A big congrats to Sophia and Veronika and for winning yesterday’s prizes! Enjoy your ZenFone Selfie and your leather backpack from Etsy!
They were pretty neat prizes, and today we’re bringing you an insanely awesome prize! Some may say we’re spoiling you? We say that you guys totally deserve it! Today, we’re giving away a true experience and it’s one which brought many of the travelettes together on our first ever meet-up a year ago. That’s right, Sailing.hr have given us a yacht trip in Croatia for one lucky winner! I said it was going to be insanely good.
Sailing.hr is a yacht company that provides once-in-a-lifetime trips for those who wish to see Croatia by sea. Join the fleet in Split in either July or August 2016 and take a friend to indulge in a week of mayhem and laughter. You will have your own cabin to share on board and will meet a fun group on your yacht to explore the islands on the Dalmatian Sea.
You’ll island hop and get to explore the gorgeous towns and beaches along the coast, stopping for exploring and parties galore. Your wristband will get you access to special parties and bars, plus it will give you discounts on day trips and scooter/car hire for when you’re on land in between the sailing.
Your professional skipper will handle the navigation and will give you some small lessons on how to man a yacht of this calibre. Take an iPod with you full of your favourite tunes and blast them out the onboard speakers! Be sure to stock up on food and drinks (including the alcoholic varieties) for your trip – you will be able to replenish your supplies en route, but when the Sailing.hr yachts assemble in the coves for the floating parties, it’s good to have supplies to keep you going! And don’t worry, the yacht WiFi will allow you to post those yacht selfies immediately as who doesn’t love to stay connected whilst floating along the most beautiful sea in the world?
Speaking from experience, the sailing.hr trip was hella fun and you should check out our experience if this prize has piqued your interest. We have a pretty darn comprehensive guide on how to survive this trip, and we survived to tell the tale and relay the great stories we accumulated. Or you can just watch this video of our travels on the yacht – is that enough persuasion to enter today’s Christmas Calendar competition?
ALL ABOARD!!!
How To Win:
- Sign up for our newsletter here
- Facebook Like this blogpost
- Leave a comment telling us why you need to getaway in the new year and relax at Haidl-Madl.
*This offer does not include any transportation and has no cash value. The offer ends on December 1st 2016 and is subject to availability. The trip must be taken in either July or August 2016. Entries close at 7am Berlin time on December 20th, 2015
Sophie Saint was one of the original travelettes, from 2009 – 2017. After fleeing the UK with ink barely dry on her graduation certificate, she traversed the world with a backpack and spent a few years living in Melbourne – one of her favourite cities in the world.
She finally returned to the UK after a few years where she now whiles time away zipping off for European escapes, crocheting and daydreaming of owning her own hostel somewhere hot to live out eternal summers. See what she’s up to over on her blog saintsonaplane.com and instagram: @saintsonaplane
One thing first: the reason, why someone should win this awesome trip, you want to hear is related to an older post....
Have to agree with Judith - I will hence not explain why I would like to stay at Haidl-Madl (although that would have been neat, too), but why I would like to win a beautiful afternoon on a yacht.
Wait, who wouldn't wanna win that?!
I'm thinking chillout tunes, summer drinks, getting tanned while enjoying Croatia's beautiful landscape and its food. My friend from Croatia can never stop talking about it and I immediately start drooling, it sounds so delicious.
Hey fellow Travelettes!
I've been following the Christmas countdown everyday and waiting for the perfect prize to finally enter the contest and wow, I think I've found it!
Last summer I was meant to go to Croatia with my best friend. We had planned out a whole trip, the two of us planning on hitchhiking from Paris to Berlin, then down through Hungary to reach our dream destination. Unfortunately, I ended up having to cancel at the very last minute due to some family issues that made me have to return home sooner.
I was hoping to make up for it this summer, and sailing on a yacht on the beautiful Croatian seas would be the perfect way to make up for our lost voyage! The cherry on the cake of an incredible adventure, after weeks on the road backpacking, a little bit of luxury on the sparkling seas (with a glass or two of sparkling wine!). Not to mention, all of the time I'd get to spend with my best friend, my first real friend I made here in France, who I don't get to see very often anymore. It would be a perfect Travelettes story of travel and friendship.
When I close my eyes, I'm already there :)
Ich bin Mama von drei Jungs, ich glaube das sagt alles ;) VG aus Leipzig
Michèle
Long time no vacations and I need to see the blue blue sky. It looks perfect!
Because a miracle would make me smile.
Croatia, has been long on my list; amazing food, Rakoja en masse and amazing people; what more? ;)
I have never done this before but I would love to go on a yacht trip!
I have no big vacation planned for next year due to job and money reasons... So it would be great to win this sailing trip!
Happy weekend,
Jessica
Because Im in need of an adventure!! :-D
To have a trip back in the crystal clear waters of Croatia would be a dream come true. I had the pleasure of visiting Croatia 10 years ago and loved it, it would be amazing to go back and to take a friend with me to enjoy the good vibes.
I love sailing - although it has been a few years now since I last had the pleasure.
G&T on deck for sunset anyone??
I have just finished reading Girl at War by Sara Nović about the Croatian war of independence. I would love to visit Croatia and the places that I have only been imagining in my head. However, that is some pretty heavy subject matter, so it would be perfect to lighten up and have some fun afterward on a sailing trip.
My 5th wedding anniversary is this August and I would love to be able to take my husband to Croatia for a little history and a little beach relaxation.
My friend and I studied abroad together in Sweden four years ago, and since that time we've been talking about going back to Europe together for another crazy, fun adventure. We almost went on the yacht trip with you all last year (we were so bummed when we realized it wouldn't work) and have been trying to think of ways, and get our schedules to match up, to go back since then. If I were able to win that would mean getting to see one of my best friends for the first time in a year and getting to do so in Croatia! On a yacht! What could be better?!
I have never been sailing, and I have always wanted to see Croatia from the sea, so this exceptional prize is simply perfect! It would be something amazing to look forward to for next summer, and a fantastic adventure to go on with my hubby. I'm excited just thinking about it!
Oh wow! Does this trip look amazing! Every day you've been doing these giveaways I've gotten excited about the prospect of winning one that would allow me to travel somewhere I haven't been before. This truly would be the experience of a lifetime for me. It would be so fun to take this trip with my sister, to lay out in the sun and relax and take in the beautiful Dalmatian Sea and Croatia. I had a friend that did something very similar last summer and he had such a blast. Partying on a yacht in Croatia for a week may require a extra few days in the country to recuperate, but I think it would be well worth it (and a great way to see this beautiful country for longer!)
Croatia is a county that needs to be discovered not only on land but also on the sea > unwind, listen to the waves, try to catch some dolphin pictures and learn the sailing basics would certainly be very inspiring and relaxing and that's exactly why I'd looove to go there.
WOW – I just can't believe you are giving away such a great getaway. I always dreamt of sailing on a yacht! This trip just sounds amazing, I scrolled through your pictures and saw your video and was immidiately on flames. The dalmatian sea just seems to be incredible not only for sailing but also for some snorkeling, which I really love. And it would be the perfect getaway for two sisters who had an incredibly exhausting 2015 (she being busy writing her dissertion and studying for her exam and me struggeling in my first job) which didn't allow us to see each other almost at all. As the good team we always have been (and always will be) and with the survivalguide you provided we will be perfectly able to not only survive but also enjoy this great getaway to the fullest. Sailing, swimming, bathing in the sun, sipping some ice-cold beers and exploring the coast and its cities would be the perfect stress-reliefer.
Thank you for this great calender and wishing you a merry christmas.
Wahouuu, holidays on a yacht sounds like an amazing price. I dreamed about sailing in the mediteranean see after holidays in Sicily where I spotted many people enjoying exactly what you described; chilling on their boat, discovering some hidden spots and beaches along the coast only reachable by boat, going to an event in a remote beach for a night. Then Croatia and boats became part of my dream stay when I heard of the dimension festival in Pula.
What better way than your offer to fulfill this dream.
Thanks travelettes, your Christmas gift and your posts on Instagram are making me traveling in my head everyday
Croatia has always been one of the top destinations on my bucket list. Would love a chance to explore the beautiful country not only on land also on sea. Thanks Travelettes x also liked and shared this !
The idea of there being a possibility I could win this prize already goes beyond me, simply wow and thank you for giving this away to whoever will be the oh-so lucky winner.
But seriously, I've seen quite a few amazing give-aways come by this month and never really replied because I thought other people would probably be happier to win than I would be. This one however, deserves my best try.
Upcoming June I shall most probably finish my bachelor's degree and have already booked tickets to Budapest where my best friend currently resides. From there onwards, we were planning on hitchhiking via Slovenia to Croatia and follow its entire coastline. If we were to win this however, just the thought, wow, that would be so incredible. It would so much ameliorate the way we could experience its supposedly stunning views and have us experience proper relaxation and parties and music and all the amazement that would normally be beyond our budget.
Hmmm, I think I will go to sleep tonight dreaming about the chances, ha ha. But again, thank you for giving away this incredible gift to whoever is lucky enough and I will keep my fingers crossed. XXX
I'd love to sail and this is my chance to. Fingers crossed for experiencing this awesome trip!
Sailing is my dream!! Ever since reading "Love with a Chance of Drowning" by Fearful Adventurer - A Blog By Torre DeRoche and what an amazing location to experience! :D *fingers and toes crossed* <3
This has been an crazy year for me to say the least. I had several losses of pregnancies including triplets and have endured several IVF treatments. I still remain positive and have high hopes for the new year. A sailing trip in the summer would be lovely! To feel the sun and the wind on my face would make all my cares melt away.
Dear Travelettes, this is such an awesome trip and sailing around Croatia is on my bucketlist too!
And I will be 45 in Aug. next year :-)
I love boats/water/sailing and it's been a while since I went sailing.
Despite having managed to hop around some cities this year during weekends I (still) didn't have a proper holiday.
I'm the only employee where I work and it is (always) a hassle to take my holidays.
Hope it will be better next year. All work and no play is enough already.
Wow!! That's the most amazing advent calendar gift ever!! Looks like the perfect dream :) Europe has still so much to offer and Croatia simply looks awesome: nature, sea, great people, good food... All my friends who went there told me such good things about Croatia I can't wait to discover it myself. 2016 will be a great new year of new challenges for me after some difficult times and travels in Europe will be a large part of it. Would love to sail around this beautiful country :)
Since I just had to tell my girlfriend that I due to some job issues messed up our long planned four weeks trip to the US next summer, I would love to surprise her with one week of sailing in croatia. Partying, new people, the great croatian landscape and of course beautiful sea and sun might help to appease her....on top of that I could feed her insatiable hunger for the ocean (she originally comes from the North Sea and has moved to bavaria for me) and show her the attention she deserves.
Yes, who wouldn't want to win this trip! I would love to win it so I can take one of my best friends and favourite travel buddy Anna on it. Living in different countries it's hard to get together. We weren't able to go anywhere this year, so it would be awesome if we could make it in 2016- One of our first trips together was a road trip through Bosnia, Croatia, Montenegro and Serbia a couple years back, it would be amazing to go back there and just have fun, enjoy Croatia and catch up. :)
Because it would be a perfect, one of a kind summer adventure!!!
I'm learning to sail and this would be awesome. I've wanted to visit Croatia for a long time and next summer would be perfect.
Oh, Croatia is magnificent! I have only been to Dubrovnik for a few hours a couple of years ago but I absolutely fell in love with the country! Being on a yacht exploring the islands sounds beyond amazing and I think my best friend and I are the perfect team to try this once in a life time experience! My birthday is actually in August which will be the best time to use that present and to indulge myself with some adventure times!
I need to get away because I am going to leave my job for a one year sabbatical ! And I have no clear plans, yet, as to how that sabbatical will be spent.. so a yachting week in Croatia sounds about the right start :-)
As a university student living in little New Zealand who gets away overseas as often as she can (or tries to) this trip would be an absolute dream! Croatia is next on my list to get to and I can't imagine a more perfect way to do it. I'd take my best friend / flatmate / ultimate travel companion with me and our passports, bikinis and sunglasses. I can only begin to imagine how much fun we would have.
After the last year I feel like I'm in big need of a getaway, to just forget everything around me and just laugh until my belly hurts with a dear friend. What would be a better setting than a sailing ship off the coast of Croatia! I had to move of my flat of three years, barely found a new one, which turned out to be a true nightmare (recently I found out my landlady trespassed when I was at uni) and am now looking for flats again after only two months after my last move. I'm seriously having nightmares of my landlady standing in my bedroom these days. So I really really appreciate every day I can get away and every night I don't stay at my own place. Oh that's exhausting!
I need this getaway because by July/August I'll be super exausted from finishing my master's thesis and I definitively need a break before I'll get a "real" job. Also, my horoscope told me that I'll do a lot of travelling next year and that I'll be on a yacht. Although I don't believe in this stuff, I'm still wondering if it could be right at least once ;-)
Here's the thing, I actually need to win this because if I had this to look forward to for summer I could make it through my first year of teaching! Puhlease!
Um it's a yacht...does there need to be any more reasoning? Would love to sail away next summer!
Weil ich meinen tauchkurs wegen Panik abbrechen musste und so enttäuscht war von mir selbst...und einfach wieder mehr vertrauen in das Meer haben möchte...ich liebe das Meer und kann mir keinen schöneren Urlaub vorstellen!
Since it looks like i have a week of solo traveling in the summer ahead of me, this would simply be perfect! And i've been wanting to go to croatia for a while and doing it on a yacht, well how awesome would that be?!
I would absolutely love to win this trip! It has been a lifelong desire to sail around on a yacht and I could not think of a better place to do so! The water and islands look simply stunning and it would be such an amazing experience to travel around on that yacht and alternate between relaxing in the sunset, swimming in the crystal clear waters and sipping my favorite cocktail at those floating parties!
I'd like to win this trip because I spent this summer (and almost the whole year) in Scotland. I need to get some vitamin D. :) I'm sure this experience would be unforgettable and a great way to bond with someone I get to take and also to make new friends.
Croatia is on my bucket list and a sailing trip there would be amazing! I could use the sunshine after the long, dark of the Alaska winter and also a break from my lovely (albeit sometimes tiring) 4 kids. :)
I would loooooove to win this trip because, since 2011, I have been putting on hold any travel plans and other big expenses because of breast cancer. I am in remission now, but I still have to undergo a 6th surgery (should be the last one) after Xmas. As the trip to Croatia is in Summer 2016, it would be the perfect timing for me to finally celebrate the end of these stressful years. I have never been in Europe either and being on a yacht would be a dream that I never dared to think it could come true! Thank you for giving someone this opportunity of a lifetime! xoxoxo
I used to go sailing with my family when I was younger a lot. But in the last few years we never went and I really miss it. We always wanted to go to Croatia, but never did. So going on the sailing trip there with a friend and learning more about how to sail the yacht (I only know a bit about smaller boats) would be phenomenal! I was hoping for such an opportunity for a very long time!
Despite, I just finish by bachelor degree in June and this would be the perfect getaway and way to celebrate it!! Sun, Boats and Fun, all I need after a stressful semester! :)
I had a two week trip to Ireland booked two months ago (Oct.) and my friend going with me got a respiratory inflection that had her canceling 4 days before our flight. The next day I go to the gym and tare some muscle fibers in my arms. BOTH! Pain that woke me in the middle of the night and had me in tears from the pain. 3 days before a two week vacation that was suppose to include: whale watching, archery, kayaking, horseback riding, hiking, 6 buses & 5 cities... just couldn't imagine visiting Ireland and only being back to walk about while being in pain. Such a huge disappointment, we were both out about $200 for things that could be canceled :( could have been worse though! But I would love to go to her and be: "SURPRISE!!" :) lol fingers crossed!! Merry Christmas!!
Hello fellow Travelettes,
thanks for giving away such a great prize!
Winning this would feel like winning the lottery (which I never did of course :D ). If I win, I will take with me my best friend whom I met during my one year exchange in Japan and haven´t seen since we came back to Europe a few months ago.We already started to make some plans for our summer vacation,and of course, we want to spend it in an adventurous way! Like when we went in Japan for a weekend get away and tried for the first time sand boarding, SUP and surfing. I can only imagine how would sailing for a week a getting on a day trips around Dalmatian islands feel ^_^ Unfortunately, the travel fund of my friend won´t be sufficient for any big trip (and that´s also the reason we won´t see each other until summer 2016) so I dream of surprising her this way if I win.
Will my dream come true? ;)
Fingers crossed for us and for any Travelette that really needs and will win this yacht trip :)
Wow thats a triple wow over here: boot, sailing and Croatia. You are killing it with todays prize. I would love to go on this vacation in summer. I am going to be working abroad until beginning of july so this would be the perfect homecoming holiday back in europe. Also my best friend sophie is a huge sailing fan, she would go crazy for this one.
The last time I enjoyed a sailing trip, we were caught in a late season tropical depression. We battled 70 mph winds and 20' high waves; we drifted for three days before reaching land. We had no navigational equipment as it had all gone overboard and our engines seized up. A friend broke a few ribs. It was the craziest adventure to date! Now Croatia, I've always wanted to kayak there. Sailing would be even more incredible! I think it's time for a "do-over." Please?
I need to getaway because I've just recently finished my first semester at a new university (transferred into year 2) and its been so stressful trying to keep up with the new work and making friends.
Because I love Croatia and this would be a dream trip for me! :-) I could get to know other fun people! Aaaand I LOVE water, I am a Pisces ^^