What to Pack for a Boat Day on the Ría de Arousa: The Skipper's Definitive Checklist

After hundreds of trips on our boat out of the port of Vilanova de Arousa, there's one conversation that comes up almost every week on WhatsApp: "So, what should we bring?". It's a great question, because how comfortable your day on board turns out depends largely on the bag you pack. And because the answer in Galicia isn't the same as in the Balearics: the ría has its own character, a deceptive sun that sneaks between clouds, and a thermal afternoon breeze.

This is the list we send our guests, expanded and explained. It works equally well for a half-day trip (4 hours, €300) or the full day (€500, fuel not included in either case), whether you're coming to swim at Areoso or the plan is the mussel rafts, the dolphins or the Punta Cabalo lighthouse.

The essentials: the quick list

If you only read one paragraph, make it this one. For a boat day on the Ría de Arousa you need:

• Sunscreen (SPF 50, water-resistant)
• Cap or hat and sunglasses (ideally with a strap)
• Swimsuit on and a dry change of clothes
• Towel (one per person, microfibre is best)
• Windbreaker or hoodie, even in August
• Light-soled shoes or bare feet on board
• Water and food in a cooler (we carry a cooler on board; just ask us)
• A dry bag or zip pouch for your phone
• Your ID and little else: the boat, the skipper, the life jackets and the insurance are on us

Now let's go through it properly, because the details are what separate a good day from a perfect one.

The ría's sun is deceptive (very)

The number one mistake we see on board: people skipping sunscreen "because it's cloudy". At sea the sun reaches you two ways — from the sky and reflected off the water — and the breeze stops you noticing you're burning until it's too late. A typical grey Rías Baixas day can leave your face looking like a boiled barnacle.

Our honest recommendations:

• SPF 50 and water-resistant, applied before boarding and repeated after every swim. The spots everyone forgets: tops of the feet, ears, back of the neck and behind the knees.
• A cap with a strap or a snug hat. The moment the boat gets on the plane, the ría claims every loose cap. We say it from experience: the bottom of the ría is a museum of caps.
• Polarised sunglasses if you have them: besides the protection, you'll spot dolphins below the surface and see the white sandy bottom when we anchor at Areoso.
• A t-shirt or rash vest for the kids while swimming. The hours at anchor off a beach are the most dangerous for children's skin.

Clothing: the layering trick (yes, even in summer)

Galicia is Galicia. At noon you can be sweating in your swimsuit and at 7 pm, motoring home with the north-easterly breeze on your face, be grateful for a hoodie as if it were January. The rule that works:

1. Swimsuit on from home — changing on board is awkward, and a swim at Areoso or in the coves of the Illa de Arousa is a certainty.
2. Light layer: t-shirt and shorts.
3. Warm layer: a hoodie or thin fleece, one per person, even if the forecast says 28 °C.
4. Windbreaker if you're coming in spring, autumn or on a sunset trip. The evening dampness over the water is real.
5. A full dry change of clothes in your bag. Heading back to Vilanova in a wet swimsuit with the breeze on the bow is an experience we wouldn't wish on anyone.

As for footwear: on board you're better off barefoot or in water shoes; if you prefer trainers, make them light-soled so they don't mark the deck. Leave the heels and black-soled boots ashore (it happens more often than you'd think at stag/hen parties and celebrations).

Food and drink: the cooler is sacred

On full-day trips we stop for lunch at anchor or, if you fancy it, we drop you on the Illa de Arousa or in O Grove for seafood ashore — in the ría that produces the world's best mussels, it would be a sin not to. But even with a restaurant stop, on board you'll always want:

• Plenty of water: at least 1.5 litres per person in summer. Sun and salt dehydrate you more than you think.
• Cold fruit, sandwiches, empanada: what works best on board is food you can eat with one hand.
• A chilled bottle of Albariño from the wineries just next door (Cambados is a stone's throw away) hits differently when you're anchored in a cove. In moderation, and knowing that the sun multiplies alcohol's effect: the skipper never drinks, but he doesn't want seasick passengers either.
• Cooler: ask us before the trip; we usually carry a cooler with ice on board, and if you bring your own we'll help you stow it.

A local trick: freeze a couple of water bottles the night before. They act as ice for the cooler in the morning and cold water in the afternoon.

For swimming and anchoring

When we anchor at Areoso — that white sandbank that looks straight out of the Caribbean — or in the coves on the west side of the Illa de Arousa, the plan is water. Add to your bag:

• Snorkel mask: the sandy bottom and the seagrass meadows of the ría hold more life than you'd imagine. We carry a set or two on board, but your own is always better.
• Water shoes for tender feet: some spots have rock and shell.
• Microfibre towel: dries fast, packs small, and doesn't fill the boat with sand like terry towels do.
• A float or pool noodle for the kids if they're not confident swimmers. We provide children's life jackets, but for playing at the beach a noodle is worth gold.

Tech: keep the phone safe

• Dry bag or waterproof pouch around your neck: the photo from the water with the boat in the background is a must, and a €10 pouch prevents €1,000 regrets.
• Power bank: between photos, videos and signal-hunting mode, phones die faster at sea.
• If you have binoculars, bring them: for the dolphins, for the Punta Cabalo lighthouse, and for watching the bateeiros working the mussel rafts.

If you're prone to seasickness

The Ría de Arousa has some of the calmest sailing waters in Galicia — it's sheltered by the Illa de Arousa and by Sálvora — and most of our passengers don't feel a thing. Even so, if you know you get queasy in cars or buses:

• Motion-sickness tablets half an hour before boarding, ideally the non-drowsy kind.
• Acupressure wristbands: for those they work for, they really work.
• Don't board on an empty stomach or with a hangover. Seriously.
• Tell us: the skipper adapts the route and always seeks the most sheltered part of the ría.

What you do NOT need to bring (because we provide it)

Renting a skippered boat means the technical side is not your problem. On our 8.5-metre boat — certified for 10 people, though we sail with a maximum of 6 passengers so everyone has room — this is already included:

• A professional skipper who knows every rock in the ría
• Life jackets in all sizes, children's included
• Insurance and all the boat's paperwork
• A bimini top for shade
• And no need for any boating licence: you show up, step aboard and enjoy

The perfect bag, season by season

Season	On top of the basics, add…
Summer (Jun-Sep)	A second sunscreen, more water, a hand parasol for long anchorages
Autumn (Oct-Nov)	A proper windbreaker, a thin beanie for the ride home, a thermos of coffee
Winter (Dec-Feb)	A warm coat, thin gloves, and the appetite to see the ría at its clearest and emptiest
Spring (Mar-May)	Layers, layers, layers; the water is still cold for long swims

Book your boat day (the bag is already sorted)

With this list, the hard part is done. The easy part is ours: we sail from the port of Vilanova de Arousa every day of the season, with routes to Areoso, the Illa de Arousa, the mussel rafts, the Punta Cabalo lighthouse or the crossing to O Grove and A Toxa. Half day (4 hours) for €300 or full day for €500, fuel not included, for a maximum of 6 people.

Message us on WhatsApp at +34 685 74 24 20, tell us what you have in mind and we'll confirm the date, the route and even which cooler to bring. The rest — the boat, the skipper and the most beautiful ría in Galicia — is on us.

Photos: Luis Miguel Bugallo Sánchez (Lmbuga) — CC BY-SA 3.0; Noel Feans — CC BY 2.0; Lameiro — CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.