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

Paros via Ios & Santorini.

Sail seven days from Paros through Ios and Santorini, looping home via Folegandros and Sifnos. A compact southern Cyclades run for Meltemi-ready crews.

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.

Ios
Day 1

Paros → Ios (Ormos)

Twenty-two miles down to Ios on a fast Meltemi reach, the windiest run of the week, with Chora's bars waiting after dark.

Distance

22 NM

Sailing

~4.4h 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

Paros

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
Ios
1
Day 1

Paros → Ios (Ormos)

We like to clear Parikia by mid-afternoon, once the ice and water are aboard, and point the bow south. The Meltemi builds through the Naxos–Sikinos channel, and this is where the day earns its reputation: 22 to 30 knots, steady, on a port reach. Tuck a reef in before you leave the lee of Paros rather than fighting it later. Ios runs to 22 miles, and Gialos harbour at the island's south end gives proper shelter with stern-to berths; the marina alongside is slowly growing new pontoons. Mylopotas, a mile down the coast, is a fine lunchtime swim but no place to spend a Meltemi night. Once you are tied up, the Chora windmills and its late-night squares are a short walk uphill.

Things to do

Walk up to Homer's reputed grave at Plakotos

Swim the pale sand at Manganari

Catch rembetika in a Chora backstreet

Windmill terrace at golden hour

Mooring tip

Berth stern-to in Gialos, roughly €25–40 a night; if the new marina has a pontoon free, reserve it ahead since space is tight in July. Treat Mylopotas as a daytime stop only.

Vlychada
2
Day 2

Ios → Santorini (Vlychada Marina)

An early start pays off here. The caldera is too deep to anchor anywhere, so Vlychada on the south coast is your only real bed for the night, and the run down is short at 18 miles. Slip your lines at first light while the sea is flat, and you should be tied up by lunch with the afternoon free. Vlychada sits below wind-carved cliffs the colour of ash. Later, share a taxi up to Oia; the crush at the Ammoudi overlook starts around six, so aim to be settled with a drink before then. If you have a spare hour on the way, the wineries at Santo and Domaine Sigalas pour a proper Assyrtiko, bracing and mineral.

Things to do

Watch the sun drop from Oia's castle

Taste Assyrtiko at Santo Wines terrace

Snorkel the red cliffs off Red Beach

Order fava and capers in old Megalochori

Mooring tip

Vlychada is the pricey one, around €60–100 stern-to, and it fills fast in July and August, so call the marina a day or two ahead. The Thirasia mooring buoys are a gamble I would not count on.

Folegandros
3
Day 3

Santorini → Folegandros (Katergo Islet)

Now the loop turns for home, and the wind that pushed you south becomes work. This first leg west runs 22 miles with the Meltemi square on the nose, so expect a beat and a longer day than the mileage suggests. Break it with a stop at Katergo, a pale pebble cove reachable only from the water and well sheltered from the north; drop the hook, swim, and eat before the last few miles. Karavostasi is the island's only workable harbour, snug in northerlies but open to any southerly slop. Chora sits 200 metres above on its cliff, reached by taxi or a stiff half-hour up the old kalderimi. Go up in the evening when the heat drops.

Things to do

Anchor and swim at hard-to-reach Katergo

Climb to the cliff-edge Panagia church

Matsata pasta with rooster in a courtyard

Follow the old mule path to Ano Meria

Mooring tip

Karavostasi has only a handful of stern-to slots at €25–40, so arrive early. If the quay is full, anchor on sand in 4–7 metres in the bay just east. Neither spot is comfortable when the wind swings south.

Karavostasi
4
Day 4

Folegandros (Katergo) → Karavostasi Harbor

No passage today, which everyone aboard tends to welcome by the fourth morning. Reposition to Katergo for an early swim, anchoring on sand in 4 to 7 metres while the cove is still empty, then head back and go up to Chora for the afternoon. The village hides behind its old gate, all whitewashed courtyards and bougainvillea, with the church of Panagia set on the ridge above. Walk the cliff path up to it for the long view over the water and the town below. Lunch is the reward: the courtyard tavernas bake soft cheese pies finished with local honey, worth ordering twice. If the northerly holds, Agali on the south coast gives a second calm swim before dinner.

Things to do

Walk the ridge from Chora to Panagia

Swim the sheltered sand at Agali

Order cheese pies with island honey

Sundown drink on the Ano Meria road

Mooring tip

Hold your Karavostasi berth for a second night rather than moving the boat. Both Katergo and Agali make good north-wind lunch anchors. In high season, phone the port a day ahead to keep your slot.

Sifnos
5
Day 5

Folegandros → Sifnos

This is the long one. Thirty-two miles northwest into the Meltemi means two big port tacks and a full day on the water, so leave early and pace the crew. When the wind sits in its usual north, Platys Gialos on the south coast is the safe overnight; the island's bulk throws a clean wind shadow over the anchorage. Should the breeze back into the east, shift to Kamares on the west side instead. Sifnos rewards the effort at the table. This is where Greeks argue about food: revithada, chickpeas left overnight in a wood oven and eaten Sunday, and mastelo, lamb or goat slow-cooked with wine in a sealed clay pot. Walk it off later along the coast at Faros.

Things to do

Walk out to Chrysopigi monastery near Faros

Eat mastelo lamb up in Artemonas

Visit a working pottery kiln in Vathy

Swim the flat water of Vathi Bay

Mooring tip

Anchor off Platys Gialos on sand in 5 to 8 metres, which holds well in the northerlies. Kamares has a stern-to quay at €20–30 if you want a town berth. When the wind clocks east, Vathi on the south coast is the calmer bolt-hole.

Paros
6
Day 6

Sifnos → Paros

After yesterday, this leg feels like a gift. Twenty miles northeast to Paros with the Meltemi on the beam is the sweetest sailing of the return, quick and steady. Naoussa on the north coast is the prize, an old fishing port that has filled up with yachts and tavernas without losing the little painted boats in its inner basin. Berths there are fought over, so plan to be alongside by four or drop anchor in Plastira Bay just east. Parikia on the west coast has more room if Naoussa is stuffed. For the last night, eat on the pier where the octopus hangs drying on a line, grilled to order. Earlier in the day, the granite boulders at Kolymbithres are worth a snorkel.

Things to do

Snorkel the sculpted granite at Kolymbithres

Taste wine at a Marpissa vineyard

Grilled rope-dried octopus on Naoussa's pier

Wander Lefkes' marble lanes at dusk

Mooring tip

Naoussa's stern-to berths run €30–50 and are usually gone by five, so push to arrive mid-afternoon. Failing that, anchor half a mile east in Plastira Bay on sand in 5 to 7 metres, or fall back on roomier Parikia.

Paros
7
Day 7

Paros → Check Out

Charter mornings run to a rhythm, and this one is no different. The base wants the boat back at Parikia or Naoussa before nine, so sort the laundry the night before and settle any small damage notes with photos rather than argument. The handover walk-through with the manager is straightforward when the boat comes back clean and fuelled; deposits usually clear within a week. Paros airport is only a quarter of an hour from Parikia, which leaves room for a proper breakfast on the waterfront. If your flight is later, Golden Beach on the south coast is the spot for one more swim before you hand back the keys and think about the next loop.

Things to do

Walk the boat over with the base manager

One last swim at Golden Beach

Waterfront breakfast on the Parikia quay

Quarter-hour transfer to Paros airport

Mooring tip

Bring her back to Parikia or Naoussa before nine for handover. Photograph anything you flag as damage so the deposit, normally returned inside a week, goes through cleanly.

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