Top Tips Before Heading Away on a Sailing Holiday
A sailing holiday can be the perfect summer holiday: time out on the ocean, exploring lovely islands and ports, and quality evenings spent with your favourite people, ensuring the conversation keeps flowing. It’s a great opportunity to soak up some well deserved sunshine after a long winter and a great way to get a real break from the weekly grind. No matter whether you’re planning a sailing trip with your family, for a bachelor or bachelorette trip, something special to celebrate an anniversary or special promotion or just wanting a wonderful family vacation, the truth is a sailing holiday can be a perfect vacation for a wide range of activities. Because there are so many great water sports so easily when you’re on a boat, it makes for such a fun adventurous holiday. You also have a lot more freedom with a sailing holiday as you’re able to visit more islands and ports, ensuring that you never tire of the same boring location. If you’re going on a sailing holiday or wanting to go on one, then you’re going to need to prepare a few things ahead of time. Here are my top tips before heading away on a sailing holiday:
1) Research ahead of time
You’re going to want to make sure that you choose a good company and ensure they have great reviews. Whoever you decide to go with will determine so much about your trip. For example, Ocean Elements have a great reputation, plenty of photos and information on their website and competitive pricing. It’s a great idea to spend a bit of time making sure whichever company you go with is a good fit for what you’re looking for, but that’s not the only thing you’re going to want to spend a bit of time researching. You’ll also want to research the weather conditions of where you’re planning to go as well. If you’re hoping for ample sunshine and hot weather, then you should check to see what kind of averages you can expect during the time of year you’re visiting. This will help make packing for your trip easier too. While we can’t predict the weather months in advance, having a good idea of what kind of weather you can expect can help you plan what time of year will be best for your sailing holiday vacation.
2) Be Careful With Sun Exposure
With all the glorious sunshine you’re sure to enjoy, you’re going to have to be smart to protect yourself. Out on the ocean it’s just so much easier to get burned. After all, the bright blue ocean helps bounce the rays back to you, meaning that you get sunburned so much more easily. On top of that, you’ll probably want to spend hours and hours enjoying your time on the boat. Take a decent sunscreen with you, but you’ll probably find that’s not enough with the amount of sun exposure you will get on your sailing holiday. I suggest taking a hat with you – as wide brimmed as you find fashionable and a decent pair of sunglasses. Many people don’t consider how damaged their eyes get when they’re out in the sun, but the truth is the bright sun rays can be really harmful to your eyesight! You can easily have some fun with this – choose a hat and sunglasses that best reflect your personal style. I love Loft sunglasses for affordable, yet stylish sunglasses that wont break the bank.
3) Buy Food and Drinks in Advance
If you’re hoping to do some serious island hopping around the Greek Islands, then you’re going to have a blast. The Greek Islands are some of the most gorgeous islands in the world and no matter which ones you choose to explore, I’m sure you’ll fall in love. But there’s an undeniable fact: food and drinks on the islands can be really expensive. While the quality of the meals in restaurants is really high and worth it if you’re eating out and enjoying special meals, it can get a little bit crazy if you’re just buying normal produce. As such I suggest a little forward planning and stocking up on the mainland in advance. Buying staples such as toilet paper, alcohol, drinks, bottled water, breakfast foods and any longer lasting food products that will keep for the duration of your trip in order to keep your costs low. If you do have to buy things, don’t stress too much – but shopping for these basic items in advance will save you considerable money. Also remember to bring your own sunscreen from home because it’s always extremely expensive on smaller islands!
4) Bring Some Entertainment Along
While I’m sure your days will be spent enjoying the sunshine, exploring nearby towns and islands, and enjoying water sports, the nights are often a little more chill and a few preparations can make things a whole lot more fun. I suggest bringing along a few board games if you have the space. If you’re going away with a group of friends or have a more open family, Cards of Humanity is a pretty fun game that doesn’t take up a ton of space. A deck of cards takes up barely any more space than your passport but can provide hours of entertainment. There are even some fun games that you can play on your phone such as Heads Up so that you don’t even really have to bring anything extra along. Having a few games to play at night is a great way to break up the evening and ensure that everyone’s hanging out together instead of staring at their phones on Facebook.
5) Pack the Right Clothes
You’re going to want to pack right for the weather, which will depend on where you go and when, but you’re also going to want to ensure that your clothes are comfortable enough for exploring new towns. Make sure that your shoes are good enough for exploring and walking around comfortably for hours and hours. You’re going to want to include some sandals or flip flops for all the beaches you’ll be visiting and enjoying. Don’t forget to take along a few swimsuits, so that you have one to wear while the other one is drying off. Instead of taking along a traditional beach towel, you might want to consider a Turkish beach towel, which is slightly larger than a traditional beach towel, thinner and tends to dry a lot faster, making it the perfect travel towel. Don’t forget to take a warm sweater too, although the temperatures during the day may appear to be warm, temperatures can drop quite suddenly at night on a sail boat and I’m sure you’ll want to be warm at night so you can enjoy the stunning sunsets from the boat!
Traveling on a sailboat is a wonderful experience and I’m sure will create many memories that you’ll treasure. With these tips, I’m sure you’ll be well prepared for your next adventure. Do you have any travel planning tips that you’d like to share? Please leave them in the comments below: