After 4 hectic months traveling through Europe and moving ever few days, spending my final week sailing around the Ionian islands with Medsailors was the perfect way to relax. An entire 7 days that didn’t involve checking in and out of hotels, having to pack and unpack suitcases or rush from one bus, train or flight to the next was exactly how I wanted to finish my trip. Getting to spend the week basking in the Mediterranean sun while lounging on inflatable fruit, exploring harming towns and eating endless amounts of seafood was exactly the way I wanted to experience Greece.
This is a new sailing route for Medsailors and quite honestly I hadn’t heard of half the villages that we stopped at along this route, which is what I loved. I had no preconceived notions or expectations and was just excited to be somewhere new and where none of my friends had visited before. I had previously visited Mykonos, Santorini, Koufonisia and Crete, so I was pretty familiar with volcanic islands, rocks and not much greenery. This side of Greece however is very green and you can expect more of a Greek/European crowd.
First Things First: Who Are Medsailors?
Owned by 3 Kiwis, Medsailors offer skippered sailing holidays for 20-35 years olds through Greece, Croatia, Turkey, Italy and theCaribbean. Their yachts accommodate eight people plus the skipper, so if you have a group of eight friends, you can hire out a whole yacht to yourself. You don’t need to be traveling with a group however, solo or with a friend or two, you’ll simply be put with other passengers. We were sailing in a flotilla off our other yachts, with everyone coming from Australia, England and the US. Our catamaran was made up entirely of Aussies plus our English skipper.
What It’s Like Living On A Yacht For A Week?
Depending on your budget, there are three different yachts you can choose between – The Premier, The Premier Plus and The Catamaran, all of which have four double cabins to accommodation up to 8 guests. We opted for the Catamaran for more space and a huge sunbathing deck with net, something the other two yachts don’t offer.
- FOOD – Each yacht has it’s own skipper who also cooks breakfast and lunch, with guests cleaning up after meals. Dinner each night would be in town and while you can do your own thing, group dinners were arranged at popular restaurants for the whole flotilla.
- LUGGAGE – Before arriving I was concerned about how cramped we’d feel in a small cabin with our entire luggage in the middle of summer. We were both traveling with 2 large suitcases and 2 carryon’s and were surprised to discover we could actually fit everything in the storage area underneath our bed. With all the shelving units and closet with hangers, we were able to unpack everything we needed for the week.
- SHOWERING – In each cabin the bathroom’s sink tap would come out and could be used to shower with. I personally found it too hot and cramped in the bathroom so would just rinse off using the hose on deck after finishing swimming for the day. When we docked in Lakka there was also a hotel that offered public showers for 4 euros, so I made the most of that and had a nice long shower and thorough hair wash.
- AMENITIES – Beach towels aren’t provided(though a hand towel and bath towel are), so make sure to bring one or purchase one in town. I know traveling with a towel can be a pain so I grabbed a bright orange one in Corfu town for 8 euros the day before.
- AIR CONDITION – While there wasn’t any air-condition, luckily Greece does cool down in the evenings and with all the port holes open you always had a little air coming into the cabin. One thing I will warn you about though are the mosquitos, particularly when docked at Iggy Creek. All the cabins had dozens of mosquitos in them during the night and by the next day I could play join the dots on my hand with the 7 bites in that one area alone.
- INFLATABLES – Snorkelling equipment and a paddle board are provided on all the yachts, but I highly recommend bringing your own inflatable. All eight people on our catamaran had inflatables and you just don’t want to be the person who didn’t bring a watermelon to float on.
- CHARGING ELECTRONICS – One thing to remember with this route is that you won’t have power when docked overnight, so you won’t be able to charge your electronics. The only time this was possible was when the engine was running, using a charging bank that could hold one normal plug and a few USB ports. I highly recommend bringing a portable charger when sailing and if you can manage to bring one that’s solar powered, even better.
What Does A Normal Day Look Like?
Most days started with waking up to a continental breakfast that the skipper would set up for us followed by the next couple of hours sailing to our swim spot for the day. We’d have a couple of hours to swim, float on our inflatables and paddle to near by caves to snorkel before hopping back on board for lunch and sailing to the next village to dock in the mid-late afternoon. We’d then have a couple of hours of free time to explore before meeting for a group dinner and drinks after. It was great to have that mix of relaxation during the day while still being able to explore a new place each afternoon.
TheCorfu sailing route spent 6 nights in Kassiopi, Sivota and Parga, Iggy Creek, Gaios and Lakka before returning back to Gouvia in Corfu. By far the biggest and most beautiful town we stayed in was Parga, which had a fortress to climbup to for views over town and all it’s cute colourful shops. I took the most photos here and wish we could have had longer to explore. They also have a Chillbox, which is one of my favourite frozen yoghurt chains with delicious frozen greek yoghurt, a must when visiting. The best swim stop of course goes to Antipaxos, which easily had the bluest most turquoise waters of the whole trip.
The Verdict
One thing I don’t like about tours is the feeling of being rushed from one place to the next and not having long enough in each destination. This wasn’t too much of a problem with Medsailors as all the towns were rather small and could easily be explored in the one afternoon we had. Parga of course would be the exception and I really wish we’d had just a little more time there. With the tour starting and ending in Corfu,I would of course recommend giving yourself a few extra days either side of the tour to further explore.
So if you like the thought of spending a week basking in the Mediterranean sun while floating on an inflatable fruit in some seriously turquoise waters, exploring charming towns that are slightly less touristy than your typical Mykonos and Santorini, all while eating endless amounts of seafood and feta, then this is the perfect way for you to experience the Ionian islands in Greece.
