Area guide
Practical notes for sailing into a new area: how to check in, the papers you need, the local anchoring rules, and a few places worth the detour.
Adriatic & Eastern Mediterranean
- Croatia A long island studded Adriatic coast with thousands of anchorages, now inside both the EU and Schengen.
- Montenegro A small, scenic coast centred on the fjord like Bay of Kotor, just south of Croatia and outside the EU.
- Greece The Ionian, the Cyclades, the Saronic and the Dodecanese: arguably the heart of Mediterranean sailing, with endless islands.
- Turkey The Turquoise Coast from the Datca peninsula to Antalya, with deep pine clad bays and Greek islands a short hop away.
Atlantic Europe
- Portugal An Atlantic coast of long passages and a handful of good harbours, plus the offshore Azores and Madeira as ocean stepping stones.
- United Kingdom From the sheltered Solent to the West Country, Scotland and beyond, with strong tides and a deep maritime culture.
- Ireland A friendly, scenic and often quiet coast, with the sheltered south west around Cork and Kerry the most popular for visiting yachts.
Northern Europe
- Netherlands A network of inland waterways, the IJsselmeer, and the tidal Wadden Sea, all very accessible and superbly marked.
- Denmark The gateway between the North Sea and the Baltic, with short hops between snug harbours through the Danish islands.
- Sweden Vast archipelagos of rock and pine, above all around Stockholm and on the west coast near Gothenburg, with thousands of islands to explore.
- Norway Deep, spectacular fjords and a long sheltered inshore lead, from the southern skerries up towards Lofoten for the ambitious.
Western Mediterranean
- Spain (mainland) The Spanish mainland coast, from the Costa Brava down to Andalusia and round to the Atlantic, with well equipped marinas and a long cruising season.
- Balearic Islands Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera: short hops, clear water and busy summer anchorages.
- France (Mediterranean) The French Riviera and the coast west to the Camargue, plus Corsica, with glamorous ports and dramatic anchorages.
- Italy A long and varied coast plus Sardinia, Sicily and the Aeolian islands, from the Ligurian Riviera to the heel of the boot.
- Malta A compact, English speaking EU island nation in the central Mediterranean, a useful crossroads between Sicily, Tunisia and the east.