Sailing Holidays & Bareboat Sailing Holidays

Sailing Holidays & Bareboat Sailing Holidays in Brief

Sailing Holidays is a flotilla sailing holiday specialist with many departures of up to 12 yachts in the Greek Islands (Ionian, Saronic and Sporades). Its sister company, Bareboat Sailing Holidays, is an agency for skippered and bareboat charters across the Med, and also the Canary Islands.

Our Review of Sailing Holidays & Bareboat Sailing Holidays

If you’ve wondered about a sailing holiday but never been quite brave enough to take it on on your own, and anyway are not quite sure about the qualifications you need, then you might find a flotilla sailing holiday is a good way to go. The social side is obviously one of the key features, but it is not enforced hi-di-hi. The formula gives you the support of a lead boat, and a ready-made group of people, and yet you can still be pretty much independent if you want. Apparently it becomes pretty addictive. One person has been back over 30 times. 

Interestingly you do not need a formal yachting qualification to have one of their small yachts. Each flotilla departure, which usually has 10 or 12 boats, has a lead boat with skipper, an engineer and a hostie. If you are a novice they will provide you with a briefing, and they will offer help for the more difficult moments of sailing. They can even provide an experienced pair of hands on board for a day to get you going. And of course they have VHF radios and nowadays mobiles phones in case you need something.

Sailing Holidays has flotilla departures in three carefully chosen groups of islands – the Ionian Islands, the Saronic and the Sporades, and they find that their clients often progress from one to the next. The Ionian Islands (Ithaca, Zakynthos, also known as Zante, and Kefalonia among others) are the easiest to sail. The Saronic Islands (Salamis, Aegina and Angistri) have a little more wind and the Sporades (Skiathos, Skopelos and Alonnisos) can offer challenging sailing conditions for someone with a bit more experience.

The company has around 180 yachts in all, varying in size from 27 ft long, ideal for two people or a small family, up to 52 ft, which can take eight or 10. It has around 150 departures between May and November across the three island groups and trips last one, two or three weeks. Itineraries are sketched out beforehand, but are not set in stone, so that the captain can respond to wind conditions. There is a sail to shore option if you want to explore Greece as well as spend time afloat. 

Finally, sister company Bareboat Sailing Holidays is also an agency for bareboats and skippered charters all across the Mediterranean.

Sailing Holidays has been arranging flotilla sailing trips since 1989 (for a dozen years before that it was called Flotilla Sailing Club). The current owner Barrie Neilson joined in 1979 and, with Heidi Seville, is still very much at the helm. They have a close relationship with Ionian Island Holidays (also on Travelspinner), so combining sailing with a week on dry land is a cinch. 

Travel Trade Associations

AITO, ATOL, British Marine Federation