Greek Charter - Istion Yacht Charters

[robheineman]

I am planning a charter out of Kos Greece. One of the companies I am looking at is Istion yacht Charters. Has anyone used them? Comments?
Additionally, we are looking at a 7-day trip to Santorini, Ios, Naxos, Paros. Any tips, traps?

[yanto]

Dear Rob
we are using Istion for a 7 day charter out of Corfu August 4 -11 this year. Because of the complicated way we are doing it (more of which in a minute) I am so far extremely pleased with the way the greeks are handling our charter. They were recommended to us by a Dutchman who runs a website called sailingissues.com and they have been very courteous with all the demands we have made on them so far. We will have to wait and see how they perform during the time of the charter but so far everything appears to be OK.
We are chartering a Bavaria 39C built in 2005.They have emailed pics of the boat and she looks very well kitted out. She will have a full inventory and should be ready to go as soon as we arrive. We plan on going round the northern coast of Corfu then south around Paxos and then over to the mainland and directly back to Corfu
I will be the only Brit in a party of 6. The rest, including the skipper who has lots of experience, are all Spanish. We are all family so there should be no problems. The main charterer doesn't speak English and is unable to communicate with Istion except through me. He lives in Madrid so any emails and demands for money have to go first through me to be translated then on to madrid for action.(I told you this was complicated!)
I will let you know if we do hit any problems but so far, touch wood, all is well.
Regards
Ianford

[chrondi]

I gather that you will follow the itinerary Laka/Paxos, Gaios/Paxos, Parga and Sivota on the mainland and back to Kerkyra (Corfu). The only drawback is that you sail during the peak season, so the cruise will not be cheap. The Dutch expert from whom you got advice is a well-known and reliable information source. I only add wishes for moderate, stable winds (the weather pattern, except the quasi certainty that it will remain DRY, is quite unpredictable, i.e. there is a small possibility of strong, gusty winds or more probably than not no wind at all).

[mago34]

Hello Everyone,

My name is Maggie I'm a native New Yorker and a Corfiot. I work for a yacht charter company here in Corfu. ( I'm not spamming or advertising) I'm writing to let you know that Corfu has also 3 more secret islands that you should try. They are Mathraki, Othoni and Ereikousa. You will love these islands and they have the best little taverns that serve traditional food.If you have any questions regarding Corfu I'll be glad to help.My personal email is maggiemakris@yahoo.com

[Josephus]

Originally Posted by robheineman

I am planning a charter out of Kos Greece. One of the companies I am looking at is Istion yacht Charters. Has anyone used them? Comments?
Additionally, we are looking at a 7-day trip to Santorini, Ios, Naxos, Paros. Any tips, traps?

Hello Rob,

Please tell me about your experience by Istion?

[chrondi]

My dear Josephus, do you realize that you have revived a thread that is dead since more than three years ago? I comment because in the summer I cruised on these waters. I note that Mathraki (the small island NW of Corfu, mentioned by one of the contributors) is not really worth visiting mainly because of the high concerns about navigation safety and lack of convenient anchorage whatsoever. Call at Ereikousa instead! Paxoi island is quite interesting (Lakka bay in the North, Gaios main harbour and emerald bay in Antipaxoi, just south of Paxoi, for an exciting swimming) as well as Parga on the continent. To venture more to the south you need two weeks. We sailed as far south as Fiskardho on Cephallonia and Vathy on Ithaca, the only drawback being the general lack of wind. The boat was a fifty-footer and would plead for force five to six if only to prove her seaworthiness!

[bonsai77]

For my chartern in Greece I had a very good experience with Scansail Yachtcharter. Great service, new yachts. Nothing to complain about. F. e. they were sending us the weather report by text message on our mobile for free.