Itinerary for your gulet cruise
Choosing the Itinerary for your gulet cruise is of the most difficult parts of the organization. Often the mistake you make is wanting to include too many places of interest in the itinerary or to navigate to long distances. Let us advise you on the basic itineraries where you can add or remove activities and places of your interest.
Holiday on gulets must be considered as sun, sea and relax. This boat is designed for comfortable pleasure cruises. Gulet is not a cruise ship and is not an excursion boat. You will visit one or two bays a day and spend the nights either in small harbors or bays. . Navigation times can be even longer than expected, the selected bays can change for various reasons: it is important to be flexible and not expect everything to be as planned in detail.
To better organize the Itinerary for your gulet cruise is important to know:
Indicative route is decided in advance with the help of your agent. However, only at the time of boarding; depending on weather conditions and authority directives the final route be confirmed. For weather reasons there may be more changes to the gulet itinerary if you sail in Greece. The Greek islands are more exposed to the winds and moreover you will always sail on open seas between the islands.
Gulet charters include 4 hours navigation per day. This does not mean that the captain will sail exactly 4 hours each day. Some days there may be more navigation, others less.
No fixed commitment. Have you decided to charter a gulet because you absolutely want to visit the island of Patmos where you have an important appointment on the third day of your cruise? Choose another type of holiday that will allow you to arrive at your appointment on time by comfortable ferry. Obviously the captain of your gulet will do his best to respect the route you have chosen. There are, however, factors outside of its power: so you need to be flexible and also accept to change your gulet itinerary.
Itinerary may include stops to places of interest or marinas. Places in marinas cannot be booked in advance in Greece and Turkey (except in private marinas). Instead of entering the port in some places it will be possible to go ashore with the tender. Or it could be necessary to enter the port early to secure the place.
Boarding your gulet
Each gulet has its base port and in the quotation we send you we also indicate the possibility of boarding in the alternative ports. The port of embarkation and disembarkation should be confirmed in advance.
To ensure boarding by 4.00 pm on the first day, the gulet you have chosen will have to finish its previous cruise in a port near the one from where it will depart for your cruise. The first and last night is nenerally spend at the base port. We understand that most groups would like to leave the port immediately. We try to make it possible some premises:
- your yacht must load the galley and be cleaned and prepared for boarding. Water and fuel must be loaded; especially in high season there may be delays
- if you want to leave the port on the same day of boarding your arrival on board must be before it gets dark
- on the last day for all the gulets, disembarkation is after breakfast by 10am. To be sure to find the place for disenbarcation at the port, the captain might enter the day before.
Port expenses and transit log
For Turkish gulets sailing in Turkey (national waters) port charges and the transit log are included in the charter price. Unless otherwise specified this includes the port of embarkation and disembarkation and another port during the cruise. National transit log means the documentation prepared by the port agent for embarkation and disembarkation. If you want to stop at private marinas during the cruise, extra payment is required.
Greek gulets cruising in Greece (national waters) generally include in the charter price the port of boarding and disembarking.
For the gulets that sail outside the national waters; for example the Turkish gulet that embarks in Turkey and then sails on Greek islands the transit log and the port expenses are extra. Transit costs do not include port charges only; but police and customs checks on exit from Turkey and entry into Greece and vice versa. Even if you decide not moor in ports, the cost of the transit log remains unchanged or almost.
When sailing with a Turkish Gulet in Greece
Your gulet (with your group on board) will have to pass passport and custom control both in Greece and in Turkey.
For this reason the first island to be visited must have the port equipped for international arrivals (Kos, Symi, Rhodes, Kalymnos, Patmos or Leros). When planning your Itinerary for your gulet cruise your agent should
Customs control is faster in Turkey (about 1 hour), while on the Greek islands times can be extended up to 2-3 hours. Our agent might ask you not to leave to boat until the authorities issue the permit. Port entry times are decided by the authorities.
It is important that the passenger list you send us before boarding is correctly filled out. Above all the travel document must correspond to the one you will physically present to the authorities.
