4 options for sailing around the world (from easy to adventurer)

Do you dream of sailing around the world? A circumnavigation can mean different things for different cruisers: Janneke Kuysters guides you through your ultimate route planning

One of the biggest gifts you can give yourself is time. Time to do the things you love, time to set off on a world voyage on your own yacht. But where do you even start to plan a circumnavigation? There are many variables to consider – not least how much time you actually have.

In the end, every world voyage is a tailor-made unique cruising experience. But, to help you get started, there are roughly four basic itineraries or approaches. Here we guide you through them.

Key circumnavigation questions

The first step is the best of all. Grab a world map and start marking all your dream destinations that you NEED to go to. Next, mark all your ‘nice to go’ choices.

Then, before you start to connect the dots to build your itinerary, look at some of the practicalities. First of all: climate, seasons and weather conditions. How does your dream itinerary fit into the world’s wind patterns and ocean currents?

Second: your yacht. Is she ready to go for long distance cruising, with just the regular maintenance jobs to do underway? Or do you still have to make some big upgrades or major maintenance after you’ve cast off, so you need to stop over at places where you can get parts and help.

The third consideration is the available time you have: in two years, you can do a fast circumnavigation, but upwards of three years makes for more leisurely cruising and lots of exploring. And how big a deal is it for you to cross your wake, or is visiting only the dream destinations a better idea?

Other factors to consider are of course the crew – where do they want to go, what are they interested in? Are you planning crew changes, which will inevitably influence your itinerary? The age of who you’re sailing with will also impact plans – sailing with children is very rewarding, but requires time for homeschooling and meeting other ‘kid boats’. Career break cruisers may be on a tighter schedule. A retired couple may be able to take as much time as they want…

Then there is the budget: how many years can you afford to live aboard? Satellite communication has opened up so many opportunities for remote working, could you stretch your available time and budget over a longer period? Or you could take advantage of the growing availability of yacht storage services worldwide, which has made cruising part-time in combination with work or visiting family increasingly popular.

Four options for sailing around the world

There are four basic concepts for a cruising circumnavigation, and once you’ve answered the questions above you’ll have a good sense of which is right for you. If the voyage in itself is the destination, the route plan focus will be on sailing long distances and making short stops along the way. That makes for a quick, two-year circumnavigation – ideally on a sporty and fast boat.

A second approach is cherry picking: sailing to your desired destinations and taking time to explore. The yacht is shipped for the parts of the itinerary which are less appealing to the crew. Instead of crossing your wake, you spend time on your own yacht in the most fabulous places you can imagine. In two to five years, you can make this dream come true.

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The opposite is an option as well: taking it easy, and sailing around the world in three or more years in the lower, tropical latitudes. This world cruise is centred around long stopovers, with plenty of exploring while you’re slowly sailing back to where you started.

A fourth option for hardy cruisers who love to go off the beaten path would be to explore further – sailing into the higher latitudes and more remote areas where not many yachts go. This type of schedule requires three to 10 years, depending on the conditions and crew.

We take a look at what each of these four options might look like on the world map…

Route 1: Loving the miles

The pure joy of sailing, trimming and tweaking to get maximum performance out of your boat is the key ingredient of this bucket-list itinerary for a quick trip around the world.

Basic track and diversions

When your home port is in Europe, this track will take you across the Atlantic and into the Caribbean in autumn. You spend the winter sailing through the Caribbean and, after crossing through the Panama canal in February or March of the following year, then sail the long trek to French Polynesia.

Then you have a few options – either keep going, with short stops in Samoa, Fiji or Tonga and Australia, before you go north-east in the Indian Ocean to the Red Sea. In January, those who are up for it will start the tough voyage up the Red Sea and the Suez Canal. By spring of the second year after your departure, you’ll be in European waters again.

For those who don’t fancy Suez, another option is to sail through the Pacific at a slightly slower pace and end your season in New Zealand or Australia. The cyclone season gives you time to do maintenance, to work or to fly home to see friends and family. The following season, in May or June, you sail around South Africa to get back to the Atlantic (or through the Torres Strait to the Red Sea).

For the adventurous, there is another option: to skip the cyclone season and keep sailing – the Great Australian Bight offers just that option.

Most of this itinerary’s cruising is done in lower latitudes, which makes for warm and comfortable weather with mainly downwind sailing.

Who for?

This fast track is perfectly suited for those who love sailing fast and who want to achieve the once-in-a-lifetime goal of sailing around the world. It can be done in just under two years, or three years with some alternative options when underway. This itinerary is not for the fainthearted, because all sorts of weather systems can be encountered. Typically, a younger and more athletic crew with limited time available would opt for such a circumnavigation.

What do you need?

The budget for a voyage like this is mostly spent before the start: the boat needs to be quick and in mint condition. Spare sails and spare parts, ample space for food and water – this can be a puzzle in a weight-sensitive, performance-oriented boat.

You’ll need to spend pre-departure time planning and testing different set-ups and configurations. During the trip, the cost is relatively low: visits to destinations are limited and the use of fuel will be limited as well, though canal fees and clearance costs will be a factor to take into consideration.

Time-wise, you’re looking at two years, but if you opt for the long cyclone stop in New Zealand or Australia, another year needs to be added to the planning.

Route 2: Cherry picking

Your ‘need to see’ list of destinations is centred around warm, pleasant climates and you’re not fussy about crossing your own wake? Then there are lots of interesting options for you to choose from.

Basic track and diversions

Your voyage can start in Europe, but doesn’t have to. Assuming you sail across the Atlantic to the Caribbean then you can spend a season there enjoying the many beautiful islands, before sailing west to the Panama Canal. Or, if you like to explore more in the Caribbean, head north or south to store your yacht in a hurricane-safe spot and add another season of blissful island cruising to your itinerary.

After that, the Pacific Ocean awaits with splendid islands and authentic cultures. You could spend the six-month season cherry-picking your way across the Pacific and end your cruising in New Zealand or Australia, where your yacht will be sold or loaded onto a transport ship to go back home. Or pause, store the boat somewhere in Oceania and fly home.

The following season, from May to October, sail back north to Fiji or Tonga for another six months of tropical sailing. Or, from northern Australian ports, you could sail for one incredible season exploring south-east Asia (typically June-December) before returning to Australia.

Apart from shipping your yacht back to Europe, there is an interesting alternative to consider: buy a good-to-go yacht at a convenient location at the start of your dream voyage, and sell it at the end. For instance: buying a boat in Florida or south-west USA and selling it in Australia or New Zealand. Another option is to buy a boat in Australia, sail one season in south-east Asia and sail back to Australia to sell.

If your wishlist includes more off the beaten track options, your route could lead north from the UK up to Iceland and Greenland, then to Canada, where you go inland via the Saint Lawrence Seaway. Sail as far west as you can then transport the boat across to Seattle or a port in British Columbia, where your Pacific adventure can start.

Who for?

This type of cruising is for those who have limited time and want to see the best cruising grounds on the planet. It’s suitable for any type of crew: families with children, couples or fully crewed yachts. This itinerary overlaps with several rallies, so ‘cruising in company’ is an option as well.

What do you need?

Scenarios can be tailored to the time you have available and the destinations you want to visit. Have less than a year? You could opt for buying in south-west USA and selling in Australia for a perfect Pacific adventure. Have more time? In two years, you can easily sail from the UK to Australia and take in the best of the Caribbean as well as a southern hemisphere adventure.

These itineraries require a fairly ‘standard’ bluewater yacht, with the necessary spare parts and supplies – a high-maintenance boat is not the best choice.

But the budget needed for these itineraries is higher than normal. If you choose to ship your yacht at any point you’ll need to reserve a large chunk of budget to cover the cost. And if you choose to buy or sell underway, you run the risk of depreciation, broker’s fees and currency fluctuation. Apart from that, make sure that you factor in funds for lots of exploring on the islands and enjoying one or two drinks on a powder-white beach fringed with palm trees.

Route 3: Taking it easy

For yachtsmen whose primary motivation of sailing is to explore great places and live life at a slower pace, a myriad of itineraries is available. The famous ‘Coconut Milk Run’ around the world carries you to slices of paradise: beautiful islands, downwind sailing and several options to store the boat to go home or to linger a bit longer at anchor.

Basic track and diversions

The basic track is a well-travelled one: leaving Europe in summer and leisurely cruising south to the Canary Islands or Cape Verde Islands.

For those in no hurry to leave, a diversion to the Gambia or to Morocco adds an extra dimension to the trip early on. Then cross the Atlantic for a season in the Caribbean.

Another interesting diversion is the trip up the Intracoastal Waterway along the east coast of the USA. When all the exploring on the Atlantic side is done, heading through the Panama Canal unlocks the wealth of destinations in the Pacific. Straight to French Polynesia or a stop in the incredible Galapagos? Or a quick diversion north, to see more of Mexico before sailing west again.

Chances are that one season of six months in the Pacific is not enough for sailors on this itinerary. There are great places to store the boat on the Pacific islands, or to stay on the boat through the cyclone season. The other option is to wait for the cyclones to pass in New Zealand and do some maintenance, before heading north again to Tonga and Fiji.

After an extensive exploration of the Pacific, the coasts of Australia are interesting to visit. From there, the track goes north to Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand, all of which offer very interesting and at times challenging cruising opportunities.

From Thailand, the track can lead north-west to the Red Sea and ultimately to the Mediterranean, or west to Sri Lanka, Maldives, Madagascar or Seychelles.

After sailing along the beautiful African coast and rounding the iconic Cape of Good Hope you reach the home stretch: back north in the Atlantic.

You can add more miles yet by heading the long way back via more of the Caribbean. Or point straight north to the Azores, which are a cruising ground in themselves.

Who for?

This itinerary is perfect for people who have time to take it easy and explore, perhaps a retired couple or a family which can work remotely. If you’re cruising part-time this itinerary can be done in anything from three to 10 years: whatever works best for you. The Coconut Milk Run is popular for all the right reasons, so cruising in company is easy.

What do you need?

A yacht taking on this type of route needs to be well suited for downwind sailing, because that’s the advantage of this track. The lower latitudes offer sunshine and warm water, so systems on board need to be adapted just for that: solar panels, batteries, watermaker, fridge and freezer capacity.

Your budget will be slightly higher, because it’s likely that you’ll be doing a lot of land travel. Besides that, you’ll be visiting a long list of countries which all have their associated clearance costs. The cost of major maintenance will also be higher, because after five years or more you’ll likely need to replace the dinghy, batteries and other expensive items.

Route 4: Expedition sailing

If you love solitude, prefer life off the beaten track and don’t mind a bit of cold weather, the higher latitudes offer cruising grounds beyond your imagination. North or south – or both? It’s all possible with a strong yacht and a determined crew.

Basic track and diversions

When the sky’s the limit, your itinerary is largely dependent on the weather. Summers in the north are short, so you need to plan well. Leaving the UK, you can opt to follow the path of the Vikings: Iceland, Greenland and on to Canada. You can turn south to the lower latitudes to get to the Pacific or to keep going towards Cape Horn.

The other option is the Northwest Passage (right). In the short window of the northern summer, it’s a challenge to do in one season, but not impossible. Ice conditions vary. If you make it through the Northwest Passage, then you can go south to Hawaii, on to Japan and back up to the stunning north-west Pacific coast via the Aleutians.

If you choose to sail from Europe, after your Atlantic crossing keep sailing south – along the east coast of South America to Argentina. From Ushuaia, you can sail to Antarctica before heading north-west in Patagonia, one of the last wildernesses in the world.

After a few months in Patagonia and a pit stop for maintenance on the Chilean coast, there’s the option to head to Easter Island, Pitcairn and on to French Polynesia. And then, the world is literally your oyster. North to Hawaii and the north-west USA? Or across the Pacific to New Zealand or Australia?

Once across the Pacific, the remote track across the southern Indian Ocean becomes an option. Sailing along the south coasts of New Zealand and Australia, anchoring at the remote Kerguelen archipelago before heading to Mauritius and on to Cape Town: not many people venture this far south. Once in the Atlantic, you could plan to visit South Georgia, Tristan da Cunha or remote islands like Saint Helena or Ascension. A long beat north will eventually bring you home to Europe – unless, of course, the adventure is not yet over.

Who for?

These challenging itineraries with many options and diversions are not easy and require cruisers who love a challenge. Mentally and physically, it’s hard so the crew needs to be fit and able to sail the boat at all points of sail and in different circumstances.

Depending on routing choices for each part of the track, 4-10 years are needed. The boat can be stored when trips home are required or when the seasons dictate a stop for a few months.

What do you need?

A sturdy ‘go-everywhere’ yacht is vital, sailed by a crew that has the technical knowledge to fix things in remote places. Remote places require specific heavy duty gear, like long lines to tie the boat in small bays, heavier ground tackle, robust sails and a rugged dinghy.

A large part of the budget will be spent before taking off: the boat will need to be adapted for long distances without any outside help or options for provisioning. Cold climates require sufficient heating and battery storage.

Once underway, the options for land travel and exploration ashore will be limited, so an average budget will suffice. One element is more important in this scenario: communication. Getting weather information is vital, so the satellite communication and back ups need to be up to date.

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