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How sailing holidays work

Choose the route. Pick the week. Step on board.

Malaka turns the sailing holiday into a clear journey — from discovering the right route to choosing the exact departure, booking mode and crew setup.

Explore sailing holidays See booking options
Six steps, start to boarding Whole yacht, cabin or berth Every skipper verified

The journeyCroatia Islands Escape

ExperienceSplit → Hvar → Vis → Brač → Split 01
Departure6–13 June · Bavaria Cruiser 46 · Marko K. 02
BookingWhole yacht, one cabin, or a single berth 03
Holiday HubCrew, documents, payments, messages 04

Prices and departures shown across this page are illustrative examples.

The core model

Three things to understand.

Everything on Malaka sits on the same three layers. Once they click, the rest of the booking reads itself.

Layer one

Experience

The sailing holiday itself — the route and the character of the week.

Example Croatia Islands Escape

  • Route and itinerary
  • Trip style and highlights
  • Destination and activities
  • The general concept of the week

Layer two

Departure

The exact week you can actually book, with everything pinned down.

Example 6–13 June

  • Exact dates
  • Exact yacht and skipper
  • Exact availability and price
  • Booking modes offered

Layer three

Booking

Your reservation on that departure — and the start of the organized part.

Example 2 berths, 6–13 June

  • How many places you take
  • Whole yacht, cabin or berth
  • Payment schedule
  • Crew access and Holiday Hub

One Experience can hold many departures. You browse the Experience, but you book a departure.

Explore

Start with the kind of week you want.

Not with a boat listing. Search by where you want to wake up, when you can go, how many of you there are, and how you'd like to book.

Search by

DestinationDatesGuestsBooking mode

Sailing areas

CroatiaGreeceItaly SpainTurkeyMontenegro

Trip style

Island hoppingRelaxed sailingNightlife Food & cultureFamily-friendlyActive sailing
Explore trips
Dalmatia, early June

The experience

Choose the route before the boat.

Malaka is centered on the sailing experience, not just yacht inventory. An Experience page tells you what the week actually feels like.

Experience 4.9 · 118 Croatia · 7 nights

Croatia Islands Escape

Split → Hvar → Vis → Komiža → Brač → Šolta → Split

Island hoppingSwim stopsBeginner-friendly
Marko KovačevićHosting since 2019 · Dalmatia Verified

An Experience page shows

  • The route and a day-by-day itinerary
  • The destination story and what the week is for
  • Activities — swimming, hiking, towns, food
  • The skipper who hosts it
  • The typical yacht used on this route
  • What is included and what is not
  • Reviews from people who sailed it
  • Every departure currently available

The yacht shown on an Experience is the typical boat for that route. The exact yacht is confirmed on the departure.

Positioning

The yacht matters.
The holiday matters more.

A good boat is the beginning, not the week. What you remember afterwards is where you woke up, who was on board and how well it was run.

The boat

Yacht, cabins, berths, equipment.

The complete week

Route, skipper, crew, destination, dates, itinerary, organization — and the boat.

This is why Malaka publishes routes hosted by skippers rather than a fleet list. You choose the sailing week; the yacht is confirmed as part of it.

The departure

Pick the exact week.

Once an Experience feels right, you choose one of its available departures. From this point nothing is generic — every detail below belongs to that specific week.

6–13 June

4 berths left

Croatia Islands Escape · 7 nights

Yacht
Bavaria Cruiser 46
Skipper
Marko Kovačević
Guests
8 guests · 4 cabins
Embarkation
ACI Marina Split, 17:00
€850 / person €6,400
whole yacht
View departure

A departure fixes

  • Exact start and end dates
  • The assigned yacht
  • The assigned skipper
  • Guest capacity and cabin layout
  • Remaining availability, live
  • Price for each booking mode
  • Which booking options are offered

This is also the moment you see the exact yacht and the exact skipper — both are named on the departure, before you pay anything.

Why departures matter

Same Experience.
Three different weeks.

Croatia Islands Escape runs all season. Each departure has its own dates, yacht, availability and price.

Departure A

6–13 June

Yacht
Bavaria Cruiser 46
Guests
8 · 4 cabins
Availability
4 berths left
€850 / person€6,400
whole yacht

Departure B

13–20 June

Yacht
Dufour 430
Guests
6 · 3 cabins
Availability
2 cabins left
€920 / person€5,520
whole yacht

Departure C

4–11 July

Yacht
Lagoon 42 catamaran
Guests
8 · 4 cabins
Availability
Whole yacht only
€1,150 / person€9,200
whole yacht

Same core Experience. Different dates, yacht, availability and price — and sometimes different booking modes. Illustrative examples.

Booking mode

Book the trip your way.

The same departure can usually be booked in three ways. Choose one below to see what happens after you book.

All prices on this page are illustrative examples. Each departure states its own prices and which booking modes it offers.

Booking the whole yacht?

You become the Group Leader for the departure. The booking is yours; the crew details belong to each person you invite.

  1. 01

    Book

    Reserve the entire departure for your group.

  2. 02

    Become Group Leader

    You manage the crew setup and see overall readiness.

  3. 03

    Invite crew

    Send invite links to everyone joining you.

  4. 04

    Crew joins

    Each person creates or opens their own trip profile.

  5. 05

    Track readiness

    See who has completed what — without seeing their private data.

Review

Know exactly what you're booking.

Before checkout, everything that defines the week is on one screen — in plain language, not in a PDF you receive afterwards.

Croatia Islands Escape · 6–13 June Individual berth · 2 guests
Dates
Sat 6 June — Sat 13 June · 7 nights
Route
Split · Hvar · Vis · Komiža · Brač · Šolta · Split
Yacht
Bavaria Cruiser 46 · 4 cabins
Skipper
Marko Kovačević · verified
Booking mode
Individual berth × 2
Availability
4 berths left on this departure

Included

  • Yacht charter for the week
  • Professional skipper
  • Bedding and towels
  • Final cleaning

Not included

  • Fuel and marina fees
  • Food and drinks on board
  • Tourist taxes
  • Travel to and from the marina

Total for 2 guests

€1,700

Paid today

€500

Cancellation

Free cancellation up to 60 days before departure

Continue to checkout

Price transparency

See the full picture
before you pay.

Three numbers matter at checkout: the trip price, what leaves your account today, and what is still to come.

Trip price€850per person, this departure
Paid today€250deposit per person
Remaining balance€600per person, before departure

Typical variable trip costs

Some costs depend on where you actually go and how you live on board. On most departures these are shared by the crew during the week:

FuelMarina feesFood & drinks Local and tourist taxesOptional activities

Exact inclusions and exclusions are shown on each departure before checkout. Where a shared cost is expected, the departure says so — no vague "from" pricing.

Checkout

Confirm the booking.

A short, calm checkout. Nothing new appears here that you haven't already seen on the departure.

Step 1

Your booking

  • Booking summary
  • Booking mode and guest count
Step 2

Your details

  • Customer details
  • Contact for trip updates
Step 3

Payment & terms

  • Deposit payment
  • Terms and cancellation policy
Confirm booking Card payments are processed by our payment partner.

Payment schedule

You pay in steps, not all at once.

A typical schedule looks like this. The exact dates and amounts belong to each departure and are shown before you pay.

  1. TodayDeposit

    Secures your place on the departure and opens the Holiday Hub.

  2. 60 days beforeSecond payment

    Some departures split the balance; others do not use this step at all.

  3. 30 days beforeFinal balance

    The trip is fully paid and the crew moves into final preparation.

Malaka does not apply one universal schedule to every trip. Each departure states its own payment steps and cancellation window in plain language.

After booking

You're booked. Now the trip gets organized.

The confirmation is not the end of the process — it is where the practical part starts, and where everything moves into one place.

Booking confirmed

Croatia Islands Escape · 6–13 June · 2 berths

Booking confirmation by email
Receipt and payment record
Holiday Hub access
Crew invitations, if relevant
Direct line to your skipper
Trip preparation checklist

Holiday Hub

Your holiday, organized in one place.

Everything about your trip — yacht, route, crew, documents, payments and messages — lives on the booking, not in a folder of forwarded emails.

Croatia Islands Escape · 6–13 June Confirmed
Croatia Islands Escape

Departs in 34 days · Split, Croatia · Bavaria Cruiser 46

Next actions
Upload passport detailsDue
Final balanceIn 4 days
Confirm arrival timeOpen
Trip readiness
6 of 8 items completeOn track

Overview

Trip status and the next thing that needs doing.

Yacht

The assigned yacht, its layout and what is on board.

Route

The planned itinerary, day by day.

Crew

Invitations and completion status for the group.

Documents

Only what this trip actually requires, with clear status.

Payments

What is paid, what is due and when it is taken.

Messages

Skipper and trip communication, attached to the booking.

Travel

Meeting point, embarkation time and arrival info.

Checklist

Everything to complete before you sail.

Crew management

One booking. Every crew member handles their own details.

On a whole-yacht booking, the person who booked becomes Group Leader. They can see whether the boat is ready — not what everyone wrote in their forms.

The group leader sees

InvitedJoined Information completeDocument missing Ready

Each crew member completes

Personal informationTravel information Emergency contactPreferences Required formsDocuments

Privacy boundary: status is shared with the group leader, content is not. Personal information belongs to the person who entered it.

Crew readiness8 placesStatus
Tudor L.Group leaderReady
Sofia R.JoinedReady
Katrin H.JoinedDocument missing
Andrei M.Invite sent 2 days agoInvited
4 places openInvite links not yet sentNot invited

Documents

Asked for once, tracked clearly.

Some routes and marinas require crew details before departure. Each requested item carries a status so nobody has to chase anyone by email.

Required Missing Uploaded Under review Verified Rejected Expiring soon Expired

Only documents relevant to the trip are requested, and their status stays connected to that trip.

This public page is a design prototype — no files are collected here.

Crew manifest

When the crew is ready, the trip data is ready too.

Once crew members have completed their own details, the platform can organize the required information into an operational crew manifest for the departure — the document skippers and marinas actually need.

  • Built from what crew already entered
  • Tied to one departure, not reused elsewhere
  • No re-typing the same details for every trip
Marko Kovačević
Skipper · Croatia Islands Escape, 6–13 June
Marko · skipperMeeting point: ACI Marina office, Saturday 17:00. Pontoon C, I'll message the berth number on the day.
YouGreat. Is there anywhere to leave a hard suitcase?
Marko · skipperSoft bags are much easier on board — the marina has lockers if you need them.

Messaging

No need to search through old email threads.

Before departure, communication stays attached to the booking and the trip — so the answer is where the trip is.

Meeting pointArrival timeRoute adjustment Document reminderSkipper announcement

On the water

The route is planned.
The conditions decide the final version.

Wind, sea state, marina availability and safety can change the exact daily itinerary. Your skipper may adapt the route while preserving the character of the trip.

A changed island is not a changed holiday. The islands, swim stops and towns are chosen from the same waters — you'll hear the reason on the morning briefing.

Split Hvar Vis Brač Šolta

Planned route Possible adjustment

Your skipper

Your skipper runs the boat.
They also shape the week.

A hosted departure is not a bareboat charter with a driver. The skipper is the person who makes the week work.

Navigation

Plans passages and manages the boat under sail and under engine.

Yacht operations

Handles mooring, anchoring, systems and everything technical.

Conditions

Reads forecasts daily and decides what is comfortable and safe.

Route

Adapts the itinerary when the weather asks for it.

Briefings

Explains the day, the boat and life on board to the crew.

Coordination

Makes the practical sailing decisions so nobody else has to.

Verified skipper

What "verified" actually means

  • Identity reviewed before publishing
  • Professional sailing credentials reviewed
  • VHF / SRC radio certification where relevant
  • A public sailing profile and hosting history
  • The sailing areas they actually know
  • Reviews from crews who sailed with them

Licence numbers and personal documents are never shown publicly.

Guests can take the helm, trim sails and learn — or read a book in the shade all week. Both are normal, and both are fine.

First time on a yacht

No sailing experience?
That's normal.

Most people on hosted departures have never sailed. The skipper runs the boat; you are a guest who can help as much as you feel like helping.

Explore beginner-friendly trips

What to expect anyway

  • Shared living: a yacht is a small, sociable home
  • Compact cabins and modest storage — soft bags only
  • Conditions change; plans flex with them
  • Some movement while underway
  • A little cooperation — dishes, lines, provisioning
  • Participation in sailing is always optional

On board

What a day can look like.

One illustrative day from a Dalmatian week. Not a schedule — most days find their own shape.

  1. 08:30Coffee in the harbour

    Slow start, bakery run, forecast over breakfast.

  2. 10:00Leave for the next island

    Lines off, sails up once you're clear of the moles.

  3. 12:30Swim stop

    Anchor in a bay nobody can reach on foot.

  4. 14:00Lunch on board

    Whatever the crew put together that morning.

  5. 16:30Arrive in Hvar

    Mooring, showers, a walk through town.

  6. EveningDinner ashore

    Or back on deck with the lights of the harbour.

Before departure

A short list, and then you're packing.

The Holiday Hub keeps this list for you. Try it here — tick a few to see how readiness builds.

On a whole-yacht booking the group leader sees the same list at crew level — who is done, who still needs a nudge.

3 of 9 complete

What to pack

Less than you think, in a bag that folds flat.

SwimwearSunscreenHat Light waterproof layerComfortable clothes Non-marking shoesPersonal medication Soft bagReusable water bottle

Hard suitcases have nowhere to live on a yacht. Everything else you can buy on the way.

Arrival day

What happens on the first day.

Most departures follow roughly this shape. Your skipper confirms the details in the Holiday Hub before you travel.

  1. Arrive at the marina

    Meeting point and time are on your booking.

  2. Meet the skipper

    And the rest of the crew, if you're on a shared departure.

  3. Yacht check-in

    Boarding, cabins allocated, bags stowed.

  4. Crew briefing

    How the boat works and how the week will run.

  5. Provisioning

    The first shop, usually together, usually cheerful.

  6. Safety briefing

    Lifejackets, gas, VHF, man-overboard, what to do when.

  7. First evening

    Dinner in port, or a short hop to a quiet bay.

  8. Then the week starts

    Depending on the departure, you may sail the same evening.

During the trip

The week runs itself, mostly.

  • The skipper remains responsible for navigation and yacht operations
  • The route can evolve with the conditions
  • The crew shares onboard life — cooking, lines, dishes, decisions
  • Practical updates stay inside trip communication

After the trip

And then the next one.

  • The booking is marked complete
  • You can review the skipper and the trip
  • Save the destination you liked
  • Discover the next Experience — often with the same skipper
Explore another route

From the crew

Learn from people who sailed before you.

"Eight of us on one boat, and I only had to organize the booking. Everyone filled in their own details and I could see who was still missing something."
Tudor L.Croatia Islands Escape · whole yacht
"We took one cabin on a shared departure. Clear from the start how many others were on board and what the week would cost."
Elena & PaulIonian Islands Adventure · one cabin
"I booked one berth on my own and worried about it for a month. By Tuesday we were cooking dinner together at anchor."
Sofia R.Ionian Islands Adventure · solo, one berth
"Never sailed before. The briefing on day one answered every question I was too embarrassed to ask, and the route changed twice without anyone panicking."
Jonas D.Aeolian Islands · first-time sailor

Questions

The things people ask before they book.

An Experience is the sailing holiday itself — the route, the itinerary and the character of the week, like Croatia Islands Escape. A Departure is one bookable week of that Experience, with exact dates, an exact yacht, an exact skipper, live availability and a price. You browse Experiences; you book Departures.

On the departure, before checkout. The Experience page shows the typical yacht used on that route; the departure names the specific boat, its cabin layout and capacity.

Also on the departure, before you pay. Each departure names the skipper hosting that week, with their verified profile, sailing areas and reviews.

Yes, where the departure offers it. You reserve the full yacht for your group, no one else joins, and you become the Group Leader for the crew setup.

Yes, on departures that offer individual berths. You reserve your own place on board and sail with a mixed crew — this is how most solo travellers sail with Malaka.

Yes, where cabin booking is offered. You reserve the full private cabin for two and share the rest of the yacht with other guests on the same departure.

No. Many hosted departures are suitable for first-time guests. Your skipper runs the boat; you can take part in the sailing as much or as little as you like. Some departures are more active than others and say so on the Experience page.

Usually a deposit that secures your place, with the balance due before departure. The exact amount and the schedule belong to each departure and are shown before you confirm.

Typically fuel, marina fees, food and drinks on board, local and tourist taxes, and optional activities. Each departure lists its own inclusions and exclusions before checkout.

You get a booking confirmation and a payment record, and the Holiday Hub opens for that trip: yacht, route, crew, documents, payments, messages, travel details and a checklist.

On a whole-yacht booking, you send invite links from the Holiday Hub. Each person creates or opens their own trip profile and completes their own details; you see readiness status, not their personal data.

It depends on the route and the marinas involved — typically identity and travel details for port formalities. Only documents relevant to that trip are requested, and each one carries a clear status.

Your skipper may adapt the daily itinerary for wind, sea state, marina availability or safety, while preserving the character of the trip. Changes are explained on board and posted in the trip messages.

In the Holiday Hub, attached to your booking — meeting point, arrival times, route adjustments, document reminders and skipper announcements all stay in one thread instead of scattered email.

You book a single berth, complete your own profile, and join the shared Holiday Hub for that departure. You will meet the rest of the crew at the marina — solo guests are completely normal on shared departures.

Different starting point

Already have the yacht?

If the boat is already sorted, use Malaka to find a verified skipper for your dates and sailing area.

How Find a Skipper works Find a skipper

Ready when you are

Find the week that fits.

Start with destination, dates and the way you want to book.

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