Visas, insurance and paperwork for a sailing workation

This is general orientation rather than legal advice: entry rules change, they differ by nationality, and only an official government source is authoritative for your passport. What follows is the shape of the thing, so you know which questions to ask and roughly what to expect.

The short version is reassuring. A sailing workation is, from a paperwork point of view, an ordinary trip: you fly in as a visitor, you sleep on a boat instead of in a hotel, and you leave by air a week later. There is no special category to apply for.

The visa question is simpler than people expect

Two practical notes. Turkey's e-visa, where it applies, is an online form that takes minutes — but do it before you fly rather than at the airport. And Croatia joining Schengen in 2023 changed the arithmetic for non-EU travellers: days there now count against the same allowance as days in Greece, France or Spain.

The 90/180 rule, which catches people out

If you hold a non-EU passport, short stays in the Schengen area are generally limited to 90 days in any rolling 180-day period, counted across the whole area rather than per country. A week in Croatia comes out of the same budget as a month in Portugal.

For most people taking one sailing week a year this is irrelevant. It matters if you are a long-term nomad already close to your limit — in which case the useful thing to know is that Turkey and Montenegro are outside Schengen, so a week on either coast does not touch that allowance at all. That is a genuine, underrated reason to pick the Turquoise Coast.

Travel insurance: what to actually check

We ask every guest to travel with insurance that includes medical cover. Most standard annual travel policies already cover everything a coastal sailing week involves, because you are a passenger on a professionally skippered vessel rather than racing or sailing offshore. But policies vary, and four things are worth reading rather than assuming.

• Medical treatment and repatriation. The non-negotiable part. Coastal Mediterranean and Thai destinations all have good hospitals, but getting home is the expensive bit.
• Sailing as a passenger. Check it is not excluded or classified as a hazardous activity. Coastal cruising on a skippered yacht is normally fine; some policies treat "sailing" oddly, so look for the wording.
• Electronics. Standard single-item limits are often lower than the value of a laptop. If your work machine is coming, check the limit and consider a separate item on the policy.
• Cancellation and curtailment. Worth having for any trip booked months ahead with a non-refundable deposit.

If you are travelling on a European passport within the EU, an EHIC or GHIC card is a useful supplement for state healthcare — but it is not insurance and it does not cover repatriation. Carry both.

What you do not need

• A sailing licence, certificate, or any qualification whatsoever. A licensed captain runs the boat; you are a guest, not crew.
• A digital nomad visa. Those exist for people relocating for months. For a one-week trip on a visitor entry, they are irrelevant.
• A special permit to work remotely. Working for your own employer abroad on a short visitor trip is what millions of people do on every business trip; the line only gets complicated for long stays or local employment.
• Special vaccinations for the Mediterranean destinations. For Thailand, check current health guidance in good time.
• Your own safety equipment. Lifejackets and everything else are on board and the captain briefs you on day one.

What to actually bring

• A passport valid well beyond your return date — six months' remaining validity is a common requirement and the easiest thing to get caught out by.
• Your e-visa confirmation, if the destination needs one.
• Your insurance policy number and the insurer's emergency phone number, saved offline on your phone as well as on paper.
• Any prescription medication in its original labelled packaging, with enough for the full trip plus a few days.
• A card that works abroad, plus some local cash for small harbour towns.

For teams, a little extra paperwork

A company booking a private charter usually wants two documents beyond the individual ones: a commercial invoice for the whole boat, which we issue against bank transfer, and a copy of the charter's insurance certificate, which HR or the operations lead can request in advance for duty-of-care files. Both are routine. The related question of whether the week is a deductible business expense is a separate conversation with your accountant, and we have written a checklist for it.