Why Two Weeks Are Better Than One
A little reminder to slow down, switch off, and take the time that really feels like time.
As the year winds down and the weather cools, we’ve been thinking a lot about time — how fast it goes, how precious it feels, and how rarely we give ourselves enough of it.
This season, we managed to sneak a week away with the family and our new grandson, Charlie. It was wonderful — but, as always, it wasn’t quite enough. There’s something about “just a week” that feels over before it’s begun. By the time you’ve unpacked, found your rhythm, and started to relax, you’re already halfway through.
Somewhere along the way, “grabbing a week” became the norm. The quick fix. The tick-box escape from the everyday. But we’ve learned — both from our own holidays and from watching thousands of you sail over the decades — that the best holidays are the ones that unfold slowly. The ones where you stop counting days and start measuring moments.
Barrie & Charlie at Finikas Taverna in Euphemia
The magic of week two
The difference between one week and two isn’t just time — it’s depth.
In week one, everyone’s still finding their bearings. You’re settling into the boat, remembering how to tie the bowline, getting your sea legs back, and perhaps still mentally shaking off the last few work emails that snuck through before take-off. The children are adjusting, meeting new friends, learning the ropes — literally and figuratively.
But then comes week two. The boat feels like home. The crew know each other’s rhythms. And for the younger sailors, something quite wonderful happens — they disappear. Not behind screens, but into adventures. You’ll spot them laughing from the quay, exploring ruins, or helping someone reel in a fish — completely absorbed in the kind of freedom that’s hard to find anywhere else.
For the grown-ups, it’s much the same. You’ve relaxed enough to stop looking at the clock. Meals stretch longer. Books get finished. The conversations drift. You start wondering — or should we say meandering further than Fiskardo (pictured below) — towards the places where the Wi-Fi is weak (and what a blessing that is).
Barrie & Tassos at The Captain's Cabin in Fiskardo
Further away, in every sense
Two weeks lets you get further away — literally and figuratively.
With an extra seven days, you can sail beyond the obvious. Past the postcard-perfect harbours and into the tucked-away anchorages that one-week holidaymakers never reach. You’ll discover tavernas that TripAdvisor hasn’t, swim in bays you’ll have all to yourself, and finally escape those “tourist traps” that the shorter holidays can’t quite avoid.
By the end of week two, you’ll have stories that could only happen in Greece — not in guidebooks or glossy brochures, but in small, unplanned moments. A local fisherman sharing a plate of grilled octopus.
A last-minute decision to stay put for another night because the sunset was too good to leave behind. The feeling that you’ve not just visited, but truly belonged somewhere — if only for a while.
Back to the good old days
When we first started Sailing Holidays, flights to Greece were few and far between. Every holiday was two weeks long — and everyone seemed all the happier for it. People travelled slowly, stayed longer, and came home properly rested (and a little more tanned).
For those of us in the slightly older generation — myself included — two weeks allows us to return to the pace of life we all remember. Before computers even existed. Certainly, before tavernas had Wi-Fi, and long before boats had in-mast furling. In those days, we relied on paper charts, hand signals, and instinct. Bikini tops were optional in most places (those were the days!) — and a good anchorage was judged not by its mobile reception, but by the quality of its taverna wine and the friendliness of its owner.
There was a gentleness to travel then. A sense of discovery that wasn’t rushed or curated — it just happened. And, truthfully, it’s still there, waiting — if you give yourself the time to find it.
Anyway, before I get myself into trouble, I’d best round things off there.
Here’s to taking the time
Next year, as we celebrate our 50th year afloat, we’ll be taking our own advice. We’re taking the family on a whole two-week holiday — something we haven’t done in far too long. And we’d love to see as many of you as possible doing the same.
Because in a world that’s constantly speeding up, perhaps the greatest luxury left is time — the kind you don’t have to rush, capture, or count.
If you fancy joining us for two weeks next summer, well… we can’t think of a better way to celebrate fifty years afloat — together, out where the Wi-Fi is weak and the memories are strong.
Drop the team a line to find out what options they've got on offer.