Spain and Italy have been named as the most popular destinations for British holidaymakers looking to take a sailing holiday this summer, according to boat hire website Click&Boat.

Looking at the bookings of 3,300 UK boating enthusiasts, 25% plan to travel to Italy and 25% plan to travel to Spain for a boating trip, with the picturesque island of Ibiza claiming the top spot as the most popular destination overall. Other Spanish sailing hot spots making waves with British sailors this summer include Barcelona, Mallorca, Marbella, Menorca and Lanzarote, while across the Mediterranean Sea, Sorrento, Sicily, Sardinia and the Amalfi Coast top the list for sailing spots in Italy.

Most popular sailing destinations for UK holidaymakers, according to Click&Boat:

  1. 25% in Spain (including Ibiza, Barcelona, Mallorca, Marbella, Menorca and Lanzarote)
  2. 25% in Italy (including Sorrento, Sicily, Sardinia and the Amalfi Coast)
  3. 17% in France (including Cannes, Nice and Monaco)
  4. 13% in Croatia (including Split, Dubrovnik and Hvar)
  5. 10% in Greece (including Athens, Mykonos, Corfu, Rhodes, Kefalonia and Zante)
  6. 10% in other destinations including include Malta, Portugal, the UK, Turkey and the USA

Following Spain and Italy’s lead, 17% of British sailors plan to head to the sophisticated and sun-kissed towns in France, with favoured locations for a summer sailing excursion including Cannes, Nice and Monaco. A further 13% of British seafarers will travel to Croatia, with Split, Dubrovnik and Hvar all topping the list for popular departure points for a sailing break.

Thanks to the possibility of an island-hopping adventure, boat hire in Greece also proved to be popular, with 10% of Click&Boat’s customers from the UK planning to begin their boat adventure from destinations such as Athens and the islands of Mykonos, Corfu, Rhodes, Kefalonia and Zante.

According to Click&Boat, the average length of a sailing trip for UK holidaymakers is four days, with those travelling to Croatia and Greece usually hiring a boat for longer than those who visit Spain. The most popular type of boats for UK holidaymakers this summer are motorboats and sailboats, but the website has also witnessed an increase in the demand for catamarans, especially by those who are planning to spend an extended period of time at sea.

Known as the ‘Airbnb of the seas’*, the innovative Click&Boat platform allows boat owners to hire out yachts when not in use quickly and conveniently, which means it is often up to 30% cheaper to hire a boat versus a traditional yacht charter company.

Both experienced and novice sailors, or those with no previous experience at all, can hire boats for the day or even longer via Click&Boat as many boats on the platform can be rented with an onboard crew or skipper.

Click&Boat’s Co-Founder, Edouard Gorioux, added: “With unspoilt bays and charming villages, Spain and Italy have been named as the most popular destinations for British travellers planning to take a sailing holiday this summer. For those interested in taking to the seas during their holiday this summer, Click&Boat has over 30,000 boats available to rent in over 50 countries worldwide. Although we welcome seasoned sailors ready to take the helm, no previous sailing experience is needed as many of the boats can be rented with an onboard captain.”

ENDS

For further information about Click&Boat, please visit www.clickandboat.com/uk/

For case studies or media opportunities, please contact Fiona and the team at GEC PR: Click&[email protected]

Notes To Editors:
*According to CNN in February 2018: https://edition.cnn.com/2018/02/19/sport/francois-gabart-sailing-airbnb-clickboat-intl/index.html.

Image Captions:
Image 1: One of the boats available to hire in Ibiza via Click&Boat.
Image 2: The innovative Click&Boat platform allows boat owners to hire out yachts when not in use. Photograph by Luke Bender for Unsplash.
Image 3: Ibiza has claimed the top spot as the top destination for a sailing trip this summer. Photograph by photosforyou from Pixabay.

About Click&Boat

Click&Boat is a boat rental site created in 2013 by two young French entrepreneurs: Edouard Gorioux and Jérémy Bismuth. This start-up was born from a simple observation: that there are millions of boats just sitting in the harbour for most of the year, and that is expensive for boat owners. Click&Boat allows owners to safely and intelligently cushion their boat expenses by renting it to other individuals.

In 2017, the “Airbnb of the seas” opened its platform up to professional boat rental companies and aims to become the world reference for boat rental.