Island Hopper Cruise
Private Charter

You will find us at Paihia Beach. We won’t be hard to find once you get there, just walk along the beach and you will see the catamaran anchored very close to the shoreline, with our sign writing. If you’re not sure, search Google Maps for Barefoot Sailing Adventures and you will easily find us. The crew will be on board getting it ready for our sailing adventures so give them a wave and have a seat on a bench or a nice sandy spot on the beach, they will meet you on the beach when the boat is ready to board.

Absolutely! But not too wet – you will have to step into the water to get onto the boat, one of the catamarans boards straight from the beach, the other is by dinghy. Sometimes it is ankle or calf deep, other times a wave will roll in and it may be up to your knees. So kick your shoes off and roll up your trousers before you step aboard. Sometimes we get the odd wave splash on the boat, it’s all part of the fun!

Just the usual – bottle of water, warm clothing, a jacket, footwear for island walks, swimwear, towel, hat, sunglasses and sunblock – please do not spray sunblock, it eats the paint.

Please do bring clothing that you can cover up with, the summer sun can be intense on your skin so be prepared for this as much as the possibility of cool wind.

Nope, just like the name suggests we are Barefoot Sailing Adventurers!  Kick off your shoes at the shore and experience the Kiwi barefoot culture for yourself, it’s quite liberating!

No, the boat sits flat while sailing which means it is a very comfortable experience, especially for first-time sailors or families with children. There is plenty of deck space and we have bean bags to relax on if you are sitting on the front half of the boat, the back half has seating.

Yes, our skipper loves to get people involved if they want to take the helm or help set the sails. There are some conditions or points of sail that it is not practical to have others helm the boat, but for the most part you are very welcome.

The Island Hopper Cruise includes a morning tea/coffee and biscuits. A delicious packed picnic lunch, a delicious deli sandwich, fruit, lamington cake, nut bar & chips. A cold drink on the return sail. We do have Vegetarian, Vegan, Gluten Free, Dairy Free options available by request. Please note: these are not suitable for serious food allergies as we can’t guarantee there is no cross contamination of food. There are also additional special catering options available. You are welcome to self cater food if you wish.

Yes, we have a range of options for catering if you would like special arrangements made which differ from our usual picnic lunches, at an additional cost.

Yes we do! There is also an area to get changed inside the cabins.

Yes, we do. We use the motor to get in and out of the beach to anchor. We just love sailing! So we like to sail as much as possible, the boat performs far better under sail than under motor so sailing it is! There are times where if there is not enough wind to reach our destination we will have to use the engine or keep to our time schedule.

Yes, we often see dolphins, not every day but they are there and if they happen to be where we are sailing it is a lovely experience to see them play around the boat. We like to advise you that the Bay of Islands is a Marine Mammal Sanctuary. The resident dolphins are very sensitive to human and boat interaction, we do not encourage any interaction with them. For this reason, we will not follow them nor do we do any swimming with them. We prefer to leave them to do what dolphins do best – be dolphins in the wild!

We have children of all ages on our cruises, even babies on occasion. An ideal age is 4yo and up, however, some families are used to being in the outdoors environment so if this is you then great, there is no minimum age requirement! The sailing time on the Island Hopper Cruise is max 2 hours at a time, as we have a 2 hour island stopover for lunch. (2 hour sail, 2 hours ashore, 2 hour sail) This gives the kids a break (and parents) from being on board with a good amount of beach time, and we find they are usually entertained with all the goings-on during the sailing time. If your child is exceptionally active this might not be too well suited as we can’t allow them to run around the boat, but gentle play is ok, and we are really happy for interactive kids to join the sailing.

Our experience is that if both parents are very nervous on the boat the kids are hard to manage, so one confident parent is the key to a good day sailing. If you are unsure please call. We are happy to chat with you about it, and we’d love you to enjoy an amazing family day experiencing the Bay of Islands with us.

New Zealand can be tricky to plan for with the weather, particularly when choosing outdoor activities. So to be realistic you just have to be prepared for anything as we can’t promise that every day will be a perfect summer’s day.

We do try our best and are very vigilant when it comes to weather, the skipper is well informed with different weather forecasting models.

Safety is always our foremost concern, then comfort. We are generally not too bothered by a rain shower here or there. The seating of the boat is on deck in the open air, so we have rain ponchos to cover up and stay warm/dry, or you can pop down into the cabins if you want. If the forecast looks like a serious day of rain, which will make the trip a misery then we will cancel/postpone, as we would like our guests to have a good experience.

The skipper is experienced to make decisions based on the weather, and the final decision will be theirs (keeping in mind that we are reliant on the information that is given to us, we can’t promise the forecast will be 100% correct).

We have a strict operational policy to follow when it comes to weather cancellations. Cancellation of the cruise by the Barefoot Sailing Adventures staff will happen on the morning of the scheduled cruise when we get the latest weather update possible, please check your emails at 8:30 am for any updates. We will try to make contact by phone the day before if we have early warning, but phone communication can be difficult with people travelling and the possibility of bad reception or overseas calling numbers not working, so always check your emails at 8:30 am. If we decide to cancel, a full refund will be given if we can’t make alternative arrangements for another day that suits your travel plans.

We understand that everyone has a different level of comfort when it comes to the weather, and we do our best to make everyone as comfortable as we possibly can. Sometimes people are not used to the wind, the sea state, salty splashes, a bit of rain, or even the sunshine. But as Kiwis, this is all part of our lifestyle, and it is how New Zealand has become so well known for its adventure tourism because we are so good at it!

The amount of the charter price is in New Zealand Dollars, incl GST.

Private charters require a 50% deposit requirement to secure booking for the day. The full amount is required to be paid 30 days prior to charter date, if this is not paid the charter is considered cancelled and cancellation fee will apply.

Cancellations of more than 30 days prior to the charter date will forfeit 25% of the charter fee.

Cancellations within 30 days of the charter date will forfeit 50% of the charter fee.

Cancellations within 14 days of the charter date will forfeit 100% of the charter fee.

In case of a “NO SHOW” no refund will be given, 100% charter fee will apply.

Barefoot Sailing Adventures reserves the right to change, postpone, or cancel the arranged charter due to adverse weather which might pose a risk to the safety of the operation, any mechanical issues or other unforeseeable event, or make a change of vessel booked to ensure the charter will proceed in circumstances that require this operational decision to be made. In the case that Barefoot Sailing Adventures deems it necessary to postpone the charter date, a full refund of the charter fee will apply in the circumstance that alternative arrangements for another date can not be made. Any refund will be in New Zealand Dollars, and will not be liable for any differences in the exchange rate.

We recommend our guests hold a comprehensive travel insurance policy in case of any unexpected changes in their travel plans that may incur a cancellation fee.