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Route · 7 days · round-tripYacht charter route · Cyclades

Mykonos via Naxos & Paros.

Sail a 7-day charter loop from Mykonos through Naxos, Paros, Sifnos, Serifos and Syros, a central Cyclades route with the Meltemi at your back.

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.

Naxos
Day 1

Mykonos (Tourlos Marina) → Naxos

A 22-mile run south with the Meltemi behind you, ending at Naxos town where the Portara frames the best sunset in the group.

Distance

21 NM

Sailing

~4.2h 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

Mykonos

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
Naxos
1
Day 1

Mykonos (Tourlos Marina) → Naxos

Cast off from Tourlos by mid-morning and let the northerly do the work. The 22 miles down to Naxos are a proper reach in a standard Meltemi, boat settled on one tack, Delos and Rineia sliding past to starboard. We usually aim to be tied up before six so there's time ashore. Naxos town harbour takes you stern-to along the outer mole, and it holds against anything the Aegean throws at it, which is more than you can say for most Cycladic quays. Walk the causeway out to Palatia islet in the last hour of light. The Portara, a lone marble doorway left over from a temple the Naxians never finished, stands there catching the sun as it drops behind Paros. Bring a bottle. Half the crews on the island do the same.

Things to do

Sunset drinks at the Portara doorway

Climb Mount Zas from Filoti village

Taste kitron liqueur at Vallindras, Halki

Swim the sand at Agios Prokopios

Mooring tip

Stern-to on the outer mole in Naxos town, around €30-50 a night, with genuine all-round shelter. There's usually room even in August, so no need to book, but arrive before the afternoon rush for a spot near the steps.

Paros
2
Day 2

Naxos → Paros (Parikia Harbor)

There's no rush today. Six miles across the channel is barely two hours, so most crews drop the hook off Antiparos first and swim the morning away. The strait between the two islands runs shallow and clear over pale sand, and the holding is good enough to leave the boat and take the tender ashore for a coffee. When you're ready, it's a short reach up to Parikia, the working harbour on the west side. Tie stern-to here rather than fighting for space in prettier Naoussa; the room is real and the walk into town short. Behind the waterfront sits the Ekatontapiliani, a Byzantine church older than most of what you'll see this week. Come evening, the old-town lanes fill up, and the marble-paved village of Lefkes is worth a taxi for dinner.

Things to do

Anchor and swim the Antiparos channel

See the Byzantine Ekatontapiliani in Parikia

Wander the marble lanes of Lefkes

Wine tasting at Moraitis winery, Naoussa

Mooring tip

Parikia is stern-to on your own anchor, roughly €30-50, and easier to get into than Naoussa's tight fishing harbour. If you want the postcard, Naoussa is the alternative, but arrive early and expect to raft or wait.

Vathi
3
Day 3

Paros (Parikia Harbor) → Sifnos (Vathi Port)

This is the longest open stretch of the western half, twenty-four miles with nothing to hide behind, so watch the forecast and leave by nine. In a fresh Meltemi you'll be hard on the wind for the last few miles into Sifnos. Vathi, on the south coast, is the anchorage I'd pick every time: a near-enclosed bay with a sand bottom that holds, salt pans behind the beach, and calm even when it's honking outside. Kamares, round on the west side, is the fallback quay if the wind swings westerly. Sifnos is where the Cyclades takes food seriously. Book a table inland at Artemonas for mastelo, lamb slow-cooked in a clay pot, or track down revithada, the chickpea stew locals bake overnight in a wood oven. Both taste like the island invented them.

Things to do

Anchor and swim in sheltered Vathi bay

Walk to Chrysopigi monastery near Faros

Mastelo lamb at a taverna in Artemonas

Watch a Vathi potter throw a pot

Mooring tip

Anchor on sand in 4-6 metres inside Vathi and you're set for any northerly. Kamares is a stern-to quay at €20-30 but it's open to the west, so only use it when the Meltemi has no westerly bite.

Serifos
4
Day 4

Sifnos (Vathi Port) → Serifos (Livadi Port)

Fourteen miles, but they're into the teeth of the Meltemi, so it's a beat rather than a cruise. Livadi bay opens to the south and the wind funnels straight down the valley into it, which makes the anchoring the real work of the day. Set plenty of scope on the sand, back down hard, and dive the anchor to see it dug in before anyone goes ashore. Sitting the first hour aboard has saved more than one crew a midnight scramble here; drag is the classic Serifos story. Once you trust the hook, look up. Chora sits on the skyline in a tumble of white cubes, half an hour up the old donkey path or a quick taxi. The windmills at the top catch the last light, and the kafeneia in the square do a proper revithada.

Things to do

Hike the donkey path up to Chora

Sunset by the windmills above Chora

Swim at Psili Ammos beach

Chickpea revithada in a Chora kafeneio

Mooring tip

Anchor in Livadi on sand at 5-8 metres with long scope, and dive it to confirm before leaving the boat. Once the wind tops 22 knots the bay gets bouncy; if you'd rather sleep easy, take the town quay stern-to at €20-30.

Syros
5
Day 5

Serifos (Livadi Port) → Syros (Ermoupoli)

The longest day of the loop, thirty-two miles northeast, and in a standard Meltemi it's a fast beam reach that eats the distance. Aim to be off Syros by mid-afternoon; the wind tends to build through the day and you want the anchor set before it does. Ermoupoli sits at the head of a deep, well-sheltered harbour, and the town quay is about as easy as stern-to gets in these islands, forgiving even when you're tired. This was the richest port in Greece once, and it shows. Marble mansions climb the two hills above the water, Orthodox Vrontado on one and Catholic Ano Syros on the other, capped by the church of San Giorgio. Walk up Miaouli square at dusk, then hunt down a confectioner for loukoumi and halvadopita, the sweets the island has made for a century and a half.

Things to do

Climb the lanes to Catholic Ano Syros

Loukoumi and halvadopita at an old confectioner

Evening stroll across Miaouli marble square

Swim off the rock platforms at Asteria

Mooring tip

Ermoupoli town quay is free and you lie to your own anchor with shelter from every direction. Get in by 17:00 when the wind's building and set long scope on the sand. If the quay's full, Manna marina takes you at €60-80.

Mykonos
6
Day 6

Syros → Mykonos (Tourlos Marina by 17:00)

The return leg is the gentlest of the week, twenty-two miles east with the wind now on the quarter. Break the trip at Delos if you can time it right. The whole island is a guarded archaeological reserve, so the stop is about walking the sanctuary of Apollo and the Terrace of the Lions rather than lingering, and the site shuts at sundown. Plan it so you're still into Tourlos by five, which leaves the evening free to sort the boat before handover. New Marina takes you stern-to, and in July or August you'll want the slot booked online in advance because it fills. Save the last night for a walk into town. Eat along the water in Little Venice as the sea slaps the house walls, then wander up to the windmills for the crowds and the light.

Things to do

Walk the Terrace of the Lions on Delos

See the Apollo sanctuary ruins

Dinner on the water in Little Venice

Sunset drinks below the Kato Mili windmills

Mooring tip

Tourlos New Marina is stern-to at €70-110 a night in peak season, and you should reserve the berth online before you sail. The old town quay only works under about 18 knots of northerly, so don't count on it.

Mykanos
7
Day 7

Mykonos → Check-out

Nothing dramatic on the last morning, but a few habits pay off. Be alongside at Tourlos and ready to hand over before nine, and walk the boat with the base manager rather than leaving them to it. Photograph anything that gets noted before you sign, and the deposit comes back within a week without argument. If your flight is later, there's no reason to sit at the marina. Agios Stefanos beach is five minutes up the road for a final swim, and the town cafés do a decent coffee if you'd rather watch the harbour wake up. Mykonos airport is only about ten minutes away by taxi, so you can leave the marina fairly late and still make an afternoon departure in good time. A soft landing after a week of proper Meltemi sailing.

Things to do

Final walk-through with the base manager

Last swim at Agios Stefanos beach

Harbour-side coffee in Mykonos town

Ten-minute taxi to JMK airport

Mooring tip

Hand back at Tourlos before nine so the base has time to inspect. Photograph any damage the manager flags before signing the report, and expect the deposit released within seven days.

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