Catamaran or yacht in Santorini: what the hull decides about your day
5 min read
For a day cruise in Santorini's caldera, a catamaran beats a monohull yacht for most guests. Two hulls sit flat at anchor while you swim and eat, where a single hull rolls and leans. A yacht rewards people who love sailing itself. We run a Lagoon sailing catamaran; a shared seat is €100.
"Yacht" on this island can mean almost anything with a mast or an engine. This page compares the three shapes you will actually be offered — a sailing catamaran, a monohull sailing yacht and a RIB — against what a caldera day really involves: anchoring, swimming, eating and a stretch of open water with wind on it.
The physics, in one paragraph
A monohull yacht keeps itself upright with a heavy keel, so under sail it leans — that is the sensation sailors love — and at anchor it rolls with whatever swell finds the bay. A catamaran stands on two hulls set wide apart. It does not heel under normal sail and it barely rolls at anchor, which is exactly the part of the day when you are swimming off the stern or holding a full plate.
The caldera makes that difference matter more than usual. The meltemi builds through summer afternoons, and every swimming stop on the route is an offshore anchorage rather than a marina berth — the boats anchor off, and you reach the water from the boat. A platform that stays level while anchored in a breeze is not a luxury here. It is the difference between lunch and holding on.
Catamaran vs monohull yacht vs RIB, for a caldera day
General boat-type behaviour, applied to this route. Rows are the moments that fill a Santorini day.
The moment
Sailing catamaran
Monohull yacht
RIB / speedboat
At anchor, swimming
Sits flat; wide stern steps to the water
Rolls with any swell in the bay
Low and open — easiest of all to climb from
Lunch on deck
Level table, room to move around it
Doable, tighter and more tilted
Snacks, not a cooked lunch
Underway in afternoon wind
Steady; spray stays forward
Heels — thrilling or unwelcome, depending on you
Fast and bumpy; you feel every chop
Shade and space
Trampolines, shaded saloon, wide side decks
Cockpit-centred; shade is a bimini
Minimal — sun and wind are the deal
Prone to seasickness?
The gentlest of the three at anchor
The most motion at anchor
Fine for short hops, hard work in chop
What it is best at
The full five-hour day, shared or private
The sailing itself, for people who sail
Point-to-point speed and short private tours
Our own fleet is a Lagoon sailing catamaran (15 guests shared, 17 private) and a private RIB for up to 8 — so yes, we have a side here, and the table says why we chose it. We do not operate a monohull.
When the yacht is the right answer
Honesty cuts both ways. If the point of your day is sailing — the heel of the deck, the trim of the sails, the quiet when the engine dies — a monohull under canvas gives you a purer dose of it than any catamaran. Charterers who sail at home often want exactly that, and Santorini has operators who provide it.
But if the point of your day is Santorini — the red and white cliffs, the volcano, the springs, a swim at each stop and a cooked lunch with wine — the boat is the platform, not the event. Platforms should be level. That is the whole case, and it is why the island's day-cruise fleet is overwhelmingly catamarans.
Whether ours actually sails on your cruise, and when the engines do the work instead, is its own honest story: sailing vs motoring in the caldera.
What this costs, either way
A shared seat on our catamaran is €100 per person for five hours, with the transfer, cooked lunch, wine and snorkelling gear inside the price. The whole boat is €1,200 for up to 8 guests on a five-hour private cruise, then €100 for each extra guest.
Monohull yacht charters on the island are typically priced per boat and quoted per date — we do not publish other operators' figures, and market prices move. Compare like with like: ask any operator what the fare includes, because lunch, drinks, transfers and port fees arrive as extras more often than you would think. On this site, the inclusions table is the same on every cruise, and nothing is added at the boat.
Still torn? Describe your group and we will be straight with you
Tell us who is coming and what kind of day you want. If a catamaran is wrong for it, we will say so — there is no version of this where we sell you the wrong boat.
For a day of swimming stops, lunch on deck and the caldera sights, a catamaran: two hulls sit flat at anchor and give far more shaded space. A monohull yacht is better only when sailing itself is the point, because it heels under canvas and rolls more at anchor. Most caldera day boats are catamarans for this reason.
Do catamarans handle waves better than yachts?
They handle them differently. A catamaran stays flat and damps the roll, which most guests read as comfort, especially at anchor. A monohull cuts through chop with a heel that sailors enjoy and others do not. In the caldera's afternoon meltemi chop, the catamaran's steadiness is the safer bet for a mixed group.
Is a catamaran good if I get seasick?
It is the most forgiving of the three shapes, particularly at anchor, where a monohull rolls the most. Beyond the hull, timing matters: morning water is calmer than afternoon. If you are prone to it, take the morning cruise, sit low and midships, and read our seasickness guide before you choose a date.
What kind of boat do you actually operate?
A Lagoon sailing catamaran, carrying 15 guests on shared cruises and up to 17 on private charters, plus a private RIB for up to 8 used for water-taxi runs and fast tours. We do not run a monohull yacht, so when sailing purism is truly your priority, we say so rather than talk you out of it.
Is a private catamaran cheaper than a shared one?
Per person, no — and be wary of anywhere that implies otherwise. A shared seat is €100. A private five-hour charter is €1,200 for up to eight, which is €150 each at eight guests, and less again as the group grows. What the private boat buys is the route, the timing and the deck to yourselves.
Santorini Boat Tour - Water Taxi is a catamaran cruise and water taxi operator based in Fira, Santorini.
