Charter Holidays Advice - Med

[etapper]

I am thinking of booking a bareboat charter in the Med (Greek Islands etc. but no real preference) next Spring. This will be my first time and I'm finding it difficult to decide from the brochures the preferred charter companies and cruising areas. I would therefore welcome any recommendations from anyone who has previous experience - based on cruising area/weather, how busy the area gets, value for money etc.

Thanks

 

[Guest]

I took a Bav 40 for a fortnight around the Cyclades in August this summer. No wind, but a good time, plenty of hidden anchorages, and good food ashore.
I am a fan of sorting things out myself, so rather than booking through one of these places that offer an all-in package in the UK, we researched a reputable charter company in Greece.
My advice: Book your own flights on BA, and make arrangements with a Charter company in Greece direct. Pay in Euros.

Flights:
Our Direct flights on BA cost about £20 more than squeezy-jet, and the whole journey there was in total comfort, with plenty of G+T's thrown in for good measure. Check in was a breeze, and there was leg room, and decent food on the plane.

Charter company.
We booked through a company called Fyly, which are a large brokerage. They have their own boats, and sub-charter them out to people like Cosmos, Tenrag etc. http://www.Fyly.gr
I couldn't recommend them highly enough. We were met at Athens at 04.30, and taken to the boat, which had been provisioned for us. They then left us alone to settle in and get some sleep for a few hours, then turned up again at about 9, after seeing if we were awake discreetly! The handover was a dream, nothing was too much trouble, and the boat was immaculate.

The best thing was the cost. All in - it came to about 60% of the price of booking at the same time, same boat, same duration with a large well known operator.

As for Greece - not as cheap anymore - the Euro saw to that - but it was my first experience as a bareboat skipper, and everyone we met we were friendly, helpful and delighted to have a boat full of brits on their seas.

 

[Spacewaist]

BA is best

I agree - that overnight flight from Heathrow saves you a day's travelling - and doesnt knacker you, well not that much.

 

[sailbadthesinner]

Etapper welcome to the boards

well you have a number of options depending on how adventurous you want to be.

I have been chartering for a while in greece and around now and would state the following.

IN the past 3 years the choice has increased greatly with lots more boats.

You can go the main operator route nicholson sunsail etc. these will provide a well backed up more molly coddled approach with lots of bases. good for peace of mind. kit normally quite new on bareboat.

there are other charters Templecraft/ kyrakoulis who will sort out flights if you wish but you can just turn up

my preferred option is book the flights i advance via one of the budget airlines then book the boat via a latesail web site. This maximises thesaving. these bareboats are v often with one of the mjor charters and therefore all the requisite support is there.

if y want to go budget athens is best as it is easy to get in and out of ( from the mids anyway)
the sailing area is good with lots of options of islands in differeent directions so you donot always have to have the wind on the nose ( laughs)

basically alot of greece is lovely and it depends on the winds.

The ionian is gorgeous lots of lovely bays and medium to short hops but there can be v light to naff all winds ( personally i have had three storms there )
Round athens i used harbours ( cos we had an 8 yr old on board)
Cyclades good.
Sporades also good enjoyed that a lot.

Basically with a bit of planning and being a bit more of a traveller you can really save

last trip to athens
flights £40 p.p
Gibsea 36 one week 350 pounds between 5.
food about £150 max each ( and that was a lot of wine)
Ferry £25 p.p
taxis £5 p.p

not bad

if you want any further pm me as there is a lot of variables to take account of
experience of crew
size of boat
age of crew etc.

Go ahead and play the blues if it'll make you happy.

 

[RTB]

This is all probably very good advice and it does all sound idyllic. My related question is
How do I get the other half to agree to a Chartering holiday ? or should I just give up sailing ? or
- change the wife ?

Ssgoodthis....intit?

 

[Guest]

Re: BA is best

Yup, plus leather seats, decent leg room, and as much Gin as you can quaff.
Bargain.

 

[etapper]

I've given up with the wife, she never did like sailing. I'm rounding up some of my mates for a "lads" away week.

 

[etapper]

Thanks Sailbad and Nick

Thanks for your advice sailbad and nick. Very useful.

Anyone any more thoughts?

<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>Edited by etapper on 25/10/2002 23:02 (server time).</FONT></P>

 

[yachtbits]

how the heck did you get away with a "lads week sailing?"!!

Advice please!!!!

<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.yachtbits.co.uk>http://www.yachtbits.co.uk</A>
sales@yachtbits.co.uk
marine electrics & electronics

 

[sailbadthesinner]

well i had one guy say it was team building week in Reading.

Come on brain.get this over and i can go back to killing you with beer

 

[sailbadthesinner]

you could try chartering a cat
the women love them
no heely
nice patio doors
sail quick nice accomodation and lots of it
only prob is my missus not so keen on monos now
she even prefers them to stinkpots

Come on brain.get this over and i can go back to killing you with beer