Superyacht owners' guide: 4 top tips for Greece
Throw out the guide book
I don’t think it’s necessary to take a specific cruising guide, especially for the Aegean Sea, as the islands are so close to each other and so much information is available everywhere. Admittedly, I am Greek, so I am a bit biased, but I don’t think a big guidebook is necessary — it helps, but it isn’t necessary. Perhaps the best idea is to get a brief guide with a short summary of all the islands — there are so many that if you try to read lots of information you will never finish.
Ideally, find a small guide with half a page or less on each of the bigger islands. This means that you can get a general idea of the advantages and disadvantages, the accessibility, the size of the port, if you can moor at a dock or if you have to anchor off, and what’s available in the way of nightlife, museums or other attractions. Then you can decide on the islands that you want to visit and why, along with the things you particularly want to see and do. Use the basic information to make a quick decision, you don’t need an encyclopaedia about each island because you will have lost the summer just doing the research.
If you want to read something to get in the mood for your trip, there is nothing better than the most famous book in the world: the story of Ulysses, or Odysseus, the legendary king of Ithaca and the hero of Homer’s Odyssey.
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