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Route · 7 days · one-wayYacht charter route · Cyclades

Lavrion via Mykonos & Paros.

Sail a seven-day loop from Lavrion through Kea, Syros, Mykonos, Paros, Serifos and Kythnos, mixing famous harbours with quiet Cycladic anchorages.

The route

Day-by-day route

Click any pin on the map or any day in the route summary below to see that day's stop, story and photos.

Kea
Day 1

Lavrion → Kea

A gentle 14-mile warm-up from the Lavrion base to Kea, where the fishing quay at Vourkari eases the crew into island time.

Distance

15 NM

Sailing

~3h at 5 kn

At a glance

Route at a glance

Best season

May – mid-October (peak Jun – Sep, meltemi Jul – Aug)

Duration

7 days

Departure

Lavrion

Sailing area

Cyclades

Route summary

Click any day to jump back to the map and see its photos, narrative and mooring tip.

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The full story

Day-by-day journey

Named anchorages, mooring notes and things to do for every leg of the week — the map follows along as you scroll.

Day 1 / 7
Kea
1
Day 1

Lavrion → Kea

Most crews collect the boat at Lavrion the evening before, sort the paperwork and provisioning, then slip the lines mid-morning. The crossing to Kea runs about three hours on a broad reach when the Meltemi is behaving. Aim for Vourkari, the deep inlet on the island's northwest side, where local fishing boats share the water with charter yachts. Ashore, the waterfront tavernas grill whatever came in that morning. Save an afternoon for the climb up to Ioulida, the amphitheatre-shaped chora that cars can't reach, and the short walk out to the archaic Lion of Kea, cut straight into the bedrock some 2,600 years ago. Kea sits quieter than its famous neighbours to the south, which is rather the point on day one. Get the crew swimming and settled before the harder legs come.

Things to do

Grill night at a Vourkari fish taverna

Climb car-free Ioulida for sunset

Walk out to the archaic Lion of Kea

Swim the sheltered inlet before dinner

Mooring tip

Vourkari gives good holding on sand in 5-7 m; go stern-to on the short quay or drop the hook further into the bay. It shelters from the northerly Meltemi but funnels gusts down off the hillside, so dig the anchor in well.

Syros
2
Day 2

Kea → Syros (Ermoupolis)

Syros surprises first-timers. Instead of sugar-cube villages you get Ermoupolis, a working port city of neoclassical mansions built when this was the richest harbour in Greece. Tie up along the town quay and the marble-paved Miaoulis Square is a two-minute stroll inland, ringed by cafes and the town hall Ernst Ziller designed. Give an afternoon to Ano Syros, the medieval Catholic quarter stacked up the hill behind the port; the lanes are too steep for wheels, and the Saint George cathedral at the top pays you back with the view. Down in the Vaporia district, sea-captains' houses drop straight into the water. Buy loukoumia and soumada to take back aboard. The island keeps a real year-round life, so the tavernas stay honest and the prices sensible.

Things to do

Coffee on marble-paved Miaoulis Square

Climb the steep lanes of Ano Syros

See Saint George cathedral at the top

Buy loukoumia and soumada for the boat

Mooring tip

Ermoupolis has a town quay for stern-to mooring on your own anchor, first-come and often full by late afternoon in July. There is a small marina too; either way the Meltemi can push swell into the harbour, so a long stern line helps.

Mykonos
3
Day 3

Syros → Mykonos

The leg to Mykonos is short, which is handy, because you'll want the extra hours for the harbour scramble. This is the loud, glossy stop on the loop, and the crew who came for one big night out will get it here. Chora rewards an aimless wander: the windmill row above the old port, the whitewashed maze behind it, and Little Venice, where the balconies hang over the water and the sunset bars fill early. If the party side isn't your speed, Agios Sostis in the north stays low-key, with no sunbeds and a single taverna above the sand. The real prize sits a short sail west. Delos, the sacred island and birthplace of Apollo in myth, holds one of the most complete ancient sites in the Aegean, and you can only visit it by day.

Things to do

Day-sail across to ancient Delos

Wander the windmills above the old port

Sunset drink in Little Venice

Escape to quiet Agios Sostis beach

Mooring tip

Book a berth at the new port at Tourlos well ahead in summer; the old-harbour quay is short-stay only and exposed. The channel between Mykonos and Delos accelerates the Meltemi, so expect a lively approach and reef down early.

Paros
4
Day 4

Mykonos → Paros (Parikia)

With the Meltemi behind you this is a pleasant downwind slide, usually a relaxed three hours. Parikia, the capital, greets you with the Panagia Ekatontapiliani, a fourth-century church whose name points to a hundred doors; the courtyard is cool and worth an hour out of the heat. Paros balances its two harbours nicely. Parikia handles the ferries and the bustle, while Naoussa, up on the north coast, keeps the looks of the old fishing port it used to be, half-sunk Venetian fort and all. Rent a scooter and climb inland to Lefkes, a marble-laned mountain village most day-trippers skip. Come evening, order astakomakaronada, the lobster-and-spaghetti dish the Cyclades does well, at a table close enough to hear the water lap.

Things to do

Visit the fourth-century Ekatontapiliani church

Wander Naoussa's pastel fishing harbour

Scooter inland to Lefkes village

Order astakomakaronada by the water

Mooring tip

Parikia's town quay fills fast and can be rolly when the ferries come and go; Naoussa harbour makes a calmer overnight, though space is tight. Across the channel, several Antiparos tavernas keep free moorings for diners.

Serifos
5
Day 5

Paros → Serifos (Livadi)

This is the day to leave early, ideally by nine. Thirty miles is the longest hop of the week, and out here the Meltemi has open water to build across, so a reef in the main is sensible. Serifos pays you back for the effort. It's one of the barest, most volcanic islands in the group, and its Chora is a proper eagle's-nest village, whitewashed houses spilling down from a Venetian kastro two hundred metres above the harbour. Walk up the old stepped path from Livadi rather than driving; the light near sunset makes it worthwhile. Down at the bay the water runs clear over pale pebbles. If it happens to be a Sunday, look for revithada, chickpeas slow-baked overnight in a wood oven, the kind of dish that only turns up where people still cook the old way.

Things to do

Hike the stepped path to Chora

Explore the Venetian kastro up top

Swim the clear shallows off Livadi

Try Sunday revithada from the wood oven

Mooring tip

Livadi is well protected from the north and northeast; go stern-to on the quay or anchor on sand in 5-7 m out in the bay. Holding is good, but the afternoon wind can gust hard down the valley, so leave scope.

Kythnos
6
Day 6

Serifos → Kythnos (Merihas)

Kythnos is the island most charter crews sail straight past, and they're missing something. The run up from Serifos is straightforward, leaving time for the main event: Kolona, a ribbon of sand with sea on both sides that ties the island to a small offshore islet. Anchor off and you can swim across from one bay to the other. Merihas, the main port on the west coast, keeps a working-harbour feel and a handful of tavernas where sfoungato, the local cheese fritter, is worth ordering. Over in the northeast at Loutra, thermal springs run warm into the sea; a soak there after a week of salt is a fine way to close things out. The night sky over these emptier islands stays genuinely dark, so linger on deck.

Things to do

Anchor and swim across Kolona sandbar

Soak in the Loutra thermal springs

Order sfoungato at a Merihas taverna

Stargaze on deck in Apokrousi Bay

Mooring tip

Merihas has a town quay for stern-to mooring, handy for provisions. For a quieter night, anchor on sand in 5-7 m at Kolona or nearby Apokrousi Bay, both well sheltered from the prevailing northerlies.

Lavrion
7
Day 7

Kythnos → Lavrion

The last leg turns back toward the mainland, and if the timing works it's worth breaking it at Cape Sounion. The Temple of Poseidon stands on the headland at the southern tip of Attica, and dropping the hook below the columns for a final swim beats motoring straight in. Give yourself a buffer, though, because charter handovers usually want the boat back by late afternoon with a full tank. From Sounion it's a short run into Lavrion Marina, the base you started from. Fuel up, rinse the salt off, and settle the logbook over a last plate of taramasalata on the quay. A week of Cyclades sailing does something to a crew, and most start plotting the next loop before the lines are even coiled.

Things to do

Swim below the Temple of Poseidon

Photograph the Sounion headland columns

Top up fuel before the Lavrion handover

Last taramasalata on the marina quay

Mooring tip

Lavrion Marina is the standard turnaround base; book your fuel-dock slot 24 hours ahead, as the queue backs up on the Friday and Saturday changeover days. Arrive with time to clean and clear the boat before handover.

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