1. A Highlands safari aboard a research yacht
Act fast and there’s still time to bag one of the last weekends aboard the 72ft Zuza, a former Royal Geographical Society research yacht. It’s tough, able to anchor in bays inaccessible to cruise ships and — most importantly — comfortable. It is, therefore, ideal for the west Highlands. Sail around Mull for a wildlife checklist that includes seabirds, eagles, seals, dolphins and whales. Or join an expedition cruise from Oban via Jura into the Firth of Clyde. The scenery is magical even if the wildlife doesn’t show up.
Details Three nights’ full board from £420pp (venturesailholidays.com)
2. First-time Ionian
Few operators hand yachts to rank amateurs. Doing so is not entirely irrational, however. You’re in the Ionian — Grecian sailing at its most friendly, with the wind just a warm breeze and no tides to trick novices. You’re also sailing in a flotilla guided by an affable lead-boat crew. They’ll talk you through navigation each day, suggest lunch spots and coax you into new harbours in the evenings — perhaps mainland Parga, or Gaios on Paxos. Two weeks ticks off the region nicely.
Details Fourteen nights’ self-catering for two from £1,755pp, including flights (sailingholidays.com)
3. Waterways of Alsace
Alsace is the boaters’ friend at a time of tricky border crossings. Hire a pleasingly tubby Pénichette at Lutzelbourg and you’ll embark into a region that’s a little bit French, a little bit German, with an admirable backdrop of Wagnerian hills to boot. Go west and ascend 150ft on a boat lift at St Louis then swing through the Vosges Mountains to Unesco-listed Nancy. East is half-timbered Saverne and gastro-capital Strasbourg. Tough choice — perhaps go for a fortnight.
Details Seven nights’ self-catering for five from £1,503 (locaboat.com). Fly to Strasbourg
4. Bygone Broads
To discover the Norfolk Broads by boat it makes sense to use a craft specifically designed for the purpose. This new, skippered charter from Wroxham is aboard one of eight surviving Norfolk wherries — wooden Edwardian passenger boats that have been restored by volunteers. A skipper will get you hoisting a sail before letting you take the helm as you slip silently through reedy waterways on a slow immersive journey into nature. Below deck the accommodation is smart — all varnished wood and brass.
Details Two nights’ self-catering for twelve from £800 (natural-britain.com)
5. Tall ship from Spain
Eye of the Wind is a square-rigger of Hornblower fantasies. This October it sails across the Bay of Biscay to A Coruña to begin a trip down the Iberian coast, hopscotching between Portuguese harbours. You’ll be hands-on as crew, yet have time off-watch to revel in the romance of a historic ship at sea. After six or seven days Cadiz appears — the final port for you; the start of an adventure to the Canary Islands and the Caribbean for the next crew.
Details Nine nights’ full board from £1,380pp (classic-sailing.com). Fly to A Coruña and back from Jerez
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6. Sail training
The problem: you fancy learning to sail but can’t face weeks of lessons. The solution: this Isle of Wight cruise with the adventure-sail operator Rubicon 3. Under the instruction of affable skippers who know that you’re on board for a holiday, you’ll learn the ropes aboard a rugged 60ft yacht while enjoying England’s classic nautical playground. By the time you disembark it will be with a Competent Crew certification from the Royal Yachting Association.
Details Four nights’ full board from £625pp (rubicon3adventure.com)
7. Into the ice
Get intimate with east Greenland aboard this go-anywhere 60ft yacht. Expect to see the Sermilik ice fjord and Tasiilaq town, clinging on to mountains like Walnut Whips, alongside visits to remote villages, kayaking and hikes. Be warned: on this exploration the weather has the final say, but either way the wildlife is abundant and the scenery edge-of-the-world awesome. And with winter beginning to crackle in the air there’s a chance you may see the northern lights.
Details Seven nights’ full board from £2,920pp (kraken.travel). Fly to Kulusuk
8. Mallorca in style
Glamorous dining in Palma, honey-stoned Soller town and the sea cliffs at Sa Calobra are all on the agenda on this trip around Mallorca, the smartest island in the Balearics. To do it properly circumnavigate aboard this 39ft catamaran. Compared with a yacht, it’s flatter (cats don’t heel), comfier (cabins are en suite and air-conditioned) and shallower (an access-all-areas pass for its skipper). And its large foredeck is ideal for a chilled rosé.
Details Seven nights’ half-board from £1,950 for a double cabin (kraken.travel). Fly to Palma
9. Superyacht lifestyle
Here’s a blow-out for lockdown savings. Suitable for a family or groups (there are four double en suites), 65ft Lunous is the newest in the fleet of this Corfu-based operator. It has the sleekest looks and the largest deck for lunches and glasses of fizz served by your hosts. She’s also the most powerful, able to canter 110 miles south to Cephalonia with ease, perhaps via Emerald Bay on Antipaxos. Just the place to open the stern garage stuffed with water toys.
Details Seven nights’ half-board for eight from £11,840 (fleewinter.co.uk). Fly to Corfu
10. Locals’ Cyclades
You probably know the Cyclades for islands such as Santorini and Mykonos. But how about Serifos or Kea — low-key, languid escapes treasured by sophisticated Athenians? Exactly. Along with Kythnos they are revealed on this short cruise aboard a shared catamaran. It’s hosted by local sailors so familiar with their territory that they know arcane facets of the islands’ folklore. When not helping to crew the boat you can paddleboard and follow your hosts on hikes along shepherds’ paths into the hills.
Details Four nights’ half-board from £639pp (muchbetteradventures.com). Fly to Athens
11. Dalmatian dreams
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It’s the toys as much as the looks that make the 57ft yacht Kabuki a boat to fulfil oligarch ambitions. Extras such as underwater drones and subaquatic scooters are available alongside the usual paddleboards. The swankiest islands of Croatia’s Dalmatian coast lie either side of her base near Split, so you can head south to glam Hvar and boho-posh Vis or north to the Kornati Islands, where billionaires on superyachts play Robinson Crusoe. Your holiday, your choice — just decide with skipper Rudy Solic and set sail.
Details Seven nights’ self-catering for eight from £6,900 (fishandpips.co.uk). Fly to Split
12. Canal du Midi in style
Anjodi provides upmarket cruising with a twist. There’s the Gallic elegance and fine cuisine you’d expect of a classic French barge, which is why she was chartered for Rick Stein’s French Odyssey series. But where cruise passengers are passive, on this private charter for up to eight you’re encouraged to take the wheel. Try requesting that on a cruise ship. Don’t worry, Captain Laurent is by your side and the Canal du Midi is straight(ish). En route are Languedoc beauties such as Carcassonne and Narbonne, plus a programme of visits to vineyards and villages.
Details Six nights’ full board from £3,750pp, including flights and transfers (kirkerholidays.com)
13. Midnight sun sailing
Why is Finland officially the happiest nation on Earth? They’ve perfected the art of summer afloat, that’s why. Instead of slumming it on mere boats they take to motorised houseboats that are more floating cottages with on-board saunas, spacious living areas and barbecues to enjoy summer’s endless twilight. Set sail from Jyvaskyla harbour, the gateway to lakes Paijanne and Keitele, for three days of birch-fuzzed islets, quiet beaches and grilled fish or moose stew in village restaurants.
Details Five nights’ self-catering for two (with one night’s B&B in Helsinki) from £941pp (discover-the-world.com). Fly to Helsinki
14. Canaries adventure
Join other wannabe windblown vagabonds on this new trip to the Canary Islands aboard a sleek 56ft yacht that would cost a five-figure sum to charter privately. Its route around Tenerife, La Gomera and La Palma yells escapist fun. Bonding as novices together, you’ll trim sails, steer courses and snorkel in isolated bays. A local skipper handles tricky logistics and navigation, plus offers insider tips for exploring Caribbean-esque warrens like Santa Cruz or hikes.
Details Six nights’ self-catering from £734pp (gadventures.com). Fly to Tenerife
15. Croatian gulet
Until Turkey returns to the government’s green list, Croatia is the smart choice for a gulet holiday. Built for a Turkish diamond merchant, Angelica is 98ft of pure elegance. Below deck, expect all glossy rich wood in the five cabins, while there’s a vast sundeck on its coachroof above. The crew — relaxed but professional — are lovely too. After decades spent sailing these waters Captain Ivica has a little black book of secrets, including islands south of Korcula and the vineyards of the Peljesac peninsula.
Details Seven nights’ self-catering for ten from £15,197 (redsavannah.com). Fly to Split
16. Orca and aurora
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From early November orca, humpback and sperm whales gather to feast on herring in Norway’s polar fjords. And in the half-light of a Nordic winter, the northern lights shimmer. Yet if these are headline attractions of this wildlife expedition exploring fjords north of Tromso, what makes it special is its historic sailing schooner. Sure, it’s less luxurious than a modern boat, but does a cruise ship offer opportunities to help crew or climb rigging? Does it slip silently alongside whales for intimate sightings? It does not.
Details Seven nights’ full board from £1,909pp (discover-the-world.com). Fly to Tromso
17. Alentejo backwaters
Lake Alqueva in Portugal’s Alentejo is Europe’s largest man-made lake, with 58 miles of calm water cupped among parched olive and cork-tree hills. By day you’ll pootle between the walled villages of Portugal’s forgotten back garden, such as Monsaraz, stopping to kayak or swim in the water. At night you’ll anchor in empty bays for meals beneath the star-misted skies of the world’s first Starlight Tourism destination.
Details Seven nights’ self-catering for two from £1,345pp, including flights (sunvil.co.uk)
18. Sail Cornwall
Cornwall is full, but there is a way to save summer — go to sea. Anny, Mascotte and Irene, three historic sailing ships based at Charlestown Harbour (you’ll recognise it from Poldark), have spare berths on voyages exploring the Cornish coastline until late September. While options include a passage to Gloucester and a lovely weekend noodling about rivers, our pick of the voyages is a week-long trip to the Isles of Scilly aboard Irene — probably the only free beds in Cornwall’s Caribbean.
Details Six nights’ full board from £870pp (charlestown-harbour.myshopwired.co.uk)
19. Take it easy in Shropshire
Do you know the Shropshire Lake District? Lovely place, all whispering reeds and waterbirds, with only a fraction of the visitors of its more famous northerly counterpart. To those attractions let’s add no locks on the meres between Whixhall and Ellesmere — just the job for novice bargers. The marina people suggest seven hours between the two on the Prees branch of the Llangollen Canal. We’d allow four days — late mornings, slow journeys, lazy afternoons with a book and a fishing rod.
Details Three nights’ self-catering for four from £1,150 (drifters.co.uk)
20. Welsh wonders
The Brecon Beacons by canal: beautiful in summer, but busy this year. With most narrow boats taken, plan a trip from mid-September. By happy coincidence it’s when the leafy Monmouthshire and Brecon ripens; 35 miles of early autumn colours and Welsh hills ballooning above morning mists, irresistible for walkers over a morning cuppa (your boat has central heating). It’s also when the local produce is at its most bountiful. Start at Goytre and allow a week to do it justice.
Details Seven nights’ self-catering for five from £1,399 (waterwaysholidays.com)
21. Warwickshire circuit
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If variety is your goal from a canal trip the Warwickshire ring is the thing. It’s 100 miles of ceaseless diversion: scenic Oxford Canal; Birmingham like a modernist Venice, with mooring at Gas Street Basin in the city centre; jousting at Warwick Castle; shops in Leamington Spa; 95 locks. It’s also a circuit, so there’s no backtracking. A brisk week from Napton will tick it off.
Details Seven nights’ self-catering for six from £1,399 (black-prince.com)
22. Thames reimagined
A motorboat reinvents Berkshire — instead of moaning about the traffic, you potter down the Thames from Benson Marina. With a boat there’s direct access to meadows that inspired The Wind in the Willows around Pangbourne, and easy parking for the shops of Marlow and Henley. There’s also stellar dining at Bray, home to Heston Blumenthal’s Fat Duck and Alain Roux’s lovely Waterside Inn for starters. A quick gander into smart gardens — the Clooneys’ at Sonning, the Queen’s at Windsor — and you arrive at Penton Hook Marina in Chertsey, Surrey.
Details Four nights’ self-catering for six from £1,169 (leboat.com)
23. Cruise into Galway
With all Ireland at his feet, St Columba selected an islet in Lough Derg to found his monastic settlement. You’re similarly visiting Lower Shannon for natural beauty, perhaps to tour another ancient monastic site at Clonmacnoise. Both are accessible from Banagher, the new base from which to hire splendid Pénichette boats. However, you’re also coming for folk music at Killaloe, from where you could take a taxi to Limerick. Galway is accessible from Ballinasloe. Bring your fishing rod — the local pike are monsters.
Details Seven nights’ self-catering for six from £2,106 (boatingholidays.com). Fly to Shannon
24. Flanders afloat
Two factors make this a trip for canny boaters. First, Bruges and Ghent are on rivers — they acquired their medieval beauty via trade along the Reie and the Scheldt. Second, tourism at both remains far below pre-pandemic levels. As well as this Flanders’ awesome twosome, a week affords beach-time at breezy family favourite Nieuwpoort plus overnight stops at pretty towns such as Deinze. Stonking beer, moules-frites and fine chocolate are everywhere.
Details Seven nights’ self-catering for four from £1,269 (leboat.co.uk). Fly to Ostend
25. West Country beauty
Hunky Dory is to narrow boats what Roald Dahl is to children’s stories — a colourful, wondrous creation that many hope for but rarely manage. Where most rentals are utilitarian, this pretty, lovingly restored 32-footer has a cute Shaker kitchenette and cheerful yellow fabrics. It’s moored just outside Bath. The Kennet and Avon Canal awaits ahead: soft Somerset hills, terrific waterside pubs such as Avoncliff’s Cross Guns, and independent shops in handsome Bradford-on-Avon.
Details Four nights’ self-catering for two from £750 (canopyandstars.co.uk)
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