Twelve boat trips leave from eight marinas and harbours around this island, from a sixty-six dollar rigid inflatable to a whole boat chartered for the day. Here they are, with what each fare actually covers.
The lowest fare on the water here, and the only one that anchors at a cove with no road to it. Nearly three hours along the south-east coast from Cala Figuera, with a skipper, fuel, snorkelling gear and soft drinks in the price.
From $66 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
The other twelve-guest catamaran, out of D-Marin on the Paseo Marítimo. Half an hour at anchor for a swim, tapas served aboard, and a short walk from the cruise terminal.
From $129 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Pick midday or sunset. An open bar of cava, wine, beer and soft drinks is included, along with light snacks that have vegan options and a swimming stop with a paddleboard.
From $112 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Two hours of movement rather than one long anchorage. Sea scooters, paddleboards and snorkelling gear are all in the fare, and the listing publishes no exclusions at all.
From $82 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Full day, half day or sunset, decided when you book. Snacks, alcoholic and soft drinks, snorkelling gear, a paddleboard and the fuel all sit inside the fare, leaving only crew tips.
From $152 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Twelve guests, a skipper and a host, leaving a marina you can walk to from Palma's old town. Tapas made on board, a welcome drink, and the run of the SUP and the snorkelling gear.
From $117 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Five hours out of the Port of Palma with a barbecue buffet, Mallorcan wine and two swim stops. The longest day at the lower end of the range, and the snorkelling gear needs a ten-euro cash deposit.
From $68 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Twelve guests out of Can Pastilla, four hours around the bay. Whether the sails go up depends on the wind rather than the timetable, and boarding closes five minutes before departure.
From $117 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
You take the wheel. No licence needed after a briefing, the price covers the boat for up to five people, and a two-hundred-euro cash deposit is held against damage and returned undamaged.
From $236 per group, up to 5
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
The whole sailboat for up to eight, out of Port d'Andratx with a skipper. Snorkelling gear, a paddleboard, snacks and drinks are included; fuel and cleaning are billed separately.
From $651 per group, up to 8
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
A five-hundred-horsepower boat and a skipper for four hours out of Puerto Portals. Sea scooter, Subwings, SUP and snorkelling gear for twelve, with fuel and an eighty-euro port fee on top.
From $532 per group, up to 12
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
The whole boat with lunch actually served aboard, for up to eight out of the Real Club Náutico. Drinks, snacks, insurance and a toilet on board are all inside one price.
From $941 per group, up to 8
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Every trip here is set side by side on price, group size and what is included.
Compare every Mallorca tourA two- to five-hour trip out of one of eight marinas and harbours, anchoring somewhere along the coast for a swim, with snorkelling gear and usually some food included. Most leave from Palma or the south-west; two work the south-east coves instead. That is the whole category, and the differences inside it are what this page is for.
These are small vessels. The shared boats cap between ten and twelve guests, and boarding is from a pontoon or a marina gate rather than a quay. You are not getting on a ferry.
Cala Màrmols has no road to it. Es Pontàs cannot be landed on. The sheltered anchorages at Portals Vells fill with boats every summer morning precisely because they are easier to reach by water than by car. A boat is not a nicer way to see the same coast; it is the only way to see part of it.
The single most common complaint about the famous coves is not the crowd, it is the parking and the steps. A boat trip replaces both with a marina you walk into.
Snorkelling gear is included on eleven of these listings rather than rented, and several add a paddleboard, floats or a sea scooter. On a beach day you would be carrying all of it.
The honest comparison, because for a lot of visitors the real alternative to a boat trip is not another boat trip.
| A boat day | A day on the beach | |
|---|---|---|
| What you see | The coves from the water, including ones with no road | One beach, and whatever is walkable from it |
| Typical length | 2 to 5 hours | As long as you like |
| In the fare | Usually snorkelling gear; often food and drinks | Nothing |
| Where you start | A marina or a harbour, at a fixed time | Wherever you park |
| Weather risk | Real — wind cancels boats | Rain only |
| Crowds | You leave them behind at the jetty | Worst at exactly the coves people photograph |
| Cost | From $66 upwards | Free, plus parking |
The beach wins on cost and on flexibility. The boat wins on access and on the things it hands you. If you are here for a week, do both; if you are here for three days, the three-day guide puts the boat first for a reason.
Read the exclusions before the inclusions. That is where these listings differ most.
Three decisions, in this order. Which coast — the map sets every marina against the trips that use it, and Cala Figuera is fifty minutes from Palma. Which morning — wind on the Bay of Palma builds through the day, so a 10:00 departure is usually the calmer one, and putting the boat early in your stay leaves a second chance if weather takes it. Per person or per boat — four of these are chartered whole, and for six or eight travellers that arithmetic sometimes wins.
In July and August, book before you fly. Several are flagged as likely to sell out and the caps are genuinely small.
If you are travelling alone and want the day to keep moving, a catamaran that anchors in one bay for three hours is the wrong purchase — take the rigid inflatable or the jet boat, both of which are under way almost continuously. If you have back problems, are pregnant or have a heart condition, the jet boat states plainly that it is not recommended, and a fast boat on a choppy sea is not the place to find that out.
And if what you actually want is the mountains, no boat here goes there. The day trips into the Serra de Tramuntana are a different purchase entirely, and on a wet or windy day they are the one that still runs.
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start time on all twelve.
See Top ToursEvery trip named here is set against the rest on price, hours and what the fare covers at Mallorca Spain Tours.