Where's the cheapest place to berth a 38' yacht? UK? France? Portugal?

An unanswerable question. In all countries there are berths in different price ranges and different levels of availability. In general the more popular the location, the higher the price. Popularity comes from access and available cruising areas. In southern Europe the western end is generally more expensive than the east (reflecting access) and on the western seaboard prices generally reflect remoteness from centres of population. In the UK the same applies - in the popular easily accessible areas prices can be twice as high (or more) than in less popular, less accessible areas.

So, you list your priorities, assess the benefits of the alternatives in relation to the costs and make your choice. The lowest cost marina berth may not be the lowest in overall cost of using your boat.
 
There are several marinas in Portugal,I'd advise the Algarve because of the convenience of the nearby airport and cheap Ryanair flights.And the weather off course.You can have a 10 month long sailing season here.
http://www.marlagos.pt/EN/marina0105.aspx
http://www.marinadeportimao.com.pt/en/tabela-de-precos/tarifas.html
http://www.marinadevilamoura.com/en/vilamoura-marina/price-list/rental-prices-of-berths/
Ayamonte marina,just accross the border is half empty now when only last year it was full.It might be a good idea to enquire about their prices.Great shipchandler 5mns away from the marina named Ayamar.http://www.nauticayamar.com/contact-us.html
There's also the Vila Real de Santo António marina,It's small and affected by the strong currents of the Guadiana and everytime a big ship goes by the boats swing violently but apparently with no damage done.I know it's cheaper than the others to the West but the services are poor.There's a yard half a mile downstream though.The town is lovely and Ayamonte is just opposite if in the mood from some tapas.
Website is c rap but they can be emailed.
On top of this there's Bruce's yard in Faro that's very well equiped and reasonably priced.A boat can be left there on the dry and be on the slings by the time you arrive from the airport.Definitely cheaper than a marina.
http://www.navepegos.com/aboutus-navepegos.html

Hope this helps.
 
30boat said:
That's cheaper than here...How much are flights?What legal complications do the Greeks have?
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There are many even cheaper ways of keeping a boat in Greece, although not in a marina as we know it. Many Brits do on small budgets. There is a proposed new tax - see the Liveaboard forum for a blow by blow account of its development. However, even with this in place it can still be an economical place to keep a boat. As I indicated earlier there is invariably a trade off between costs and benefits, and access in the winter is poor, as is the weather and the infrastructure is very different from what people in northern and western Europe have become used to.
 
30boat said:
That's cheaper than here...How much are flights?What legal complications do the Greeks have?
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Some days a flight into Preveza can be had for £50. Some days £350!

Travelling does add to the cost but the weather makes up for it!

Legal issues? None. A few bits of paper and the occasional bit of beurocratic BS. Rya day skippers ticket gets you an ICC and you need basic insurance on the boat.
 
West coast of Portugal; Povoa de Varzim.

10.5 - 12m up to 3.4m beam €1530.00 pa including VAT, lift out/in and storage ashore.

20 mins by train from Porto airport.

Very handy for exploring the Spanish rias, a bit further north.
 
Thanks. Some great ideas here. Portugal seems good. Got stuck in Greece (Argostoli) last autumn with a broken boat. Port Police were brilliant, and the repair was superb. But a few years ago was in Poros at Easter and nearly froze my davits off! My it was cold...!! The idea is to live on board a fair bit of the time, but to have her out of the water when leaving her for any length of time, so Bruce's yard in Faro also sounds good...
 
Fenderr said:
Thanks. Some great ideas here. Portugal seems good. Got stuck in Greece (Argostoli) last autumn with a broken boat. Port Police were brilliant, and the repair was superb. But a few years ago was in Poros at Easter and nearly froze my davits off! My it was cold...!! The idea is to live on board a fair bit of the time, but to have her out of the water when leaving her for any length of time, so Bruce's yard in Faro also sounds good...
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The Ionian can be bitter in winter. Prevailing wind seems to be northeasterly and if you stand facing in to wind just about anywhere from corfu to keffalonia all you can see are snow covered mountains. Pretty, but boy the wind coming off them is cold.
 
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chinita said:
West coast of Portugal; Povoa de Varzim.

10.5 - 12m up to 3.4m beam €1530.00 pa including VAT, lift out/in and storage ashore.

20 mins by train from Porto airport.

Very handy for exploring the Spanish rias, a bit further north.
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Only problem with Povoa is that boats have to come out of the water in winter because of the swell which, on the west coast can be a problem and with predominantly northerlies in summer, progress north can be slow. For all year sailing and cheap all year flights, the Algarve takes a lot of beating, often tee shirts and shorts in Jan & Feb. Lisbon, where we are at the moment (10.1-12m x 4m = 1,708 euro p.a + 23% VAT) has sheltered all year sailing in the Tejo but mainly scheduled (expensive) flights in winter and it's a few degrees cooler that Algarve in winter.
 
nimbusgb said:
The Ionian can be bitter in winter. Prevailing wind seems to be northeasterly and if you stand facing in to wind just about anywhere from corfu to keffalonia all you can see are snow covered mountains. Pretty, but boy the wind is cold.
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The Algarve climate is definitely milder than that.There are a few storms and temperatures can go down to 3ºC where I live with frost in the mornings but not very often.Faro is much warmer throughout the winter.
 
GrahamM376 said:
Only problem with Povoa is that boats have to come out of the water in winter because of the swell which, on the west coast can be a problem and with predominantly northerlies in summer, progress north can be slow. For all year sailing and cheap all year flights, the Algarve takes a lot of beating, often tee shirts and shorts in Jan & Feb. Lisbon, where we are at the moment (10.1-12m x 4m = 1,708 euro p.a + 23% VAT) has sheltered all year sailing in the Tejo but mainly scheduled (expensive) flights in winter and it's a few degrees cooler that Algarve in winter.
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That puzzles me as three boats here in Lagos (now) wintered in Povoa last year (2012/13) and another boat left Lagos two years ago and have been living aboard in Povoa ever since. None of them had to be lifted out for the winter.

Although swell has been mentioned as being difficult in certain parts of the marina, this has not proved to be a showstopper.

The only other negative was the loud foghorn at the entrance - but that is nowt compared with Lagos Bar noise in high summer!
 
chinita said:
That puzzles me as three boats here in Lagos (now) wintered in Povoa last year (2012/13) and another boat left Lagos two years ago and have been living aboard in Povoa ever since. None of them had to be lifted out for the winter.

Although swell has been mentioned as being difficult in certain parts of the marina, this has not proved to be a showstopper.

The only other negative was the loud foghorn at the entrance - but that is nowt compared with Lagos Bar noise in high summer!
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I'm going by what friends who have wintered there told be, they weren't given the choice of staying in. Maybe it depends on boat size and which pontoon?
 
I got a cracking deal for my Targa 37 @ Portimo Marina, had to sign up for a three year term but well worth it, great marina with loads of bars, restaurants beeches ect all within walking distance, gets abit lively in the summer, used to berth @ Albufeira best thing I ever did moving to Portimo..
 
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