Here’s why autumn is the best time to sail the Aegean Sea.
“Happy is the man, I thought, who, before dying, has the good fortune to sail the Aegean Sea,” acclaimed Greek author Nikos Kazantzakis wrote in his seminal work, “Zorba the Greek.” It’s one of my favorite quotes from one of my favorite authors, and I held tight to those words as the small boat I found myself on last month pitched to and fro in the darkness of the sea, somewhere between Spetses and Paros. As objects fell out of my closet and off the walls, I comforted myself with the thought that at least if I drowned, I’d have had the good fortune to sail the Aegean Sea.
Given the good hands I was in, perhaps I was being a touch too dramatic. Captain Yannis, a man with both decades of experience and the kind of substantial sailor’s beard I implicitly trust, had certainly navigated much worse. The night before, he had invited me and my companion to his bridge, where he regaled us with stories of his long career (including a youthful near brush with death aboard a ship somewhere off the coast of South Africa). As he pointed out the constellations in the night sky, the conversation veered into philosophical terrain: the cosmos, the infinity of horizon, the possibility of alien life. Had I been on a regular cruise ship, I doubt the captain would have even had the time to say hello.
That’s just one of the advantages of sailing Greece on a small boat during autumn. In early October, I set sail with Variety Cruises, a small luxury cruise ship company in Greece. A family-owned business now in its third generation, the company was founded back in 1949, when Diogenis Venetopoulos started taking post-World War II tourists on trips around Greece. Since so many of Greece’s most beautiful sites — like Delos, the ancient archaeological birthplace of Apollo and Artemis — are accessible only by boat, Diogenis started renting out fishermen’s boats to ferry his customers between ports. Quickly, he realized that he had found a niche: small cruises with flexible itineraries.
Today, Variety Cruises has 11 boats, the biggest of which can hold 73 guests. Their cruises around Greece typically last up to a week long, taking guests to one new spot every day, docking during the day and sailing at night. “It’s all about intimacy,” Variety Cruises CMO Constantine Venetopoulos, grandson of Diogenis, tells me. This is nothing like a traditional cruise ship — the crew learned our names within half an hour, and people quickly made friends with each other. The size of the boat meant that we could also sail to smaller ports and hidden beaches, simply dropping anchor off one beautiful cove or another.
Advantages of Sailing in Autumn
There are many advantages of traveling to Greece in the fall. Most of the time, the weather is better than the summer — the heat has dissipated, yet the skies remain candy blue and the water retains enough warmth for enjoyable swimming. While the weather can be a bit fickle, with occasional extreme winds that may redirect plans, those kinds of last-minute changes felt deliciously adventurous. Instead, we sailed through the Sporades islands, stopping in Paros and Spetses, and stayed tight along the Peloponnesian coast, ultimately reaching modern Greece’s second capital city, Nafplio, for one day, before braving the winds to cross to the Cycladic islands.
Most people, drawn by hot weather and cool waters, choose to visit Greece in the summer. However, this influx has resulted in overtourism, placing a strain on natural resources. In July and August alone, Greece received over two million tourists — more than any other European country. “Of course, Greece in summer — specifically in August — is very special,” says Constantine. “There are so many people tanning, swimming, and partying; it’s like the Caribbean of Europe. But autumn changes everything. It makes it just about the destination.”
Traveling off-season is not only more relaxing (and often more affordable), but it is also the more sustainable choice. There’s significantly less risk of overcrowding and misusing an island’s natural resources, such as water. Variety Cruises acknowledges tourism’s environmental impacts and has recently become the first cruise company to join Tourism Declares a Climate Emergency, committing to develop a climate emergency plan in the upcoming year.
Moreover, traveling in autumn is easier on the locals. “You can become part of the community in autumn,” Constantine adds. This integration is nearly impossible during the summer, when local residents are working tirelessly to service tourists. But when the tourists depart, people resume their daily routines: playing backgammon in the street, and having leisurely conversations over syrupy coffees in cafes. The streets empty out. In charming Spetses, we rented electric bicycles to tour the tiny island. Initial directions were provided by a middle-aged woman hanging her laundry over her balcony, yet for kilometers at a time, we were the only wheels on the road. It felt as though we had the island to ourselves — an unattainable experience in August.
“Time slows down,” Constantine reflects. “The destination slows down.”
