Following the exciting announcement that fully vaccinated UK residents arriving in England from amber travel list destinations will no longer have to quarantine from 19th July, it’s reasonable to predict that Greece’s iconic islands and beaches are going to be busy.
But for many of us, crowds, queues, masks and enforced social distancing are the irritants of everyday life, so why would we want to encounter them on holiday?
The Greece of our dreams exists outside the constraints of the pandemic. It’s a place of seas as clear and as blue as the sky; of hidden beaches; and ancient villages untroubled by the anxieties of modern life.
It’s an empty beach on heart-shaped Daskalio Island; coffee in a fisherman’s café in Napflion with views, literally, of Arcadia; and having heavenly Ververoda Bay all to yourself.
Our Greek escape, then, should be a flight to freedom, open spaces and tranquillity. It should be like a fast boat moving across an empty ocean, helmed by a skipper who knows the channels and coves like a delivery driver knows his back streets.
While others stake their claim on congested beaches, you would be alone but for friends and family on sands inaccessible from land where the only sounds are the breezes in the leaves and the sighs of waves on the shore, and while they queue for socially distanced tables in crowded restaurants, your lunch would be the catch of the day in a quayside taverna that no superyacht, coach or hire car will ever find.
And when you swim, you would float like the only star in an empty blue sky. It’s a dream that can come true with Yannis and Veneta Vasatis of Spetses Cruising.
They’ve spent 40 years exploring their local waters for the sheer joy of it, and now they’re sharing their knowledge with aficionados in search of the Greece they always suspected was out there but perhaps could never find.
And they’re doing it in head-turning style, with two state-of-the-art vessels: Nireas, a Nimbus T11 day boat with twin 350hp outboards; and Pytheas, an ultra-high performance 800hp RIB capable of 60 knots.
Both offer the luxury of a superyacht with the speed and agility of a powerboat on full or half-day trips to the Argolic Gulf, the Athenian Riviera; the Eastern Peloponnese, Saronic gulf and the Western Cycladic islands of Milos, Serifos, Sifnos and beyond. Spetses Cruising also offers first-class limousine services, allowing you to start your holiday in style, from the moment your feet land in Greece.
What you do is up to you – Spetses Cruising promises only that your trip will be “unforgettable, private, bespoke and luxurious” – but Yannis recommends perhaps a picnic on the island of Dokos – population 18; private tours of the citadel town of Monemvasia; visits to a hidden blue bay he describes as “the most wonderful swimming spot in the world”, where the onboard toys, including sea scooters, snorkelling gear and paddle boards, can be deployed; and long lunches at that taverna: the one the superyacht crowd will never find.
Full day trips inclusive of a tailored itinerary start from €2,000, based of eight sharing, with pickups from Athens, Spetses, Porto Heli, Hydra, Nafplion and Monemvasia.
