A Corfu yacht charter is the hire of a catamaran, motor yacht or sailing yacht from Corfu, as a crewed private charter or a self-skippered bareboat charter, for a day cruise or a week in the Ionian. Corfu’s Gouvia Marina is one of the largest charter bases in the Mediterranean. Plan the whole trip with Greece Tours.
This guide covers the Corfu yacht charter in full: what a charter includes and costs, the catamaran, motor yacht and sailing yacht options, Gouvia Marina, the Ionian route to Paxos, Antipaxos and the northeast coast, bareboat versus crewed hire, the best season, and how to book. Pair it with the Corfu boat tours and Corfu airport transfers.
What is a Corfu yacht charter and what does it include?
A Corfu yacht charter is the hire of a catamaran, motor yacht or sailing yacht from Corfu as a crewed private charter or a self-skippered bareboat charter, booked for a day cruise or a week across the Ionian Sea.
A Corfu yacht charter departs from Gouvia Marina near Corfu Town. A Corfu yacht charter is the cleanest way to reach Paxos and the Ionian coves. Booking a Corfu yacht charter ahead secures the boat and the sunset slot. For couples and groups, a Corfu yacht charter is the private way to see the coast. For the turquoise coves of Antipaxos, a Corfu yacht charter is the finest seat on the island. Families take a Corfu yacht charter for the swimming stops and the meal on board. Every coast trip begins with a Corfu yacht charter from a southern marina. The Ionian route on a Corfu yacht charter passes Paxos and the Antipaxos blue caves. A Corfu yacht charter is booked before the trip for a fixed, agreed price for the whole boat. The charter starts at one of two departure points. Gouvia Marina, four kilometres north of Corfu Town, holds the main fleet and every check-in desk for bareboat and crewed boats. Mandraki harbour, tucked below the Old Fortress in Corfu Town, is the second departure point and sits within walking distance of the historic centre. A guest picks the vessel, the trip length and the crewing model, then boards at the base on the morning of departure.
A crewed charter includes a fixed package of items priced into the boat. The skipper runs the vessel and plots the route, the crew serves food and pours from an open bar, and the fee covers fuel, marina transfers, snorkelling gear and the mooring at each stop. The guest steps aboard, drops a bag in a cabin and does nothing beyond choosing where to swim. On a full-week crewed booking a host prepares meals on board, refreshes the deck and manages the tender for beach landings.
A bareboat charter strips the package down to the boat itself. The guest holds the sailing licence, skippers the vessel, buys the fuel and provisions the galley. This route suits a licensed sailor who wants the tiller and the freedom to anchor on their own schedule. A crewed booking adds a professional skipper and a host to the same hull, so a novice takes the identical route with a licensed captain at the wheel and a cook in the galley.
The equipment list carries the difference between a day out and a floating base. A crewed catamaran boards fitted with a full galley, a gas hob, a fridge, freshwater tanks, hot showers, an inflatable tender and an outboard for beach landings, plus the snorkelling gear and the shaded cockpit that turn a day at anchor into a base for swimming and lunch. A week-long charter adds bedding, towels, a sound system and a paddleboard to the deck. Whichever model a guest selects, a Corfu yacht charter delivers direct access to Paxos, Antipaxos, the northeast coast and the open Ionian from a single Corfu base. For a lighter, ticketed alternative that needs no licence and no full-boat fee, compare it against the range of Corfu boat tours that run as fixed departures from the same waterfront.
How much does a Corfu yacht charter cost?
A Corfu yacht charter is priced three ways: a private charter buys the whole boat at one price, a shared cruise sells a single seat, and a bareboat charter is billed by the week plus a refundable security deposit held against the vessel.
The set fare on a Corfu yacht charter covers the food, the drinks and the fuel. A private Corfu yacht charter is exclusive to your group, with no other guests on board. The choice of Corfu yacht charter comes down to the vessel, the hours and the group size. The crew of a Corfu yacht charter handle the sailing, the cooking and the anchoring. A Corfu yacht charter departs from Gouvia Marina near Corfu Town. A Corfu yacht charter is the cleanest way to reach Paxos and the Ionian coves. Booking a Corfu yacht charter ahead secures the boat and the sunset slot. For couples and groups, a Corfu yacht charter is the private way to see the coast. The private charter fee scales with the vessel, the crewing and the trip length. A crewed catamaran taken for a full day of 6 to 8 hours carries the highest day rate because the price folds in the skipper, the host, the fuel, the food and the open bar for up to 12 guests. A motor yacht taken for the same day costs more per hour again, because the engines burn more fuel at speed and the finish on board is built for luxury. A half-day cruise of 3 to 4 hours and a sunset cruise of 3 hours sit at the lower end, since the boat returns to the marina inside the afternoon.
The shared cruise splits the boat into seats. A guest buys one place on a scheduled departure, joins a mixed group of up to 12 and pays a per-seat rate that folds in the same crew, food and drinks. This route delivers the crewed catamaran experience at a fraction of the whole-boat fee and suits a couple or a solo traveller who wants the deck without the full charter cost. The trade is a shared schedule and a shared guest list.
The bareboat charter is billed by the week for the hull and its equipment. On top of the weekly fee the base holds a refundable security deposit against damage, released after the boat returns clean and undamaged. The guest then adds fuel, provisions and mooring fees at each island. A bareboat week runs 7 nights and delivers the lowest cost per day for a licensed crew that provisions and skippers itself.
Trip length drives the number as hard as the vessel. A 3-hour sunset cruise and a half-day cruise of 3 to 4 hours return the boat to the marina inside the afternoon, so they carry the lowest fee and the smallest fuel burn. A full-day cruise of 6 to 8 hours doubles the water time and the fuel, and a 7-night charter multiplies the whole line item across a week of anchorages. Add a skipper day rate to a bareboat if the crew wants a captain for the first day, and a host fee if it wants meals cooked on board. Budget the whole trip by adding transfers, provisioning and mooring to the headline charter fee.
Which yachts are available to charter in Corfu?
Three vessel classes charter out of Corfu: a catamaran with a stable twin hull for up to 12 guests, a fast and luxurious motor yacht, and a sailing yacht or monohull for a crew that wants the wind and a lower fuel bill.
Planning a Corfu yacht charter ahead beats the scramble for a summer sunset slot. The catamaran is the steady choice for a Corfu yacht charter with a meal and open bar. A Corfu yacht charter includes the skipper, the crew, the meal and the snorkelling gear. A Corfu yacht charter carries the transfer from the hotel to the marina and back. The price of a Corfu yacht charter is set at booking, for the boat rather than per seat. The set fare on a Corfu yacht charter covers the food, the drinks and the fuel. A private Corfu yacht charter is exclusive to your group, with no other guests on board. The choice of Corfu yacht charter comes down to the vessel, the hours and the group size. The catamaran is the flagship of the Corfu day fleet. Two hulls hold the deck flat in a swell, so the boat stays level at anchor and under way, and the wide trampolines and aft seating give up to 12 guests room to spread out. A crewed catamaran arrives set for a full day on the water, with a meal cooked on board, an open bar, a shaded cockpit and a swim ladder that drops straight into the turquoise coves off Antipaxos. Its shallow draught lets it nose into bays a deeper hull leaves alone.
The motor yacht is built for speed and finish. It covers the 20 nautical miles to Paxos in under an hour, opens the northeast coast and the Diapontia islands inside a single day, and delivers air-conditioned cabins, a sun deck and a plush interior. A group that values pace and polish over sail picks the motor yacht, trading a higher fuel bill for the ground it covers. This is the vessel for reaching the Albanian Riviera and returning by evening.
The sailing yacht, or monohull, is the choice for a crew that wants the boat driven by wind. It heels into a breeze, runs quiet with the engine off and burns a fraction of the fuel a motor yacht drinks. Sailing yachts fill both the bareboat and the crewed side of the Gouvia fleet, in sizes that sleep a couple in one cabin up to a group across four cabins. A licensed skipper takes a bareboat monohull for a self-directed week; a novice books the same hull crewed and learns the ropes from the professional at the helm.
Cabin count and layout separate the classes at the dock. A catamaran splits its accommodation across two hulls, so each of its four double cabins gets its own hull space and head, and a group of up to 12 sleeps without treading on one another. A monohull stacks its cabins fore and aft of a central saloon, a tighter footprint that a couple or a family fills. A motor yacht trades sail area for cabin volume and interior finish, with air-conditioning running through the night off a generator. Match the vessel to the group: the catamaran for space and stability, the monohull for sailing and fuel economy, the motor yacht for speed and comfort.
What is Gouvia Marina and why charter from Corfu?
Gouvia Marina is one of the largest yacht-charter bases in the Mediterranean, holding a full bareboat and crewed fleet inside a sheltered bay four kilometres north of Corfu Town, which makes it the natural launch point for the northern Ionian.
A Corfu yacht charter is booked before the trip for a fixed, agreed price for the whole boat. A Corfu yacht charter drops anchor for swimming off Paxos and Antipaxos. The sunset slot on a Corfu yacht charter fills first in high season. The motor yacht is the fast, luxurious option for a private Corfu yacht charter. A Corfu yacht charter runs half-day, full-day or as a five-hour sunset cruise. Planning a Corfu yacht charter ahead beats the scramble for a summer sunset slot. The catamaran is the steady choice for a Corfu yacht charter with a meal and open bar. A Corfu yacht charter includes the skipper, the crew, the meal and the snorkelling gear. The marina sits in a wide, protected bay ringed by low hills, with over a thousand berths, a fuel dock, a boatyard, chandlers, provisioning shops and charter offices along the quay. A guest checks in at the base desk, walks the pontoon to the assigned berth and boards a boat already fuelled, watered and briefed. The sheltered water inside the bay keeps the first and last hours of a charter calm, so a bareboat crew leaves and returns without wrestling open-sea swell at the dock.
Corfu earns its place as a charter base on geography. The island sits at the top of the Ionian, a short hop from Paxos and Antipaxos to the south and from the Diapontia islands to the northwest, with the Albanian coast across a narrow strait to the east. From Gouvia a boat reaches protected anchorages inside an hour and threads a chain of islands that stay in sight of one another, so a crew never crosses a long, exposed passage. The Ionian’s steady summer breeze and flat morning water suit both a first bareboat week and a relaxed crewed cruise.
The base also connects cleanly to arrival. Corfu International Airport sits ten minutes from the marina, so a crew lands, transfers and boards inside the same afternoon. Line up the marina check-in with a pre-booked Corfu airport transfers run so the drive from the terminal to the Gouvia quay is settled before the flight lands. Book the base ahead for the peak Ionian weeks, when the crewed catamarans and the popular bareboat monohulls clear out of the calendar first.
What does the Ionian route from Corfu cover?
The Ionian route from Corfu runs two ways: south to Paxos and Antipaxos, Sivota, the mainland coast and Lefkada, and north along the northeast coast to Kalami, Agni and the Diapontia islands, with the Albanian Riviera across the strait.
For couples and groups, a Corfu yacht charter is the private way to see the coast. For the turquoise coves of Antipaxos, a Corfu yacht charter is the finest seat on the island. Families take a Corfu yacht charter for the swimming stops and the meal on board. Every coast trip begins with a Corfu yacht charter from a southern marina. The Ionian route on a Corfu yacht charter passes Paxos and the Antipaxos blue caves. A Corfu yacht charter is booked before the trip for a fixed, agreed price for the whole boat. A Corfu yacht charter drops anchor for swimming off Paxos and Antipaxos. The sunset slot on a Corfu yacht charter fills first in high season. The southern route is the headline cruise. It tracks 20 nautical miles down to Paxos, a green island cut with sea caves, and on to tiny Antipaxos, where the water over white sand at Voutoumi and Vrika beaches turns a Caribbean blue. Between the two islands the blue caves open in the western cliffs, and a boat noses in so guests swim inside the glowing water. Further south the route reaches Sivota on the mainland, a cluster of pine-backed coves, and Lefkada, whose west coast holds the cliffs and the white beaches that draw the longer charters.
The northern route hugs Corfu’s own northeast coast, the stretch the Durrell family made famous. It calls at Kalami, the bay below the White House, at Agni with its three tavernas at the waterline, and at Kensington-on-Sea, the local name for the Kensington family’s stretch of shore. Past the northern tip the route reaches the Diapontia islands, Erikoussa, Mathraki and Othonoi, three small islands with quiet harbours, empty beaches and clear water at the very edge of Greek waters.
East of the northeast coast the Albanian Riviera lies across a narrow strait, its mountains rising straight from the sea. A charter that clears the crossing formalities reaches Sarandë and the coves below the Albanian range, adding a second country to a single Ionian week. Whichever direction a crew picks, the islands stay in sight of one another, the passages run short and the anchorages hold flat water for the night.
The Ionian’s wind and water shape the sailing itself. The prevailing summer breeze, the maïstro, fills in from the northwest through the afternoon and dies back at dusk, so a crew sails downwind in the warm hours and motors home on flat evening water. Mornings start calm, which suits an early passage south to Paxos before the sea builds. The anchorages hold good ground for the hook, and the tavernas at Agni, Kalami and the Paxos harbours take a bow-to mooring line, so a boat ties to the quay and the crew steps ashore for dinner. A full-day cruise of 6 to 8 hours covers the near half of one route; a 7-night charter links the whole chain.
Bareboat, crewed or shared — which Corfu charter is right for you?
Pick a bareboat charter for a licensed crew that wants full control, a crewed charter for a group that wants a skipper and host to run everything, and a shared cruise for a couple or solo traveller who wants a seat on a day boat without the whole-boat fee.
The choice of Corfu yacht charter comes down to the vessel, the hours and the group size. The crew of a Corfu yacht charter handle the sailing, the cooking and the anchoring. A Corfu yacht charter departs from Gouvia Marina near Corfu Town. A Corfu yacht charter is the cleanest way to reach Paxos and the Ionian coves. Booking a Corfu yacht charter ahead secures the boat and the sunset slot. For couples and groups, a Corfu yacht charter is the private way to see the coast. For the turquoise coves of Antipaxos, a Corfu yacht charter is the finest seat on the island. Families take a Corfu yacht charter for the swimming stops and the meal on board. The bareboat charter puts the guest in command. It demands a valid sailing licence and a crew confident to skipper, navigate, moor and provision across a 7-night week. In return it delivers total freedom: the crew anchors where it wants, wakes when it wants and reroutes on the morning’s weather with no schedule but its own. The weekly fee plus a refundable deposit buys the lowest day rate on the water for a group that carries the skills to run the boat itself.
The crewed charter hands the work to professionals. A skipper plots the route and reads the wind, a host cooks on board and keeps an open bar flowing, and the fee folds in the fuel, the food, the snorkelling gear and the marina transfers. A group with no licence, or one that wants a holiday with zero responsibility, takes the crewed catamaran or motor yacht and does nothing beyond choosing the next swim stop. This model turns the charter into a floating hotel with a private guide who knows every hidden cove.
The shared cruise splits the difference on price. A guest buys one seat on a scheduled crewed catamaran, joins a group of up to 12 and pays per person for the same skipper, food, drinks and route. It fits a couple, a solo traveller or a pair of friends who want the crewed day without the full charter fee, and who accept a set departure and a mixed guest list in trade. The choice comes down to three questions: does the crew hold a licence, does the group want the whole boat, and does the budget favour a seat over a hull.
How do you sail to Paxos, Antipaxos and the northeast coast?
Paxos and Antipaxos sit 20 nautical miles south of Corfu with blue caves and turquoise coves, while the northeast coast runs north to Kalami, Agni, Kensington-on-Sea and the Diapontia islands of Erikoussa, Mathraki and Othonoi.
A Corfu yacht charter includes the skipper, the crew, the meal and the snorkelling gear. A Corfu yacht charter carries the transfer from the hotel to the marina and back. The price of a Corfu yacht charter is set at booking, for the boat rather than per seat. The set fare on a Corfu yacht charter covers the food, the drinks and the fuel. A private Corfu yacht charter is exclusive to your group, with no other guests on board. The choice of Corfu yacht charter comes down to the vessel, the hours and the group size. The crew of a Corfu yacht charter handle the sailing, the cooking and the anchoring. A Corfu yacht charter departs from Gouvia Marina near Corfu Town. A day south to Paxos and Antipaxos is the classic Corfu charter. The boat clears Gouvia, tracks the coast and crosses to Paxos, where the western cliffs hide the blue caves, cathedral-like hollows in the rock that glow with reflected light. The crew drops anchor and guests swim into the caves off the swim ladder. A short hop further south reaches Antipaxos, a scrap of an island fringed by Vrika and Voutoumi, two beaches where white sand turns the shallow water a bright, transparent blue. A catamaran anchors off the sand for a long lunch and an afternoon of snorkelling.
A day north traces the coast the writer Gerald Durrell grew up on. Kalami curls below the White House, where Lawrence Durrell wrote, and holds a bay of clear water and a taverna at the shore. Agni, the next cove north, lines its waterfront with three family tavernas, so a crew moors bow-to and steps off the boat straight to a table. Kensington-on-Sea marks the Kensington family’s stretch of the same green coast. Each anchorage sits minutes from the last, so a single day north strings four stops without a long passage.
Beyond the northern tip the Diapontia islands close the northeast route. Erikoussa carries a sandy beach and a small harbour, Mathraki keeps a long empty strand backed by pine, and Othonoi, the westernmost point of Greece, holds a cave and a bay of glass-clear water. These three islands see thin traffic, so a crew anchors in quiet where the southern route runs busy. A full-day cruise of 6 to 8 hours reaches either the Paxos pair or the near Diapontia; a longer charter links both routes with the northeast coves in between.
When is the best time for a Corfu yacht charter?
The Corfu charter season runs from late spring to October, with July and August the peak for hot, settled weather and full marinas, and June and September the sweet spot for warm seas, thinner crowds and steadier prices.
The sunset slot on a Corfu yacht charter fills first in high season. The motor yacht is the fast, luxurious option for a private Corfu yacht charter. A Corfu yacht charter runs half-day, full-day or as a five-hour sunset cruise. Planning a Corfu yacht charter ahead beats the scramble for a summer sunset slot. The catamaran is the steady choice for a Corfu yacht charter with a meal and open bar. A Corfu yacht charter includes the skipper, the crew, the meal and the snorkelling gear. A Corfu yacht charter carries the transfer from the hotel to the marina and back. The price of a Corfu yacht charter is set at booking, for the boat rather than per seat. Early season, late spring and June, opens the water. The sea warms through June, the daytime air sits in the high twenties Celsius, the Ionian breeze stays light in the mornings, and the anchorages off Paxos and Antipaxos hold room to spread out. Prices sit below the peak and the base keeps boats open on the calendar, so a late booking still finds a crewed catamaran or a bareboat monohull. June delivers long daylight, with the sun up past 20:30, which stretches a full-day cruise well into the evening.
High season, July and August, brings the hottest, driest, calmest weather of the year. Daytime air climbs into the mid-thirties Celsius, the sea reaches its warmest, rain clears out and the afternoon breeze fills in reliably for the sailing yachts. This is the window families book, so the marinas fill, the popular coves draw a crowd and the day rates hit their ceiling. A crew that wants these weeks books the Gouvia base far ahead, because the crewed catamarans and the in-demand bareboat hulls clear out of the calendar first.
Late season, September and into October, holds the warmth and drops the crush. The sea stays at its summer temperature through September, the air eases back to the high twenties, the crowds thin as the school term restarts and the prices soften from the August peak. The light turns golden for a 3-hour sunset cruise, and the anchorages that packed out in August open back up. October closes the season as the first autumn systems arrive, so an early-October charter watches the forecast and keeps the northeast coves within a short run home.
How do you book a Corfu yacht charter?
Book a Corfu yacht charter by choosing the vessel, the trip length and the crewing model, then reserving the Gouvia Marina base ahead of the peak Ionian weeks, since the crewed catamarans and popular bareboat hulls fill their calendars first.
Families take a Corfu yacht charter for the swimming stops and the meal on board. Every coast trip begins with a Corfu yacht charter from a southern marina. The Ionian route on a Corfu yacht charter passes Paxos and the Antipaxos blue caves. A Corfu yacht charter is booked before the trip for a fixed, agreed price for the whole boat. A Corfu yacht charter drops anchor for swimming off Paxos and Antipaxos. The sunset slot on a Corfu yacht charter fills first in high season. The motor yacht is the fast, luxurious option for a private Corfu yacht charter. A Corfu yacht charter runs half-day, full-day or as a five-hour sunset cruise. Start with the four decisions that fix the price. Pick the vessel from the catamaran, the motor yacht and the sailing yacht. Pick the trip length from a half-day cruise of 3 to 4 hours, a full-day cruise of 6 to 8 hours, a 3-hour sunset cruise, or a full 7-night week. Pick the crewing from bareboat, crewed or a shared seat. Pick the route, south to Paxos and Antipaxos or north to the northeast coast and the Diapontia islands. Those four choices set the boat, the base slot and the quote.
Reserve the base early. Gouvia Marina holds the fleet, and the peak July and August weeks book out well before the season opens, with the crewed catamarans and the in-demand bareboat monohulls the first to go. A deposit confirms the boat, the balance falls due before departure, and a bareboat booking adds the refundable security deposit released after the boat returns clean. Confirm the licence up front for a bareboat, since the base checks the qualification of the skipper before it hands over the keys.
Provisioning closes the plan. A bareboat crew fills the galley at the supermarket beside Gouvia Marina the evening before departure, or orders a provisioning pack delivered to the boat, so the fridge is stocked for the first days at sea before the run south to Paxos. A crewed charter skips this step, since the host buys the food and stocks the bar into the whole-boat fee. Confirm the swimming and snorkelling plan too, because the crewed catamaran carries the gear and the tender that open the caves and the beach landings.
Line up the ground logistics alongside the boat. Corfu International Airport sits ten minutes from Gouvia, so a crew that pre-books a transfer lands and boards the same afternoon, and a return transfer slots against the disembarkation time at week’s end. Bring the sailing licence, passports for any crew, and a provisioning list for a bareboat galley. With the vessel confirmed, the base slot held and the transfers set, the charter runs from a single quay into the northern Ionian on the morning of departure.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much is a Corfu yacht charter?
A private Corfu yacht charter is priced for the whole boat, agreed at booking. A crewed charter covers the skipper, crew, food, drinks and marina transfers; a shared cruise is priced per seat; a bareboat charter is priced by the week plus a deposit.
What is Gouvia Marina?
Gouvia Marina, 8 kilometres north of Corfu Town, is one of the largest yacht-charter bases in the Mediterranean, with a full bareboat and crewed fleet. It is the main departure point for a Corfu yacht charter into the Ionian.
Where does a Corfu yacht charter sail?
A Corfu yacht charter sails south to Paxos and Antipaxos with their blue caves and turquoise coves, to Sivota and Lefkada, and north to Kalami, Agni and the Diapontia islands of Erikoussa, Mathraki and Othonoi.