Sail and Stay Holidays: Combine a Sailing Holiday with a Week Ashore
Holiday ideas · Sail and stay
A week afloat is one of the best holidays there is. Add a week ashore, and everyone gets what they want: the sailors their sea miles, and the landlubbers some time on terra firma.
Here are our favourite ways to pair a sailing holiday with a stay, from a beach club on Lefkas to a city break in Athens.
In short
Sail and stay holidays combine a week of sailing, on a flotilla, a skippered yacht, or a sailing course, with a week ashore. The classic Seafarer pairing is a week at Nikiana Beach Club on Lefkas with a week on our Lefkas flotilla, which is based right there. You can also add a city break, a road trip, or a relaxing hotel stay to most of our flotillas.
From £1,756pp
two weeks, sea and shore, with flights
From £595pp
a week at Nikiana, with flights
From £1,684
a week’s yacht on the Lefkas flotilla
3
ways to sail from Nikiana
On this page
Sea and sand
A sailing holiday plus a week at a beach club
Our classic sail and stay pairs Nikiana Beach Club on Lefkas with a week at sea. The club is one of the best places in Greece for dinghy sailing holidays, with unlimited use of dinghies, catamarans, windsurfers, paddleboards, and kayaks, and our Lefkas yachts are based right there, so the move from beach to boat couldn’t be easier.
A week at Nikiana costs from £595pp, including flights and transfers. Then choose how you’d like to spend your week afloat:
Flotilla
Lefkas flotilla
Skipper your own yacht
Two routes to Meganisi, Kefalonia, Ithaka, Kalamos, and more, on yachts from 33 to 50ft.
- From £1,684 per yacht a week
Skippered
AHOY Ionian
Sit back or join in
A week on a skippered Bavaria 51 from Nikiana, with up to eight guests. No experience needed.
- From £945pp a week
Learn to sail
Greece Training Centre
Learn on Nikiana-based yachts
Take your first RYA course, such as Competent Crew, on one of our three training yachts.
- Competent Crew from £795pp
Example sail and stay prices
| Example (2027) | Two weeks, including flights |
|---|---|
| 2 sharing a Bavaria 33 in June: a week at Nikiana, then a week on the Lefkas flotilla | From around £1,807pp |
| 5 sharing in August: a family room at Nikiana, then a week on the Lefkas flotilla | From around £1,756pp |
| 4 sharing in August: a family room at Nikiana, then a week on the Lefkas flotilla | From around £1,952pp |
Examples based on 2027 prices, including return flights from Gatwick. Flight prices change regularly, so your quote may be higher or lower.
One quote for the whole trip
Tell us which week you’d like at the club and which at sea, and our team will put the two together, with flights, in one price.
Windsurfing on Kos
For a windier week ashore, the Kefalos Windsurfing Centre on Kos offers windsurfing and wing foiling in an uncrowded bay, from £566pp with transfers. Pair it with our Dodecanese flotilla, which sails from Kos Marina.
Sea and city
Sail and city break
Some of our flotillas start within easy reach of a great city, so it’s simple to add a few days at either end.
- Split: our Split flotilla starts and finishes in the city, so you can explore Diocletian’s Palace and the old town before or after your week at sea.
- Athens: our Saronic Gulf and Corinth Canal flotilla shares Athens airport, so the Acropolis, Plaka, and the city’s museums fit in easily.
- Venice: the Pula to Venice explorer sails right into Venice on its two-week voyage across the Adriatic.
Diocletian’s Palace in Split, and the Acropolis in Athens
Sea and land
Sail and fly-drive
There’s just as much to discover inland. We know Greece and Croatia well, and we’re happy to help you plan a self-drive tour before or after your week afloat.
Kefalonia
Mountain villages, caves, and beaches made famous by Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, before or after our Kefalonia flotilla.
The Peloponnese
Ancient Mycenae, Mystras, Monemvasia, and Olympia: a week’s road trip that pairs perfectly with our Corinth flotilla.
Northern Greece
The Meteora monasteries, the Zagori villages, and lakeside Ioannina are within easy reach of Lefkas.
Inland from Split
Plitvice Lakes National Park, Mostar, and Zagreb make a great Balkan adventure from our Split base.
A coast road on Kefalonia, and a Meteora monastery
Sea and sun
A place in the sun
If your idea of post-sailing heaven is a week by the pool, we know some lovely beachside boutique hotels and villas with a view. Tell us what you have in mind, and our team will find the right place for you.
Further afield
Sail and stay further afield
Thailand
Flotilla plus a beach resort
From £4,768 per yacht
- Ten nights from Phuket Yacht Haven, January to April
- Our choice ashore: the five-star Cape Panwa Hotel, with its own private beach
Sicily
Explorer flotilla plus Palermo
Lead-yacht cabins: 2027 prices coming soon
- A two-week voyage from Palermo to the Aeolian and Egadi Islands
- Add a few days in Palermo before or after
Common questions
Sail and stay holidays: your questions answered
What is a sail and stay holiday?
A sail and stay holiday combines a week of sailing, on a flotilla, a skippered yacht, or a sailing course, with a week ashore at a beach club, a hotel, or on a road trip.
Can I combine Nikiana Beach Club with a flotilla?
Yes. Our Lefkas flotilla yachts are based at Nikiana, so you can spend a week at the beach club and a week on the flotilla. You can also pair the club with AHOY Ionian or a course at our Greece Training Centre.
How much does a sail and stay holiday cost?
As a guide, two weeks combining Nikiana Beach Club and the Lefkas flotilla cost from around £1,756pp to £1,952pp, including flights, depending on your group size and dates. Flight prices change all the time, so our team will quote your exact holiday.
Do I need sailing experience for a sail and stay holiday?
Not necessarily. AHOY Ionian has a professional skipper and needs no experience, and our RYA courses start from complete beginner. To skipper your own flotilla yacht, you should hold an ICC (International Certificate of Competence) or equivalent. The RYA Day Skipper Practical course makes you eligible, and we can arrange the ICC assessment. In Croatia the skipper also needs a VHF radio certificate, such as the RYA SRC. Otherwise, you can book one of our skippers.
Can I add a city break to my sailing holiday?
Yes. Our Split flotilla starts and finishes in Split, our Saronic Gulf and Corinth Canal flotilla shares Athens airport, and the Pula to Venice explorer sails into Venice.
Plan your trip
Build your sail and stay holiday
Tell us when you’d like to travel and how you’d like to split your time between sea and shore, and we’ll put it together for you.
Call or email us
Monday to Friday 09:00 to 19:00 · Saturday 09:30 to 17:00
Book with confidence. Seafarer has run sailing holidays since 1995, and every payment you make to us is financially protected: ATOL licence 9511 for holidays with flights, ABTOT member 5660 for holidays without.
