Renting a Boat in Milos Without a Licence: The First-Timer’s Guide

“Can I really drive a boat with no licence?” It is the question we hear most, and in Greece the answer is a clear yes. Boats with engines up to 30 horsepower can legally be rented and driven without any boating licence, by any adult, after a safety briefing. That single rule turns a Milos holiday into a sea-exploration holiday, even if you have never held a tiller in your life. This guide covers the law, which boat qualifies, exactly what happens in the briefing, where a 30 hp boat can and cannot take you, what it costs, and the safety rules we actually enforce.

The law: the 30 hp rule

Greek maritime regulations allow recreational boats with an engine of up to 30 hp to be operated without a licence. This is the rule that every “no licence needed” rental in Greece is built on, from Corfu to Crete. Above 30 hp, the driver needs a valid speedboat (powerboat) licence, Greek, EU or recognised international, as an original document, not a photo. The Hellenic Coast Guard does patrol the popular anchorages and does check paperwork, so a rental company that offers you a bigger engine “without a licence” is putting you, not itself, in the wrong.

The rule is sensible. A 30 hp boat is small, slow to react, sits flat in the water and forgives mistakes. It is the right size for a first day at sea.

Which boat qualifies

In our fleet, one boat is licence-free and two are not:

The Compass 150cc is a 4.55-metre open boat with a sunshade, a cooler, a 50-litre tank and room for five. It is the boat most first-time visitors rent, and for good reason: the throttle is gentle, it turns slowly, and there is nothing on it that can surprise you.

If you have no licence and want the bigger boat, the 165cc comes with our skipper, and the 7s always comes with a captain and an all-inclusive package. Our guide to which boat to rent in Milos compares all three.

Who can drive

• The driver must be an adult, 18 or over, with ID or passport.
• No experience is required. The briefing assumes zero.
• One person signs the agreement and is responsible for the boat; anyone aboard can take the wheel under their supervision.
• Children are welcome with life vests, which we provide in all sizes.
• If you have any doubts about your confidence on the water, say so. A skipper for the day costs less than you think and turns the trip into a private tour.

How the briefing works

Before you set off we spend 15 to 20 minutes together on board, with you at the controls:

1. Starting, steering and stopping. Throttle, tiller or wheel, neutral, reverse. You drive out of the harbour with us aboard.
2. Anchoring and mooring. Dropping on sand, checking it holds, raising it cleanly. Why you never anchor on seagrass.
3. Reading the day. Where the wind is coming from, which side of the island is sheltered, what the sea will do by mid-afternoon.
4. The chart. Fuel range, safe anchorages, the swim stops for today’s forecast, and the no-go zones.
5. Safety kit. Life vests, the phone and VHF contact, the flares, what to do if the engine stops, and the one rule above all: if anything feels wrong, call us.

By the time you leave the bay you have driven, anchored and turned the boat yourself. First-timers consistently tell us it feels easier than they expected, closer to a scooter than a car.

Where a no-licence boat can take you

The south coast either side of our base at Agia Kiriaki is the Compass 150cc’s home water, and it is superb:

• Agia Kiriaki and Provatas: long sandy beaches, shallow, the warm-up swim.
• Firiplaka: coloured cliffs and a long beach, anchor off and swim in.
• Tsigrado: the tiny cove reached on land by ropes and a ladder; from the water you just drop anchor.
• Gerontas: 10 minutes west, the stone arch and the best snorkeling within easy range, octopus and moray eels along the rocky walls. See snorkeling in Milos.
• Paleochori: 10 to 15 minutes east, hot springs bubbling through the sand in the shallows.
• Kleftiko and Sykia: on a calm morning, 40 to 50 minutes west. Leave early, be back before the afternoon wind, and let us confirm at the dock that the day is right.

Three or four of these make a half day; a full day lets you go further east or simply linger. Our guide to the beaches you can only reach by boat ranks them all, and half-day vs full-day boat trips turns them into routes.

Where it cannot, and what to do instead

• Kleftiko on a windy day. If the forecast is not calm, the 150cc stays east of Gerontas. For Kleftiko in anything but a flat sea, take the skippered Compass 7s, the 165cc with a licence or skipper, or a day cruise. See the complete Kleftiko guide.
• Kimolos and Polyaigos. Too far for the tank and the speed from Agia Kiriaki. The 165cc or 7s, or arrange delivery to Pollonia or Psathi in advance. See the Kimolos island guide.
• Round-island. Not in a 30 hp boat.
• The west coast beyond Sykia. Kalogries, Agathia and Arkoudes are a full-day run for the bigger boats. The caves within the 150cc’s range are Gerontas, the overhangs at Tsigrado and Firiplaka and, on a calm morning, Kleftiko and Sykia; all of them are in the sea caves of Milos.

The good news: the licence-free routes are sheltered, close, and on a windy day they are the only routes anyone is doing anyway.

What it costs

• Compass 150cc: 180 € half day (09:00 to 14:00 or 14:30 to 19:30), 250 € full day (10:00 to 19:00). Same price May to October.
• Fuel: not included, charged on actual use at the end. A south coast half day is a small top-up.
• Included: safety equipment and life vests, the briefing, sunshade, cooler, and route advice on the day.
• Deposit: taken at the start, returned at the end.
• Skipper: available on request for any boat if you change your mind.

Per person, five people sharing a full day on the 150cc pay about 50 € each for a private boat. A group cruise seat is 80 to 150 €.

Safety, honestly

Milos is a volcanic island with a serious coastline, and we treat it with respect.

• Wind. The meltemi builds through the afternoon from June to September. We tell you on the morning which routes are open, and we will move or refund your booking rather than send you out in weather we would not take our own families into.
• Stay in range. The 150cc’s tank and speed are sized for the south coast. Kleftiko on a calm morning is fine; the west coast beyond Sykia is not, and the afternoon will not be as calm as the morning.
• Anchor on sand. Check it holds before anyone swims. Keep one adult aboard if the boat is not in a fully enclosed cove.
• Engine off around swimmers. Always.
• Caves. Swell inside is bigger than outside. Idle in, assess, idle out, or anchor outside and swim in.
• Call us. A phone on board, our number saved, and zero hesitation to use it. An engine that will not start is a ten-minute problem if you call, and an afternoon problem if you do not.

No licence does not mean no rules. It means the boat is small and forgiving enough that a careful adult can master it in one briefing.

A first-timer's day, hour by hour

• 08:45 Arrive at our platform on Agia Kiriaki beach, sign, deposit, life vests fitted.
• 09:00 to 09:20 Briefing on board, you drive away from the platform.
• 09:30 Firiplaka, five minutes east. First swim, anchor on sand, confidence up.
• 10:30 Tsigrado. Anchor off the cove, swim in, photos from the water.
• 11:30 Gerontas, back west past the base. Snorkel the walls and the arch, lunch from the cooler.
• 13:15 Start back, wind still light.
• 14:00 Platform, refuel, deposit returned, lunch at the beach bar with stories.

That is the 09:00 to 14:00 half day. The afternoon slot (14:30 to 19:30) is the same route with the sunset on the way home.

Ready to be captain for a day?

Check the Compass 150cc for your dates, or contact us if you want a skipper or the bigger boats. Summer dates fill fast.

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