Envoy is currently in Lefkas marina, Greece until April.
This is part two of a five part summary of Envoy’s six years Med cruising to date. The full article will shortly be published in Pacific Motor Yacht magazine.
THE MED’S STUNNING CRUISING AREAS
The Med consists of eight major seas and we’ve extensively cruised four of them on the Med’s eastern side. Although there are many great places to see along the coast it’s important to realise there are many other stunning places to see inland, reached by bus, train or rental car after leaving your boat safely in a marina. Our great places won’t necessarily be yours, so keep an open mind, do your research, talk to other cruisers and explore.
There is also a question of cruising philosophy – do you want to cover a lot of area quickly to get a flavour of each, or do you want to immerse yourself in each area and really experience it? We prefer the latter option and our time recommendations for each area are based on this, including some allowance for cruising to that area from your Med home port.
It’s not within the scope of this article to describe the destinations, and for this you should refer to the cruising guides published by Imray.
The Tyrrhenian Sea incorporates the east coasts of Corsica and Sardinia, the central and south-west coasts of mainland Italy and the north coast of Sicily. In practice most cruisers would include the whole of Corsica (French), Sardinia (Italian) and Sicily (Italian) in their plans.
Time required – at least one season.
The Tyrrhenian Sea is a superb cruising area
Although we haven’t yet cruised in Corsica or Sardinia they are said to be stunning with excellent anchorages.
Cruising down the west coast of Italy there is little of great interest except the islands of Ponza, Ischia and Capri (which are extremely crowded in summer). Naples is far from idyllic but should be visited to see the ruins of Pompeii. Most cruisers would consider an inland trip to Rome a must, possibly from the marina at Ostia. We suggest bypassing Italy’s mainland coast south of Scario and heading directly across to Stromboli, the active volcanic island which is the part of the Aeolian Islands group. Bear in mind Stromboli has no marinas or all weather anchorages.
The Aeolian Islands are stunning and deserve two weeks
.JPG)
Allow a week or two to visit the Aeolian Islands of Salina, Lipari and Vulcano, all of which have both anchorages and marinas.
Envoy anchored off Gelso, Vulcano Island
The north coast of Sicily offers few anchorages sheltered from the prevailing northerly wind but Cefalu’s Porto Nuovo is great and reasonably sheltered with nearby Cefalu’s Old Town being particularly delightful.
Envoy anchored in Porto Nuovo
.JPG)
Sicily's Cefalu is one of our favourite towns
.JPG)
Further east, Castellamare is a truly atmospheric marina while nearby Trapani offers an excellent base to explore the stunning Egadi Islands of Favignana, Marettimo and Levanzo off Sicily’s north-east coast.
A magnificent anchorage at Favignana Island
.JPG)
Sicily’s east coast has some stunning anchorages including historic Syracuse, while the south coast is also interesting making a circumnavigation worthwhile. From Sicily’s south coast many cruisers also make a side trip to Malta.
Waves breaking outside Siracuse harbour
.JPG)
Exploring inland Sicily reveals a treasure trove of sites like the Temple of Concord
.JPG)
Sicily has many amazing mountain villages, natural features and historic sites making some inland travel a must. ………… continued next posting
This is part two of a five part summary of Envoy’s six years Med cruising to date. The full article will shortly be published in Pacific Motor Yacht magazine.
THE MED’S STUNNING CRUISING AREAS
The Med consists of eight major seas and we’ve extensively cruised four of them on the Med’s eastern side. Although there are many great places to see along the coast it’s important to realise there are many other stunning places to see inland, reached by bus, train or rental car after leaving your boat safely in a marina. Our great places won’t necessarily be yours, so keep an open mind, do your research, talk to other cruisers and explore.
There is also a question of cruising philosophy – do you want to cover a lot of area quickly to get a flavour of each, or do you want to immerse yourself in each area and really experience it? We prefer the latter option and our time recommendations for each area are based on this, including some allowance for cruising to that area from your Med home port.
It’s not within the scope of this article to describe the destinations, and for this you should refer to the cruising guides published by Imray.
The Tyrrhenian Sea incorporates the east coasts of Corsica and Sardinia, the central and south-west coasts of mainland Italy and the north coast of Sicily. In practice most cruisers would include the whole of Corsica (French), Sardinia (Italian) and Sicily (Italian) in their plans.
Time required – at least one season.
The Tyrrhenian Sea is a superb cruising area
Although we haven’t yet cruised in Corsica or Sardinia they are said to be stunning with excellent anchorages.
Cruising down the west coast of Italy there is little of great interest except the islands of Ponza, Ischia and Capri (which are extremely crowded in summer). Naples is far from idyllic but should be visited to see the ruins of Pompeii. Most cruisers would consider an inland trip to Rome a must, possibly from the marina at Ostia. We suggest bypassing Italy’s mainland coast south of Scario and heading directly across to Stromboli, the active volcanic island which is the part of the Aeolian Islands group. Bear in mind Stromboli has no marinas or all weather anchorages.
The Aeolian Islands are stunning and deserve two weeks
Allow a week or two to visit the Aeolian Islands of Salina, Lipari and Vulcano, all of which have both anchorages and marinas.
Envoy anchored off Gelso, Vulcano Island
The north coast of Sicily offers few anchorages sheltered from the prevailing northerly wind but Cefalu’s Porto Nuovo is great and reasonably sheltered with nearby Cefalu’s Old Town being particularly delightful.
Envoy anchored in Porto Nuovo
Sicily's Cefalu is one of our favourite towns
Further east, Castellamare is a truly atmospheric marina while nearby Trapani offers an excellent base to explore the stunning Egadi Islands of Favignana, Marettimo and Levanzo off Sicily’s north-east coast.
A magnificent anchorage at Favignana Island
Sicily’s east coast has some stunning anchorages including historic Syracuse, while the south coast is also interesting making a circumnavigation worthwhile. From Sicily’s south coast many cruisers also make a side trip to Malta.
Waves breaking outside Siracuse harbour
Exploring inland Sicily reveals a treasure trove of sites like the Temple of Concord
Sicily has many amazing mountain villages, natural features and historic sites making some inland travel a must. ………… continued next posting
No comments:
Post a Comment