HOW TO TRAVEL THE WORLD BY WATER
Sometimes you might not even need a plane to get you where you want to go. Niall Doherty from ndoherty.com has been travelling around the world without flying for the last three years. He may jump on a one-way cruise or do the unconventional thing and book himself on a cargo ship heading across the Pacific ocean for 26 days. While you may not want to be as extreme as Niall, taking a boat rather than a plane might just be the adventure you’re looking for.
Here are some websites for booking boat travel to get you started…
Cruise Sheet
This website has been recommended by everyone I spoke to when it came to booking a cheap cruise. They work magic with things like repositioning cruises, which means you may even be able to snag a one-way cruise and skip one leg of your flight altogether.
Rome2rio
This website is a multimodal transport engine, which means you can search various modes of transportation to get where you want to go including planes, trains, automobiles, buses and ferries. Simply type in where you want to go and Rome2rio will give you a list of options.
BoatBound
BoatBound is a boat rental marketplace in the U.S. Think of it like Airbnb but for boats. It’s free to join and has no membership fees. Find a boat with or without a captain.
The Yacht Week
This site makes it easy to gather your friends and join an incredible voyage around places like the Caribbean, Croatia, Italy, Greece and Thailand. You can rent the whole boat or join another one.
Zizoo
Looking to sail around Croatia, Turkey, Spain, Greece, or Italy. This site makes it easy to find any type of boat that suits your needs, along with a captain to get you where you want to go.
Some of my best travel memories involve boat travel. Whether it’s jumping on a last-minute boat trip from Bali to Komodo or joining a live-aboard luxury dive trip in the Galapagos, I love being out at sea. There’s just something about that sea breeze…or the unforgettable sunsets…or jumping into the sea…or…actually it’s all awesome.
But even aside from boats, travelling via water sports is also a great way to travel and enjoy nature such as with kayaks, canoes, and paddleboards. In fact, paddleboarding has become one of my favourite sports in the last couple of years, whether I’m paddling across a lake or using it to go down a gentle river through a major city like Calgary.
How about you? Any more tips for travelling the world by boat?
Hey Matt!
Thank you for the article I’m going to check all these options for more in depth information. Me and my husband have a fresh travel vlog called Dawn Hunters where we post our sailing adventures and also tips for travelers. I’ve just started special series for aspiring digital nomads and posted a video about crewseekers (I don’t see them in your list) so you might want to see the video and consider adding them – they have super cool and unexpected opportunities for cheap or even free travels on boats.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTpW5uIJE7E
Also would love to collaborate with you on the blog/vlog if you are interested – shoot us an email. Love the content!
Thank you for sharing!
Dawn Hunters
Hello there,
Thank you for this great article. I really loved reading it and it was quite informative.
By the way, I can also recommend a website through which I have organized a yacht holiday last year together with my friends. http://www.viravira.co is the site where you can browse many boat rental options in 41 countries. Traveling the world is amazing and if you do it by boat it is a great adventure 🙂