Join us aboard Stravaigin for an unforgettable Sailing Holiday
We offer three types of sailing trips aboard Stravaigin:
- Sailing Holidays
- Multi-Activity Sailing Adventures (combined with hill walking, wild swimming and wild food foraging)
- Private Skippered Charter (couples, families, friend groups; up to 6 people incl. children)
Our Sailing Holidays
Our 7- and 10-day sailing trips explore the stunning waters of the west coast of Scotland, visiting iconic coastlines and island destinations along the way.
These trips are fully catered and skippered by an experienced crew. Learn the ropes of sailing during the trip or just sit back and relax while we take care of you.
Our sailing itineraries include:
- The Isle of Skye and Small Isles Explorer (Sample Itinerary)
- Round the Isle of Mull (Sample Itinerary)
- The Outer Hebrides and St Kilda (10 days) (Sample Itinerary)
- Best of Islay, Jura and the Inner Hebrides (Sample Itinerary)
- Whisky-Tasting Cruises (Sample Itinerary)
From our whisky-tasting holiday cruises that take you to some of the most famous distilleries in Scotland to our scenic tours of the Outer Hebrides, our skippered sailing holidays are a wonderful way to explore the islands and coastline of the West Coast. Our sailing trips begin in the picturesque harbour town of Oban or the coastal village of Mallaig which are both easy to reach thanks to the fantastic public transport links.
Our Multi-Activity Sailing Adventures
On our multi-activity sailing adventures, we use the yacht as a base to take us to some fantastic and remote places - and there we’ll share with you our other passions in Scotland’s great outdoors.
These dedicated trips are accompanied by fellow experienced guides to let you experience these activities and sports in a safe and encouraging way. Read more about the guides we work with here.
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Sailing & Wild Swimming
Swimming and snorkelling off the yacht are always an option on our sailing trips. John the Skipper is a fully qualified snorkel instructor and has a real passion for wild swimming. However our guides Wild Swimming Cruises take it one step further.
We will be joined by a qualified and experiences swim guide to lead and coach you. If you like, they can give you some expert pointers on technique while we provide full safety craft cover. Back on Stravaigin, enjoy a warm shower and don’t forget the all-important cake!
We will sail between anchorages each day allowing the opportunity to wild swim in some hard-to-reach locations with the comfort and safety of a yacht to return to.
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Sailing & Hill Walking
Being on a boat gives us a wonderfully different perspective - and access to unique starting points for wandering into the Scottish hills.
On these trips we will be joined by one of our fellow qualified and experienced guides, to share with us these wild places. They have an extensive knowledge of the area including Scottish history, wildlife, flora and fauna and like nothing better than sharing this wealth of information, myth and some legends, maybe even a tall tale or two.
Additionally, John the Skipper is a fully qualified mountain leader and has been lucky enough to lead trips all around the world both independently and for some very prestigious global companies like National Geographic. He likes nothing better than heading ashore to climb the coastal hills and joining guests on their adventures whenever possible.
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Sailing, Wild Food & Foraging
Our guide Heather, a member of the Association of Foragers was brought up to appreciate nature’s wild larder, particularly on her many sailing and walking adventures over the decades.
Heather loves to share her knowledge and expertise in the wild foods that abound and the culinary delights that can be sustainably collected and sourced locally. Guests can enjoy exploring the anchorages, hills and hidden gems, whilst learning about the abundance of Scottish Species and delicious wild treats that can enhance a welcome meal back on board.
Heather and John the Skipper savour the opportunity to create sumptuous meals for their guests and being able to use Scottish wild ingredients adds an extra dimension with a rich tapestry of flavours and textures. After a day on the water and exploring Scotland’s beautiful coast being able to share such a meal together is a real treat.
Skippered Charter
We also offer Skippered Charter - private sailing holidays for couples, families or groups of friends (up to 6 people incl. children).
These private sailing trips put you in control with the freedom to enjoy the activities you love on your own schedule. Visit small coastal towns and villages along the route, stop off at unspoilt beaches, or just enjoy sunbathing on deck, with our skippered sailing holiday charters we can tailor an experience just for you. Browse our sample itineraries for ideas.
All journey times are calculated for you, in which location you stay each night aboard our comfortable yacht and where we head for each day is taken care of. In-depth knowledge of the area allows us to access a variety of locations from busy coastal towns and quiet island communities where you can meet the locals and enjoy a warm welcome at the pub, to unspoilt beaches and rugged coastlines. You can sit back, relax and enjoy the journey, using the time to engage with each other and the natural environment.
If you wish, there is of course plenty of opportunity to be involved in the route planning, navigation and handling the boat. You can choose to do as much or as little as you wish.
Our onboard SUPS are a great advantage being easy to use and provide a great way to set off independently from the boat and explore the anchorage to tiny islands and remote bays, allowing opportunity for those mini adventures.
Swimming off the boat is also a favourite with a warm deck shower to rinse off and warm up after a dip in clear waters. Swimming eye level with the sea birds under lofty mountain peaks is an experience second to none.
Stravaigin is ideally laid out to give twin/shared cabins, two wet rooms with toilet, roomy salon with table for meals and games, plus TV that can link to laptops for entertainment, sound system that plays out in cockpit if you want along with ample deck space to chill out, enjoy the sun (hopefully) and use as a viewing platform for wildlife. The galley is well stocked for drinks and snacks and the meals provided, if using the catered option, aim to suit everyone’s tastes.
These trips can be self-catered where you supply and cook your own food or fully catered.
For advice and guidance on suitable ages for family trips please get in touch.
