
DURATION
4 nights
LOCATION
Greece
ANNUAL LEAVE
3 days off work
SEASON
Apr & Oct
GROUP SIZE
Up to 10 people
MEETING POINT
Athens Airport
ACCOMMODATION
Classic
Boat
DIFFICULTY
Easy
You can take the hikes at your own pace, but being in reasonable physical condition will certainly help you make the most of your trip.
Embark on a 5-day adventure around the Cyclades islands, renowned for their rich history, culture and traditional cuisine
Live aboard a private yacht, docking each night in a different bay
Discover an undiscovered hiking paradise and trek to remote and pristine beaches
Day 1
Set sail
Board your yacht in Lavrio Port and sail to the lush green island of Kea. Learn about life onboard from the skipper and arrive in time for a delicious local dinner in town.
Day 2
Kythnos
Sail to a bay by the ancient Tetrapolis of Kea and see why its been attracting visitors since the 17th century. Take a dip in the sea, visit one of Kea’s most beautiful beaches and then set off for a relaxing afternoon’s sailing to the picturesque port of Loutra on Kythnos. The island is known for its natural warm springs, which you will have the chance to experience before heading out for dinner on the island.
Day 3
Serifos
Hike around the striking, arid countryside of Loutra, discover hidden castles and whitewashed churches and meet the farmers and shepherds who live off this dramatic landscape. Enjoy a swim and a light lunch before continuing on to Serifos island - an integral part of Greek mythology, associated with two of its most famous heroes: Ulysses and Perseus. If you're up for it, try a spot of paddle boarding off one of Serifos’ many secluded beaches.
Day 4
Kythnos
Explore Chora’s narrow, whitewashed alleys, overflowing with green, pink and purple bougainvillea. Hike the steep trail to the lovely Ag. Konstantinos chapel and enjoy the amazing views of the Aegean Sea and the islands of Kimolos, Milos, Sifnos and your next destination, Kythnos, this time the western side. Enjoy the gold-sanded beaches of Apokrousi and Kolona which connect the main island to the islet of Agios Loukas and once you've freshened up, head to a local taverna for a home-cooked Mediterranean meal.
Day 5
Lavrio Port and home
Take a spectacular loop-hike to Vryokastro, ancient capital of Kythnos and spend your last day swimming or paddle boarding around this beautiful island. Set sail for Lavrio Port in the early afternoon, where a transfer will be waiting to take you back to Athens and home
Included
Guides
Experienced, English-speaking captain and guides
Accommodation
4 nights on a private yacht
Meals
All your breakfasts and lunches
Transfers
To and from the airport and everything in-between
Equipment
SUP boards always at the ready
Not Included
Flights to and from the meeting point
Travel insurance
Some meals as described
Visas where required
Day 1
Boat · Twin share
Day 2 – Day 4
Boat · Twin share
Day 5
Departure day
What is the food like?
Both breakfast and lunch are provided on-board on a self-prepare basis. This means that your host will take care of providing the food, and you and your fellow travellers will plan and cook the meals together.
There will be as many local, organic and Mediterranean ingredients available as possible. For breakfast, you can expect yoghurt, fruit, cereals, juices, cheeses and bread and for lunch expect local salads, sandwiches, omelettes, and pasta.
Dinner will be taken on the islands, usually in small local tavernas with a range of seasonal dishes and fresh fish to try.
Vegetarian, vegan and most other dietary requirements can be provided for, just let your host know before the tour begins.
What is the accommodation like?
The Cyclades
You’ll stay on a 51 or 56-foot sailing yacht with five cabins and five toilets. The boat has an indoor living room, kitchen and dining area, as well as an outdoor lounge and deck where you can relax when sailing. Cabins are double, twin-share, or triple share. All shared rooms are same gender.
Upgrades
For solo travellers looking for their own space, an optional private cabin can be booked for an extra charge, see Optional Extras for the price . Please request this at the time of booking (this is subject to availability)
The Area
Logistics
Starts
Athens International Airport
14:45 on Day 1
Ends
Athens International Airport
14:30 on Day 5
Transfers
You’ll be picked up on arrival and dropped off in time for departure. Alternatively, you are free to arrive at any time and make your own way to Lavrio Marina. If you do so, please meet in Café Petrino at 15:15. Full directions will be provided before your trip departs.
Travel options
There are regular flights to Athens from airports across the UK and Europe.
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What do I need to bring?
Bags
- A small rucksack
- One soft-suitcase per person as baggage to be kept in the cabin
Clothes
- Hiking shoes
- Long walking socks
- Sandals
- Hiking trousers
- Long sleeve shirts
- Water-resistant jacket
Other
- Sunglasses
- Hat
- Sun cream
- A water bottle
- Trekking poles
- Bathing suit
- Head-torch
- Toiletries
- Basic First Aid Kit
Single Cabin Upgrade
Payable Before Departure
Single Cabin Upgrade
…
This trip was simply beautiful. The islands we visited were truly lovely and unspoilt, and visiting in spring before the main summer tourist season kicked off was a good decision. The weather in April was warm, comfortable and (mostly) sunny, and we also got to see the islands as green and flowery as possible.
Living and travelling on the boat was a great experience. Skippers, Fotis and Lucas, did an awesome job looking after us, they kept us comfortable and safe and explained everything as we went along. We had almost no wind for actual sailing until the final day, but that's just the luck of the draw and we still had a good time pottering around by motor. It was brilliant fun when we could actually go by wind power, too. Fotis even hit the jackpot on the first day, and managed to pull a huge yellowfin tuna out of the sea, which a local restaurant cooked for us the same night. He made it clear that this is not a normal occurrence, though, so don't get your hopes up!
Walking guide George was extremely knowledgeable, and really got under the skin of Kythnos. We learned a huge amount about the island's history, flora, fauna, economics, and local lifestyle.
Overall there was a good balance between activity and relaxation, the food throughout was delicious, and the small Cyclades are certainly a recommended destination.
The trip was very enjoyable. The sailing was great when the wind the allowed. The skipper had a good sense of humour, was very competent, and was aware of our comfort and safety. Seeing the Spring wildflowers was lovely on the hikes and the hike guide was well informed. We learnt a lot about the local herbs which went into our lunch! Swimming from the boat was a great moment and it was great to visit some of the islands off the beaten track.
Amazing experience! Lovely boat, beautiful islands, great hikes with spectacular views. Fotis (excellent skipper and great company) made sure we all had a great time!
This sailing trip was a lot of fun. The hike versus sailing ratio was perfect. The views, sensational. The local food was delicious. The Skipper made sure there was enough food and water for everyone and made everyone feel that they were being taken care of. My only gripe was the lack of room when sailing. A few too many people for the space. But if you don't mind tight living, definitely go for this trip.
This is a true Once in a Lifetime experiance. There were many times when we were sat on deck and saying "there is no other way to see these things and experiance this than on the water" Having sailed for many years, this trip was exactly what I hoped it would be and more, you really can do as much or as little as you like, sit and read, sunbathe chat or get on the wheel and steer, trim the sails etc. Our trip was diverted due to unusually high winds so the whole itinary was changed which made it a little more challanging for our guide to pull together, but I actually think that this made it even better because it made the whole trip much more fluid and flexible. But our guide, Costas, What an amazing guy, at no point did we feel unsafe or uneasy and you can really see how much he loves sailing and showing off his country.
Great trip made even better by the awesome group of travellers we were lucky to spend time with. Favourite part was the remote beach at Kythnos where we stopped for the day.
Had a great time and would really recommend! I went in October but I would suggest going in Spring to see the islands in full colour. An enjoyable trip with a lovely group, skipper and local guide.
What a fabulous adventure! Costas, the skipper, was absolutely brilliant. So competent and chilled. Made it all look so easy and I felt completely safe at all times. Lovely bunch of people. A truly terrific experience. Highly recommended.
Everything was great!
Very chill trip sitting on a boat and short walks through a couple islands. But good fun none the less. Advice June and September probably best months. I expect it is too busy and hot in summer and you won't do the walks.
We've crunched the numbers to work out the total carbon footprint of this trip, and plant enough trees to suck 2x as much back out the atmosphere.
What's the number?
It works out on average at 199kg of CO2 emissions per person, including all local transport, accommodation, food, activities, guides, staff and office operations.
The only thing it doesn’t include right now is flights and travel to the destination. We do make an overall estimate across all our customers separately, but as we don’t book flights, have customers from all corners of the world, and no way of reliably knowing their travel plans, we simply can’t include an individual number in the figure on display here. We’ve got a goal for 2023 to fix that, so that when you book, there is a way to measure and mitigate the carbon emitted by your flight too.
But what does the number mean?
Yep, hard to picture eh? To give you an idea:
- Driving 1000miles/1609km would be approx. 281kg of CO2 in an average car (or 140.5kg per person if there was 2 of you in it).
- A return economy class flight London - New York would be approx. 1,619kg (1.66 tonnes) per person.
- 10 trees in a temperate forest are estimated to remove approx. 250kg of CO2 from the air in a period of 5-10 years.
What are we doing about it?
Our trips are relatively low-carbon by design, and we're working with all our hosts to develop long term carbon reduction plans. For every person booked with us since 2016 we’re planting enough trees to suck at least 2x more carbon out the atmosphere than is emitted by their trips. All native trees, as part of amazing projects that are re-foresting degraded land, tackling the biodiversity crisis and supporting local communities at the same time. We go further than that too, also funding re-wilding projects worldwide to help protect important keystone species from extinction. See the reforestation and re-wilding schemes we support. See our carbon action plan.
Want to know more?
Amazingly, no international travel company has ever publicly published their carbon measurements before, as far as we know. We believe that must change, quickly. So we’re openly sharing the method we used in the hope that other companies will be able to more easily follow suit and build on what we've done so far. You'll find it all here.
No prior knowledge is required and your captain will brief you about life on board and the basics of sailing.The boat's interior is designed to achieve maximum space efficiency and you will soon become accustomed to the few steep stairs to your cabin.
You do not need to be particularly fit, but being in reasonable condition will certainly help you make the most of your trip.
Sailing journeys are around 2-4 hours each day. On average the hike distances are approximately 8km. All hikes are optional and guests can relax on-board or at a nearby beach if they prefer. There are extended hiking routes possible for those who wish to go further and these are generally pretty straightforward.
Sure can! Over 70% of our travellers travel solo, it’s a great way to meet like-minded people.
The Cyclades has mild and moderately rainy winters and warm, sunny summers. Spring temperatures average 20°C. The wind blows frequently, cooling the heat of summer. July and August are the hottest months, with temperatures averaging 27°C. Autumn sees warm temperatures averaging 25°C.
Should adverse conditions prevail, your guide will have a back-up plan, such as alternative hikes or mooring in a different bay.
On very rare occasions, it is up to the judgement of the skipper to alter or cancel a sailing route and the hiking guide to do the same for a hike.
If you are travelling with excess luggage that you do not wish to bring on the boat, there are two options:
At Athens airport or In Athens city
Very. Our skippers are qualified, native Greek seamen with vast experience navigating the local Aegean waters, the Mediterranean and beyond. The boats are also put under thorough monitoring during the winter in order to be in excellent condition when the sailing season starts.
Our hiking guides are year-round hikers themselves with a vast repertoire of paths hiked or trekked around Greece, including demanding gorge passages and high altitude routes. They are certified by the Hellenic Federation of Mountaineering & Climbing H.F.M.C.
Both breakfast and lunch are provided on-board on a self-prepare basis. Your host will shop for and try to use as many local, organic and Mediterranean ingredients as possible. You and your fellow travellers will take care of planning and cooking the meals together.
Due to limited storage on the boat and differing ingredient preferences within the group, you may have an opportunity to replenish stocks on one of the islands.
For breakfast, you can expect yoghurt, fruit, cereals, juices, cheeses and bread and for lunch expect local salads, sandwiches, omelettes, or pasta.
The skipper's job is quite demanding, and they therefore do not have the capacity to offer assistance with the meal preparations. They will show you how to use the kitchen, are available to answer any questions you may have, and can show you the ropes of how to sail. You can buy any additional ingredients when on land if there is anything additional you would like to see on your plate!
The main meal of the day is the dinner taken at a local taverna, whereas travellers tend to prefer their daytime meals to be rather soft and light.
Whilst most of our trips are exclusive to Much Better Adventures, due to the nature of this destination and the design of the trip, this particular host also sells this adventure via other channels. This means that it’s possible that your group may consist of people who haven't booked through the Much Better Adventures website. But rest assured, anyone booking this trip is in search of an active, outdoors adventure, just as you are!
Our recommended travel insurance provider is Campbell Irvine.
Travel insurance is compulsory for all of our adventures and you are required to provide your policy information before departing.
Your insurance should include adequate protection for overseas medical treatment, evacuation/repatriation, your baggage and equipment and the specific activities involved on your adventure. We also strongly recommend it includes cancellation and curtailment insurance, should you be unable to join your trip for specific reasons such as illness.
We fully endorse Campbell Irvine as their insurance offers all of the above, so get in touch with them or call on 020 7938 1734 to get your insurance sorted. We suggest that you book travel insurance as soon as you book your adventure, just to cover you for any last-minute life changes. We know you’re an active lot and injuries do happen!
We automatically convert prices from the local currency that a host receives to your chosen currency. We update our exchange rates on a daily basis so this does mean that prices displayed on the site are subject to currency fluctuations, which is why you may see them change over time.
If you wish to change the currency you pay in, head to the bottom of the page.
All of our group adventures are specially designed for adults to enjoy (18+) as we want these adventures to bring together outdoorsy people who are truly like-minded. Children can be accommodated on some private departures.
You're in good company. Our adventures are typically made up of a mix of solo travellers and small groups of two or three friends who simply love adventure, pushing themselves and meeting awesome like-minded people. See here for more info about our lovely bunch of Much Better Adventurers.
Want to book a private trip? Just tap ‘Private Group’ in the dates and prices tab.
Your trip is led by carefully curated local hosts and expert guides. See here for more info about the guides we work with.
Pay In Installments
You can choose to pay for this trip in as many installments as you like, with no interest or fees.
Full Financial Protection
Your money is safe. Every booking is fully financially protected.