There’s almost nothing more romantic than the image of sailing around the world, enjoying a sunset in some far-flung bay as the last rays glint off the water. You picture yourself standing at the front of the boat, every inch the sea-wise and weathered captain off to enjoy yet another adventure. It’s an appealing image – and one that nothing is stopping you from making a reality except the dread of planning such an amazing adventure.

Well, here we’ve put together some practical tips to help make that beautiful dream come true. Planning a trip can be difficult at the best of times, but it’s even harder when it’s something a little more unusual like a sailing trip as it’s difficult to know where to start. Luckily, there are plenty of resources out there to help you on your way.

The first thing you should do is decide where exactly you want to go sailing; an adventurous trip out on open seas is very different to drifting luxuriously around the Greek Islands.

If you’re looking for a simple, relaxing island-hopping vacation then you should look into the ports you want to put in at beforehand so you can plan a route accordingly and start to work out how long you want the trip to be. If you’re going on the adventurous side, you need to look up where that kind of trip is available to the amateur sailor and explore any rules and regulations surrounding it before you jump the gun and charter a boat.

The second thing to consider is your abilities. If you’re a seasoned sailor, you are probably planning on being captain of your own boat – but if you’re not,  you can also charter manned boats where you get all the benefits of sailing around but you don’t have to be able to drive the thing yourself. This is more expensive, but arguably a more luxurious way to spend your time at sea.

Finally, you’ll want to carefully consider what kind of boat you want to charter – which isn’t as simple a question as it sounds. The first considerations are of course how many guests you’ll be bringing, as this will help you determine the size of the boat. 

Then, you’ll need to choose the tupe of boat – the different types each have pros and cons, and you’ll need to weigh it up based on you and your group’s needs before you commit to anything. Luckily, there are plenty of handy guides to planning a sailing holiday out there which you cna consult to be sure you’re making the right decision.

So what are you waiting for? The time is now to book your dream sailing holiday.