Painting and Photography Holidays in Greece

villa holidays to the greek islands

Please Keep Me Informed:

FLEXIBLE SAILING HOLIDAYS IN THE GREEK ISLANDS

06 August 2009 by Margaret Longes

No visitor to the Greek islands can help but notice the numerous elegant yachts anchored offshore or alongside quayside tavernas, and many will look at them with envy and perhaps also a certain degree of curiosity, and wish that just for once they could share in this experience.

There is of course nothing preventing anyone from learning to sail but many people, even if they would love to try sailing, are at the same time either reluctant to give up the comfort of their luxury villa and commit themselves to the confined space of a yacht for a whole week afloat, or do not feel that they would have the confidence to venture out on to the open sea.

Special interest holiday operator Paxos Life Activities has now found a solution to this and is offering a range of flexible sailing holidays that can provide those who enjoy their creature comforts, including even complete novices, the chance to experience the excitement of sailing around the Ionian islands without sacrificing the comfort, charm and tranquillity of a stay in their usual villa on Paxos or Corfu.

Even those who are concerned about their creature comforts should be happy on a Sun Odyssey 52.2, a spacious, comfortable yacht offering real luxury and style, which has four double staterooms, each with its own en suite, and comes with her own skipper. A smaller Bavaria 34, which is also available for skippered charter, is ideal for anyone who wants to enjoy sailing for a couple of days but prefers to retain the comfort of their villa rather than living afloat.

What makes the Paxos Life Activities sailing options so flexible is that out of high season both yachts can be chartered for as little as two days, meaning that the possibilities available for anyone wanting to arrange their own holiday with a difference are almost endless, especially now that tour operators such as Travel à la carte offer villa rentals starting on any day of the week and for as little as two days.

So you could, for example, arrive on Paxos on a Friday to spend the usual one or two weeks in your favourite villa but then, instead of returning to Corfu by hydrofoil at the end of your holiday, charter a yacht to leave Paxos on the Friday morning and sail via Parga or Sivota on the coast of Epirus, or the idyllic bays of North East Corfu to arrive at Corfu Town or Gouvia Marina on the Sunday evening or Monday morning. Or you could spend a week cruising round North East Corfu, the coast of Epirus and perhaps even down to Lefkada before sailing to Paxos for a week in a villa.

Alternatively, you could perhaps spend just a few days in a villa in Gaios, before chartering the Sun Odyssey for a week and sailing to Kefalonia stopping off at Anti Paxos, Lefkada and Ithaca before returning to Paxos for a few more days, this time perhaps in a villa in or around the delightful village of Loggos. If you preferred to remain at your villa throughout your holiday, you could charter the Bavaria 34 for a couple of days each week to explore the coast of Paxos, Anti Paxos, Epirus and Southern Corfu.

Even more experienced sailors whose previous experience has been on typical 32 or 36 foot flotilla yachts would gain a thrill from a few days living the life of luxury on board a yacht such as a Sun Odyssey 52.2.

And if other members of your party did not want to sail, then Paxos Life Activities also runs a range of special interest holiday courses including creative writing, painting, photography, yoga and self-development, details of which can be found at www.paxoslife.co.uk.

For full details of all sailing options, see Skippered Yacht Charter in Greece or contact Chris Griffiths (email chris@paxoslife.co.uk or tel 0151 3245366).