The yachts used for the Learn to Sail holidays are normally ones from our in house fleet and are 3 cabin yachts of between 34 to 39ft with a maximum up to six people and the instructor on board. You can view a selection of the yachts here

We get a full mix of all ages and both sex's coming on these holidays. Families are not mixed on board the same yacht as other adults, but singles and couples are mixed according to what seems to be the best fit.  Generally people on the shared yachts are in their mid twenties to mid fifties, but we have had people into their seventies.

In the main school holiday periods we have larger groups and get lots of families with children, taking yachts on their own as part of the flotilla. At this time then we usually have at least two yachts made up of singles and couples that are sharing each week. Outside of the main school holidays, then it is mainly all yachts of singles and couples, and smaller sized groups.

There is plenty of opportunity to socialize with others and we visit a mix of lively and quiet ports. Because of our balanced mix of people, you need not fear that you will be the only person on your own and totally left out, or equally that you have to stay up partying until the small hours every night (unless of course you want to !!)

There is no problem about traveling on your own as you are immediately part of a crew as well as part of a flotilla so there is a very good social side, and the courses are specifically designed for total beginners, or those just getting up to a skippering level.

These courses are all about learning to sail a yacht in a holiday environment.  Unless we are on a special trip, we always aim to keep the daily obligatory distance relatively short (usually five to twenty miles) so that we have maximum flexibility.  The yacht usually leaves port sometime after 1000hrs and then arrives in port around 1700hrs having had a stop in the middle of the day for an on board picnic lunch and a swim.  In reality we sail much more than just the straight line distance between ports, but the actual amount depends on the wind, how you are feeling on the day etc.

We normally aim to leave port each morning by about 1030hrs and then to arrive in the next location by about 1700hrs, having had a lunch time stop en route of about 2 hours. This allows loads of time in the early evening and the following morning to explore the places that we visit.

In addition the instructor will always try to juggle the different preferences of those onboard.  If you want extra time to explore a particular port, you can always remain behind on your own for an hour or two while the yacht heads off to do some sailing, perhaps some mooring practice etc before popping back in to collect you at a preset time.  Likewise you can always be dropped in early if you fancy a short day, and the yacht can go back out sailing.  This way we can mix those that want the maximum amount of sailing with those that only want the minimum.

The following applies to anybody sharing a yacht. All bookings are taken on a shared cabin basis unless you specifically book a single cabin and pay a supplement for this.  Couples or two friends traveling together will then share one of the double cabins. Singles will either be allocated a berth in the main saloon where there are single berths, or may have to share the forward V cabin with another person of the same sex.  In this regard, if you do not know what a yacht cabin is like, then think of it as being like the sleeping area of a small tent with standing headroom at one end.

If then a double cabin happens to be free, on the day it will be given to one of the singles.  Most weeks we have a few tuition yachts out so we mix and match the crews and yachts to get what appears to be the best mix.  Families or groups booking an entire yacht will sort out their own sleeping arrangements, but must leave one of the berths in the main saloon for the instructor unless they have specifically booked not to have him/her on board at night.

All yachts have an on board toilet and shower. The trips always start and finish in a marina with full toilet and shower facilities on the first and last nights, and then we usually use marinas or town quays with full facilities on 2 or 3 other nights of the week. In between then people can use the on board facilities. Yachts also have a Deck shower, and as people are swimming regularly during most of the season, on nights where we do not have facilities ashore, you can rinse off with fresh water using the deck shower. This combination of camping on the water and using facilities when they are available works very well, and avoids the mess of everyone trying to shower using the small on board shower.

Food is not included in the price. For groups and families filling an entire yacht, it is much more logical to leave you shop for whatever you want yourselves based on your own tastes etc.  There are  supermarkets near to our base where you can do a bulk shop before you leave, with good back up shops in most of the ports that we go to as well as local bakers and some form of fruit and vegetable market.  Most families  will tend to eat all breakfasts and lunches on board and then eat their main evening meals in local restaurants in the evenings, although they are of course totally free to prepare evening meals on board if they wish.

For those sharing a yacht, on the first morning the instructor will provide some general guidance for on board meals, after which you then shop yourselves, adding whatever you want, i.e. favourite breakfast cereals etc. Most groups choose to run a small kitty among themselves to ensure that there is enough for each day. This system is the only way of ensuring that everybody's individual tastes, budgets and preferences are catered for, while still providing a structure so that you are not all "squabbling over who ate whose biscuits" , but are free to eat as you please. It is after all your holiday!!  Cooked breakfasts if required can be obtained from local restaurants and main evening meals are taken ashore, at your own expense, although you are totally free to prepare food on board if you wish.

In Croatia there are very good facilities for yachts such as marinas, national parks etc, but naturally there are fees for these.  Where a group or family are on a yacht on their own, we will advise you to allow up to about 1500Kuna for mooring fees for the week. Other costs like Yacht security insurance, end cleaning etc will then have been take care of when you booked the holiday unless specifically stated otherwise. There are about 8.4Kn to £1GBP, or 7.5Kn to €1Euro.

On shared yachts then you will normally pay an amount of about 700kuna to go towards all direct yacht costs on site like mooring fees, fuel etc, and this will be clarified at the time of booking.

If you have asked us to arrange airport transfers then price of these will have been clarified in advance. As a guide for singles these are 210kuna per person each way if you take shared transfers, and are less for families or groups filling minibuses or taxis.

There are then no additional costs apart from your own personal food and drink costs.

Shopping locally is done in local supermarkets and open air markets and this is no different to any other area in Europe with prices being about mid way between the cheapest and dearest countries, and similar to UK supermarket prices.

There is a very good selection of local restaurants and you can get things like a very good Pizza or Pasta dish from about 60kn, while a beer starts from about 15kn. Fish and Steaks then of course are more expensive. As a guide singles should allow an average of 200/250kn per person per day.

Families and groups of four or more are normally always on their own yacht with just the skipper and so there is no sharing with others. You decide who sleeps in which cabin, while the skipper will sleep in the main saloon at night. Subject to availability, we can sometimes arrange for the skipper not to sleep on board at night, but there is a supplement for this. Provided you book far enough in advance, we can often offer a choice of yachts to suit your preferences.

Couples or two friends travelling together will be booked on the basis that they are sharing a cabin unless you have specifically requested otherwise and booked single cabins and paid the relevant supplement for this. The yachts that we use for training on usually have three cabins plus the saloon, so there can then be up to four others on board, but there may be less. The instructor will then sleep in the saloon at night.

This holiday is very suitable for solo travellers. Solo Travellers can choose to book a single cabin and pay the supplement for this or equally can choose to share with a member of the same sex. On the yacht then there will normally be other Solo Travellers or couples or friends travelling together. In addition as we sail as part of a larger flotilla there are plenty of other people to socialize with from the other yachts in the evenings. Overall we get a lot of people coming on these holidays on their own, especially females as it is a very safe holiday. However we advise that you should not think of these holidays as a "singles type" holiday, but instead to think of them as a mixed group activity that is suitable for solo travellers.

There is no special level of fitness required, and anybody that is normally active and does not have any particular balance or mobility problems should have no problem. If anyone does have any specific issues then they can discuss these with us before booking.

Naturally we can never guarantee that all crews will all get along well all of the time. However as long as people are prepared to be a little bit tolerant, most issues can be dealt with before they become major problems.  Remember that your yacht will be sailing as part of a flotilla of yachts so socially you will not be limited to just the people that you are on board with.  Also one of our instructors will be in charge of the yacht at all times, and part of his/her job is to identify any potential personality clashes before they become issues and to look after everybody's interests fairly.

It is a condition of booking that everyone will have personal travel insurance. These yachts will remain in Coastal waters and are usually within six miles of land at all times, so any standard travel Insurance policy should cover you unless it specifically excludes sailing.