The Scoop: Sailo is an online booking platform that opens singles, couples, and families up to a world of boating, fishing, and sailing vacation opportunities. The website’s motto is “life on land is overrated,” and its directory gives water lovers everywhere easy access to more than 30,000 boat rentals in 500 locations in the U.S. and abroad. Anyone planning a seaside date with someone special can use Sailo’s resources to find the perfect sailboat, motorboat, yacht, or catamaran to steer the day in a romantic direction.
Tech entrepreneur Adrian Gradinaru discovered a passion for sailing while living and working in Silicon Valley a few years ago. The freedom of being out on the water can be an instant stress reliever, and it’s also a great way to get together with friends and enjoy the fresh air and sunshine.
However, when Adrian moved to New York City, he was less than thrilled by the boating rental options and prices on the East Coast. He didn’t know any locals who owned a boat, so he was stuck on land during his days off.
Adrian saw a problem he could solve, and he took action. He began developing a website that would bring greater accessibility and transparency to the boat rental process. Sailo.com launched in 2014, and today it offers boat rental opportunities in 100 countries worldwide.
“Adrian soon realized that he had the unique and amazing opportunity to bring the boat rental process online and make it easy for both renters and owners,” said Gabriela Mihailescu, Marketing Director at Sailo.
“Most importantly, he could bring the joy of sailing and boating to other people interested in renting boats all around the world,” she added.
Sailo is a premier online platform for boat rentals and yacht charters in 500 locations worldwide. Anyone with a thirst for adventure can use this website to search through over 30,000 inspected boats and book a spot with the choicest charter. Whether you’re looking to explore the beaches of Greece, the shores of Thailand, or the bays of California, you can make the excursion that much more enjoyable by using Sailo’s listings.
Sailo is a great date resource for couples who enjoy being on the water, trying new experiences, and setting sail for romantic destinations. You can book anything from cozy boats to luxury yachts to make sure it’s smooth sailing from the moment you cast off.
“We offer live availability for boats all over the world that can be rented for two hours or two weeks,” Gabriela explained. “At Sailo, we continue to stay true to our brand mission: make the world’s boating experiences easy and accessible to everyone.”
Luxury Yachts & Sailboats Make Great Date Venues
Sailo allows users to quickly search through a vast directory of boats by location, price, type, and size of the boat. The website lists boats of various price points, so it can suit any budget. You can find an affordable sailboat rental for under $200, or you could spring for a $200,000 yacht rental. The site’s search tools put a variety of experiences at your fingertips.
You can also find captained boats on Sailo. That means you don’t have to spend your time steering and navigating through the water if you don’t want to. This is a popular option for couples, families, and sightseers who are interested in spending quality time with their loved ones.
When shopping for a boat rental on Sailo, you can read customer reviews, compare prices, and view features with ease. Everything is laid out in a way that makes sense, and there are verified pictures to give you a good idea of what you’ll be getting into if you choose to book.
What’s more, you can communicate directly with the boat operators via the Sailo platform. Just click the “Message owner” button and type in your comment or question. Sailo will facilitate communication throughout the experience.
“Sailo’s easy-to-use platform makes planning a date convenient and simple,” Gabriela said. “No matter if you’re planning a casual and fun date or if you want this to be a date you and your partner remember for the rest of your lives, you can easily and conveniently find the boat that’s right for you.”
Sailo is there for men planning a surprise proposal and women planning bachelorette parties. It has seen couples go off on honeymoon excursions and anniversary trips. Some of the boat rental options include fun water sport activities, such as snorkeling, kayaking, or deep sea fishing. You reach out to the boat owner to arrange the details of these add-on experiences.
Taking a boat on the water can be a memorable experience, and it’s even sweeter when you have someone you care about by your side. Couples have used Sailo to find afternoon excursions, overnight rentals, and everything in between to make their time together truly special.
“By far one of our favorite date ideas is an overnight cruise getaway with your significant other,” Gabriela said. “This can be a fantastic option if you are celebrating a special occasion, like an engagement, honeymoon, or a surprise birthday getaway.”
At the Helm: A Talented Team of Engineers & Marketers
When Adrian created Sailo, he didn’t know it would take off the way it has in the last few years. He simply followed his passion and gathered a team of talented people who shared his enthusiasm, interests, and work ethic.
Today, Sailo is run by a handful of engineers, bankers, operational experts, and marketers, all of whom love to sail on their days off. The founding mission to make boating more accessible to everyone resonates with this group, and they give their all to providing unparalleled experiences to every customer. These boating experts can answer customer questions and provide insights to make the journey more enjoyable.
“We are still very much in the startup state of mind,” Gabriela told us. “We’re a relatively small and robust team of wonderful people bound by the belief that when you do something with passion, magic happens.”
Thanks to the team’s hard work, Sailo has become one of the leading online platforms for boat rentals and yacht charters, effectively connecting a global community of sailors, seamen, adventurers, and other boat lovers.
Turner McKinney, who works in the sales department at Sailo, said he has been in the industry for three years, and he loves the idea of using ecommerce to make renting a boat an easy and stress-free experience.
“There is no better way to spend a day than out on the water, whether you are stateside sailing around the Statue of Liberty or abroad cruising through the Mediterranean Sea,” Turner said. “This is something that everyone should try, and I think Sailo does a great job of making it possible.”
The Sailo team is always hard at work to expand the platform’s reach and improve its services. Within the year, the team intends to add custom experiences as well as one-of-a-kind sailing itineraries to its directory. This will allow people to customize their trips and create unique experiences that inspire romance, laughter, or excitement.
The Sailo app, which is available on the App Store, will also be getting a revamp in the near future. Gabriela said the developers intend to add more helpful features and make it faster, cleaner, and easier to use. And, as if that weren’t enough, another big project on the docket is to launch the Sailo app for Android users.
With every upgrade, Sailo gets that much closer to its goal of becoming the go-to boat rental platform for people all over the world. As Gabriela said, “Sometimes we might be called dreamers, but at the end of the day, we are a group of people who work hard, trust and help each other, and know that as long as what we do makes other people happy, we are happy too.”
Enjoy Outings Brimming With Romance
Sailo has facilitated many joyful and intimate experiences on the water, and its positive reviews speak to its ability to pair people with the right boat on the right day.
Travel blogger Zoe Weiner rented a yacht in Portugal through Sailo to organize a surprise birthday party for her boyfriend, and it led to an unforgettable couple of hours.
“I wish I could take full credit for how amazing the night was,” Zoe wrote, “but Sailo and its amazingness was a huge part of it, too.”
Many couples go outside their comfort zones and reconnect while out on the water. Bailee Abell celebrated her five-year anniversary with her boyfriend on a catamaran off the coast of Key West, Florida. And she couldn’t get over how fun it was.
“We went snorkeling in the open ocean, something the two of us had never tried before,” she said in a review. “Getting to share this first-time experience together was thrilling and romantic, and the two of us still talk about it to this day!”
Though neither she nor her boyfriend are sailors themselves, Bailee said they couldn’t wait to use Sailo again and get back out on the water for a special occasion or romantic getaway.
Another couple shared a video of their luxury boating experience (which they found through Sailo). The captain arranged for a bouquet of roses to be delivered to the boat by helicopter. As if the ocean view wasn’t romantic enough, now there’s roses falling from the sky? That’s a story the couple will tell for years to come.
The Sailo team is always happy to make a recommendation or assist in the planning stages of special date nights, celebrations, or proposals. Anyone can contact the team to ask questions about an upcoming trip or give feedback on a previous experience.
“It gives me so much satisfaction when I am able to help people organize their perfect vacation,” said Yogini, who works for Sailo. “I take great pleasure and pride when I hear back from them that they had a great experience.”
Sailo Offers Resources to Keep Love Afloat
Renting a boat is a romantic date idea that can be hard to pull off if you don’t know any reliable boat renting companies. Thankfully, Adrian and his team have made it possible for landlubbers to connect with seasoned sailors and boat owners around the world. Sailo supports a global directory of boat rental opportunities that give couples a venue for a sunset dinner, a unique romantic getaway, or a memorable celebration at sea.
Couples can relax together as they soak in the sunshine and the salty breeze. A boat rental gives people a chance to escape their everyday cares and concerns for a few hours and share a seaworthy and dateworthy experience like no other. While you sip champagne or share a picnic lunch on the sailboat or yacht, you can thank Sailo for helping you embark on such a romantic adventure.
“Your dream date is only a click away on Sailo.com,” Gabriela said. “Feel free to browse our selection of boat rentals and yacht charters worldwide, available in some of the world’s most romantic destinations like Miami, New York, Santorini, Positano, or the Caribbean!”
