MedSailors Saronic Voyager in Greece: A Review Plus Insider Info for Future Guests
I first visited Greece in 2019, and Greece instantly became my favorite European country. So when my friend invited me on the Medsailors Saronic Voyager yacht in 2022, I couldn’t say no!
My focus for this article is on the MedSailors Saronic Voyager itinerary, rather than the miscellaneous nights before and after the yacht trip itself. Below I’ll list the agenda for each day, which was outlined by MedSailors. The specifics are up to each individual. Most events are optional, and they’ll give you suggestions for activities and food at every stop.
MedSailors Saronic Voyager in Greece: A Review Plus Insider Info for Future Guests
- Detailed Itinerary of MedSailors Saronic Voyager
- Insider Info
- Final Thoughts on the MedSailors Saronic Voyager
Detailed Itinerary of Medsailors Saronic Voyager
Day 1 – Departure from Athens and Perdika
Departure
Day 1 started with an early text via Whatsapp from the Medsailors Saronic Voyager crew. They recommended we purchase any convenience items we may want such as water, alcohol, and/or snacks. However, I’d instead recommend you do your shopping as you need during the course of the trip. You will have plenty of opportunity throughout! (Exception for alcohol, which is definitely worth buying duty-free when you land at Athens airport; they have a small duty-free shop in the baggage claim area.)
You’ll also get the opportunity to rent a floatie for the trip. Full disclosure, the boat didn’t have an electric pump, so you’ll have to blow the floatie up by mouth.
When we finally boarded the yacht, we had a safety briefing followed by some basic boat info. Be aware, the rooms have very limited space in which to store your luggage. I struggled to fit more than 1 carry-on sized suitcase. Expect to have to store your suitcase at the foot of your bed!
Perdika
We departed Athens Piraeus port around 4 pm and sailed 3-4 hours to our first stop, Perdika village. It is a small fishing village that is frequented by Greek tourists.
First, we had a mandatory group dinner. It cost approximately 20 euros in cash, and was served family style. Unfortunately, if you’ve got dietary restrictions, expect to get the short end of the stick. Any accommodation of dietary restrictions is a token accommodation. Vegetarians can expect to leave every group dinner hungry this week. You can always drop by another restaurant (or convenience store) after the group dinner!
Following dinner, we went to a bar, which played mostly American pop. I had a really great time at this bar, hanging out with my friends, and getting to meet folks from the other MedSailors boats as well. Credit card was accepted at the bar, and prices were quite inexpensive. I could get a Belvedere and soda for $9 (compared to maybe $17-18 in NYC!). The party lasted till 5 am, after which I went back to the boat.
Day 2 – Hydra and Ermioni
Day 2 started with breakfast around 8:30 am. (Every day during the trip, the skipper personally prepares breakfast and lunch on the boat.) Our skipper was quite an impressive cook, and he followed everyone’s dietary preferences to the T all trip long.
The boat also stops off in a bay for some water time, if you want to go for a swim/snorkel or just hang out on a floatie. As a reminder, MedSailors doesn’t provide pumps on the boat to blow up floaties, so be prepared to do it with your mouth. It wasn’t as bad as I expected!
Hydra
Next, we sailed to another bay for lunch and more open water time (i.e., for swimming, floaties, etc). We then spent several hours on an island called Hydra, which had a handful of activities including hiking the mountain. You could also stay in the marina to shop. Hydra also had a supermarket if you are looking for water, alcohol, or other items.
I’ll highlight here for those that are booked on the Medsailors Saronic Voyager trip, virtually every day there will be a large gap of 7-8 hours between lunch and dinner. If you are like me, and need to eat every 3-4 hours, be sure to grab lunch here. MedSailors did a poor job of communicating these large gaps to us.
Ermioni
We landed on Ermioni where we docked for the night. MedSailors treated us to a group cocktail hour, where the Guest Experience Leader gave us a welcome speech and announced the Instagram competition (spoiler alert: I didn’t win 😭). Another family-style dinner followed the cocktail hour.
The nightlife scene in Ermioni was certainly quieter than that of Perdika on Day 1, perhaps because it was a Sunday night. The MedSailors staff told us that there are some weeks when the bars get pretty lit. I guess we just struck out!
Day 3 – Poros
High winds made it undesirable to stop at Spetses as planned, so instead we went to Poros a day early. While I can’t review Spetses, I think this was a net win for our flotilla, as Poros was my favorite stop on the trip.
While in Poros, our days were much more free than the prior 2 days were. Water sports were available, amongst a wide variety of activities on Poros. My friends and I tried tubing for the first time – we didn’t realize how hard that would be! We all had a great time and great laughs. It was also quite inexpensive – 50 euros for 4 of us (payable by credit card). I heard they had parasailing as well!
My friends and I went to a restaurant together for dinner, just a few blocks inland from the marina. We got a much more quiet and better served experience than one gets in the heavily touristed marina restaurants. MedSailors organized an optional group event at a cocktail bar, but my friends and I didn’t love the vibe (which was a little too bougie for us). Instead, we went exploring along the marina. We came across Malibu Bar, which had the vibe we were looking for that evening – definitely more of a lively nightlife scene, with a DJ and dancing. We stayed out till about 4 am before calling it a night!
Day 4 – Poros
Day 4 is the “originally” planned day on Poros, but again, due to winds we spent Day 3 here as well. After breakfast, my friends did various activities such as visiting the Temple of Poseidon, or renting e-bikes to ride around the island. For those interested, you also have the option to rent a quad or scooter, though you’ll need an EU motorcycle license for the latter.
There is a scheduled (optional) wine tasting for 15 euros in the evening. The folks who went sang praises of the wine afterward! They also mentioned that so many snacks came with the wine, they didn’t even find dinner necessary.
At night, we ended up back at Malibu Bar, the same bar from the previous night. The bar was packed till closing at 3 am on a Tuesday night! If you’re looking for a high-energy but non-pretentious bar, Malibu Bar didn’t disappoint.
Day 5 – The Acropolis of Ancient Epidavros
Winds finally died down by Day 5, so we left Poros in the morning as scheduled. We stopped off the coast of Agristi for some swim time. The Ionian Discovery trip also offers some scuba diving here, but with a trip to Cocos Island in just a few weeks, I’ll have to wait!
After lunch, we went to Epidavros, which has some incredible ancient structures in the Acropolis of Ancient Epidavros (now a museum). Amongst the structures is an amphitheater and a stadium. The acoustics of the amphitheater are impressive, and in fact there are concerts performed even to this day. The museum fee was 12 euros, payable by credit card; there is a discount if you are under 25. Taxis are 40 euros round trip for a car up to 4 people (i.e., you can split the 40 euro fare 4 ways).
The MedSailors crew insisted you could spend as long as you want at the museum, however the taxi drivers told us that that is not true. Rather, you are tied to the schedule of the taxi, which leaves you approximately 1 hour and 10 minutes to see the whole museum.
This island is very low key; there is no nightlife scene. In any case, the MedSailors crew will require you to be back on the boat by 11 pm. (This is because they are not docked directly on the marina, and you have to be shuttled to and from the boat by one of the skippers via dinghy.) Enjoy the opportunity to go skinny dipping with your fellow shipmates! I suspect MedSailors intentionally chose this quiet island for Day 5, because Day 6 is the final party – and you want to be in good condition to enjoy the final party.
Day 6 – Agistri and Toga Party
Our last full day on the yacht! This morning we snorkeled around some underwater ruins, still near Epidavros. The water around the ruins is shallow enough to stand, but you nevertheless should bring fins and a mask (snorkel is useful but not necessary). If you have a waterproof cover for your phone, or an underwater camera, you can take pictures/videos as well.
I’ll note here that while snorkeling is possible at any of the “water stops” throughout the trip, the underwater ruins was the only thing all trip worth seeing underwater.
In the afternoon you’ll have a few free hours to spend around Agistri either hanging out at the pool and bar, or renting e-bikes, if you prefer. The hotel pool and bar had a good wifi connection in case you need to be on the grid. I grabbed a table and a bottle of wine, and used the opportunity to socialize with folks from the other boats.
Toga Dinner and Party
Dinner this day is a family style set meal once again. Wearing togas made from your cabin bedsheets is encouraged. I revel in any opportunity to wear costumes so I very much looked forward to dinner! I’ll note here that those with dietary restrictions–or at least, the vegetarians/vegans–will *starve* at dinner. Plan accordingly, especially if you anticipate drinking a lot at the nighttime party! I had a leftover half a pizza in the boat fridge from Epidavros; the pizza really came in handy for me.
After dinner, you’ll have a chance to go back to the boat to put on “real” clothes before returning to the hotel for the nighttime party. There is an indoor dance floor with a DJ and also a quieter bar outside. The venue takes credit card and we had a healthy amount of dancing to close out the trip! This party was definitely one of the highlights of the week.
Day 7 – Return to Port
Nothing notable here – just a return to Athens Piraeus Port. If you plan to fly this day, be sure to check in advance with MedSailors what time is reasonable to make it to the airport.
I’ll leave you with my favorite Insider Info!
Insider Info on Medsailors Saronic Voyager
- This trip caters well to solo travelers, couples, small groups, and large groups. Just be aware that if your group is split over multiple boats, you may not get much time together.
- While I made a lot of mention of nightlife, it was a personal decision to seek it out, rather than a focus of the MedSailors agenda. I heard there were other boats in our flotilla on which folks slept by 10 pm every night.
- That being said, if you’re interested in exploring the nightlife and like to pregame on the boat, buy alcohol at duty free. There is a duty free shop in the baggage claim at Athens airport. (The islands will have liquor stores as well.)
- In terms of cash, I found 240 euros to be more than enough, including the 120 that you have to pay in cash up front to MedSailors on the boat. If necessary, ATMs are plentiful on most islands.
- Our flotilla was almost sold out, whereas the week after ours had only 13 guests registered. If you are flexible in your timing, it may be worth asking MedSailors in advance which trips have the size of crowd you’re looking for.
- Don’t stress out about an international phone plan. There are enough cafes/restaurants with wifi to contact your friends/family back home daily. My international plan was certainly useful when I was separated from my friends or went exploring and needed phone service to navigate.
- If you are looking for a workcation, I wouldn’t recommend trying it on this trip. The agenda is fairly tight and when sailing, the boat rocks enough to put you to sleep (at least, it put me to sleep!). Take the week off, you deserve the break!
Final Thoughts on the Medsailors Saronic Voyager
Overall, I’d give the Medsailors Saronic Voyager an 8/10. I’m really happy with my MedSailors experience, and am really happy I booked this trip. To be fair, there were some minor snags here and there, and I’d have preferred fewer family-style meals. I understand MedSailors organizes those meals to help connect mixed groups. I also believe there’s a way to do group dinners without leaving dietarily-restricted folks hungry.
On the positive side, the Guest Experience Leader and skipper were always super responsive on the group Whatsapp thread. It felt like they really went out of their way to take care of any questions/problems/concerns the guests had.
If I were to book another similar trip in the future, I’d probably research operators at a little bit of a higher price point. (MedSailors’ parent company, Navigate Travel, does own a higher-budget yacht line.) This has nothing to do with the MedSailors service, rather it is mostly because I prefer larger and more luxurious boats (due to my frequent scuba travel). One of the things I loved about MedSailors is that they tailor their trips to a younger demographic. This helps people like me who are looking for a range of daytime activities, without getting the stink-eye from shipmates after a night of partying. I suspect that operators catering to a younger demographic won’t offer the level of luxury I’m looking for, and I would prioritize the social aspect over the luxury.