People often ask us what a trip like this costs. We worked it out using our last week around Lefkada. All the costs are shared by the whole crew - eight people in our case.
For shared expenses when travelling with our group of friends we use the Tricount app. Everyone adds what they paid, and at the end the app works out who owes whom. The numbers below come from there.
The yacht
Charter: 2256 euros
That's what a week on an Oceanis 51.1 with five cabins cost us. After the season yachts are noticeably cheaper, and sometimes there's a last-minute deal. Smaller boats, for six people, are cheaper still.
We look for charter yachts on Boataround, among other places: there's a big choice and it's easy to compare prices. We've heard mixed opinions about the site, but we've used it several times and never had a problem. This is our yacht from this trip.
Transit log: 350 euros
A compulsory fee paid when you pick up the yacht. It usually covers cleaning after the trip, bed linen, gas and the paperwork for the authorities, sometimes towels too. What exactly depends on the charter company, so it's worth asking before you book.
Deposit and deposit insurance: about 300 euros
When you pick up the yacht you leave a deposit. We usually don't lose it, but it's worth keeping in mind. You can insure it - that's usually about 300 euros. Especially useful at the start of your sailing adventures :)
Skipper: 1400-1500 euros (if you take one)
That's what a skipper costs for a one-week trip; prices in Croatia are similar. Remember that with a skipper you also cover their meals: we cook for them too, and when we eat out, they come along. That's actually fine, because skippers have their favourite places and prefer to eat somewhere good :) Sometimes there's no choice, because you have to eat at the taverna in exchange for a berth. It's worth agreeing on this before the trip.
Getting there
Flights: about 2000 euros for the crew
It varies a lot; for us it came to about 2000 euros with luggage for the whole crew. To Croatia we sometimes drive, but it doesn't work out much cheaper, sometimes not at all.
Cars: about 600 euros
For Lefkada we fly to Athens, rent cars there and drive to the island. A car is handy on the spot, and you can see a few things on the way - and there's a lot to see :) We did something similar with a flight to Thessaloniki. In Greece car hire is usually not a big cost: two cars came to 2 × 200 euros, plus fees and fuel, about 100 euros per car in total.
A night in Athens: 200 euros
We flew on Friday and picked up the yacht on Saturday at 5 pm - that's often how it goes. So we booked a night in Athens on purpose and had a lot of fun sightseeing. An apartment in the centre for the whole crew cost 200 euros.
On the spot
Groceries for the yacht: 700 euros
Food and drinks for the whole week for eight people.
Tavernas: 250-400 euros a night out
That's what one night out for the whole crew costs. This is where you can save quite a bit, by eating on the yacht instead of at the taverna.
Berths: usually a few euros
In Greece you rarely pay much for a berth, usually a few euros. Our record is 50 euros, but the spot was excellent. On the other hand there's little infrastructure: power, water or showers are rare, and you mostly use what's on the yacht, so it's worth planning for that. In Croatia 100 euros a night in a marina is standard, but everywhere there are bathrooms, power, water and usually mooring lines.
Fuel: from 10 to 200 euros
The yacht goes back with a full tank, and how much you need to top up depends on the wind. Once the wind was so good that at the end we refuelled for 10 euros :D This time the wind was rather weak and it came to 100 litres, or 200 euros.
Every trip works out a little differently, but this is roughly how it looks for us.
