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Short hops, steady trade winds and mooring balls in almost every anchorage. The BVI is the classic first bareboat trip.

For trips beyond the BVI: St. Martin is the jumping-off point for Anguilla and St. Barth, and the Grenadines go south from St. Vincent to the Tobago Cays.

Europe's busiest charter coast: Split, Hvar, Brač and Vis are short day sails apart, and Saturday turnovers fill the marinas in summer.

Four very different sailing areas: the sheltered Ionian, the windy Cyclades, the Saronic Gulf right next to Athens, and the remote Dodecanese.

Shallow, very clear water and long cays, sailed out of Nassau. It suits catamarans especially well.

A US territory next door to the BVI, which makes it the simplest Caribbean trip for US travellers. Charters start from St. Thomas.

The La Maddalena archipelago and the Costa Smeralda. Yachtic says Italy is generally 10–20% more expensive than Croatia or Greece, mostly because of marina fees and VAT, and that Sardinia is one of its priciest areas.

Limestone islands, and flat water in the Andaman Sea in season. Expect mostly catamarans: on the day we checked, 36 of the 57 discounted boats Yochting tracks in Phuket were catamarans.