This was truly amazing holiday right from the start with *** welcoming us on to *** the sailing catamaran sharing his knowledge of the islands and making sure we were comfortable with operating the boat it was an experience that will go down as one of the best
I sailed on both Ruby Sunday and Portland Roads, two beautiful boats in paradise. Stunning turquoise waters, white sands, gorgeous views and of course snorkeling with huge Maori wrasse and feeding bat fish right off the boat. Could not ask for a better trip!
Just returned from my second Whitsundays sailing trip with Portland Roads - what an amazing experience, again! A truly professional company who go out of their way to make your holiday comfortable, exciting, adventurous, and so much fun. Will be back for a third trip!
I loved this holiday. My second time on Whitsundays - the most beautiful and stress free sailing in the world. "Southern Man", our home for a week, was well equipped and a perfect fit for 4 couples. *** provided an excellent briefing & did everything he could to help us get the very best from our stay. We definitely will be back.
This was our second stay on Due West and it was just as wonderful as it was the first time. The boat is very well equipped. *** was fantastic and the communication was excellent so everything went very smoothly.
We chose the early check-in and late check out which makes everything so much easier and relaxing.
We felt very safe and had an amazing time. I cannot wait to come back again and will definitely use Portland Roads again.
I just love being out on the water. No better way to truely relax!
WOW - what an amazing experience! Went away with a couple of girlfriends for 5 nights and cant believe how simple navigating around the islands was. I boarded a very exhausted mum of 3 and disembarked refreshed and rested... my husband thinks it took 10 years off my face Ÿ˜‰ John and his team are consummate professionals and awesome to deal with. Best holiday ever and will be back again!
What a magical experience it was, sailing the beautiful Whitsunday Islands with Portland Roads!
Thank you to the team, who went above and beyond to make sure our holiday was one we will never forget. I highly recommend Portland Roads. While this was my first time sailing with them, it will certainly not be my last!
Everyone needs to do this once in their lifetime - WOW! With John handling the booking we were spoiled with information. We used Whitsunday Provisioning so arrival to the boat was a breeze. And what a boat! We'd booked Portland Roads, what an inspiring choice, she's beautiful. Mike's briefing was exactly what us land lubbers needed and his daily calls helped create a holiday we will never forget. Thanks Mike. Everything about this holiday was Gold. Next year was going to be sailing the Med, not now - We're all coming back, please look after our boat until then. Love and Laughter Leriah
Wonderful trip
Thanks to John, Mike and the team for an amazing 5 days aboard the Ruby Princess. After a 3 hour instruction session we took off ourselves to explore the beauty of the Whitsunday Islands. The boat was amazing and the team at Portland Road could not have been more accomodating. Their reef preservation work is also highly commendable. Dont go anywhere else.
We had a great time aboard the Southern Man. Staff at Portland Roads were very helpful.
Mark (owner of Souther Man) was a pleasure to deal and highly recommend a sailing trip on his catamaran. We will definitely go again next year.
Terrific Experience
Our family of 6 adults enjoyed 5 terrific nights aboard The Portland Roads sailing the Whitsundays. Our instruction session was about 4 hours before we departed, but was in the main, very good. The boat was comfortable and had everything you require similar to a serviced apartment. Easy to operate we enjoyed Hook Island and Whitsunday island mainly, from anchoring off Whitehaven beach to snorkelling in multiple places. The daily scheduled check ins with Mike also provided guidance and peace of mind. Would recommend.
Absolutely incredible week. One of the best holidays weve been on. Completely unique experience staying on the water, we saw whales, dolphins and turtles. Super helpful and easy going staff, cant wait to book in again.
Immersing yourself into this experience left us in a holiday state never experienced before. To learn how to skipper the boat Portland Roads in itself, was so rewarding. To meet such passionate people in business and to learn so much became an added bonus. Our kids loved john's stories about the Ngaro and the marine park. We've joined the Big Blue Army and we will be back, very soon. Thank you from the Needham crew.
Loved our holiday on Lucy, she is a well equipped catamaran with everything you need to enjoy sailing the WhitSundays. It was a pleasure dealing with the staff from Portland Roads (especially Deano) as they had a high level of experience, knowledge and were professional and friendly. I would highly recommend them to anyone wanting this sort of holiday.
Wow! What a holiday.( Whitsunday wonders beyond our expectations). Due to circumstances beyond our control our eventual numbers were reduced to level where we had inadequate knowledge and physicalresource to sail Lucy to its full potential: In stepped Captain John of Portland Roads to rescue the holiday. He skippered the boat, allowed us to participate as much as we wanted and we visited the "nooks and crannies" that we could only dream of reaching under our own efforts. Thanks for an unbelievable holiday Captain -you made it truly wonderful! L&K, P&B xxxx ( Your friends forever)
Anybody considering a bareboat trip to the Whitsunday Islands should use Portland Roads. We chartered Southern Man and this was the most beautiful catamaran that I have sailed. It had plenty of space and storage, easy to use sails, auto pilot and plenty of fuel, water and energy. Mark Mcpherson was excellent as our briefer and made us feel confident and at ease with the boat. He also assisted with transfers and the use of his van for the pick up of provisions. He facilitated our scheduled call ins and provided advice on weather and entry to bays and coves. I can't recommend Mark Mcpherson and Southern Man enough. Easily the best bareboat charter opportunity in the Whitsundays. Well done on making our trip one to remember.
Firstly our sincerest thanks go to *** whose service to ensuring our trip was the absolute best experience was another level. He took all care and responsibility to ensure that all our mooring spots were diverse, beautiful, and most importantly safe. He carefully crafted a well thought out itinerary with lots of exciting spots on the way. The boat itself was perfectly fitted out and we did not lack for a thing on board. Everything was immaculate clean upon our arrival and all efforts were made by *** and his team to help us disembark as quickly and seamlessly as possible. Thanks again for absolutely everything and we look forward to travelling on any of your Portland vessels again in the near future. Weve got the bug!
What an unforgettable experience. The relaxed, friendly and professional service from Mark was 5 star. We felt very confident as we sailed out of the Marina after Marks thorough induction and sailing training. Knowing that we would hear from him twice a day was reassuring. Couldn't recommend this experience more highly. Wish we were still there. Dave and Andy & Co
I cant rave enough about the experience we had on the Due West on our recent trip. Portland Road made everything easy for us. Deano gave us all the information we needed for a safe trip.The boat was all decked out with everything we needed for a relaxing, fun adventure... including a coffee machine! Waking up to a fresh coffee, and immersing myself in the spectacular beauty of the Whitsundays was mind-blowing. Sailing around the islands and swimming at White Haven Beach was absolutely breathtaking. An experience i will never forget and one i have not stopped encouraging people to book. Its great value and a lasting memory.
Wonderful 5 days on "Southern Man".
4 couples were very comfortable. The catamaran is very stable and is equipped with everything needed for an enjoyable stay. Our skipper and his "crew" found the boat very easy to manage and were experts after a very comprehensive induction by *** who could not do enough for us, including collecting us from the airport and return. The Whitsundays are an unforgettable experience, from the clear blue waters of Whitehaven beach to the many sightings of whales very close to our vessel. Loved every minute. We will be back!
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
- Suspicious reviews are flagged by our algorithms, moderators, and community members