Galicia

Galicia’s Rías Baixas offer a rare blend of ocean drama and ria tranquillity. A necklace of deep, fjord-like inlets, screened from the Atlantic by protective islands, creates day-sailing passages with character and choice: open-water reaches outside; flat-water pilotage, anchorages and charming towns inside. The Cíes Islands – the turquoise heart of a national park – add pristine anchorages and white-sand crescents that feel a world away, yet lie less than 10 nautical miles from Vigo and Baiona. Summer brings a dependable northerly ‘Nortada’ and clean sea breezes, while the rías soften swell and shorten fetch, making this one of Europe’s most rewarding summer cruising grounds for competent crews. Expect proper pilotage with tides, marks and mussel rafts to thread; expect seafood suppers and stone harbours at day’s end.