Why charter a superyacht in the Ionian instead of the Cyclades

Nine times out of ten, when someone comes to me asking about a Greek charter, they’ve already decided it’s Mykonos or Santorini before we’ve even had the first call. Fair enough, they’re the names everyone knows. But I always ask if they’ve done the Cyclades before, and a surprising number have, at least once, and are quietly wondering what else there is. That’s usually where I bring up the Ionian. Same country, same food, honestly some of the same tavernas serving the same fish. Different sea entirely though. There’s no meltemi ripping through here in the afternoons the way it does around Mykonos, the water has this strange lit-from-below clarity, and the islands are actually green, pine down to the waterline, not the scorched white-and-blue most people picture. Corfu Corfu’s the one name in this list most guests already know, so I don’t need to sell it much. What tends to surprise people is how much is there once the yacht’s actually anchored for a few days rather than the island being a two-hour stopover on a cruise ship itinerary. The old town switches between Venetian and Georgian architecture block to block, which sounds like a small thing until you’re actually walking it. Ka...