We've wintered in Marina Real Juan Carlos I, again this year.  When we first wintered here  back in 2008/09, we found that this marina offered everything you need at a very affordable price.  The location is great, and the marina one of the best we've found!

Marina Juan Carlos is a a nice sized marina (630 berths) lying on the east coast of Spain, in Valencia. Even though there is not much of a "yacht community", it has a lot to offer, and the marina is only about 10 minutes from downtown Valencia.  Being very close to Malvarrosa beach (but not so close as you get too much foot traffic), it makes a great place to experience the Spanish Mediterranean during the winter days (which are relatively mild and can be very pleasant).

Marina Juan Carlos is a fairly new marina that was built as part of the venue for the 32nd America’s Cup. Although the Americas Cup has not returned to Valencia, much of the infrastructure is still in place (team lofts like Ahlingi, Prada and Shooshaloza still remain).  The marina is still slowly evolving, with some amenities like Accastillage Diffusion (AD), but still has no boat yard or haul-out facilities to speak of (these facilities CAN be found on the other side of the shipping port just a couple miles south at the Real Club Nautico - Valencia).

The marina has excellent security, is very clean and the staff and marinaras are extremely nice.  You get discounted prices for prolonged stays (10% for 1-month, 20% for 2-months and 30% for more than 3-months - paid-in-advance) with power and water included.  All this at a price that is one of the best we've seen in the Western Med - Check them out at: www.marinarealjuancarlosi.com

A very warm August finds us visiting the small country of Montenegro.  We decided to make a brief stop to explore Montenegro on the way south to Greece - It seemed like a great destination and it was a good detour on the way from Croatia to Greece! .

We had heard good things about the Gulf of Kotor while we where in Malta earlier in the season.  After we did a little research to see what the newly formed country had to offer (it separated from Serbia in 2006).  We discovered that the small country was on the "up and coming" list, and offered a whole host of tourist sites and great anchorages, a wonderful place to spend a week or two
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June, July & August finds us in Croatia (with a quick hop over to Venice).  We have always planned on a trip to Croatia, but really haven't had a chance to set the sails and head North until now. And it was great timing...

On our way East, during our stay in Malta, we realized our next likely EU country would be Greece.  We don't usually pay much attention to the Schengen regulations, limiting non-EU citizens to only a 90-day stay in any\all Schengen countries (which are most EU countries).

We're wintering in Marina Real Juan Carlos I, a marina lying on the east coast of Spain.  The marina is about 10 minutes from downtown Valencia and is  right beside Malvarrosa beach.

Juan Carlos is a brand new Marina that was built as part of the infrastructure for hosting the 32nd America’s Cup in Valencia (and rumored to host the upcoming 33rd America’s Cup). We see the racing boats of Ahlingi, Oracle/BMW, Prada and the rest of the pack sailing out the gates (less than 50 meters away) and practicing outside the breakwater daily...a very exciting spot for racing enthusiasts! - Check them out at: www.marinarealjuancarlosi.com

Over 80 yachts visiting 3 continents and 6 countries, the 2008 EMYR was a great experience! Within 2-months we sailed from Northern Turkey to Port Said Egypt, stopping and seeing some of the greatest sites in the Eastern Med.

Stay tuned for pictures and more details on all the best ports...

We wintered in Marmaris for the 2007/2008 winter season. Marmaris Yacht Marina is about 3 miles from the center of Marmaris, Turkey (in Mugla Province). It's a quick Dolmus (bus) ride into town, or you can catch the ferry and be in the center of town in 10 minutes. The area hosts some of the best sailing areas in Mediterranean.

The facilities in Yacht Marin are very good, and it is a great place to spend the winter. We really enjoyed the community, and the proximity to Rhodes, Greece make it a very easy choice to spend the colder months!