Greece Marina Fees & General Fees In the Med

[tom3987]

Hi everyone.

Im looking for some advice about the fees for marinas in Greece. We have been looking at Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 42.2 in Greece for me and my partner. I have been looking on navily for local marinas but not all the websites have fees listed.

Our plan is to eventually buy one already in the med (Currently looking at Greece) and then spend several months over there then come back to the UK (Rinse and repeat hopefully). We would need to moor it for winter. While staying on her I anticipate anchoring but I can see the first few weeks/months being spent in marinas until we are comfortable. Trying to work out rough budgets that we would need.

Im not new to sailing and sail in the UK when I can but it's on other people's boats, therefore, don't deal with the mooring fees here only my dinghies which are next to nothing a year.

Any recommendations for marinas or fees would be appreciated. Also nearby too.

The one we are interested in is near Athens.

 

[st599]

You need to very carefully check the VAT and UKCA RCR rules. If it's an EU VAT boat, and you're a British resident, then you may be looking at VAT, import duties and RCR compliance fees to bring it back.

 

[Tranona]

There are very few marinas in Greece - mostly town quays and anchorages. Marinas and storage are much the same as in UK or more expensive. When you are cruising your mooring costs will be low, although town quays increasingly have overnight charges. Your major constraint if you are a UK citizen/resident are the Schengen visitor rules which seriously limit the amount of time you can actually use your boat, so most of the time it will be stored. A common way of dealing with this is to find a yard that will store your boat ashore and launch it when you need it. There are many which will do this Most people keep their boats in the islands rather than near Athens. The Ionian is popular. However you need to be aware that unlike in the past where Greece was cheap and free movement allowed UK citizens to roam freely, it is now expensive because of the number of boats from other European countries has grown putting huge pressure on limited facilities.

 

[tom3987]

You need to very carefully check the VAT and UKCA RCR rules. If it's an EU VAT boat, and you're a British resident, then you may be looking at VAT, import duties and RCR compliance fees to bring it back.

I asked about the VAT as I'm not 100% on all of this as we are outside the EU. I had the following response from the broker regarding VAT.




Would this mean we won't need to pay VAT but we would if we bring it back to the UK? We are planning on keeping it around the med and doing the "Schengen shuffle" due to the 90 in 180 days visa.

 

[st599]

Depends on when you say come back to the UK, do you mean in the boat or not

 

[tom3987]

There are very few marinas in Greece - mostly town quays and anchorages. Marinas and storage are much the same as in UK or more expensive. When you are cruising your mooring costs will be low, although town quays increasingly have overnight charges. Your major constraint if you are a UK citizen/resident are the Schengen visitor rules which seriously limit the amount of time you can actually use your boat, so most of the time it will be stored. A common way of dealing with this is to find a yard that will store your boat ashore and launch it when you need it. There are many which will do this Most people keep their boats in the islands rather than near Athens. The Ionian is popular. However you need to be aware that unlike in the past where Greece was cheap and free movement allowed UK citizens to roam freely, it is now expensive because of the number of boats from other European countries has grown putting huge pressure on limited facilities.

I did see a lot of town quays on navily and in some forums, I thought these would be ideal while we are cruising but as you have mentioned the limitations of the visa we may need to come back and store the boat for a while. It wouldn't be ideal to leave for a long duration and I wouldn't like to leave her in the water for too long unattended.

My thinking for Greece was that it's closer to a non-Schengen area such as Turkey, Albania etc.

Im self-employed and since Covid I'm not 100% remote. This is why I feel we would spend a lot of time on her during the summer and store her in the winter. I'll take a look in the Ionian area. Thank you

 

[tom3987]

Depends on when you say come back to the UK, do you mean in the boat or not

We would be looking at leaving the boat in the Med and for us to travel back and forth.

 

[Irish Rover]

If you decide to base your boat in the Aegean it will, obviously, be very convenient for shuffling backwards and forwards between Greece and Türkiye. There are quite a few convenient marinas in Türkiye but, like everywhere else, they've become increasingly expensive in recent years. If you have an annual marina contract in Türkiye you can, i understand, get a residence visa. In Greece I believe Samos Marina in Pythagorio is relatively cheap and Leros is another popular spot.

 

[Mistroma]

We would be looking at leaving the boat in the Med and for us to travel back and forth.

I'd agree about checking out Ionian rather than around Athens. Plenty of flights to Athens but marinas are very expensive and areas in vicinity tend to be crowded at weekends if in easy range of Athens. It gets quieter and cheaper round the corner from Poros but not much in the way of marinas. I suppose Porto Heli marina might be worth checking out.

I'd skip the Cyclades initially if you are new to sailing as it gets pretty windy for much of the season. Ionian is much easier to handle and less likely to suffer strong winds. It's busy with charter boats but you soon learn where to visit to avoid them. Marinas in Corfu, Preveza and Lefkas are expensive. Messolongi would be cheaper but more awkward regarding travel.

The yards near Preveza give discounted lifts if you have an annual contract and the airport is only about a mile away. Downside is that they aren't near the town if you are spending time on board pre-post launch. We usually hire a car to stock up the boat and then cycle to nearby restaurants from time to time. Flights are more limited than Athens but usually OK in summer months. I think there may well be waiting lists at all of these yards, you'd need to check directly.

 

[andrewAB]

I keep at 35ft in dry storage in Preveza for about 2000 euro a year including 2 launch/haul for spring and autumn sailing.

You will need to pay ETAPI tax for the months you are in the water which jumps over 12m to 120 euro a month (33 euro for me).

Lots of safe free anchorages in the Ionion and many bays are not too deep to anchor line ashore.

Excellent yachting supoort and services in the Ionian and predictable winds so a good place to start out and learn.

 

[grumpygit]

Greece harbour charges - a Cruising Guide on the World Cruising and Sailing Wiki

 

[truscott]

Eur3000 for 10 months ashore in Kilada on the Peloponnese. Boat is a Sun Odyssey 40. The Basimakopoulos yard in Kilada is a 2hr drive from Athens Airport and quiet a few options for one way rentals. Alternatively you can catch the ferry to Ermioni and take a 10 minute taxi. Excluding Poros which heaves with Charter boats except for change over days, the Argolic and Saronic are way less crowded than the Ionion and another plus is that you can pop in and out of the Cyclades depending on the weather forecasts, and with time on your side you can wander North via the Evia channel or pop across to the Dodecanese.

 

[Crisby]

Our 42 fr monohull cost €1780 for 5 months storage ashore including lift out/in and vat at 24% at Cleopatra in the Ionian. Etepai for 12.4m €99 per month in the water for the last 4 years (11.99m would be €35/month!) Quayside costs range from €0 - €26 per nigh and marinas in the Ionian €45-60 per night.
These have been over the last 4 years but this year is anybodies guess!!! Of course being a bit of a tight@rs£ I prefer to anchor out whenever possible which is free (at the moment!)
Big water tanks and plenty of solar help a lot with keeping the costs down, reducing reliance on marinas and quaysides.

Chris

 

[Clancy Moped]

The closer you get to Athens the fees go up, simple.

 

[billskip]

Chalkoutsi (spell?)

 

[billskip]

This place...

 

[Crisby]

This place...View attachment 150332

That looks interesting, I looked at their website and might consider that for ourselves if the Corinth canal doesn’t stay open very long this summer.

Chris

 

[billskip]

That looks interesting, I looked at their website and might consider that for ourselves if the Corinth canal doesn’t stay open very long this summer.

Chris

It's very quiet up there with the exception of the water bombers doing circuits and bumps practice occasionally.

 

[Crisby]

It's very quiet up there with the exception of the water bombers doing circuits and bumps practice occasionally.

Always fun to watch, from a distance......!

 

[Irish Rover]

If you decide to base your boat in the Aegean it will, obviously, be very convenient for shuffling backwards and forwards between Greece and Türkiye. There are quite a few convenient marinas in Türkiye but, like everywhere else, they've become increasingly expensive in recent years. If you have an annual marina contract in Türkiye you can, i understand, get a residence visa. In Greece I believe Samos Marina in Pythagorio is relatively cheap and Leros is another popular spot.

I posted the following on another thread today and just repeating here in case it's of interest.

"I got a price for renewing my annual contract in Setur Kuşadası today - my current contract expires early May. I won't bore anyone with the Turkish Lira prices so in Euro my mooring fee has increased by exactly 50%. With 25% discount the new rate for my 10.4M x 4.45M powercat is €5,250. The discount is 2% per year subject to a max of 25% - I've had a boat there for 20 years. Without the discount the full price is €7,020. Don't let anyone tell you Türkiye is cheap.
By the way that price is only valid if I sign up and pay within the next 15 days. They are increasing the prices every month in line with Turkish inflation rates so God only knows what it will be in May."