Alghero: Tall Ship Sailing Day Trip with Lunch & Wine

4.95

(361 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

I’ll admit, I signed up for the Andrea Jensen sailing day trip mostly because I’d never been on a real tall ship before — not sure what I pictured, maybe something out of an old movie? But seeing that 86-year-old Danish boat at Alghero port, all polished wood and those deep red sails, felt oddly moving. Rachel greeted us with this easy warmth (she’s British, so there was tea) and Colin was already joking about “proper wind” before we even left the dock.

The coast from Alghero to Capo Caccia looks different from the water — cliffs kind of glowing in the sun, and you can actually smell wild herbs drifting off the land. There were just eight or nine of us on board, plus crew. At one point I tried helping hoist the sail (not as easy as it looks), and Li laughed when I tried to say “buongiorno” to another guest in Mandarin — probably butchered it. The main keyword here is slow: slow sailing, slow conversation, even lunch was this long pause with local cheese and cold meats and some pasta Genovese that tasted way better than it looked.

Anchored in Porto Conte Bay for a couple hours — water so clear you could count pebbles on the bottom. Some folks jumped straight in; I hesitated but ended up snorkeling for ages (they have gear onboard). There’s this silence underwater except for your own bubbles. Later, sitting on deck with a glass of Vermentino and my towel drying stiff in the breeze… I still think about that view back toward Capo Caccia’s cliffs. Dolphins didn’t show up for us that day but honestly it didn’t matter.