MedSailors Greece review: Athens Voyager route

To kick off my three months in Europe in 2024 I signed up for my first solo trip with MedSailors, booking a cabin in a premier catamaran on the Athens Voyager route (previously called the Saronic Voyager).

This one started and ended in Athens (obviously) and sailed around the islands and bays of the Saronic, mostly to little-known destinations off the typical tourist trail. We saw two pods of dolphins, had a few late nights, consumed our weight’s worth of gyros, and met countless cats!

If you’re tossing up booking this trip for your own Europe summer adventure, here’s a full rundown on what to expect on your MedSailors Greece trip, plus what we got up to on the Athens Voyager route.

P.S. You can also check out my Greece Instagram highlight over at @findingalexx for more photos and videos from the week.

Sponsorship disclosure: I partnered with MedSailors to experience their Athens Voyager route and share my thoughts on my channels. They have no editorial control of my content, and all opinions are my own and are based on my personal experience. I’d never partner with a brand I didn’t genuinely love, and I love MedSailors so much that I travel with them every year!

All you need to know about MedSailors

What is MedSailors?

MedSailors is a travel company that runs epic week-long sailing holidays in the Mediterranean for 20 to 30-something travellers.

The trips are flotilla-style, meaning your yacht or catamaran is one of 5-7 MedSailors boats following the same route, with swim stops, family dinners and organised activities like toga parties where you can mingle with the other boats.

What does your MedSailors tour include?

If you’re booking a spot on a Premier Yacht, Superior Yacht, Premier Catamaran or Superior Catamaran, your tour includes:

• Six nights’ accommodation
• Breakfast & lunch each day
• An expert skipper
• Paddleboard & snorkelling gear
• Linen & towels
• Drinking water
• A Guest Experience Leader on the route who organises all the fun stuff

Drinks and snacks are BYO, that means no nasty bills to pay at the end of the week like most sailing tours!

If you’re booking an Economy Yacht then you won’t have breakfast and lunch included, these budget-friendly boats are totally BYO food and drink so you can enjoy cheap local food or cook up a feast in the galley.

Who is MedSailors for?

One of the best things about MedSailors is the diversity of their guests, they really get a mixed bag.

There’s no strict age limit but the tours are tailored travellers in their 20s and 30s, it’s not super party-party but there are definitely opportunities for nights out, and most overnight stops have options for foodies, culture lovers, history buffs, water babies and active relaxers.

Another thing I LOVE about MedSailors is that they make a real effort to group likeminded travellers together, when you book a spot you can select the vibe you’re going for (party, chill or a mix of both) and you’ll be allocated to a boat matching your preference.

Every trip I’ve been on has had a mix of solo travellers, couples and groups of friends, and there’s always a decent contingent from Australia and New Zealand plus usually travellers from the USA, UK and other European countries.

Is MedSailors a party week?

It doesn’t have to be, but there are certainly some chances to let your hair down and make the most of free-pour cocktails.

I found my Dubrovnik Voyager MedSailors trip was a little more party-focused if you’re looking for organised nightlife, but both of my Greece MedSailors trips have very much been party-if-you-feel-like it, with no pressure if that’s not your thing.

Some people choose early nights or chilling back at the boat, some people choose to stay out late every night there’s a bar nearby, and some people might have one or two big nights. Some people prefer to day drink and hardly make it to dinner 👀

Personally, I’m in the ‘late every night possible’ group, but for good reason!

When I’m travelling solo I never drink or go out, and the thing I miss the MOST about that is the dopamine hit you get from singalongs and bangers on the dance floor. So when I’m in a situation like this, in a group tour with people I trust, I usually have to be dragged away from the speakers 💃🏼

On this trip we had three big nights out of six, and usually there were only 5-6 of us left at the end of the night so it’s definitely not a trip where everyone is going hard every single day.

If you’re not a big drinker or if you’re looking for a more ocean, sun, chill kinda week then MedSailors is perfect for that too, and you’ll be put on a boat with travellers looking for the same thing.

What are the MedSailors yachts like?

There are five different boat categories to choose from depending on your budget, you can get all the details here but this is a quick summary:

• Economy yacht: 8-10 people, 2010-2014, double cabins, single cabins & bunks, 2-3 bathrooms, fans (BYO food and drink for this one)
• Premier yacht: 8-10 people, 2010-2014, double cabins, single cabins & bunks, 2-3 bathrooms, fans (same boat specs as Economy but with two meals a day included)
• Superior yacht: 10-11 people, 2019-2022, double cabins, single cabins & bunks, 3-4 bathrooms, fans, USB sockets
• Premier catamaran: 8 people, 4 double cabins, 2 bathrooms, fans, USB sockets, sunbathing net
• Superior catamaran (only available on some routes): 8 people, 4 double cabins with en suites, air con in the cabins and communal area, USB sockets, sunbathing net, an onboard host

MedSailors Athens Voyager: A detailed review

Our premier catamaran

I did the Corfu Discovery route the previous summer on a premier catamaran, so I booked the Athens Voyager route on the same kind of boat. Once you have a taste of those sunbathing nets there’s no going back!

The boats vary slightly as they’re all chartered from local yacht operators, but they’re all well-maintained and have deep cleans and full checks every week.

Our boat was called Cataki, we had four double cabins with two bathrooms, an indoor kitchen and dining area and an outdoor dining area. There was a dreamy sunbathing area at the front of the boat with a big net if you wanted to get some sun.

The cabins had a bit of storage, fans, and USB sockets to charge small devices while the engine was running. There were also plug sockets in each cabin which could be used to charge bigger devices when we were plugged in to shore power.

Our crew for the week

Eimear was our captain on Cataki, she’s an Irish gal who was on her second MedSailors season and she’s planning on joining for a third. You might get her as your skipper if you book the Athens Voyager for 2025!

Each MedSailors trip also has a Guest Experience Leader (a.k.a. GEL) who organises all the fun stuff like family dinners, optional excursions and island recommendations for free time.

Katia was our GEL for this trip, she’s Greek (IDEAL) and gave us so many fantastic suggestions on things to do, authentic places to eat and activities to try. She also organised a bunch of family dinners at amazing restaurants, and joined us on the dance floor on our nights out!

In terms of my boat mates, there were six others so seven of us in total (as I’d booked a double cabin for myself). The premier catamaran is mostly used by couples as it’s only got double cabins, but you could book with a friend if you don’t mind cosying up to them, or go solo if you’re happy to splurge for a private cabin.

Two of the couples were friends from New Zealand in their 30s, one on their honeymoon and the other crashing the honeymoon 😂 and they actually ended up getting engaged on the boat! The other couple were in their 20s and from North Carolina in the US.

Our itinerary

The route itinerary is subject to change as weather can impact sailing plans, but the Athens Voyager route should go like this:

• Day one: Athens to Aegina
• Day two: Aegina to Ermioni
• Day three: Ermioni to Hydra
• Day four: Hydra to Poros
• Day five: Poros to Epidavros
• Day six: Epidavros to Agistri
• Day seven: Agistri back to Athens

Our MedSailors Athens Voyager trip day by day

Arriving in Athens

This trip was the beginning of my three month no-fly Europe adventure, so the flight I took from London to Athens was my last one before a few months of boats, buses and trains.

I booked a cheap flight with SKY Express, a Greek low cost carrier, and it cost me €90 one way for the seat and €60 for a checked bag (ouch).

I had a few days in Athens before we kicked off the sail, and I stayed in a beautiful apartment at ERMASS, a brand new premium accommodation option that’s a five minute taxi from Syntagma Square.

The apartment was ideal for some chill days before a super social week, I actually ended up booking a night there at the end of the boat trip knowing that I’d be desperate for a decent shower and a good night’s sleep!

Day one: Athens to Aegina

From ERMASS I caught an Uber to Alimos Marina to check in to the boat, this cost €14.

I met Katia, our Guest Experience Leader for the week, as well as a few other travellers before heading to the supermarket to stock up on supplies. Some of my Greece sailing must-haves are:

• Sunblock and insect repellent
• Snacks
• Electrolyte sachets
• Spirit of choice
• Mini toiletries
• Hand sanitiser (mainly because I pat so many cats in Greece haha)

Our departure was slightly delayed by an impressive downpour that came out of nowhere, we were all huddled under the umbrellas trying to keep our bags out of the rain! Luckily this was the only rain we had for the whole week, it was smooth sailing (literally) from that moment on.

We did have to change up the week’s route to fit around the weather, so the order of the places we went is slightly different to the official itinerary I mentioned above.

After the rain passed we jumped on Cataki and set sail for Aegina, arriving later than usual but with enough time for a quick dip in the marina.

Normally on the first night there’s an organised family dinner (€20 per person) to mingle with the other boats, but our timing didn’t really allow for this so we did our own thing for dinner instead.

Some of us from Cataki went for dinner to a cute taverna called Thalassa, I’d say the food was okay (not great) but it had a beautiful outlook and live music from 8pm.

A very chill start to the week, but lovely nonetheless!

Day two: Aegina to Poros

A change in the usual itinerary due to weather conditions, the route leader decided we’d head to Poros instead of Ermioni for the second day.

I slept through breakfast (this is a running theme as you’ll see) but woke up to pancakes that had been left for me, and as always there was bread, spreads and cereal available too.

Our morning swim stop was at an organised beach called Russian Bay with sunbeds (€5 each) and a giant floating inflatable obstacle course (€10), only a few managed to complete it!

We arrived at the port of Poros in the early afternoon, and Eimear cooked up some tomato pasta with bruschetta and a delicious Greek salad for lunch.

Food on the boat is always simple (limited food storage, limited kitchen utensils) but still SO good, Greek ingredients are just fresh and flavoursome and Eimear has clearly nailed how to make the most of small rations!

The afternoon was free for us to explore but Katia organised a water taxi to a watersports spot in a nearby bay, this was optional but the water taxi was free and there was free beer, so quite a few of us took advantage.

The watersports place was a basic jetty with sunbeds, nothing fancy but a chance to meet the other boats. You could waterski, do the crazy couch, jet ski or parasail, though parasailing wasn’t running when we were there due to wind.

We caught the water taxi back to the boats to get prepped for a busy evening, starting with a punch party and welcome meeting at a bar, then a huge family dinner (€20 per person for food) and a night out.

The family dinner was absolutely hectic haha Greek hospitality to the maximum, the food just kept coming. Plates were piling up on the table, we didn’t know what was coming next, a bit of sensory overload but a great ice breaker!

By the time we’d eaten our way through the Greek feast it was pretty late so most of the crew decided to head to bed, but maybe 30% of us continued on to Malibu Bar with Katia and a few of the skippers.

Four hours, a couple of tequila shots and too many Zombies (an infamously dangerous cocktail) later, the last of us stragglers made our way back to the boats.

Day three: Poros to Ermioni

An uncharacteristic start of the day, I actually woke up in time for breakfast! We had breakfast burritos with scrambled egg and chorizo, exactly what we needed, along with the usual fruit, cereal, bread and spreads.

The morning swim stop was magical, in a lush bay with hardly any other boats around, and then we started on our journey towards Ermioni.

And the day only got better, when a pod of dolphins came up and started playing around the bow of the catamaran! Eimear did mention that she was the dolphin whisperer, and she delivered 🐬

Lunch was delicious blue cheese gnocchi with a chickpea, capsicum and feta salad, and tomato slices with mozzarella and balsamic. 10/10, no notes.

I was having an afternoon nap (I blame the Zombies) when I heard commotion from the back of the boat, I got up and found out that one the guys had proposed to his girlfriend!

Very creatively too, he had 3D-printed a clam shell and put a makeshift plastic ring inside, he dived down and when he came up he said to his girlfriend “hey I look what I found” and threw it to her. She screamed and threw the shell onto the back of the boat and said “ew I don’t want to touch a clam” 😂 and when he told her to look inside obviously she cottoned on and said yes! Well done Chris 👏🏼

Once we arrived in Ermioni, Katia suggested a walk along a pine tree trail to find some secluded swim spots and ruins of an ancient temple. The rest of the boat did that but I took it easy, found some gelato, and enjoyed some downtime.

All the boats met up in the evening with sunset cocktails at Thanos Bar (so beautiful!) and then another mezze-style family dinner, €20 for food and one round of table wine.

Tonight was another late one, the bar was literally seconds away from the boats so we couldn’t say no! Cheap drinks, the owner’s dog who joined us on the dance floor, karaoke and endless singalongs.

Day four: Ermioni to Hydra

Another sleep in for me, I woke up just in time for a picture perfect swim stop where the water was practically glass.

I can’t tell you what breakfast was today because I couldn’t even stomach looking at it 🙃 nothing an ocean dip won’t fix!

Our overnight destination tonight was a raft up off the island of Hydra, where the skippers moored all our boats together and we had our own little private swim section behind the yachts.

We tied the paddleboards in a row and had a competition to see who could make it to the end, with a few gnarly bails in there for good measure.

Lunch was Eimear’s hangover special, fantastically greasy grilled cheese and a charcuterie board and veggie sticks with hummus to make it a little classier. This is her carb-heavy option for when her guests need to feel better after a big night, and it worked a treat.

For the afternoon and evening, we had water taxis organised to take us to the main port in Hydra for a five hour visit, and this cost €20 return per person.

I think Hydra was my favourite stop of the whole trip! It had a super charming old town, cute design stores and galleries, delicious food options and there were cats EVERYWHERE. Heaven.

It was a bummer that we didn’t stay in the main port because it would’ve been nice to not be tied to water taxi timing, but once we saw the port, it made total sense why this wasn’t possible. The port is tiny with boats parked one in front of the other, meaning you could get blocked in and wouldn’t be able to leave the next morning!

In Hydra there were a few viewpoints, little seaside bars with ladders into the water, restaurants ranging from cheap and casual to very fancy, and a great sunset vantage point.

I wandered the old town alleyways for an hour or so, meeting lots of friendly cats along the way. The cats here are mostly wild but they’re well-looked after in the summer months as they get fed by tourists as well as receiving restaurant leftovers.

I had a delicious but very expensive starter at Sunset Hydra, truffle tuna tataki for a cool €26 (yikes), but honestly it was the best tuna dish I’ve had in Europe so no complaints.

It definitely wasn’t enough for actual dinner though, so I got a last minute gyro from Kai Kremmydi (Katia’s expert recommendation) before catching the water taxi back to our raft up.

Day five: Hydra to Epidavros

French toast for breakfast (which I ate from tin foil after sleeping in until 10am), dolphin pod 2.0 thanks to the Dolphin Whisperer, and an incredible lunch time swim stop with stunning views. A fantastic start to the day.

We had mushroom pasta and Greek salad for lunch, and our lunch time swim stop was in a stunning bay on the island of Agistri (tomorrow night’s stop). Insanely clear water, a cave to explore, probably my favourite swim stop of the week.

In the early afternoon we arrived in the coastal town of Epidavros on the mainland, which is home to the oldest and best-preserved ancient Greek theatre, dating back to 340BC. WILD.

You can get to the theatre with a €45 return taxi, so €11 per person if you’re sharing, and then the entrance is €12 for 25+ or €6 for anyone younger than 25.

Another option for Epidavros is scuba diving, and I’ll never turn down an opportunity to dive! It was €60 per person with all the gear and beginners could come for a discovery dive (shallow), or anyone certified could go for a normal guided dive.

Diving in Europe has nothing on Asia (especially since my last dive was in the underwater paradise of Sipadan in Malaysian Borneo) but €60 was pretty cheap, and we saw octopus, lots of lionfish and ancient pots.

It was a free night tonight, most boats went to the Orange Grove (Katia + the skippers’ recommendation) which has fantastic reviews and some baby kittens, though they looked a little worse for wear 🥺

I had work to do (boring, I know) so I got a quick kebab from a restaurant right by the port called Mike. Highly recommend, so yummy and the service was fantastic.

At midnight I suddenly had some hunger pangs after hours of writing, and was overjoyed when I realised the gelato shop by the port was still open!

Day six: Epidavros to Agistri

We had a star raft breakfast stop with the rest of the flotilla, and once our food had settled we had the iconic MedSailors paddleboard race. I was on photos!

We made it to the island of Agistri by lunch time to eat our pesto pasta and potato salad in the port.

Agistri has lots to do but it’s pretty spread out, so Katia’s recommendation was to hire e-bikes (€20) to cruise around the coast. A bunch of us did the 6km ride to Aponisos, a small resort island connected by a bridge with overwater hammocks and beer buttons.

After riding back and returning our bike we got ready for the final night of the trip, with a family dinner at a local hotel, dress code: TOGA. This one was €25 per person not including drinks.

Plate smashing, Greek dancing, slushy cocktails with marshmallows as decoration, the perfect goodbye dinner.

But some of us weren’t quite ready to end our Greek adventure, so we continued to Club Kastro which had fancy cocktails and a DJ that was stuck in the late 2000s and made me feel like I was at a high school party in an abandoned warehouse (in the best way possible).

This one was a laaaate one, after having our fix of 2008’s best hits the remaining contestants for Life of the Party wandered down to the beach for a 4am dip and then our last cabin sleep.

Day seven: Back to Athens

After three hours of sleep I had an early wake up to make the most of our final morning on the water, with a magical swim stop and some crew bonding before we finished up.

We got back to Athens at about midday, packed our bags and said goodbye to Eimear and Cataki after a brilliant week of the Saronic Islands.

After MedSailors

I had another couple of nights in Athens before making my way to my next stop, I stayed at ERMASS again for one night and then moved to a budget-friendly hotel called Cabins Sleeping.

Cabins Sleeping is totally contactless, it has private rooms (‘cabins’) that are basic but I was very impressed by the comfort and efficiency of space.

Each room has a private bathroom, air con, a TV and a mini fridge, beds are really comfy, there’s storage space under the bed, and it’s in a more local area with cheap food options nearby. It’s one of the best value for money accommodation options in Athens for a private room!

Which MedSailors tour is better: Athens Voyager or Corfu Discovery?

This is such a tough one because I think it really depends on what you’re looking for! Here is a quick summary of the best bits of each tour:

Athens Voyager

• Very convenient to start and end in Athens
• Three fun nights out 💃🏼
• LOVED Hydra
• Scuba diving in Epidavros
• Exploring Agistri by bike
• Three organised family dinners
• Lesser-visited islands/ports so pretty chill
• DOLPHINS x 2
• Toga party
• Felt like our flotilla all vibed together super well, but I was solo this time so maybe that meant I was mingling much more than my last MedSailors trips

Corfu Discovery

• Big family dinner and beach BBQ at Iggy Beach
• Some bucket list destinations like Parga, Gaios and Paxos’ Blue Caves
• Best gelato outside of Italy at Capriccio in Gaios
• Sunset from Parga Castle
• The dreamiest swim spots I’ve ever seen
• More food/drink options as most of the stops are more touristy
• Super charming port towns
• My boat had the best time together, but it was two of my friends + five of their friends so very different to being on a boat with people you’ve only just met!

It’s also hard to separate the two in terms of who you’re with, the vibe of your boat and the flotilla as a whole, and the time of summer you’re visiting as that determines crowds.

For me personally, I think I preferred the scenery, towns and swim stops of the Corfu Discovery, but I loved the laidback vibe, family dinners and organised activities of the Athens Voyager.

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I hope this MedSailors Athens Voyager review has helped you decide if it’s the right Greece sailing adventure for you!

I genuinely look forward to my MedSailors trip every single year, I cannot recommend them enough if you’re looking for a week on the water that combines ocean time, island exploring, local food and social activities, wrapped up in a fantastic value package and super smooth operation.

If you have any questions please let me know in the comments and I’ll get back to ya!

OTHER EUROPE BLOGS YOU MIGHT LIKE:

• How to spend two weeks in the Balkans (without a car)
• MedSailors Corfu Discovery: Greece sailing tour review
• The ultimate three month Europe itinerary

MY GO-TO TRAVEL PLANNING RESOURCES

Flights ✈️ I use Skyscanner to find the best flights for my trip and then I’ll always book direct with the airline to protect myself from having to deal with dodgy third parties if anything goes wrong.

Trains 🚂 If I’m travelling through Europe, I try to travel by train wherever possible! For an extended trip (2+ weeks) I’ll calculate if a Eurail Pass is worth it, or I’ll book point-to-point tickets through RailEurope or the local train operator.

Accommodation 🛎️ I book almost all of my accommodation through booking.com, they have a user-friendly website + app and many of their options are free cancellation, easily cancelled with a simple click of a button.

Activities 🗽I use GetYourGuide, Klook and Viator to look for activities in the places I visit, or I just Google ‘things to do in [city]’! P.S. If you book anything on Klook you can use the promocode FINDINGALEXXKLOOK to get 10% off

Travel cards 💳 I’m a Wise gal through and through, they’ve been my chosen travel card for more than five years now. You can easily top up your card from your bank account or through Apple Pay, convert your money to local currency, and spend money with minimal fees and the best exchange rates around.

Travel insurance 🩺 I use Cover-More NZ travel insurance for my own trips, I have a comprehensive policy and I’ve only had good experiences with them. Cover-More also has an Australian company, but if you’re from elsewhere then two popular insurance options for global travellers are SafetyWing (cheaper policy, lower coverage) and World Nomads (more expensive but significantly better coverage).

Luggage 💼 I travel with Samsonite Cosmolite suitcases, one 75cm check in bag and a 55cm carry on bag, and I absolutely adore them and will never travel with anything else! They are SUPER lightweight (2.8kg and 1.9kg respectively) so I have much more space for my actual stuff.

Camera gear 📸 I use a iPhone 15 Pro Max for phone photos/videos, and my camera kit includes a Lumix S9 (incredible lightweight full-frame camera, a game changer for travel creators!) with a 20-60mm lens, a Lumix G9 with an 8-18mm and 12-60mm lens, a DJI Mini 3 Pro drone and a GoPro Hero 10. I do all my writing and editing on my ASUS Zenbook 14, it’s lightweight but powerful enough for photo editing and intense blogging sessions.