1 May 2024

Hopefully the weather won’t be too extreme this summer – but whatever the weather Gods bring us, PlainSailing.com already knows the ‘Hottest’ sailing destinations this summer! Based on customer search and booking data for this season, the charter experts have released their annual review of where to sail, and be seen sailing, in 2024.

Whilst Dubrovnik retains its status as the hottest of hot destinations (being the most sought after place to sail, in the most sought after country to sail), there are some notable quirks in the list – such as that in Greece in 2024, Athens is a more popular place to sail than the Ionian. PlainSailing.com attributes that to the much better flight connections available to Athens from across Europe this summer, particularly flights which can tie-in for the traditional Saturday-to-Saturday sailing charters.

The most sought after place to sail in Italy is Sardinia, where sailors can enjoy the Costa Smeralda and the Maddalena islands, and mix sailing with high end couture and fine dining. Interest in sailing in Italy has surged - now that we’re a few years post-Covid, people have had a chance to re-visit Greece and Croatia, and are now looking for somewhere new to sail.

And if your Instagram feed is full of sailing images from Spain, you’re most likely to see stunning photos from the Calas around Palma, Mallorca, which is the most sought-after destination in the country. Similarly, Antigua is seemingly THE place to sail in the Caribbean, with the most searches and bookings on PlainSailing.com.

Tommy Tognarelli, co-founder of PlainSailing.com, said: “Our annual Charter trends review is always interesting reading, and it’s fascinating to see the different trends of the season – including the places where people are keen to go sailing this summer, based on our extensive search and bookings data.

“For the third year in a row, Dubrovnik is set to be the hottest sailing destination in the world, with ongoing strong demand – there’s some weeks in the peak season where there’s only a handful of boats available for charter.

“In Greece, we’ve seen more enquiries for Athens than anywhere else – which is new for 2024, as normally we see a clamour for boats in the Ionian – whilst Sardinia is the hottest place to sail in Italy.”