Sustainable travel in Europe is no longer a niche market; it’s a movement, just like slow travel. Not only are airfare and driving costs rising due to the crisis in the Middle East, but many people with vacation plans are looking for alternatives.
In addition to a train trip or an active cycling or hiking vacation, traveling by sailboat is also a sustainable alternative. After all, emissions are virtually zero when powered by wind. This is one of the reasons why sustainable city trips by sailboat are gaining popularity.
Gaze endlessly at the horizon
For many European destinations, you really don’t need to take a plane or a car. And certainly not if you want to travel in an environmentally conscious way. Globally, tourism is responsible for nearly 9% of greenhouse gas emissions. Air travel has a significant impact: recent studies estimate that aviation accounts for about half of the tourism sector’s direct emissions.
According to the Dutch Knowledge Institute for Mobility Policy (KiM), air travel is even responsible for 74% of the CO2 emissions from all vacations, while car vacations account for about 19%.
A wind-powered sailing connection can also be the perfect conscience-easer for environmentally conscious consumers. Plus, you can travel nice and slow, gaze endlessly at the horizon or the seagulls, and the wind even turns the pages of that novel you’ve been meaning to read for so long.
Sail with a 130-year-old vessel
Belgium does not yet have an extensive network of sustainable sailing city trips like the Netherlands or Scandinavia, but a small market for wind-assisted travel is emerging – primarily from Ostend, Nieuwpoort, and Antwerp.
Fair Ferry stands out among these offerings: they aim to make the sea voyage itself an alternative to the traditional city trip. Following a successful first edition, they are once again organizing a fully wind-powered sailing route between Rotterdam and Antwerp this summer.
The journey from Rotterdam and Antwerp, or vice versa, takes place aboard the sailing ship Bonnefooi, a 130-year-old vessel, and lasts 7 days, 5 of which are spent at sea and 2 in the destination city. The price for the entire period is €4,950.
During the trip, you’ll sail through Oosterschelde National Park, past the Grevelingen (Europe’s largest saltwater lake), and through the Zeeland Delta. Along the way, there’s time to swim, go ashore, and discover places that remain hidden to most travelers if you choose a different mode of transport.
Guests can also actively participate in sailing on board, for example, by helping to hoist sails, navigate, or steer, but nothing is mandatory. It is precisely this shared experience that makes a trip special, emphasize skippers Anna Dupont and Paul Lansbergen. “Skippers and guests temporarily form a small community on board.” Or, as they put it themselves: The journey itself becomes part of the experience, making this city trip not only eco-friendly but also more meaningful.
Other options
Fair Ferry is certainly not the only company organizing such an alternative trip. EcoClipper is a Dutch company that transports cargo by sailing ship and carries passengers, with the ambition of sailing worldwide.
For those seeking a more adventurous experience, there is also Find A Crew, a platform where ship owners and crew members can connect and leave reviews.
Cargo Ship Voyages also offers longer voyages on cargo ships, though these do involve emissions, including routes between European ports. And Cargoholidays arranges trips on cargo and sailing ships for travelers who consciously choose to travel slowly and with lower emissions.
On the Belgian coast, companies such as Naveco-Consulting BV, Zeiltocht, and Flexi Sailing offer multi-day sailing trips, sailing vacations, and sailing weekends.
So, let the wind guide you, because as the saying goes, “Man does not discover new oceans if he does not have the courage to lose sight of the coast.”
