Nothing works anymore between the two Mediterranean areas: Greece has already banned the border crossing of pleasure boats into its own country since last year, at the beginning of November this was extended again in the second wave. The consequence is particularly hard for owners in Turkey, who usually changed more or less regularly to the islands of the Aegean Sea. But there is currently nothing going in the opposite direction, even charter crews cannot move to the neighboring country.
An official government statement reads:
From November 9, 2020, arrivals by sea from private yachts, cruise ships, ferries and other tourist ships, regardless of which flag, (…) are prohibited. There are no sea connections to Turkey and Albania
This means that switching between Italy and the Ionian Sea is currently impossible. It is still unclear whether this will change in the foreseeable future. The country has been in a tough lockdown for a few weeks, at least until March 22 will last. This also applies to the harbors and marinas, they are closed to tourist activities and no sailing is allowed. Charter is currently suspended until the end of the lockdown on March 22nd, but it may well be extended in order not to unnecessarily endanger the summer season, as charter company operators assume to the YACHT.
For a long time Greece got through the Corona crisis quite lightly, now the numbers are increasing there too, and the RKI has meanwhile put the whole country including the island areas on the list of risk areas - last year it was only the Athens, Thessaloniki and parts of the region Been to the Peloponnese. At the moment, the incidence value for the whole country is just under 150. This means that charter crews and owners have to return to isolation after a trip to Greece and can only go free after a few days off at the earliest.
Like many other European countries, Greece has started to graduate the corona events in the regions via zones (green to deep red). Depending on the situation, different rules then apply. In the middle of next month it will be decided how things will go in terms of tourism. But there is a glimmer of hope that there are reports from some Greek islands that, due to their small population, have started to vaccinate the residents completely. So far, however, there are only isolated and above all very small islands, such as Meganisi, Kalamos and Folegandros, but the list is getting longer.
For charter crews, the situation is difficult to assess for the time being; they have almost no choice but to wait. At the moment, as in 2020, German tourists have to register with viInternet or an app in advance and present a negative PCR test, which must not be older than 72 hours.