One of the first real decisions of any family holiday afloat is whether to choose a catamaran or motor yacht. The answer shapes everything that follows: how far you roam each day, how the children sleep, where you swim and how the whole week feels. A catamaran or motor yacht will both carry your family beautifully through the Cyclades or the Saronic, but they offer very different rhythms, and the right choice depends far more on your family than on the boat.
Below we set out the honest differences, with the kind of detail that actually helps when you are picturing a week with young children, restless teenagers or grandparents aboard.
The Quick Answer for Most Families
If your children are small, if anyone in the party is prone to seasickness, or if your idea of a good day is anchoring early and staying put, a catamaran usually wins. Its two hulls sit level and steady, the deck space is generous, and the shallow draught lets you tuck into bays that a deeper boat cannot reach. It feels less like a boat and more like a floating villa, which is precisely what many families want.
If you want to cover ground, reach a sunset dinner in Hydra and still wake up off Spetses, or simply love the sensation of speed and the polish of a serious yacht, a motor yacht earns its place. It turns a two and a half hour passage into something closer to an hour, which on a hot afternoon with tired children is no small thing.
Space, Stability and Daily Life on Board
Family charters live and die by the in between moments: breakfast, the wait while lunch is prepared, the lull before the afternoon swim. This is where layout matters more than top speed.
- Catamarans offer a wide, flat trampoline at the bow that children adore, a large shaded cockpit level with the saloon, and cabins spread across two hulls so parents and children are pleasantly separated. The motion is gentle, and meals at anchor feel like dining on a terrace.
- Motor yachts typically give you a more enclosed, air conditioned saloon, a proper flybridge for the grown ups, and often a swim platform that drops close to the water. Interiors tend to feel more like a smart hotel suite, which suits families who value comfort and quiet over open deck living.
For toddlers, the catamaran’s level deck and high guard lines are reassuring. For teenagers who want a fast tender and a platform to leap from, a motor yacht with the right equipment often holds more appeal. It is worth reading our guide on Water Toys and Tenders: The Equipment That Makes a Charter before you decide, since the toys aboard frequently matter more to children than the hull beneath them.
Pace and Passage Times: How Far You Will Actually Go
This is the difference families underestimate. A catamaran under power or sail typically cruises at a relaxed eight to ten knots. A motor yacht can comfortably hold eighteen to twenty plus. Across a real Greek week that changes the map.
Take a classic Cyclades hop from Mykonos to Paros, roughly twenty five nautical miles. On a catamaran that is a passage of around three hours, best done in the calmer morning. On a motor yacht it might be ninety minutes, giving you a lazy start and still a long afternoon at anchor off Antiparos. Over seven days, the motor yacht might reach Naxos, Paros, Ios and back; the catamaran will favour a tighter, slower loop, which many families find is no loss at all.
In the Saronic, distances are kinder. Athens to Poros, Hydra and Spetses sits comfortably within either boat’s reach in a week, and the shorter legs make a catamaran’s pace far less of a constraint. If you are weighing which waters to choose alongside which boat, our piece Cyclades, Saronic or Ionian: Choosing the Right Greek Sea for Your Charter is a useful companion.
The Weather Reality: The Meltemi and the Open Aegean
No honest comparison ignores the wind. From roughly July into early September the meltemi, the dry northerly that funnels down the Aegean, can blow hard for days at a stretch, building a short, steep sea between the islands. It is part of the character of a Greek summer, not a fault, but it does favour one choice over the other depending on your family.
A motor yacht has the power to push through a meltemi swell and reach shelter quickly, and its enclosed saloon keeps everyone comfortable when the deck is breezy. A catamaran rides the same seas more steadily than a single hulled sailing yacht, with far less heel, though a strong day will still mean a livelier crossing and an earlier, more sheltered anchorage. In the protected Saronic and the green, gentler Ionian, the meltemi barely intrudes, which is one reason both are gentle introductions for families. For the full picture, read The Meltemi Explained: Aegean Wind and How It Shapes Your Itinerary before locking in your route and your boat.
Anchorages and Swimming: Where Each Boat Shines
Children remember the water, not the cruising speed. Here the two diverge in lovely ways.
Where a catamaran has the edge
- Shallow, sandy bays such as those around Antiparos, Schinoussa and Koufonisia in the Small Cyclades, where a shallow draught lets you anchor close in over turquoise water.
- Long, flat days at anchor, with the trampoline and broad swim steps turning the boat itself into the day’s entertainment.
- Calmer waters of the Saronic and Ionian, where its strengths show and its slower pace costs you nothing.
Where a motor yacht has the edge
- Reaching dramatic but exposed coastlines, such as the sea caves and lunar beaches of Milos, then retreating to shelter before the afternoon wind.
- Day trips that combine a morning swim, a long lunch ashore and a sunset in a different harbour entirely.
- Families who prize a quick, smooth transfer and a generous, climate controlled interior for the hottest hours.
A Simple Way to Decide Between a Catamaran or Motor Yacht
Strip away the brochure language and ask three plain questions about your own family.
- How young, and how steady? Very small children and anyone unsure of their sea legs are happiest on a catamaran’s level, gentle platform.
- How much do you want to move? If covering distance and reaching more islands excites you, the motor yacht’s speed is the deciding factor. If you would rather settle into fewer, deeper anchorages, the catamaran’s pace becomes a virtue.
- What does the day at anchor look like? Open air, deck living and swimming straight off the boat point to a catamaran. Cool interiors, a fast tender and polished comfort point to a motor yacht.
There is no wrong answer, only a better fit. Crucially, the crew shapes the week as much as the hull. A warm, attentive crew who know the islands, watch the weather and quietly anticipate a child’s nap or a grandparent’s preferences will make either boat feel effortless.
When you are ready, we are glad to talk it through, match your family to the right boat and waters, and shape an itinerary that suits your pace rather than ours. Tell us who is coming and how you like to spend a day, and we will help you choose between a catamaran or motor yacht with no pressure and plenty of honest counsel.
