Holiday Sailing Vacations

Escape the hectic holiday season by taking a sailing vacation. What better way to forget the crowded stores, demanding relatives, and elevator holiday music than with a tropical drink in your hand, the sun setting unfettered across the horizon, and the Tradewinds blowing in your hair? The Bahamas, Florida, or The Caribbean are all ideal holiday sailing destinations.

Sailboats offer a relaxed vacation lifestyle: no formal dinners, no ports jammed with tourists, no cheesy calypso band playing "Yellow Bird" endlessly. Sailboats offer the flexibility to change your itinerary if you like a particular port or a particular dive spot. Try that on a cruise ship.

Christmas in the Caribbean

Sailboat may be chartered with a crew, usually consisting of a captain, one of more mates, and a cook, or they may be chartered "bareboat," where you and your party do the sailing, cleaning, and cooking. Itineraries are mapped out in advance, but sailboats do offer a degree of flexibility en route.

Reserve your holiday sailing vacation early. The December holiday season is the most popular time of year for travel to The Caribbean. A year in advance, or even more, is recommended. To make reservations, call your local travel agent or contact a specialty sailing vacation operator. One call or site visit can reserve your airfare, accommodations before or after the cruise, the sailboat, and transportation to and from the ship.