Choosing a Sailing Holiday

When the idea of a sailing holiday first occurs, what is it you think of? The destination? The type of boat? The crew? The cost? The sailing company? There are many possibilities all around the world and with so much choice it's almost impossible to decide. Experience tells me that a typical search on any search engine involves the words sailing and holidays. This brings you around 14 million suggestions of possible holidays ranging from the wet shores of Britain, passing through the star-studded Med and right across to the sunny shores of Australia, not to mention the hundreds of fantastic countries in between. Choosing a destination Choosing a destination before your search enables you to slim down your search results to a slightly more manageable 1 to 2 million possibilities. From here you'll find suggestions for every area of the country that has a patch of water, some yachts with crew, some without, super-duper luxury yachts for the rich and famous and some more affordable yachts, motor boats and sailing yachts, cruises and ferries, the list seems endless. If you narrow down your chosen country to a specific area within that country, say France to the French Riviera, or Italy to Italian Riviera, you'll refine your possibilities even further to a much more manageable seven or eight hundred thousand! Which yacht? Perhaps the next decision is what sort of yacht you want to go on. Although you searched for 'sailing holidays', unfortunately the term 'sail' is a very old term and very broadly used across the boating world. For example, when a 1000 metre-long cruise ship 'sets sail' the only cloth flying today is their ensign! Maybe you need to specify the size of vessel you wish to use such as cruise liner, super yacht, motor yacht, racing yacht or sailing yacht. Do you want a whole yacht? Are you going to fill it up with friends and family or do you just want a cabin? Many companies now offer crewed sailing holidays on a cabin-based price. Adding in these crucial keywords will get your choices down to between 150,000 to 600,000. Crewed or bareboat? Do you have qualifications? Are you ready to take on a yacht you've never sailed before? Or do you want the luxury of a skipper? Do you want to be the chef and skipper or are you taking the wife? Does she want to spend her holiday cooking? Would it be better to have a hostess to cook for you? Do you want someone at hand to run you ashore who knows how to set up the dinghy? Do you know the area? Do you want someone to point you in the right direction? All these questions and yet you still have over 150,000 possibilities! If one wants to be completely self-sufficient, a bareboat is probably right for you. But don't write-off a crew completely and watch out for hidden extra costs. Adding a crew and skipper into the equation takes your results down even further to a practically bite-size 69,000! Crewed charters might seem to some like a failure or a compromise, but in reality, skippers and crew are there to make sure you have the holiday you want. Skippers generally love to see their guests taking the helm and sailing the boat themselves but also appreciate that some days all you want to do is lie back in the sun and be taken to your next destination, in which case they enjoy doing the sailing themselves. The crew is the same, although they usually cook the main meals, they're happy to help you ashore, or let you take the dinghy yourself, they'll clean your cabins daily because who wants to do that on holiday? And they'll recommend to you the best places to visit, the best bars, the best restaurants not just because they like them themselves, but because they think they'll suit your needs. Any crew and skipper worth their salt are there to make sure you enjoy your sailing holiday as much as possible and will go to great lengths to make sure that's what happens. How much? The cost is a tricky one and search engines don't always recognise monetary values so how else can you get round this? Try using words such as 'luxury' or if you want the other end of the spectrum, 'cheap'. Perhaps you want to include 'culture' or 'fine dining'. Whatever it is you want from the holiday, throw it into your search. When looking at the cost of a sailing holiday, bear these points in mind: Does the price include the fuel? Does the price include the food? Does the price include berthing fees? Does the price include linen and toiletries? Are you expected to pay for an end of week clean? Are your flights included? Do you get any added equipment such as snorkels or fishing gear? What insurance do they have? All these, although each one by itself looks small, can add together to increase the cost of your holiday. So many companies Lastly, many people when searching for a sailing holiday return to a company they've used before, one that has been recommended to them by a fellow sailor or simply one they might have heard of. With so many companies out there it can be difficult to choose who to go with so maybe the best choice is one that appeals to you personally and ticks all your boxes. Make sure the company is a registered company and you speak to someone by telephone when enquiring. Check out their Facebook page, follow them on Twitter, see what others have to say on their testimonials web page. Really get a feel for the company before you hand over your hard-earned cash. By refining your searches you'll get what you want. Remember, the computer is not psychic, you still have to tell it what you're thinking! The author Kate Reeves is currently the skipper and chef on a luxury sailing yacht. Essential Sailing, http://www.essentialsailing.com offers you the chance to sail, without any previous experience, in the beautiful French and Italian Rivieras. For more information or to talk to one of our crew, email us: info@essentialsailing.com Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7555534