Why NEPTUN?
No experience is required to join our crew and community!
Sailing with NEPTUN is a working ocean passage that combines exploration, real seamanship, and life as part of a small crew. Whether you're an experienced sailor or a beginner, this journey around the world is a rare opportunity to learn the craft of sailing while reaching some of the world's most remote coastlines. Here's why you should join us:
Sailing with NEPTUN allows you to explore the Worlds Ocean's hidden gems, places most people only dream of visiting. Our itinerary takes us around the world and sometimes stops at destinations that most humans have never even been! Imagine sailing through turquoise waters, exploring remote islands with pristine beaches, and witnessing rare wildlife in their natural habitats. From snorkeling with sea lions and manta rays to hiking volcanic craters, each destination brings you closer to nature in its purest form.
This is not a passive cruising experience; it's a hands-on sailing adventure. Under the guidance of seasoned skippers, you'll learn the fundamentals of sailing, from navigation to sail handling and weather interpretation. You'll work alongside fellow crew members, building teamwork and resilience. Whether you're manning the helm, hoisting the sails, or plotting a course, you'll develop skills that will not only improve your sailing ability but also boost your confidence.
Sailing around the world allows you to interact with some of the most unique and culturally rich communities in the world. From Caribbean to the welcoming Polynesians and Asians, you’ll have the chance to experience firsthand the traditions, food, music, and history of these island cultures. This kind of immersive travel offers deeper connections than any traditional tourism could provide.
This is a journey for adventurers at heart, those who seek the thrill of the open ocean and the unknown. With no fixed itinerary and the wind as your only compass, you’ll feel the excitement of true exploration. From long stretches of open sea to the bustling harbors in the indian and atlantic oecan, every moment aboard NEPTUN offers a new challenge, a new horizon, and a deeper sense of freedom.
Life on a sailing vessel requires cooperation, adaptability, and problem-solving. This journey is a chance for personal growth, whether through overcoming the physical challenges of sailing or learning to live harmoniously in close quarters with your fellow crew. You’ll develop resilience, patience, and a sense of accomplishment that comes from working as part of a team sailing around the globe.
Sailing is one of the most sustainable ways to travel. Powered by the wind, NEPTUN leaves behind minimal environmental impact while taking you to some of the most untouched ecosystems on the planet. Our commitment to sustainability means that we respect and preserve the natural beauty of the places we visit, ensuring future generations can also experience these wonders.
The voyage around the world is a perfect opportunity to disconnect from the stresses of modern life and reconnect with nature. With no Wi-Fi or constant digital distractions, you'll find time to reflect, bond with your crew, and simply enjoy the present moment. Watch sunsets over the open ocean, gaze at the stars without the interference of city lights, and listen to the calming sounds of the sea. This journey offers the mental clarity that only comes from being truly off the grid.
In the nonprofit organization Neptun, our members own our program and vessel so we fairly can share this amazing platform for life changing experiences!
NEPTUN's voyages are open to sailors of all skill levels, from experienced seafarers to complete novices. Our crew welcomes adventurers from all walks of life who share a passion for the ocean, exploration, and personal growth. No prior sailing experience is necessary, our experienced team will teach you everything you need to know.
If you've ever dreamed of embarking on a true oceanic adventure, NEPTUN's World Voyage 1 is the opportunity of a lifetime. This is more than just a vacation, it's a transformative experience that will challenge, inspire, and reward you in ways you never expected. From the sheer joy of sailing to the rich cultural exchanges and breathtaking natural beauty, there's no other journey quite like this.
Join us for this once-in-a-lifetime adventure. Whether you're looking to master the art of sailing, explore hidden corners of the world, or simply challenge yourself in a meaningful way, this is the voyage for you. Apply for your bunk now, and set sail with NEPTUN on a remarkable journey around the wold!
Where to start
NEPTUN runs a single ship and a single voyage, but crew join for very different reasons. Pick the angle that fits, each section links to a deeper page on that kind of sailing.
Trade-wind passages between Antigua, the Grenadines and Trinidad on a working brigantine. Best for crew who want warm-water sail training, short open-ocean hops, and island stops between watches.
Sailing the Caribbean with NEPTUN →A true ocean leg, three weeks or so under sail with no land in sight. For crew ready to stand watches around the clock, learn celestial-style routine, and feel a brigantine settle into the trades.
Atlantic crossing aboard NEPTUN →The 482-day 2026–2027 round-the-world programme, broken into seven legs. For crew who want the long arc, several oceans, multiple climates, the rhythm of a ship that keeps moving west.
Sail around the world with NEPTUN →No prior sailing required. Most of our crew arrive having never set a square sail. The captain and watch leaders teach sail handling, navigation and watch-keeping underway, day by day.
Sailing with no experience on NEPTUN →A 1947 brigantine, two masts, square sails forward, fore-and-aft aft. For crew drawn to traditional rigging, hand-steering, and the practical seamanship that disappeared from most of the modern fleet.
Tall ship adventure on Brigantine NEPTUN →Stack two or three legs back-to-back and use a year between studies, jobs, or chapters of life. The voyage runs in modular legs so a gap-year crew member can join, sail months, and step off in another ocean.
Gap year at sea with NEPTUN →Where will you sail?
Pick the leg that fits your calendar, your appetite for ocean miles, and your travel plans.
Sold outMay 2026 — Aug 2026 · Bali, Indonesia → Réunion, France
The opening chapter of Neptun's 482-day world voyage, a 4,078-nm trade-wind passage from the temples of Bali to the volcanic cliffs of Réunion.
Read more about this leg → about Leg 1: from Bali to Réunion across the Indian Ocean
AvailableNov 2026 — Dec 2026 · Réunion, France → Cape Town, South Africa
Fifty days and twenty-three hundred miles of open Indian Ocean from volcanic Réunion to the tip of Africa, the Agulhas current, the Cape of Good Hope, and a quiet finish in Cape Town before Christmas.
Read more about this leg → about Leg 4: from Réunion around the Cape of Good Hope to Cape Town
AvailableJan 2027 — Mar 2027 · Saldanha Bay, South Africa → Fortaleza, Brazil
Forty-four days before the southeast trades, Napoleon's exile at St. Helena, the equator crossing, and landfall in tropical Brazil. The ocean chapter of the voyage.
Read more about this leg → about Leg 5: across the South Atlantic from Saldanha to Fortaleza
AvailableMar 2027 — Apr 2027 · Fortaleza, Brazil → Trinidad
A thousand miles of downwind trade running, the Amazon's brown water under the hull, the Guianas smudged on the horizon, and Trinidad's steelpan waiting at the end.
Read more about this leg → about Leg 6: from Fortaleza to Trinidad along South America
AvailableApr 2027 — May 2027 · Trinidad → Antigua
Four weeks of short trade-wind daysails through the Lesser Antilles, turquoise anchorages, rum shops on the sand, French-Creole Martinique and the tall-ship scene in Antigua.
Read more about this leg → about Leg 7: through the Windward Islands from Trinidad to Antigua
AvailableMay 2027 — Jul 2027 · Antigua → Ponta Delgada, Azores
Fifty-six days on the classic spring tall-ship route home, Antigua, a long reach to Bermuda's pink sand, then three weeks of open ocean to the volcanic Azores.
Read more about this leg → about Leg 8: across the North Atlantic from Antigua to the Azores
AvailableJul 2027 — Aug 2027 · Ponta Delgada, Azores → Kiel, Germany
The final 1,878 nm, from volcanic São Miguel to the Baltic, up the English Channel through the Dover TSS, past Helgoland's red cliffs and home to Kiel.
Read more about this leg → about Leg 9: homecoming from the Azores to KielFAQ
No. Most of our trainee crew arrive without square-rig experience, some without any sailing at all. The captain and watch leaders teach sail handling, navigation and watch-keeping underway, by the end of a leg you'll be standing watch as a working member of the crew.
Legs run between roughly two and seven weeks, depending on the ocean. A Caribbean island-hop leg may be two or three weeks; an Atlantic or Pacific crossing is three to six weeks at sea. The full 2026–2027 world voyage runs 482 days across seven legs.
Each leg has its own price based on duration and route, listed on the leg page. The fee covers your berth, three meals a day cooked aboard, all sailing, and all training. Not included: flights to the embark port, travel insurance, shore costs on rest days, and the €37 annual NEPTUN membership.
Life runs on a watch system, typically four hours on, eight off. On watch you're sailing, steering, trimming, navigating or on lookout. Off watch you sleep, eat, read, and help with cooking and maintenance. At anchor the watch loosens and the crew explores ashore together.
Passengers are served. Trainee crew sail the ship. On NEPTUN you stand watches, set and hand sails, take the helm, and share the cooking and cleaning. It's a working ship run by the people aboard, that's the whole point of a sail-training voyage.
You should be in reasonable general health, comfortable on your feet for long stretches, and willing to climb the rig with training and a harness. There's no athletic test, but the ship moves, the deck is wet, and the work is physical. Crew of all ages from 18 to 70+ have sailed with us.
The 2026–2027 world voyage departs in 2026 and runs 482 days across seven legs from Bali back to Kiel. Individual legs can be booked separately, see the carousel above for the full list of departures and routes.
My experience was Life Changing!
I learned so much and made some very close friends around the world. We are still in contact.
I would recomend going on Neptun if you want to have some fun and learn some great sailing tips and tricks. And experience the world with a different view.
Everybody was very kind and friendly and also very helpfull when you are in need of any help or advice or just a ear to listen to.
Thank you Neptun for a great and life changing experience. I will carry what I learned from you every where I go.