Why you should rent a gulet for at least 7 days and not less
You think that going on a gulet cruise for one week is too long. Especially if you have children or teenagers. Do you think they will get bored onboard?
This is of course, totally wrong!
Our CEO Mitja Mirtič has written this post to show you why it is always better to rent a gulet for one week or more:
“When I wanted to rent a gulet for the first time in my life, I had all sorts of questions in my mind regarding the duration of our cruise.
I had a few objections in mind:
- 3 to 5 days on a boat is more than enough.
- How can I find flights, that will start and end on the same day of the week?
- Will kids be bored?
- The price for a 7 days charter will be too high.
- I heard gulets have limited space. In 7 days we will kill each other on board.
With all these thoughts in my mind, I contacted the yacht owner and told him I would only come on board for 3 to 5 days.
Luckily, the gulet owner asked me the basic question: “Why only 3 to 5 days? Why not for a week?”
I gave him the list of all my worries and he provided me with answers…
Objection 1: 3 to 5 days on a yacht is more than enough to get the full experience. 7 days is too long.
When I mentioned the gulet owner my fear, he instantly recognized I never chartered the gulet before, and thus I had no idea how a day on a gulet looks like. So first he explained to me this part:
- Our day can be either super relaxed (just staying in a nice bay, snorkeling, swimming, or taking it easy). Basically like staying in a villa, but in a way, we have a much better swimming platform, away from crowds, with the best chef and more peace and quiet.
- Or we can be super active, do some sightseeing, explore a town, visit a national park, a wine cellar or do active watersports, scuba diving, or go for a hike…again, lots of options, while all the time when we get back, a nice meal and a VIP location (Yacht in an amazing bay) will be waiting for us.
- The best spots to visit with a gulet are usually not so close to the main embarkation marina, so if you go on a yacht for just 3 or 5 days, you will have to get back early, and you might miss out on the most stunning places and locations.
After that, he sent me 2 route ideas explaining the best things to see and do on the route in 7 days and after looking at them, I realized it really is a good idea to charter for 7 days instead.
Here are the 2 ideas:
1. Ultimate Croatia yacht charter day by day itinerary: from Split to Dubrovnik
- Day 1: Split
- Day 2: Brač Island
- Day 3: Hvar & Pakleni Islands
- Day 4: Korčula Island
- Day 5: Mljet Island
- Day 6: Lopud Island
- Day 7: Dubrovnik
2. A dream out of Azure Geography Starting and finishing in Bodrum
- Day 1: Bodrum
- Day 2: Orak Island
- Day 3: Kissebuku
- Day 4: English Harbour
- Day 5: Seder Island
- Day 6: Karacasogut
- Day 7: Yaliciflik Bay
- Day 8: Bodrum
Objection 2: How can I find flights that will start and end on the same day and not lose any time on the weekly charter?
Most of the charters are on Saturday – Saturday basis and the gulet owner told me he is aware of the problem. Sometimes it is hard to find flights that correlate perfectly with these days.
However, as most departures are usually organized from places that are really interesting to visit for a day or 2, like Split, Dubrovnik, Bodrum, Athens, Marmaris, etc, it is perfect if you arrive a day or 2 earlier, book a hotel for this time and have some land trips to have this experience as well.
After that, you embark on a gulet and go for this other adventure and this can take your holidays from great to just plain old amazing.
Objection 3: My kids will get bored
When I told this to the gulet owner, he smiled big time. After that, he told me that kids are usually bored on stationary holidays, because:
- They can not stay on the beach all day due to the sun
- They have limited access to snorkeling or water sports
- They get bored of going to the “same city center in the evening” every day
- They just watch iPhone or Netflix all day long
This will not happen on a gulet, where:
- The sea (the most stunning locations) are available almost 24/7 for swimming, snorkeling, canoeing, paddling,…
- There is always an option to do some adrenalin water sports like jet ski, waterskiing, wakeboarding…
- Every day (if you decide to go to some nice port) there is a different place, restaurant, center of town, beach, and different activities to enjoy.
- You can fully organize your day in a way your kids will just fall down dead tired and happy in the evening and you will have time for yourself as a parent. Renting a gulet is the best WIN-WIN combination if you have kids (small children or teenagers) and they will resent you if you take them on a gulet for just 5 days and then spend another 5 days in some hotel.
Objection 4: The price for a 7 days charter will be too high:
As most of the charters are organized on a Saturday – Saturday weekly basis and if you charter a gulet for less time, it means the owner will probably be empty during this period. That is why the flexibility for discounts or charging for less than 7 days is something where most gulet owners are not very motivated in providing you with huge discounted deals.
Most of the time you will just get a small discount for shorter charters and it does not pay off.
If you have a limited budget, it is better to rent a gulet that is a bit lower category for 7 days, then book a yacht for 4 or 5 days only, which is a higher category. Price is usually not a factor and you will not save a lot of money if you charter for less than 7 days.
Objection 5: I heard gulets have limited space. In 7 days we will kill each other with friends if we are all the time ”in the face” of each other
Our yachts and gulets usually can accommodate from 10 to 14 people on average and have from 20 meters all the way to 50 meters in length.
If you rent a nice 25 meters or 30 meters yacht for 10 or 12 people, where the crew is taking care of most of your wishes with some good organization, you will never get too crazy about other parts of your group (friends or family).
If someday you get “sick of your company”, it is all very easy to coordinate. On days when they go to town to explore it, you can just stay on a yacht and relax. You can go to town together and split there or you can just take a break on the front end of the yacht, while they are having a beer in the back. You will not run into them and will take a relaxing break.
After I heard all these explanations I was convinced
We booked a gulet for 7 days and at the end of the holiday, we were sorry.
We were sorry we did not book for 10 days.
Here are some photos that will paint a better picture of what to expect when renting a gulet:
Breakfast time
Morning coffee
Watersports
Watersports
Watersports
Anchored
Anchored
Leisure time
Lunch time on Flybridge
Playing guitar
Champagne and sushi
Champagne
Dinner time
Dinner time
To sum up
Book your gulet for 7 days, however, do your homework. Trust us with our suggestions regarding your holiday wishes, routes, or ideas and we will create a 7 days plan for you, where it will be all fun – all the time – according to your wishes and expectations. This is where we are the best”.
Mitja Mirtič – Goolets CEO
