Vigo to the Ionian and back to Vieste, 2027

Schedule

Planned dates. Each plan fixes its departure time from the tides and daylight on its date. Distances for legs without a plan yet are estimates; a finished plan replaces the estimate with its waypoint total.

How the route is built

• Daylight legs. Legs are kept to about 80 nm, which a 6 kn boat covers in 13 to 14 hours. Daylight in these latitudes runs from about 13.5 hours in mid-April to about 15 hours in June and about 12.5 hours in mid-September, and the longest legs fall in the long days. On the Atlantic coast in April the margins are the tightest of the voyage, and one long day ends at Sagres instead of Lagos for that reason. Long coasts without harbours are broken at the nearest sheltered stop.
• Stops chosen for nature and swimming. Where there is a choice of harbour, the stop is at or near a protected area: the Berlengas, Arrábida, the Ria Formosa, Cabo de Gata, the Columbretes, the Ebro Delta, the Calanques, Port-Cros, the Tuscan Archipelago, La Maddalena, the Pontine and Aeolian islands, Cilento, the Tremiti, the Kornati, Krka and Mljet.
• Rest days. After every 2 sailing days, or 3 short ones, there is a day in port. Longer stays are planned at Cascais, Gibraltar, Valencia, Cassis, Genova, La Maddalena, Salerno, Messina, Malta, Venice, Dubrovnik, Corfu and Lefkas.
• Weather days. An extra day is held before each exposed passage: the Gulf of Cádiz from Culatra, the Strait of Gibraltar from Barbate, the Gulf of Lion from Gruissan, the crossing to Elba from Porto-Vecchio, the run to Stromboli from Sapri, the Gulf of Taranto from Crotone, the Albanian coast from Herceg Novi and the Strait of Otranto from Othonoi. If the weather is good, it becomes a rest day.
• Spare days. The days after the last leg are kept free. A day lost early moves every later date by 1 day; the spare days at the end absorb it.

Season and weather, by region

• Galicia and Portugal (late April). North to north-west winds are the most likely, but the summer Nortada is mainly from June and Atlantic fronts still pass in April, with south-westerlies, rain and swell. Swell, not wind, decides whether the harbour bars are open.
• The Strait of Gibraltar (early May). The wind in the Strait is either east (Levanter) or west (Poniente), funnelled and stronger than outside. Tidal streams run through the Strait on top of a surface current into the Mediterranean, so the passage from Barbate is timed to the stream.
• Mediterranean Spain (May). Generally lighter winds, with sea breezes along the coast. A Levanter can still build an uncomfortable easterly sea.
• The Gulf of Lion (June). The Mistral, a cold north to north-west wind down the Rhône valley, can reach gale force with little warning and builds a steep sea across the gulf. It is less frequent in summer than in winter and spring, but still the main weather risk on the voyage. The route crosses the gulf close inshore in 2 legs, by Gruissan to Port Camargue, with a weather day held at Gruissan.
• Corsica, Sardinia and the Tyrrhenian (June). Mostly light to moderate winds and sea breezes, with Mistral spells reaching the Strait of Bonifacio. Afternoon thunderstorms in hot weather.
• South Italy, Sicily and Malta (late June and July). Settled and hot. The Strait of Messina has strong tidal currents, so the passage through it is timed to slack water.
• The Adriatic (late July and August). The maestral, a daytime north-west wind, is the usual summer pattern. The bora, a cold north-east wind, and the jugo, a south-east wind with rain, are less common in summer but both can be strong. Going up the Italian side and down the Croatian side puts the maestral behind the boat on the Croatian coast.
• The Ionian and the return (late August and early September). A north-west wind in the afternoons, usually moderate. The first autumn northerlies and thunderstorms can arrive in September on the way back up the Adriatic.

Tides

Tides matter on the Atlantic legs, from Vigo to Gibraltar, where the range is 2 to 3 m at springs and the Portuguese harbour bars depend on them. In the Mediterranean the range is small, but streams still matter in the Strait of Gibraltar and the Strait of Messina, and the northern Adriatic has a range of about 1 m at Venice.

The official 2027 tide tables were not yet published when these plans were written. Each plan uses predictions made from the TICON-4 harmonic constants (DGFI-TUM) with the Neaps tide predictor. Tested against the official APDL table for Leixões on 23 July 2026, the predicted times were within 8 minutes and the heights 0.1 to 0.2 m lower. Every plan says to check its times against the official 2027 table.

Borders and paperwork

• Gibraltar. Under the UK and EU agreement on Gibraltar, provisionally applied from 15 July 2026, entry to Gibraltar is being aligned with Schengen, and time spent there counts toward the Schengen 90-day limit (UK travel advice). Yachts clear in through their marina. How the new arrangements apply to a yacht arriving from Spain was not confirmed.
• Spain, France, Italy and Malta. All in Schengen and the EU, so there is no passport control between them. Arrival in each country still has its own rules for yachts. Malta's Valletta VTS is called on approach.
• Croatia. In Schengen and the EU since 2023, so there is no passport control arriving from Italy. A cruising fee and tourist tax are paid at the first Croatian port.
• Montenegro and Albania. Outside Schengen and the EU. Clearing out of Croatia at Dubrovnik, then into Montenegro, then Albania, where yachts usually clear in through an agent.
• Greece. Back into Schengen and the EU at Corfu. Greece charges a cruising tax (TEPAI) and requires the boat to be registered electronically. Leaving Greece for Italy on the return, a non-EU boat surrenders its Transit Log.
• The 90-day rule. Crew on non-EU passports may spend 90 days in any 180 inside Schengen. Vigo to Croatia is about 120 days inside Schengen, and Gibraltar now counts toward the limit too; the return from Greece to Italy adds more. Anyone in that position needs a plan before April.

The boat

The plans are written for a 35 to 38 ft sailing yacht with 1.9 m draught, 6 kn under sail and 5.5 kn under engine, a skipper and 3 crew. 2 things depend on the boat chosen:

• Length and the Portuguese bars. At Figueira da Foz and Nazaré, when the bar is “conditioned to 11 m”, only vessels longer than 11 m may cross. A 37 or 38 ft yacht (11.3 to 11.6 m) can; a 35 or 36 ft yacht (10.7 to 11.0 m) cannot. A 37 or 38 ft boat keeps more options open on legs 2 to 4.
• Draught. 1.9 m is checked against every harbour as each plan is built. A few of the smaller stops may need a shallower berth or an anchorage.