Santorini: Private Yacht Cruise with BBQ, Open Bar & Hotel Pickup

4.91

(145 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

The first thing I noticed was the sound — not waves exactly, but that soft slap of water against the hull as we left Vlychada port. Our guide, Giorgos, handed me a cold drink before I’d even found my sea legs. He joked about “Greek time” when we asked if we were running late (we weren’t). The Aegean looked almost too blue, like someone had turned up the saturation. We drifted past Red Beach and I tried to capture the color on my phone — it never really works, you know?

White Beach came next. You can only get there by boat, which made it feel secret somehow. I jumped in for a swim; the water was colder than I expected but so clear I could see tiny fish darting around my toes. The crew set up snorkels for us and pointed out some weird rock shapes — one looked like an elephant if you squinted. There was this smell of grilled meat drifting from the back deck while we dried off in the sun. That’s when I started to really relax.

We stopped at the volcanic hot springs near Nea Kameni. The sulfur smell hit me first — not bad, just sharp and earthy. Swimming there felt strange: warm patches mixing with cool water, and little flecks of yellow on my skin after. Giorgos explained how the volcano shaped Santorini (his hands moved a lot when he talked). Later we anchored off Thirassia Island for more swimming and snorkeling — honestly, by then I’d lost track of time completely.

Lunch was simple but perfect: grilled chicken and vegetables, Greek salad, bread still warm from somewhere nearby. We ate barefoot on deck with wine from the open bar (I might’ve had one glass too many). By the end everyone was laughing about something or other — language didn’t matter much at that point. The light changed as we headed back, gold on white cliffs. I still think about that view sometimes when things get noisy at home.