Greece/Italy/Turkey for winter?

[ThereAndBack]

Maybe I am looking for too much here but any suggestions are welcome.

Our boat is in Southern Italy and we are returning there in late August. The plan was to take her to Greece and leave her there until the spring. We would also like to spend Christmas/New Year onboard.

So here is the question:
Can anyone suggest somewhere we may leave her (in the water) at a reasonable cost where we will be able to get to off-season from the UK without too much hassle or expense.

Our insurance company requires that she must be in a 'marina' when we are not onboard.

Although we prefer Greece, we will consider other countries within that area.

Advice, experiences and pros/cons would be welcome.

Thanks

Alan

 

[dolphin]

from personal experience - methana (not expensive), alimos & olimpic marina (expensive), marmaris (avarage) - on the water
on dry - pevko (30 km south of piraeus, near megara), poros & marmaris - not expensive, alimos & olimpic marina - expensive

 

[BobnLesley]

Kalamata in the SW of the Pelopenese is the most reasonably priced of the K&G Marinas and tends to have a winter liveaboard community - its about 3-4 hours by bus (regular service) to Athens from where you'll get UK flights all year round.

 

[LadyJessie]

You are looking at a very large area and it will therefore be difficult to give you any specific guidance without knowing your personal preferences.. You should firstly look at the good general advice available on web sites such as noonsite. Then you can better return to us with specific questions on the harbours you are planning to visit.

We are are very happy to answer your new specific questions!

 

[jimbaerselman]

The only convenient airfield for UK flights is Athens, served with three BA flights a day, and also flights by Aegean airlines, Olympic and Easy-jet. Links on my web site, Messinia section.

Unfortunately berths are difficult to find, or expensive in the nearby Attika coastline marinas. But by all means give it a try. Except Zea - expensive, with very poor shore facilities.

Nearby islands or coasts (Aegina, Methana, Poros moorings), while cheaper, suffer from infrequent ferries or buses out of season. So it's just as convenient to consider more distant wintering spots with more frequent bus services (which are excellent and timely in Greece).

Islands with otherwise good marinas and live aboard communities (Syros, Samos, Kos, Corfu) go off target due to only once or twice daily flights or ferries.

That brings Kalamata and Levkas into focus. Including the airport bus connection from Kiffissou, timings are 6 hours from Kalamata 14 times a day, and about 8 hours from Levkas (I think 8 a day, but not sure).

Both have good winter berthing facilities afloat, though the definition of 'marina' in Levkas has to be flexible if you want a cheaper berth (town quay off a mooring is best bet).

Travel to Kalamata is covered in detail on my website, by bus (timetables as well) or by car or taxi. Messinia tab.

Hope that helps.

 

[bryantee]

query the 8 hours to athens from lefkas.5.5 hours is the norm.+15
mins with delays.0700,0930 are the first in the morning,.
returning to lefkas is 1430 1730 in the afternoon.if these are overbooked in season go to the general ticket office and get the prevessa bus. www.ktel on line gives latest timings.
for first timers when you exit the airport at athens turn right to the end of the concourse .just before the end the small booth sells the tickets.you need the 93 bus which is the last of the bus stands.but if in doubt ask for pelopponesse bus station .94 takes you into town 3 something euros. wheny ou get through the back streets and plant and car repair shops and when the driver says @terme@ get out . walk forward and turn right ,the lefkas bus office is second on the right.if you have no reservation ,you can be waitlisted. the usual guy speaks good english the prevessa bus leaves 30 minutess later so you can have a back up , better 30 euros than 300
good luck.seriously the bus service in Greece puts British rail to shame.

 

[Tranona]

8 hours is correct. Jim was quoting time to/from Athens airport, so that includes the time for the bus from airport to bus station. Right in my experience.

 

[jimbaerselman]

You're right. I was quoting times from stepping ashore to entering airport departure gate.

And sorry, I missed out one good bet for Athens access and wintering - Patras marina. Though I'm not aware of any significant live aboard community there. Only 3 hours to Athens airport - very frequent bus and train services, and if train, very easy interconnections.

Anyone used that marina recently to give an opinion on it?

 

[Davy_S]

[ QUOTE ]
Anyone used that marina recently to give an opinion on it?


[/ QUOTE ]
Not used it myself but, can confirm the easy connections to Athens, good nightlife as Patras is a Big city, harbour is safe from the winter winds, believe security and services good. the seaplane to kefalonia and Corfu lands here also
The Agoudimos ferry is here every other day in winter, providing connections with Kefalonia, Corfu and Italy..

 

[LadyJessie]

I think this thread is a good example of what I was afraid of could happen due to your very wide area question; you got a scatter shot data of some Greek ports. That is not what you asked for. This is because it is very difficult to give you fair and accurate information on all the possible winter lay-ups in Italy/Greece/Turkey. There are just so many. Trying to do this in a post like this would mean that it either would be too long to read or so general as to be totally meaningless. You need to do some more research on yourself on what you would like; nobody else can tell you that. Then when you have some options you think you like, ask this forum for inputs. You will then get some great insights and detail information that is often not available anywhere else.

Having said all of the above; I will still give you my own very general and clearly biased personal views of the areas you are looking at:

Italy: avoid most of the mainland as it is crowded, dirty and unsecure. This is with the possible exception of the Rome area that normally has a large happy winter liveaboard community. Sardinia though has some very good wintering possibilities. There are a lot of data in previous threads in this forum.

Greece: a wonderful cruising area, possibly one of the best in the world. But its' marina facilities are very limited. The few there are will be full. Standards of service, if at all present, will often be low. This part of the Greek tourist economy has just not developed yet. There is not a single marina in Greece where I would dare to leave my boat for any work to be done.

Turkey: it has the largest winter liveaboard community in the Med. Clearly this is not a coincidence but due to the fact that Turkey probably has the best marinas and the most professional boat service in the world. At least, I have never been to a place that had any better service. Within just a day sail from Kos you have a choice of 8 world class marinas. I would struggle to mention more than 3 in all of Greece. It is a different world.

You are fortunate that you are selecting your spot in one of the best sailing areas of the world. Good luck in your search!

 

[jimbaerselman]

[ QUOTE ]
I think this thread is a good example of what I was afraid of could happen due to your very wide area question; you got a scatter shot data of some Greek ports. That is not what you asked for. This is because it is very difficult to give you fair and accurate information on all the possible winter lay-ups in Italy/Greece/Turkey.

[/ QUOTE ] If I remember rightly, the OP asked for afloat wintering in a marina in Greece that was accessible to UK, but was prepared to consider other countries. That's an easy question to answer.

Why criticise him and tell him to go do his homework? I think he's got some reasonable answers. Any clarification or further detail can easily be provided.

 

[Metabarca]

Croatia is secure, but as for reasonable cost - that''s for you to decide. Flights to Split ex UK. One of the cheapest in European Med is in Monfalcone, northern Adriatic, but perhaps too far from you. ALthough in Italy, definitely not crowded, not dirty, not insecure. No liveaboard community, though.

 

[Sybaris]

Hmmmmm, strange comment. I thought the question was valid, and many good responses were given.

We have never wintered in either Greece or Turkey (we go further south) so I can't really comment, but if money is an issue it appears to me that prices in Turkey are increasing much too rapidly and are reaching a stage where yachties might start to look for alternatives.

Most marinas, many restaurants, and even municipal moorings have lost sight of reality. Take Bozborun for example, we paid 30 YTL in 2006, 35 YTL in 2007, and now they charge 50 YTL.

The exception to the rule is Yacht-marine in Marmaris which is an admirable outfit with realistic pricing and very good services.

Having said that, the Turkish Lira is probably quite overvalued now and we might see a correction soon.

 

[LadyJessie]

[ QUOTE ]
If I remember rightly, the OP asked for afloat wintering in a marina in Greece that was accessible to UK, but was prepared to consider other countries.

[/ QUOTE ]Well, I read (and re-read) the question and its' title as asking for a lot more than just Greece. But if I have misread the question, I apologise. Hopefully the poster got some info out of this anyway.

 

[Cariadco]

Stick it in Gouvia Marina in Corfu, ok so it's not the cheepest, but with daily flights to Athens, and then, Olympic & Sleazyjet to the UK, I think it's great.
The Marina's safe, secure and a good crowd of friendly expats, working and socialising.
We had last winter there and loved it.
I've got friends who wintered in Marmaris and they were bored silly. They are back in Gouvia, now.
Hope this helps.