A normal vacation’s fun, but a yacht vacation’s even better. Chartering a yacht and travelling on it will give you an opportunity to see your chosen holiday destination in ways that you could never have imagined, not to mention you have more freedom about where you go. If you are in Europe for example, then you can sail from country to country, coasting along the Mediterranean.
If you’re planning a yacht vacation, then you need to plan carefully. This post will tell you about a few important things that you need to pay attention to:
Transporting Yours
Yacht vacations can be fantastic, there’s no denying it. The big problem for most people is actually getting their hands on a yacht. But what if you wanted to ship a yacht because you were fortunate enough to own one already? If you do own a yacht then there’s no sense in paying to use somebody else’s when you can transport your own. You can hire a professional yacht transportation service to move your yacht for you to your location of choice. You should be aware that if your yacht is travelling by boat, you will have to travel to your holiday destination by plane so that you can beat it there and arrange collection. Transporting a yacht can be a lot less expensive than leasing one, so if you own one already then transporting yours is clearly the most sensible option.
Chartering a Yacht
If you do not own a yacht, then you can either charter one or lease one. Chartering a yacht is when you pay a captain to drive a yacht for you. Leasing one will involve you actually driving it yourself, so if you are going to lease a yacht you need to be confident behind the wheel of the boat. You will receive some training from the rental agency, but you will be expected to know the fundamentals yourself. You shouldn’t attempt to lease a yacht if you have no experience. Instead, you should charter one.
Water Activities
If you are going away on a yacht vacation, then you should plan fun water activities for you and your family. Some of the things that you can do include water skiing, jet skiing, kayaking, and even surfing. You can also go swimming in hard-to-reach places or even out in the ocean. Make sure that you bring lifejackets for everybody on board, just in case they are not a strong swimmer but find themselves in the water, participating in activities. If you charter a yacht, it’s likely that the boat’s captain will provide lifejackets for you.
Travel Planning
You need to carefully plan out your trip. Where are you going to stop and which route are you going to take? If you charter a yacht then the ship’s captain will be able to recommend a route for you. If you are driving your own boat, then you will need to carefully map out a list of places that you are going to visit. You also need to research how to get to these places, so that you don’t end up getting lost. You can do this using an online mapping service or the old-fashioned way, by printing out a map and then working out a route.
Acquiring a Visa
If you are going to be going from country to country on your yacht and intend on stopping in different places, then you are going to need a visa. You won’t be able to get into different countries if you do not have a visa. The good thing about travelling in Europe on one’s yacht is that once you actually get a Schengen visa (a necessary EU visa), then you can go to any of the Schengen zone countries. This means that once you have your visa, you have unlimited access to the world’s best sailing destinations, like Greek and Italy.
Making Stop-offs
Lastly, plan out the various places that you are going to stop off along the way, and how you are going to stop there. You need to find a proper dock to stop your yacht at each time that you stop. Locating docks shouldn’t be especially difficult if you start researching their locations prior to your trip. If you are going to stop off at different marinas, harbours, and docks, make sure that you research whether or not it is free to do so, or if you have to pay to stop.
Yachting is a lot of fun. If your upcoming vacation is going to be yacht-based, then you need to carefully plan your trip out so that it’s as fun as possible. A lot can go wrong if you don’t plan out a yacht trip carefully.
