Services · private boat transfers
Island to island,
on your schedule
You saw the boat. Here’s how it actually works — a private transfer between islands, timed to your check-out, with a car waiting on both ends.
Services · private boat transfers
You saw the boat. Here’s how it actually works — a private transfer between islands, timed to your check-out, with a car waiting on both ends.
The fast boats sell out, the schedules shift, and a two-island week can quietly cost you two full travel days at the port.
If you’ve read my ferry rules, you already know the problem. A private boat transfer solves it. Instead of dragging your luggage down to Santorini’s ferry port at 7am, or into the scrum at Mykonos’ new port, a captain meets you at a small harbor near your hotel, you leave when you’re ready, and you’re on the next island in the time it takes to have lunch. On the right route it’s genuinely the nicest hour of the trip.
These are arranged individually — boat, captain, route, and timing all depend on your islands and your dates. One thing to know up front: I’m not a boat-ticket desk. The transfer comes as part of the hotel work — for trips whose hotels I’m booking, or as an add-on to a hotel booking you’ve already made and hand over to me to manage.
The transfer isn’t a standalone service — it comes attached to the hotels, either ones I’m booking for you or ones you hand me to manage.
Hotel bookings through me are complimentary — I’m paid by the hotel, and you get preferred-partner extras on top of the same rate: typically a space-available upgrade, daily breakfast, and a hotel credit. The boat, the cars, and the timing get built around the rooms.
Nothing gets cancelled or rebooked — I work around what you’ve confirmed and build the days on top of it: the boat between islands, the cars on both ends, the tables, the timing. Send me the confirmation and your dates; that’s all I need to start.
The travel day, upgraded
A private transfer isn’t just a faster ferry. It’s a different kind of day: no 6am check-out to make the only good departure, no scrum at the ramp, no hauling suitcases across a hot port. You leave from a quiet harbor near your hotel and arrive at a quiet harbor near the next one.
You set the clock. Late check-out, one more morning at the pool, then a 2pm departure — instead of building your whole day around a ferry timetable.
Small ports, not the big ones. Most crossings run from the closest practical harbor to your hotel, which usually means a shorter drive and no terminal at all.
Swim stop optional. On most routes we can add a stop at a beach or sea cave you can only reach by boat, and turn the transfer into the best half-day of the trip.
This is the single upgrade my clients thank me for most, and it costs less than they expect when there are four or more of you.
Neighbors, not marathons
Private boats are at their best between islands that are genuinely close. Cross the Cyclades’ short gaps and you get a beautiful, comfortable ride; try to run Athens to Santorini on a small boat and you get an endurance test. These are the legs I book most.
Mykonos ↔ Paros & Antiparos. The workhorse. Also Mykonos ↔ Naxos, and Paros ↔ Naxos in barely any time at all.
Sifnos ↔ Milos. My favorite crossing in Greece. Short, sheltered on most days, and it links two islands whose ferry connection is genuinely thin — often a single awkward boat, or none at all.
Santorini ↔ Milos. The one that surprises people. Roughly two hours across open water on a fast boat, and it turns two islands that feel unrelated on a map into a natural pair.
Santorini ↔ Folegandros or Ios. The honeymoon move — a genuinely small island added to the trip without losing a day to the ferry.
Longer legs, honestly. Mykonos to Santorini or anything out of Athens is possible, but it’s a long ride in open water. For those I’ll usually point you at a helicopter instead.
My rule: fly the long legs, sail the short ones. Helicopter from Athens, private boat between neighbors.
The honest fine print
A private boat is a small boat, and the Aegean has opinions. None of this is a reason not to do it — it’s just what separates a smooth transfer from a memorable one for the wrong reasons.
The Meltemi gets a vote. In high summer the wind can push a crossing earlier in the day, change the route, or occasionally cancel it. I always build the plan so a cancelled boat doesn’t cost you a hotel night.
Luggage has limits. Most boats handle a couple of large cases per cabin comfortably. If you’re travelling heavy, tell me up front and I’ll size the boat accordingly.
Pricing is per boat, not per person. Transfers start around €1,000 for a standard crossing, and go up with distance, boat size, and any swim stops you add. Split between a family or two couples, it’s a very different number than it sounds.
The hack: make the transfer your boat day. A private boat day around Milos runs about €1,400 on its own. A transfer with swim stops built in lands in similar territory — so instead of paying for a boat day and a ferry ticket, you pay once and arrive on the next island at the end of it.
Both ends need a car. Harbors aren’t hotels. When I arrange the boat, the transfer on each side is part of the booking, not an afterthought.
Book it early in season. Late June through early September, the good captains and the good boats are spoken for weeks out.
Handled properly, it’s the smoothest travel day of your trip. Handled casually, it’s still a small boat in open water — so let’s handle it properly.
A transfer boat is the practical end of this. The other end is a crewed yacht — a sailing catamaran or a motor yacht with a captain, a chef, and cabins — chartered by the day or by the week, with the islands as your route rather than your destination.
It’s a different budget and a different kind of trip, but it answers the same instinct: seeing the Cyclades from the water instead of from a ferry queue. If that’s what you’re actually picturing, say so in the note below and I’ll put options in front of you.
Nobody remembers the ferry fondly. Here’s the math I keep coming back to: a private boat day on Milos is about €1,400 all by itself. Book the Sifnos crossing with a couple of swim stops instead, and you’ve bought the same day out on the water — and it drops you at your next hotel at the end of it.
Tell me the crossing, the dates, and where things stand with your hotels — I’ll come back with the right boat and a real price.