When you bareboat, you sail the boat yourself, from A to Z, and you are entirely responsible. The person in charge of the charter needs to have skippering experience on a yacht close to the size you intend to charter.

Greek law requires you to provide a photocopy of your sailing license, before the start of your charter.

As the skipper, you will be responsible of the keeping and sailing of the boat, and of your crew's safety. Before leaving the dock though, you will get a thorough chart briefing, and a boat briefing to show you all the boat's systems.

You are still using a bareboat but you add a free-lance skipper for all or part of the cruise. We have a number of friendly, experienced skippers which speak a number of languages. We can choose and provide the skipper for your party. This is extra –140 Euros per day. You are also responsible for feeding the skipper.

This is a good option if you want to eventually bareboat, but don't feel comfortable enough in your skills yet; or if you are discovering a new or challenging sailing area and feel the need to have a guide for a couple of days.

The yacht comes with a permanent, live aboard captain and cook/chef. Crewed yachts tend to be larger, more luxurious than bareboats, and usually have more "toys", like a windsurf or a kayak. Some even offer scuba diving .

Remember: The secret of an enjoyable crewed charter is essentially the crew, and not only the boat. Of course, the boat has to be adequate, but the crew will make or break your cruise.
On a crewed yacht, it is entirely up to you to be just a relaxed luxury vacationer, or to participate in the sailing, or to learn new skills from the skipper. In most cases, if you so desire, the captain will let you steer or handle some sailing chores under his supervision. You and your party choose, with the guidance of the captain, the day's activities and the itinerary, on a day-to-day basis.

Remember though: Ultimately, the Captain is in charge, not you. In other words, if he deems that some previously selected destination is no longer suitable (poor weather, rolly anchorage, or any safety reason), he will have the last word and change the plans according to his judgment. If he is a good skipper, he will be very diplomatic about this and find a nice replacement destination. But do not expect him to compromise safety just to make you happy.