My first trip on a sailing catamaran - the Ruby Sunday - was much anticipated and lived up to all my expectations. Even though the weather was showery and windy, it made for a great sailing experience, and we'll be back next year to try out some sunny weather. The boat had everything we needed and the pre-briefing by Mike really helped us get familiar with all the features and safety aspects. Can't recommend highly enough!
Fantastic week spent o. Lucy. Fantastic Loy supported by Brad during the week giving great trip suggestions and always available for any questions. Spent the week exploring beaches, snorkelling, whale, dolphin and turtle watching, swimming and exploring. Will definitely be returning. Our only complaint was that the coffee machine didn't work.
Thanks John for another amazing sailing experience on Lucy! We love that girl!
What more could you ask for, excellent skipper, smooth sailing, blue waters, & wonderful Island walks,
Great crew to sail with and very enjoyable food & wine. Thanks to Whitsunday Provisions for looking after our needs so well.
Look forward to our next Adventure in the not too distant future.
Had a five day excursion on Lucy in October 2019, with one other couple. The intro was quick & but thorough my mate is an experienced yacht skipper so made everything easy. Totally blown away by the space & facilities on this beautiful vessel. Both our wives still talk about as the best trip of their lives, for me it was very relaxing & a ton of fun
Being your own skipper allowed us a freedom to explore that is very special & unheard of in this day & age I have recommended Portland Roads to all of my friends & I cant wait to get back onboard next year
Alan hearing 'Time of Our Lives' leaves little in the tank, besides coming back and doing it all again. Mate all of our team here at Portland Roads - Sailing the Whitsundays thank you so much for choosing to sail with us. Your comments about "being your own skipper and having freedom to explore as you please" sum up the adventurous nature of this opportunity; and in a world of red tape and governance, we are so proud to offer such an experience. Until next time; Fair Winds and Blue Skies
We have just spent the most fabulous 12 days sailing aboard SY Ruby Sunday. Mike kept us up to date with weather reports each day and stepped us through every aspect of sailing unassisted, allowing us the freedom to explore the Whitsundays at our own pace. John was absolutely brilliant and so helpful for our short notice booking. We are already making plans to return again next year. You can't go past the team at Portland roads. These guys make you part of the family.
We chartered Ruby Sunday for 6 nights. Best holiday ever!
John was out skippering another yacht but managed to appear with gems of knowledge just when we needed it. Mike was the best instructor and a wizard with our daily schedules. Even a complete novice would be sweet sailing with these guys. Portland roads are nailing the Whitsundays and you'd be mad to charter from anyone else.
Peter you beauty, what a cracking review. This is holiday gold (and sailing gold).
Thanks for the happy snaps too!
And a little bird has told us that you are sneaking back up here to do it all again - Woo Hoo - Welcome Back
I do not have enough words to explain how incredible our experience with Portland Roads was!
Myself and seven girls self-skippered the Portland Roads Catamaran and were overwhelmed with the quality of the boat, service and support through out 7 day adventure.
After planning our trip with John, and being orientated by Mike, we truly could not have had a more pleasant experience if we tried.
Their team are highly educated and were able to assist us navigate some of the most beautiful locations I've ever seen.
Thank you SO much team at Portland Roads, we cannot wait to return again! Lauren :)
Lauren, it's always such a buzz seeing the magic of the Ngaro Sea Country weave Whitsundays' wonder amongst our guests.
Your review has also cast a spell and our team - Thank you for choosing Portland Roads - Sailing the Whitsundays
We chartered Ruby Sunday in May 2021 for 6 nights. Best holiday ever! We already booked our next holiday on Whitsunday Freedom! We will have another epic holiday to die for! Thank you to the Portland Roads Staff in helping secure the boats :)
Love the photos, Love the feedback and truly appreciate the support for our little bespoke business
Brilliant experience, Great intro by Deano who taught basically how to sail in a couple of hours. The itinerary suggested by Deano worked perfectly with the weather especially the predicted wind changes. Spot on. Boat was really well set, comfortable, easy to use.We sailed for 4 out of 6 days, Great weather, great snorkelling, great food, Would thoroughly recommend Portland Roads to anyone thinking of sailing Whitsundays.
Just finished a 6 day sail on " Lucy " around the Whitsundays. Just the best thing I've done, it was amazing. With no experience in sailing Brad showed how easy it was. Fantastic boat, very stable & with Brads great knowledge & daily support made this adventure easy. This has to be everyone's bucket list.!
I went on with 8 other people, the space of the boat worked great between all of us. The food and drink storage was superb, we didn't have to restock once, we did our one shop, which with the space provided lasted us the whole week. The quality of the boat, amenities and utensils was awesome, good quality kitchen appliances. We found the boat easy to manage. The communication between Mike and ourselves was easy, he was always there when ever we needed guidance. All together amazing trip, and extremely happy we experienced it. Highly recommended!
Reviews like this make our efforts all the more worth while! Thank you Holly. Our dedicated team and our bespoke business do all we can to offer the best boats at the best price in one of the best places on planet earth. The depth of detail in your review picks up on many of the smaller things we do to make a difference. Sincere thanks from all of us at Portland Roads - Sailing the Whitsundays
From the time we booked to getting on the boat and sailing away, I could not fault the service and professionalism of the team at Portland Roads. The boat was immaculate and the little extras (like coffee machine, tips on where to go and what to see) made all the difference. Would highly recommend Portland Roads to anyone wishing to sail the Whitsundays.
Julie, thank you so much for the warm words and great feedback! It was an honour hosting you and we look forward to you coming back to the Ngaro Sea Country of the Whitsundays again. Wodda Moolie Naana Naana Dook from all of the team at Portland Roads - Sailing the Whitsundays
We found Portland Roads Catarmaran extraordinary spacious, comfortable, economical with running cost & a paradise on water. Sailing on the Whitsundays we certainly will do again & is highly recommend. It had state of the art equipment, also with the onboard tender provided accessible to all locations. More than we could ever dream of. I looked into many other bare boat charters & spoke to people who had rented with other companies & nothing compared to the quality & service given by Portland Roads. Skippering a 44 foot boat for newbies was at first very daunting but mike was incredible. He has a wealth of experience on the Whitsundays & Portland roads. Communications twice a day giving the rundown of the weather, updates & very thorough. I could not rank them high enough
Love the photos, Love the Feedback, Love the 5 Star Review and truly appreciate your wonderfully warm words.
Rance (may we now call you Captain Rance), it was such a pleasure hosting you and Sharyn on your honeymoon.
Thank you for choosing to holiday in Australia and for choosing to sail with our team here at Portland Roads - Sailing the Whitsundays
AMAZING! Thank you to the Portland Roads team for the most awesome experience of our lives! Right from the moment of booking we received the highest level of support and first class service! Our dream holiday became a reality and a life changing experience with memories that will last our family a lifetime! THANK YOU and... see you all when we return in the new year!
These guys cared about us. We received a world class yacht which was in stellar condition. My finace, our son and I loved the whole experience and will be back. Service was a winner the entire time. The team gave us all the information we needed to try the adventure for ourselves but never feel out of our depth, they touched base with us as backup but were never in our pocket. Personally, it was some of the best time I've had with my son in years. The Whitsundays speak for themselves and are top three globally for us. Especially right now as it was less busy out there. So happy with did this trip, thanks Portland Roads.
One of the best trips I've ever been on! We did it without a skipper which seems scary at first but once we were out there it's was so rewarding doing it all by ourselves. The Whitsundays are stunning and doing it by boat was even more special. Portland's roads was a luxe boat with great facilities and ammenities. Our skipper Michael was very informative during our briefing and his enthusiasm made us super keen for our trip. Would love to do it again and highly recommend!
Jessica thank you so much for your kind words. We agree that there's something magical about the Ngaro Sea Country of the Whitsundays. Conquering the adventure as skipper on your own private yacht for the week, adds so many levels to the spell. Mike spoke so highly of you and your crew; and we'd all be honoured to host you again. Your feedback is Gold - Thanks again!
What an incredible experience! Spending a week on the Portland Roads boat was near perfect.The boat itself is stunning, comfortable and spacious. The back of the boat with the outdoor dining table made for the perfect meal/chill position, and for the sunny days the shade cloths were a perfect protection from the sun. The front of the boat is very spacious and with the comfortable daybeds made for an amazing afternoon watching the beautiful sunsets. Josh our skipper was INCREDIBLE! He was super friendly, very knowledgeable and took us to beautiful places! I also felt very safe with him in charge. I hope to get the chance to holiday with Portland Roads again very soon! And would highly recommend booking with them for anyone wanting a perfect holiday through the beautiful Whitsundays!
Fantastic first time experience for all six of us, We enjoyed the snorkelling, sailing, whale watching, motor boating, fishing, swimming, navigating, star gazing, beach walking, exploring islands, nature, scenery - all together an amazing trip with many great moments and memories.
A fabulous 7 nights onboard Due West. We took up the stay early leave late option at the Marina. Making full use of the Ocean Club right next door. The Whitsunday Islands are just stunning. With expert advice from Deano we were able to snorkel with turtles, see Humpback Whales and beautiful sunsets.
Our briefer Mike was exceptional and explained everything extremely clearly. We had some great pointers and felt very comfortable the whole trip. Brilliant experience with an outstandingly professional company! Loved every minute on Ruby Sunday.
Overview
Portland Roads has a rating of 4.5 stars from 355 reviews, indicating that most customers are generally satisfied with their purchases. Reviewers satisfied with Portland Roads most frequently mention sailing experience, southern man and bucket list. Portland Roads ranks 1st among Cruises sites.
Instant Feedback
You’ll grab up to 8 family and friends to join you (loosely called your crew).
Then for as little as $199 per person, per sailing day, you will become the skipper and sail the Ngaro Waters and Islands of the Whitsundays (74 islands, but who’s counting?)
For 6 days / 5 Nights you will live in and on the World Heritage listed Great Barrier Reef.
You will slip into Whitsundays time where your week with us will feel more like the most relaxing month of your life. You will live aboard one of our Lagoon Sailing Catamarans, sipping bubbles at sunset and cooking up a storm in the galley.
You will leave as a new custodian of our extraordinary reef and realise that adventure still lives in us all – No experience is necessary!
Business History
We are now passionate custodians of the Ngaro Waters and Islands of the Whitsundays and Great Barrier Reef.
We are Australian owned, operated and staffed. We are locals, employing locals. We passionately employ local Ngaro Elders. We care as much about you and your experience, as we do for the 74 Ngaro Islands and Waters of the Whitsundays.
To start our story, we sought permission to Sail in the Wake and Walk in the Footsteps of our First Nations people.
We now respectfully interpret 60,000 years of mainland Yuwibara, Koinmerburra, Barara Barna, Wiri, Juru and Gia history, Along with 9,000 years of Ngaro island and seafaring stories.
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- Sitejabber’s sole mission is to increase online transparency for buyers and businesses
- Sitejabber has helped over 200M buyers make better purchasing decisions online
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Vicki this is so heart warming to read and so typical of your generosity. LUCY holds her head high and is perfect for anyone's Whitsundays sailing holiday. It was an honour hosting you again and on your return charter we might introduce you to our new boat. For now, she's a secret. Stay in touch through our social media pages for imminent news! Thank you again for your 5 Star Review, we are humbled. (We have also passed on our feedback to Alan and his team at Whitsunday Provisioning) Wodda Moolie - Until next time - Fair Winds and Blue Skies