Spending the summer on a 30ft catamaran where seafood is caught fresh and footwear is optional, need not be exclusively reserved for the hundreds of superyachts currently berthed in Port Hercule.
Europeans have known this for decades, but perhaps the Australian traveller arriving on the Mediterranean thinks that yachting through the warmer climes has to either come with 20 recent graduates, a goon bag, and a bar crawl, or on the complete other end of the spectrum, where a daily charter rate is the same price as a Sydney house deposit.
There is, however, a happy medium; a way to superyacht through the European summers without the Monaco Grand Prix price tag.
The Mediterranean is, in the most literal sense, the middle of the world. The Romans called it Mare Nostrum – our sea – and for the better part of five thousand years, every civilisation worth remembering built something on its shores.
What they also did, and what the continent's inhabitants have never quite stopped doing, is use it. Whether as the original “superhighway” for travel and trade, or simply as a luxury playground to bask in the warmer months of the year, the Romans, the Greeks, and the Influencers have all seen the increasing value of Europe’s most democratic body of water – democratic, in the sense that it doesn’t matter whether you’re arriving in a $100 million superyacht or a $1000 a night catamaran.
And with the burgeoning surge of over-tourism that continues to sweep across Europe’s most picturesque (or, rather, most photographed) destinations, there’s a growing case for getting a group of mates together, heading off the mainland, and spending the week on the open water, rather than an overpriced Airbnb with a tasteful view of it. The question – the one that perhaps people rarely ask – is where to start.
Greece
Greece has six or seven legitimate departure points for a sailing week, and the choice of base almost entirely determines the nature of your aquatic adventure.
Of course, Athens, with the largest and most supply-heavy market in Greece, represents the most competitive price range across the Med – more operators, more boats, more competition mean the prices stay relatively modest, compared to the French Riviera or Sardinia’s Costa Smeralda, where the berthing fees alone can outlast a mortgage.
Also available to Australian travellers are the port of Lefkas, which has arguably become one of the more popular ports for first-time sailors of all abilities, simply because of how convenient it all is to get set up there; Corfu, which is around 15 minutes from the airport but can be one of the busiest ports through the high season; and Kos, the launchpad for the southeast Aegean, close to the Turkish coast, and arguably the most historically dense sailing territory in the region.
There are even the islands themselves, Hydra, Symi, Paxos and Antipaxos. Undoubtedly worth the extra transfer for the remote nature of the islands.
In Hydra, for example, you’re more likely to see a donkey pulling your luggage than anything else, because it’s been car-free since the ‘50s. That’s for the more adventurous among you, however. For the easiest, cheapest, and the path most-trodden, fly into Athens, and within 30 minutes, you're provisioning at the marina.
A bareboat charter – a sailing catamaran or monohull, yours for a week, self-skippered – could be available for as little as €5,000 (~AU$8,100). Split across eight people, which is comfortable for most 40-46ft catamarans, and you're in the territory of a decent European city hotel – only without the European city crowds.
Croatia
For many Australians, Croatia's reputation extends to bar crawls, shots of something green or blue lined up on the bar, and hearing about the time I saw Prince Harry dancing into the night at Carpe Diem (true story).
Of course, that stretch of Croatia still exists, and there are plenty of popular clubs throughout Hvar that will happily sell it to you. But running parallel, Croatia also boasts one of the most underrated itineraries for the Aussie traveller who has confidently graduated past the Contiki years.
It starts in Split, where the old town is literally built inside a 4th-century Roman emperor's retirement palace. Here, companies such as Sail Croatia boast a fleet of 40-50ft catamarans that can launch for the week. Again, for as little as €5,000 (~AU$8,100) between eight people.
From Split, the Dalmatian island chain opens up immediately to the west, where many travellers land around Hvar, one of Croatia’s most famous islands. Which, for a country that counts more than 1,200 islands across the Adriatic coast, is a testament to its global reputation as a holiday destination.
A trip from the mainland takes around an hour (depending on how much of a hurry you find yourself in) and can be off the boat and in the Hvar Town crowd, or you can anchor in one of the quieter bays on the island's south side and make full use of your own personal Croatian coordinates for the night.
Italy
According to Ahoy Days, the Amalfi Coast consistently ranks as the most popular destination for Australians looking to make the most of their Euro summer on the water. And it’s certainly not hard to see why.
The classic route is the Positano to Capri day charter, stopping at the Blue Grotto for a quick dip in turquoise waters before a long lunch turns to dusk. Running from May through to September, Ahoy Days offer a wide range of options for the Mediterranean, whether you’re after a 2-hour cruise or even an overnight stay.
But if Amalfi might strike you as the obvious choice, Sicily might just be the region’s best-kept secret – one that rarely makes the itineraries of the most popular travel sites. Though Australians may have heard of it through a late-night scoop at Messina, the popular Italian gelato chain, which can trace its lineage back to the Sicilian city.
Now, they’re not the easiest to get to. It usually requires a flight to Catania or Palermo followed by a ferry.
That is, of course, unless you have your own boat, docking off the north coast of Sicily, where you’ll find the Aeolian Islands, a UNESCO World Heritage Site consisting of seven volcanic outcrops in the Tyrrhenian Sea – Lipari, Vulcano, Salina, Filicudi, Alicudi, Panarea, and Stromboli – that count black sand beaches, active craters, geothermal vents, and postcard-ready swim spots without the typical crowds.
France
Now, we wouldn’t be able to complete the list without the world-famous port that kicked it all off. Of course, France has the reputation, the pedigree, the billionaire stamp of approval, and, for this weekend at least, the noses of the world firmly pressed against the proverbial glass as Formula 1 arrived on the French Riviera.
And whilst the Monaco Grand Prix experience is a bucket list for most – myself included – there are several ways of reaching all that the region has to offer without being swept up in the roaming fanfare that F1 inevitably brings. You only have to travel a little further south for a more accessible launchpad.
For this kind of sailing, the useful part of the French Riviera is the Îles d'Hyères, which sit off the coast between Toulon and St-Tropez. Relatively unknown outside of Europe, this French archipelago consisting of Porquerolles, Port-Cros, Bagaud, and the Île du Levant is famous for world-class beaches and a national park that’s always worth a search for those shoes you misplaced on day one. Ah well.
For a 7-day charter during the first week of August, for example, 40ft catamarans suitable for up to 8 people launching from Toulon are still less than €6,000 (~AU$9,900), with the option to have a captain onboard taking the rates higher.
Through my research, I even chanced upon a 52ft catamaran launching from Sanary-sur-Mer, that can sleep 23 people and comes with its own captain for just €8165 (~AU$13,400) for the first week of August. That’s just $582 each for the week – and saved in my bookmarks for when I’m next on that side of the world.
The obvious caveat to all this is that for a bareboat charter through the Med, at least one of your party needs to hold a valid skipper's licence. For Australians, that can come in the form of an ICC (International Certificate of Competence), which is widely recognised and can be obtained through many yachting schools across Australia.
Alternatively, you can enlist the expertise of a professional skipper. Usually, a local who knows the anchorages, can read the weather, and is almost invariably a better source of the best spots to eat than anyone on the ‘Gram. For a first trip, it’s money well spent. All you have to worry about is where to drop the anchor.
