The Yacht Week Greece 2019 Recap

Where the real world ends, and The Yacht Week begins…

Day 1: Alimos Marina (Athens, Greece)

I recommend arriving a day or two before. Since Day 1 is on a Friday, hopefully flying in mid-week will be cheaper. We had already been in Athens for a few days for my best friend’s wedding, and got a chance to explore the city. Though some people don’t vibe with Athens, I definitely think it’s worth giving some of your time to. There’s a lot of amazing food, and of course, you can’t leave without visiting the Parthenon. The first day is spent checking-in, meeting your skipper and hostess, grocery shopping, and settling in to your boat. We finished off the night with a welcome dinner and party.
The sunsets in Greece are unreal.

Day 2: Poros Island and a beach party at Love Bay

The party at Love Bay was super chill and The Yacht Week had the whole beach to ourselves. The water was a lot colder than I expected, and I was worried that it would be like that the entire time! Thankfully, it was not.

*Say hello to our limbo champion! (Photo taken by The Yacht Week)*

Our hostess Rosie helped set up our group dinner that evening. She even brought some fairy lights that we had on our boat to put on the table to add a romantic vibe. Frankly speaking, Rosie is too good at her job. This ended up being the only dinner we had together as a group because we loved what our hostess made for us so much more. The Yacht Week staff really go above and beyond to make sure you have a memorable time.

Day 3: Ermioni and French Riviera Chic Party @ Cavo Bianco

I love that The Yacht Week organizes themed parties. When we didn’t have a themed party set up for us, our yachts made up our own. What I love even more is that because we’re constantly getting on and off boats, wearing flats is encouraged. I get to party, dance, AND be comfortable?! Yes, please, and thank you.

These gentlemen here work for The Yacht Week, and the stallion pointing to you is our skipper <3 He’s been sailing with The Yacht Week for 6 years. He is seriously the best - if you can snatch him up, do it.
*(Photo take by The Yacht Week)*

French Riviera Chic party summed up in one photo. Party at Love Bay was really chill, and then we went full out at Cavo Bianco.
*Photo and edits courtesy of our groom.*

Day 4: Circle Raft Day and party at Nikki Beach in Porto Heli

Whenever I think of The Yacht Week, I always envision the circle raft in my mind’s eye. It’s an iconic day and the one I was most excited for. Sunshine and good vibes sounds so f***ing cheesy, but there’s no better way to describe it! Oftentimes during the week I found myself thinking “Man, I can’t believe I’m here.” The landscape in Greece and the ocean is just so stunning. One of those pinch-myself moments happened during circle raft day.

We then headed to Nikki Beach Resort and Spa and docked at Porto Heli for the evening. Not sure if it was because we had gone earlier in the season, but The Yacht Week pretty much had this entire place to themselves.

We have been partying pretty hard so far, but Nikki Beach was where I DIED. I don’t know if it was because I had a hotel room to crash and burn afterwards, but I did not make it past 6 pm. Rosie was kind enough to grab us some gyros to munch on and I only had enough energy to eat it before passing out again.

The cheapest room at Nikki Beach Resort and Spa was €178 when we had gone, and the deluxe room with a private pool (shown below) costs about €300. The only thing I didn’t really care for was that even though our room was advertised to accommodate 3 people, the price they quote you is only for double occupancy. So to add an additional person to the room cost us another €100. Just something to keep in mind if you’re thinking of booking a room here. The rooms are actually enormous, so I think the price-point is fair.

Everyone else got to enjoy the most gorgeous sunset by the pool after the party, while I was passed out on a couch in my room. Look at everyone all cute and glowing. Who needs a filter when you have golden hour sun. DAMN YOU TEQUILA!

Day 5: Exploring the island of Spetses

*I will never get tired of this point of view.*

And this is where my GoPro died T.T I forgot to close up the part where the SD card goes in and I got salt water into it. That was the SECOND time I made this mistake! I can’t bring myself to get another GoPro until I learn how to take care of nice things. But hence why I don’t have a lot of photos or videos from Spetses and had to steal some from my friends.

To get around the island, you can either rent bikes, electric bikes, or ATVs/scooters. If you’re considering ATVs or scooters, get an international driver’s license. Some rental places don’t require it, but it’s good to have just in case.

I loved our day on Spetses so much because we got to take a break from partying and do things at our own pace. My yacht decided on renting ATVs and rode all around the island. We found a little secret beach and had a delicious lunch. Look at how clear that water is!

We then met up with our other yacht who had opted for the electric bikes. We ordered a couple of drinks, and took a cat nap on the beach. We rode our ATVs back to the rental shop and did some shopping in the town center. Later that evening we partied at Hono&Lulu. What a perfect day <3

Day 6: Regatta Day

Have any of you ever done the Color Run? It’s sort of like a race, but no one cares who wins and you’re dancing the whole time. Regatta Day is kinda like that, except it’s not as family friendly, you’re on a boat, and everyone is wearing their Halloween costume. I didn’t know what to expect, but I LOVED seeing the entire Yacht Week fleet together. To see every single Yacht Week boat out in the open ocean with no land in sight - this is what makes The Yacht Week so special. It made me feel like … a pirate. HAHAHA! But seriously, for a moment, I felt like I could do this every day and be happy. That’s how pirates feel about the ocean isn’t it?

The regatta race itself is not really a race, but it’s still a competition! The Yacht Week staff boat will sail really close up to yours, blast music, and your crew needs to give them as much energy as possible. The winners of Regatta Day actually get a free table at the last party of the week.

For our costume, our crew went with reverse gender Disney characters. Our guys were Jasmine, Elsa, Moana, and Ariel. The girls were Aladdin, Woody, Gaston, King Triton, and Winnie the Pooh.

Other Regatta Day costumes that I’ve seen are Tiger King, inflatable T-rex’s, and 80’s spandex workout. But costumes don’t have to be elaborate to be great. I saw one Yacht Week boat dress up as In-N-Out employees, and I absolutely love that idea. It’s really all about the energy you bring to the table (or rather, yacht).

Afterwards, we anchored by this uninhabited island. We swam for most of the day, then had a dinghy race in the afternoon. It was really funny to see what everyone’s strategy was to try and win! One dinghy had two people rowing and one person swimming behind pushing. Our Texas boat loaded their whole crew onto the dinghy and anyone who wasn’t rowing jumped out onto other people’s dinghies to sabotage them (it didn’t work, LOL).

*In the evening some of us hiked to the top of the island to watch the sunset, while the rest of us enjoyed it from the comfort of our yacht.*

Day 7: The sad and slow sail back to Athens

No real plans for this day as we sail back to Alimos Marina in Athens. A few of the skippers coordinated so that some of the boats just anchored out in the middle of nowhere and we got to swim in the ocean to our hearts content. The skipper for our Texas yacht brought them to Hydra and they got to explore it for the afternoon.

*This was the last time we were in the water. It’s so salty that it takes little effort to float. (Photo taken by The Yacht Week)*

*Time to wash off all that salt water (Photo taken by The Yacht Week)*

Have you ever missed someone a lot? Like, A LOT a lot? That’s how I felt as we floated back towards Athens. Even before we got close to entering the marina, we were talking about booking another Yacht Week adventure. If it wasn’t for our very close friends getting married, I don’t know if we could have assembled such a giant crew for an epic trip. But I’m really grateful that the stars aligned for all of us to share this memory forever.

*Technically a photo from the beginning of the week - you can tell because our tans haven’t settled in yet. But it was too cute of a picture not to include. Love my ladies on #yoloyacht*

The Yacht Week was truly an experience unlike any you could have elsewhere. And when they say it’s going to be the best week of your life, it’s a promise that they deliver on. Don’t hesitate, book your yacht, and dance somewhere different.

<3 Lisa