Four of the best boating holidays
From a gentle rafting trip in Oregon to a canoeing and meditation retreat in Devon. Chris Carter reports.
Exploring Dalmatia by yacht
The Kornati archipelago, off Croatia’s northern Dalmatian coast, is a “strange bleached world of scattered islets and reefs… considered Europe’s last wilderness”, says Timothy O’Grady in Condé Nast Traveller. “I set out to glide around them on the Satori, a 136ft schooner that can be chartered for a few days or longer.”
From around £89,400 a week for up to ten, satoriyacht.com.
MoneyWeek
Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE
Sign up to Money Morning
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
“Surely there’s no better way to explore the Croatian coast than on a tour that mixes bike rides and boating,” says Sean Newsom in The Times. Further down the coast of Dalmatia, you can flit between the islands of Hvar, Vis, Korcula, Brac and Solta on a 40-metre motorcruiser complete with cabins, restaurant and bathing platform. Then, each time you moor in a harbour town, you’ll be off exploring by bike. Whether you choose to rely solely on pedal power or opt for an e-bike (not a bad idea in hot weather), “you can expect a week of ever-changing landscapes and mesmerising sea views”.
Seven nights’ half-board from £1,294 per person, freedomtreks.co.uk.
Floating and boating on the John Day
The wind whips up a wall of mist that’s furiously spinning toward our fleet, says Tim Neville in the Financial Times. “I’m on the oars of a 14ft-long expedition-style runner raft with a metal frame designed to carry the weight of three passengers and hundreds of pounds of food and equipment. Within seconds the maelstrom engulfs us and the boat feels no mightier than a pool toy.” But that is the price of admission on this stretch of the River John Day, which winds its way through the western US state of Oregon.
In general, however, the river is a forgiving place for a new oarsman and makes for a “proper place for a ‘float and boat’ rafting trip, with the focus on relaxation and watching the landscape mosey by”.
Three-day rafting trips on the John Day from $695, oregonrafting.com.
Meditative paddling on the River Dart
“The setting sun is bathing the River Dart [in Devon] in gold and pink as our small flotilla of canoes journeys upstream,” says Rachel Dixon in The Guardian. This first morning of a canoeing and mindfulness retreat, organised by the charitable Sharpham Trust, involves a paddle up the river to Totnes in stable two-person Canadian canoes. That is followed on the second day with a down-river paddle towards Dartmouth, “stopping to ‘forest bathe’ in a wood, and to swim in a calm, shallow spot”.
The canoeing is a form of meditation in itself, but most of the “still meditation” takes place in the Capability Brown-designed gardens of the Sharpham estate, with its 18th-century Palladian villa.
Three-night canoeing retreats from £395, sharphamtrust.org.
A canal cruise in the sky
Summer was made for messing about on the water, says Jane Knight in The Mail on Sunday. So why not hire a narrow boat and “float across the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct in north Wales”, dubbed the “Stream in the Sky”, with its 18 metal and masonry arches? The 11 miles of the Llangollen Canal were given Unesco World Heritage status for being a “pioneering masterpiece of engineering” by early 19th-century engineer Thomas Telford.
Three nights costs from around £1,399, drifters.co.uk.
-
Six steps business owners should consider before April inheritance tax relief changeNew limits to inheritance tax-free allowances are coming in from the Spring that affect business owners. Those looking to sell or transfer their assets into a trust before the changes need to act now
-
Edinburgh Worldwide shareholders reject Saba proposalsToday’s requisitioned general meeting of Edinburgh Worldwide shareholders has ended in another defeat for activist investor Saba Capital management
-
Fine-art market sees buyers returnWealthy bidders returned to the fine-art market last summer, amid rising demand from younger buyers. What does this mean for 2026?
-
Review: Castiglion del Bosco, A Rosewood Hotel – a Tuscan rural idyllTravel Play golf, drink exquisite wine and eat good food at Castiglion del Bosco, A Rosewood Hotel, all within the stunning Val d’Orcia National Park in Tuscany
-
Review: A cultural tour of North IndiaTravel Jessica Sheldon explores North India's food and art scene from three luxurious Leela Palace hotels in New Delhi, Jaipur and Udaipur
-
The best luxury saunas, spas and icy plungesRestore your mind and body with luxury fire and ice experiences, from warming saunas to icy plunges
-
8 of the best properties for sale with indoor gymsThe best properties for sale with indoor gyms – from a four-storey mews house in London’s Knightsbridge, to a 1920s Arts & Crafts house in Melbury Abbas, Dorset
-
8 of the best houses for sale with beautiful fireplacesThe best houses for sale with beautiful fireplaces – from a 15th-century cottage in Kent to a 17th-century palazzo in Oxfordshire
-
The top last-minute Christmas giftsIt’s not too late to give the perfect present this festive season – we round up a selection of last-minute Christmas gifts worth giving
-
Lights, camera, action: Where to see the Northern LightsThe Northern Lights are the most spectacular they’ve been in years. Here’s where to see them
