Easy sailing destinations

Five plus one places where you will fall in love with sailing

Do you want to ride the waves? Come to know the wind? Or sail across the sparkling sea? Many people wish to do these. If you happen to be one of them, you sure have decided to learn sailing. As a beginner, however, it might not be evident where to start, while keeping safety in your mind. In this article, we’re sharing some advice.

Easy sailing destinations: Exotic waters

Australia

The Whitsunday Islands near the coast of Queensland offer a truly special experience. According to several polls and surveys, this place is one of the most beautiful sailing destinations around the world. The sparsely populated group of 74 islands attracts visitors with a nearly untouched natural environment, but it offers quite some programmes aside from sailing. It’s a unique challenge to go along the famous Whitsunday Ngaro Sea Trail. The tour is a mixture of sailing and walking. It has different routes depending on hardness, each of them you can try by yourself or with a group. Its location is the Whitsunday National Park and its proximity. The name Ngaro refers to a native group of people who lived there. Along with the tour you can see their reminiscence as well.
The weather is most pleasant around here from April to September (21-26 °C), usually with the southeastern wind. Since it’s the tropics, there’s a rainy season from January to April. At this time of the year, winds can dangerously intensify, therefore sailing is not recommended, not even for practised sailors. From October to January the air is hot and humid, and wind usually gets stronger by night.
If you’re exhausted after so much sailing, you should visit the 7 km long beach of the main island, Whitehaven Beach. Here the water is turquoise, and the sand is white as snow. The Whitsunday islands are also a paradise to those who like diving. Rent a boat in Australia

Abaco Island

One of the most popular islands of the Bahamas. It’s a real paradise for tourists, ideal for diving, snorkeling and naturally, sailing. The weather is most pleasant in January, around 24 °C. Usually, the wind is not strong, and the tide is also weak. Thus, this place is especially recommended for rookie sailors. The environment is suitable for family trips. We can sail here at ease even with small children. Without a doubt, they will enjoy the crystal clear sea and the white sand beaches at Marsh Harbour and its vicinity. You can find another great pastime about 20 seamiles southward. Visit Pelikan Cay National Park to see coral reefs, and if you’re in the mood for diving or swimming, that’s possible too. Bahamas yacht charter

Easy sailing destinations: Discover Europe

Slovenia

Slovenia is on the Adriatic coast. Thanks to its Mediterranean climate, winters are mild, but summers aren’t unbearably hot either. Sea currents are not too fast around here. The water is fairly shallow and deepens slowly. As a result of small tidal range, not higher than 1 meter, it’s harder to boat with a keel. Which means, you should choose a somewhat smaller boat here. You may not be able to anchor in some harbours. In this part of the Adriatic Sea, the depth of water further from the coast is only 50 meters on average.
In our opinion, two ports are worth visiting here: Izola and Portorož. The second one is a lovely small town with a port for 650 boats. It’s also the place of the first modern Slovenian harbour. Izola is a small town too, but with more opportunities. The capacity of its port is 700. Here it’s safe to anchor boats with a draft of 4 m and length up to 45 m, with 24-hour security. If you already get the hang of sailing, you can take a trip to the Italian coast. Trieste is only 5 seamiles away from Slovenia. Rent a boat in Slovenia

Austria

We invite you to a gorgeous Austrian lake called Attersee. This place is a traditional center of the country’s sailing life, which is understandable since it’s the largest lake in its region. The first Austrian yacht club was established here in 1886.

The Attersee and its environment is a favoured tourist attraction of the Salzkammergut region in Upper Austria. An interesting attribute of the relatively small (about 19 km long and slightly more than 3 km wide) lake is that it formed out of a glacier. It’s surrounded by mountains, its shores are prone, and the average depth of water is up to 85 m. You don’t have to be scared by that though, because the wind is mild and pleasant here. Rosewind, as locals call it. What does this name stand for, you ask? Well, it’s said that the smell of surrounding rose gardens is carried far from here by the mild, northeastern wind. Besides the weak wind (the wind force is barely 2) the weather is particularly nice all year. The always blue sky and bright sunshine are well-known features of this area.

The most important town around here, Seewalchen am Attersee is on the northern side of the lake.
This sweet alpine small town is worth visiting for the numerous local sailing schools. Anyone can become familiar with water and sailing here, even without any experience. Rent a boat in Austria

Turkey

Here, the sailing season starts in April and ends in October. It’s a typical Mediterranean climate with good visibility. Summers are long and hot with little rain. The infrastructure is ideal, but Turkey is not as frequented as other well-known sailing destinations, which makes the Aegean Sea a good choice. It’s the southwestern coast of Turkey, where sheltered harbours are common, and there are many anchor points close to each other.

The most yacht harbours and the largest ones are in the region’s center, Marmaris. We highly recommend the Adaköy Marina and the Albatros Marina. The latter is the bigger one, capable of hosting 250 boats, up to the length of 60 m and 15 m draft. Services and infrastructure meet clients’ high expectations at both places.

Only 20 seamiles away, there’s a group of islands in front of a town called Göcek. The water is deeper here, but still easy to sail. Out of its five ports, the most well-equipped is Skopea Marina. Here you can anchor boats as long as 40 m.
Fethiye is a town only 15 seamiles from Göcek. It’s bigger than Marmaris. The entrance of its harbour is sheltered by a small island. The water is 12 m deep. There’s an abundant number of anchor points around here. The 6 to 10 m water depth is suitable for beginners. This town also has one big yacht harbour able to host 400 large boats, Marina Ece Saray.
Naturally, you can rent a boat or yacht here if you don’t have one. There’s also a type of boat, shaped for local conditions called a gulet. These sailboats are 14 to 35 m long and made of wood.Yacht charter in Turkey

Greece

If you’ve just started sailing, this country is not to be left out. For beginners, we recommend the vicinity of Lefkada (Lefkas). It’s an island in the Ionian Sea near the western coast of Greece connected to the mainland by an artificial bank and a folding bridge. With peaceful, quiet water it’s an optimal location for less practiced sailors. The tidal range is minimal between 30 and 60 cm. Generally, there’s a northwestern wind from April to November with a moderate strength of 10 to 15 knots. The temperature is pleasant around 24 to 27 °C.
The yacht harbour runs in its current form since 2003. It’s capable of hosting 620 boats up to 45 m lengths. All of the usual services are available, and it’s open all Rent a boat in Greece