Mykonos Yacht Companion Booking
A yacht is the one venue where the logistics genuinely are complicated, and where getting them wrong ruins an afternoon rather than merely delaying it. A villa that is hard to find can still be found. A tender that cannot be launched because the meltemi is blowing thirty knots cannot be launched at all.
We take yacht bookings regularly through the season, both at berth and at anchor. This page explains what we need, what the constraints actually are, and where the honest limits sit. It is written for adults arranging a legal booking with another adult.
One thing to establish at the outset, because it saves a difficult conversation later: we arrange the companion, you arrange the transfer. We do not charter tenders, we do not hire water taxis and we do not negotiate with marina security on your behalf. Where you are berthed, that distinction never comes up. Where you are at anchor, it is the whole arrangement, and it needs settling with your crew before you confirm anything with us.
Booking a companion to a yacht in Mykonos
What makes a yacht booking different
Three things. First, the venue moves — where you are at two in the afternoon is not where you will be at seven. Second, access depends on a tender or a passerelle, which means someone other than the companion controls whether she can board. Third, the weather has a vote, and on Mykonos in July and August that vote is frequently decisive.
Berth versus anchorage
Alongside a berth, a yacht is the simplest venue on the island: the companion walks down the pontoon and steps aboard. At anchor, everything depends on a tender, and the booking has to be planned around it. Tell us which applies when you book, because the two are entirely different arrangements.
What we need to know
The vessel name, whether you are berthed or at anchor, which marina or bay, who arranges the tender, the intended start time, and whether crew or other guests will be aboard.
Marinas, ports and anchorages
Tourlos new port marina
The main commercial and cruise port, a few minutes north of Chora, with berths for larger vessels. Road access is straightforward and this is the easiest yacht venue on the island.
The old port at Chora
Right at the edge of the town, used by smaller vessels, sea taxis and day boats. Close to everything, but the surrounding streets are congested and partly pedestrianised, so the last stretch may be on foot.
Ornos and Platis Gialos anchorages
The south-coast bays are the most popular anchorages, sheltered from the prevailing northerly wind. Tender runs to the beach are short. These are the most workable anchorage bookings.
Common day-charter routes
Day charters typically run down the south coast towards Paradise, Paraga and Super Paradise, or across to Delos and Rinia. If you are on a day charter, the practical approach is to give us the bay where you expect to be at the booking time, and to confirm it an hour beforehand.
Tender transfers
Who arranges the tender
You do, through your crew or your charter operator. We do not charter tenders and we do not arrange sea transfers. This is the single most important thing to understand before booking to a vessel at anchor: the transfer is your side of the arrangement.
Timing a tender pickup
Allow a generous margin. A tender run from a south-coast anchorage to the beach and back is fifteen to twenty-five minutes in good conditions, and it is not something to compress. Agree the pickup point and time with your crew before you confirm the booking, not afterwards.
Weather and the meltemi
The meltemi is the strong northerly that blows across the Cyclades through July and August, sometimes for days. In a hard meltemi, tender operations in exposed water become uncomfortable and sometimes unsafe. If your crew says the transfer is not on, that decision stands, and we will reschedule without argument or penalty.
What happens if the sea is rough
We move the booking, or move it ashore. If you have a hotel or villa, the simplest solution is usually to hold the booking there instead. We will not press a transfer that a professional crew is unhappy with.
Day charters versus overnight aboard
A day on the water
Daytime yacht bookings are usually longer — four hours or more — because the whole shape of the day is slower. Minimum duration is higher than ashore for the same reason.
Staying aboard overnight
Overnight aboard is straightforward when the vessel is berthed and needs careful planning when it is at anchor, because it commits the companion to being aboard until the morning tender. Agree the return arrangement before the booking starts.
Crew and other guests
Yachts are small, shared spaces. Crew will know, and other guests will know. That is unavoidable and worth accepting before you book rather than being surprised by. Professional crew are entirely discreet; it is simply not the same kind of privacy a villa offers.
Rates for yacht bookings
Minimum duration
Three hours minimum at a berth, four hours minimum at anchor. The transfer time involved makes anything shorter impractical.
Transfer supplements
A supplement applies to anchorage bookings to reflect the additional time. Berth bookings at Tourlos or the old port are charged as a standard Chora-area booking with no marine supplement.
Overnight rates
Priced as a single overnight figure. Given the transfer logistics, overnight aboard is often better value than a long day booking.
Practical notes for charter guests
Tell us the vessel size
It matters more than you would think. A forty-metre motor yacht with a crew of eight is a different environment from a fifteen-metre sailing yacht with a skipper, and knowing which we are dealing with lets us plan the transfer and the timing sensibly.
Charter agreements and crew
Some charter agreements place conditions on guests coming aboard. That is between you and your operator, not something we can advise on, but it is worth checking before you book rather than discovering it at the passerelle.
Bringing the booking ashore instead
Very often the simplest answer. If you are in the bay at Ornos or Platis Gialos, a booking at a hotel or villa ashore removes the tender problem entirely and costs less. Ask about it — we will suggest it ourselves if it looks like the better option.
The season on the water
June and September
The best months for yacht bookings. The meltemi is lighter, the bays are calmer and transfers are straightforward. Availability is also easier than in peak.
July and August
The busiest charter season and the windiest. Bookings are entirely possible but transfers are less predictable, and it is worth having a shore-based fallback agreed in advance.
Shoulder months
May and early October see fewer charters and much easier arrangements. See our Mykonos shoulder season booking page.
Common questions
Can you meet me at the marina?
Yes. Berth bookings at Tourlos and the old port are the simplest yacht arrangement — the companion arrives by road and boards directly.
Who pays for the tender?
You do, and you arrange it. We do not charter tenders or arrange sea transfers of any kind.
What if we are at anchor rather than berthed?
Then a tender transfer is required, arranged by your crew. Minimum booking rises to four hours and a transfer supplement applies.
What happens if the meltemi is blowing?
If your crew judge the transfer unsafe or uncomfortable, we reschedule or move the booking ashore. There is no penalty. Weather decisions belong to the professionals aboard.
Is there a minimum booking on a yacht?
Three hours at a berth, four at anchor.
Can the booking continue ashore afterwards?
Yes, and it often does — the yacht in the afternoon, Chora in the evening. Tell us at the outset so the whole thing is scheduled as one booking rather than two.
Do you visit vessels at Delos or Rinia?
Delos is a protected archaeological site with restricted anchoring and overnight stays are not permitted. In practice bookings happen in the Mykonos bays or at the ports rather than there.
How much notice do you need for a yacht booking?
More than for a land booking. A day ahead is sensible, particularly at anchor, because the tender has to be arranged on your side as well as the booking on ours.
Yacht bookings: the short version
Berthed is easy, anchored is not
At Tourlos or the old port the companion simply walks down the pontoon. At anchor everything depends on a tender that you arrange.
The tender is yours to organise
We do not charter tenders or arrange sea transfers of any kind. Agree it with your crew before confirming the booking.
The weather decides
If the meltemi is blowing and your crew are unhappy with the transfer, that call stands and we reschedule or move ashore without penalty.
Book longer
Three hours minimum at a berth, four at anchor. The transfer time makes anything shorter impractical for everyone involved.
Related pages
If moving the booking ashore is the simpler answer, our Mykonos villa outcall booking and Ornos and Platis Gialos outcall pages cover the areas nearest the popular anchorages. For pricing including the anchorage transfer supplement, see Mykonos high season rates.