This is a contributed post.
Sailing holidays are becoming increasingly popular in recent times. They provide an extremely enjoyable, active and relaxing one of a kind experience for travellers. When looking to book your sailing holiday it is important that you pick the right company and skipper.
What are some things you should consider? This blog post will give you some of those key points to look for when searching for your next trip.
Experience
The longer a company has been in the industry the better the overall experience will be; which goes without saying but is a key point to raise. This is because they will have gained the knowledge, insight and experience to deal with all of your wants and needs and will be able to help book and plan your holiday to perfection.
What is more, if they have been in the industry for a long time, then this is also a great indicator of their success. If they were not a credible company then they would not have lasted for as long. The longer a company has around also means that there are a greater number of reviews that you can source for their business. If youโre looking for a specific type of trip, for example, study trips that incorporate fun and active activities like sailing, you will want a company that specialises in school trips.
It is not only the experience of the company but also the skipper, that is important when booking your trip. You’ll want to research the skippers that a company employs and what their level of experience is in sailing, and perhaps even in the region you’re looking for the trip.
Reputation
This leads on to the next point – the company’s reputation. You should take time to search the company in question on the internet via Google or another search engine.
The internet gives us a wealth of information around a company’s reputation through published articles or even online reviews. When it comes to travel companies as well TripAdvisor offers a wealth of information in reviews. It’s important to take one or two negative reviews with a grain of salt, but if there is an overall pattern it’s something you should consider.
Clicking through to the relevant websites and forums in order to find out what previous customers have said about their holiday and the service they received. You will be able to determine whether people have been left happy and satisfied or not. This may take ten minutes of your time, but it is certainly worth it, as it will prevent you from going for a company which has a dissatisfactory reputation and so you avoid any major red flags.
Variety
The more choice a company has the better because then there is a much greater chance that they will have the perfect sailing holiday to suit all of your wants and needs. It also shows that they have a lot of connections and the industry and thus they are very well established.
It also means that there is repeatability in booking with them. If you’ve had a fabulous trip you can return to them to look for other destinations to go to with the company. If they only offer one destination you may not always want to return to the same sea and islands each time you’re looking to book a sailing trip.
It’s also important to look at the variety in the literary itself. You’ll want a variety of experiences and places to visit to get the most of the trip. Sailing on the sea, and learning how to sail, are incredible opportunities on a good sailing holiday but you’ll want a bit of variety in what you’re looking at. Even a perfect blue sea can lose its appeal after 7 days of nothing else to enjoy!
Price
The most important factor regarding your holiday is often the price. It is advisable not to simply be tempted by the cheapest deal you find, as not all deals are equal in what they cover and offer.
You’ll want to take note as to what the prices include – a few things to watch out for:
- Does the price include any meals? Many companies suggest a kitty between passengers so this should be taken into consideration.
- Does the price include any extra activities? Similar to large cruise ships many of these businesses make money by upselling extra activities.
- Does the price include any port fees? It is common for there to be a port fee for staying overnight and many businesses pass this fee onto their guests.
It’s advisable to search online and utilise the services of price comparison website in order to find the average price of a sailing holiday. You’ll want to ensure that you’re getting good value for money.
So there you have it; the four most important factors that you should consider when deciding on a company to book your sailing holiday through. If you follow the guidance in this blog post then you will leave yourself in the very best position to find a great holiday and enjoy a fabulous vacation. Taking the time to seek out the best company will reap vast rewards in the end.
