Anticipating your sailing vacation is great fun, yet choosing the right charter yacht might almost be as difficult as finding a reliable charter company.
To select that perfect boat you will need to look at the following criteria:
The number of cabins or berths needed, including the hostess or skipper. Some yachts come in different designs: an owners version which usually combines two cabins into one large stateroom or a holiday version which holds as many cabins as possible. You should also consider the number of heads and showers.
The standing height or head room below deck can be quite a limiting factor. If you or one of your crew is taller than 1.85 m (6′ 1″) my advice would be to choose a yacht that has a standing room of at least 1.90 m (6′ 3″). Note that this standing height is often the maximum height below deck, and especially in yachts smaller than 35 feet this means that most of the saloon will be much lower.
There is a minimum yacht size of 30 feet due to the Aegean winds and waves, so it is no luxury to charter at least a 32 feet yacht in the (southern) Cyclades and Dodecanese. Yet, in the Ionian and the Argolic and Saronic Gulfs – which are less demanding areas – a 30 feet yacht should be sufficient.
The age of the yacht: The consensus is that all yachts built in 2004 or later are usually new enough, but those built in 2001 – 2003 should preferably only be chartered through reliable charter businesses. Yachts build before 2001 are considered very old. Yet, good and professional maintenance is the key here: A three year old yacht could well be in better shape than a one year old sister ship.
A longer yacht has a larger maximum speed. For instance a 50 foot yacht has 30% more speed than its 30 feet version, which allows you to travel greater distances, adding more freedom to your itinerary.
By keeping in mind these few things you can have a better control over your voyage.
