start from about €20,000 a week in 2026; a small crewed catamaran with a captain and 1 crew member can start around €13,000 to €15,000. A 16 to 18-metre catamaran for about 8 guests with 3 or 4 crew runs €22,000 to €35,000, and larger catamarans and motor yachts from about €50,000 into six figures. Add the APA, around 30% on a sailing catamaran and more on a motor yacht, and Greek charter VAT, usually 5.2% to 7.8% in effect.
When is the best time to do this Cyclades route?
Late June and early September. Within a May to October season, those 2 windows give fully open islands and a more manageable meltemi. July and August work, but the wind is stronger and the anchorages around Mykonos and Paros are busier. By September the meltemi has usually eased and the summer crowds have thinned.
