Ionian Islands Gulet Charter: Corfu, Paxos, Lefkada and Ithaca

An Ionian Islands gulet charter usually starts in Corfu, Lefkas, Kefalonia or Zakynthos, and a week links stops such as Paxos, Lefkada, Meganisi and Ithaca. Six of the 24 gulets YachtCloud lists in Greece are based in the Ionian: three in Corfu and one each in Lefkas, Kefalonia and Zakynthos [1].

YachtCloud names a seven-day one-way route from Corfu to Zakynthos, and round trips from each of the four ports [2][3][4][5][6]. Who this is for: groups choosing a start port, a route and a boat for a private, whole-boat crewed week in western Greece. If you haven't yet chosen the Ionian over the Aegean, start with where to charter a gulet in Greece. Figures checked 7 November 2026.

Which Ionian port should you start from?

Corfu has the most Ionian-based gulets, three of six, and its marina is 15 minutes from Corfu Airport [1][3]. Lefkas sits in the middle of the island chain; Kefalonia and Zakynthos are further south. The table sets out the four ports YachtCloud covers, with the airport transfer and the circuits each port page names.

Four Ionian start ports, as YachtCloud's port pages describe them

Sources: YachtCloud's Corfu, Lefkas, Kefalonia and Zakynthos port pages [3][4][5][6]; gulets based there from the Greece gulet page [1], 7 November 2026. The Lefkas page calls its two circuits flotilla itineraries. Transfer times are the port pages' own; check them with your transfer company.

The two counts in the last column differ because the port pages list yachts that operate from a port, including boats based elsewhere. Corfu's page lists 10 gulets, among them Virtuoso, based in Lavrion, and M/s Artemis, based in Athens [3]. If you want one of those boats in the Ionian, ask where it boards and whether a delivery fee applies.

Can you sail from Corfu to Zakynthos one way?

YachtCloud's Greece charter page names one Ionian one-way route: seven days from Corfu to Zakynthos, via Paxos, Antipaxos, Lefkada, Meganisi, Sivota, Ithaca and Assos [2]. It takes in Paxos, Lefkada and Ithaca without doubling back. The loops from each port see less of the chain but start and finish at one airport.

One way can cost more. A gulet that finishes away from its base has to get back, and YachtCloud's cost guide explains that a repositioning fee covers that empty passage [9]. Hera, based in Corfu, is the only Ionian listing that prices it: €800 for embarking or disembarking at another port when that causes an empty leg [8].

Paxos, Lefkada and Ithaca: where each fits in a week

Paxos is the easiest of the three to reach from Corfu. Both of YachtCloud's Corfu circuits include it, one at Lakka and the other as Paxos or Antipaxos [3]. Its smaller neighbour Antipaxos has Voutoumi Bay, which the Corfu page calls a day anchorage where overnight stays are not recommended.

Lefkada sits in the middle of the chain. Lefkas Marina is 30 minutes from Aktion Airport, and both of its circuits use Meganisi, at Vathi or Abelike Bay [4]. Ithaca appears three ways: at Kioni on the Lefkas hidden-harbours circuit, at Vathy on the Kefalonia loops, and on the Corfu to Zakynthos week [4][5][2].

Eros, a 33-metre gulet based in Lefkas, takes up to 25 guests in six triple and six double cabins. The listing doesn't say where the photo was taken. Photo: Eros listing, YachtCloud.

Can a gulet stop at Navagio or in Laganas Bay?

YachtCloud's Zakynthos page includes Navagio Beach on one of its routes [6]. For the 2025 season, a joint ministerial decision barred any craft from approaching or anchoring within 50 metres of the shore inside the Navagio cove, and banned swimming there [10]. That decision ran until 31 October 2025.

A June 2026 press report says a new decision kept the same limits until 31 October 2026 [11]. We couldn't retrieve that decision itself. Before you plan Navagio into a week, ask the captain what applies on your dates.

Important to confirm: Ask whether your route includes Navagio and what rules apply for your dates. In 2025 and, by press reports, in 2026, boats had to stay at least 50 metres from the cove's shore [10][11].

Laganas Bay, on the same Zakynthos route, lies in the National Marine Park of Zakynthos [6][14]. According to ARCHELON, the sea-turtle charity that works there, the park's designation bars navigation in one zone of the bay from 1 May to 31 October and sets a 6-knot limit in the rest [14]. The park's own website was unavailable when we checked, so ask the captain how the route keeps to the current rules. Some listings charge national park tickets separately: Hera's names them as an extra, without saying which park [8].

The six gulets based in the Ionian, as each listing prices a week

The six Ionian-based gulets list weekly fees of €10,500 to €18,800 for the whole boat [7]. Three are below the floor of Greece's typical band, €14,375 to €31,250 [1]. Their estimates also leave more out: none adds an APA, and only La Reine's adds VAT; Hera lists VAT under what its base charter may include. Across all 24 Greek gulets, 15 add an APA of 20 to 40 percent [7].

The six YachtCloud gulets based in the Ionian, as each listing prices a week

Source: each listing, 7 November 2026 [8]. Hera's and Harmonia's fees differ from the €12,710 floor of their own indicative ranges, Harmonia's below it and Hera's above; ask which applies. None of the six states a crew number.

The big guest numbers rely on triple cabins. Hera takes 25 guests in nine cabins because seven are triples; Harmonia's triples pair a double bed with a bunk [8]. A group that wants one couple per cabin should count the cabins and ask how each is bedded: La Reine has six cabins for 12 guests, and Hemera nine double-bed cabins for 18.

La Reine, a 24-metre gulet based in Corfu, takes 12 guests in six cabins from €18,800 a week before 13% VAT. The listing doesn't say where the photo was taken. Photo: La Reine listing, YachtCloud.

Compare the gulets in Greece. See all 24 gulets YachtCloud lists in Greece, with guests, cabins and starting rates, then ask which can start in the Ionian on your dates. Compare Greek Gulets

When is the best time to sail the Ionian?

YachtCloud's pages give two seasons for the Ionian. The Greece gulet page and the Lefkas and Zakynthos pages say May to October; the Greece charter page and the Corfu and Kefalonia pages say April to October [1][4][6][2][3][5]. Ask the owner which months a particular gulet sails.

The Greece gulet page adds that the Meltemi blows strongest in the Cyclades in July and August [1]. A National Observatory of Athens study found summer mean winds above 8 m/s (about 16 knots) in the central and south-east Aegean. Elsewhere in the Mediterranean it put June means at no more than 4 m/s, though it doesn't name the Ionian [13]. Averages hide windy days, so ask how the captain handles one. Our best time for a gulet charter guide compares the months.

Mistakes to avoid

• Reading the guest maximum as cabins for couples. Several Ionian gulets reach 20 to 25 guests with triple cabins or bunks.
• Assuming a boat listed for Corfu is based there. The Corfu page includes gulets based in Athens and Lavrion.
• Comparing estimates without reading the lines. Five of the six Ionian estimates are the fee alone.
• Planning a one-way week without asking about the fee. Hera's listing charges €800 for another start or finish port.
• Counting on a swim stop at Navagio. Recent decisions kept boats 50 metres off the cove's shore.

Is YachtCloud the right fit?

YachtCloud suits groups who want a private crewed gulet in Greece and want to compare boats on published layouts and starting rates. Its Ionian choice is small: six gulets based there, most of them sized for large groups. It acts as a charter intermediary; the owner or operator confirms availability and the final price [12]. If a catamaran might suit your group better, see gulet vs catamaran vs motor yacht.

Before You Book an Ionian Gulet

• Which port does this gulet actually start from on your dates?
• One way or a loop, and is there a delivery fee for a different finish port?
• How many cabins are doubles, and how many are triples or bunks?
• Do the estimate's lines include VAT, meals and fuel, or are they extra?
• Does the route include Navagio or Laganas Bay, and what rules apply for your dates?

Sources and methodology

Fleet counts, typical rates, seasons, airport transfers and routes are quoted from YachtCloud's Greece gulet page, its Greece charter page and its Corfu, Lefkas, Kefalonia and Zakynthos port pages, read on 7 November 2026; 'typical' is the middle half of priced gulets, as YachtCloud's cost guide defines it. Listing-level figures come from a first-party count: every yacht page linked from the Yacht Finder was read between 08:05 and 08:07 UTC the same day, and 24 are gulets based in Greece, matching the Greece gulet page; the six Ionian-based listings were re-read that afternoon, unchanged. Port pages count yachts 'from' a port, which includes boats based elsewhere; this guide gives both counts. The Navagio rule is summarised from the 2025 Government Gazette text and a 2026 press report; the Laganas Bay rule is attributed to ARCHELON because the park's own site was unavailable. These are published listing terms, not contracts, and cannot tell whether a yacht is free for your dates.

1. Gulet Charter Greece, YachtCloud.
2. Greece Yacht Charter, YachtCloud.
3. Kerkira (Corfu) Yacht Charter, YachtCloud.
4. Lefkas Yacht Charter, YachtCloud.
5. Kefalonia Yacht Charter, YachtCloud.
6. Zakynthos Yacht Charter, YachtCloud.
7. YachtCloud listings snapshot: 24 Greek gulet pages, YachtCloud (first-party count of its own listing pages).
8. YachtCloud listings: Harmonia, Hera, La Reine, Eros, Aphrodite and Hemera, YachtCloud (each linked where cited).
9. Gulet Charter Cost: Rates, APA and Extras, YachtCloud.
10. Decision 10436: measures prohibiting visitor access to the Navagio area of Zakynthos (Government Gazette FEK B 2642, 29 May 2025), Hellenic Republic, joint ministerial decision (copy of the Gazette hosted by aftodioikisi.gr).
11. Zakynthos Navagio beach access curbs extended through 2026, To Vima (press report), 2 June 2026.
12. How to Book a Yacht Charter, YachtCloud.
13. Study of wind speed and direction over the Mediterranean (Μελέτη για την Ένταση και τη Διεύθυνση των Ανέμων στη Θαλάσσια Περιοχή της Μεσογείου), National Observatory of Athens, INTERREG IIIb WERMED programme (data April 2003 to March 2006; no publication date stated).
14. Collisions of boats with sea turtles continue at Zakynthos National Marine Park, ARCHELON, the Sea Turtle Protection Society of Greece (NGO), 9 August 2019.

Plan your charter

Share your preferred dates, group size (including children), preferred port and budget to request suitable charter options. Availability, any delivery fee and final rates are confirmed by the yacht's owner or operator. Get Charter Options