Ibiza boat trips: types, prices and tips

Ibiza Connects · Updated on October 16, 2026 · 12 min read

A cove with a full car park in August is a different place seen from a boat anchored on sand. Here's which boat suits your plan, what it costs and which rules change in 2026.

Types of Ibiza boat trips

Water taxis to the coves

These are the boats that work like buses at sea: they leave several times a day from a harbour and stop at one or more beaches. You'll find them in San Antonio bay (towards Cala Bassa, Cala Comte and other coves), in Santa Eulària and Es Cana (towards the east-coast beaches) and in Ibiza Town (towards Playa d'en Bossa and Formentera). They run from May to October, take 20 to 40 minutes and you buy tickets at the kiosk on the promenade. It's the cheapest way onto the water, with plenty of people and fixed times.

Group catamaran and sailing trips

Half-day or full-day trips on a large shared catamaran or sailing boat with other groups. They usually include swimming and snorkelling stops, drinks and, on full-day trips, lunch on board. The most popular go to Formentera, Es Vedrà or the west coast, and in summer there are sunset cruises. It's the ideal plan if there are only a few of you and you don't want to pay for a whole boat.

Boat parties

Large boats with a DJ and a bar, mainly from San Antonio and Playa d'en Bossa, with a very young crowd. If you're after quiet coves, this isn't your boat.

Private charter with a skipper

A speedboat, sailing boat or yacht just for your group, with a skipper who knows the coves and takes care of anchoring, fuel and safety. You decide the route (within what the wind allows) and the pace. It's the most comfortable option and, split between several people, not always the most expensive. If you're also after a boat day with polished service, catering or a celebration, there are ideas in VIP and concierge services in Ibiza.

Bareboat hire

You hire the boat and skipper it yourself. With a boating qualification you can hire larger boats; without one, until 30 September 2026 you could hire small motorboats. From 1 October that has changed: read the section on licence-free boats before you book.

Kayak, paddleboard and jet ski

Kayaks and paddleboards can be hired at many beaches, with guided routes in the north and around Es Vedrà. Jet skis require a licence or a guided trip with an instructor.

Rough prices by type

For boat hire, we've taken the daily prices advertised in October 2026 by the twenty-four boats in Ibiza Town, San Antonio and Santa Eulària shown in the Ibiza Connects app (listed on Click&Boat):

Before you pay, always ask: is fuel included? The skipper? Final cleaning? Is there a deposit? On a fast motorboat, fuel for a long day can be a big part of the bill. And in July and August prices go up compared with what you see in October.

Classic boat routes

The west coast and San Antonio's coves

The most popular route. From San Antonio or Port des Torrent, you follow the coast towards Cala Bassa, Cala Comte and the islets opposite (sa Conillera and s'Illa des Bosc), or north past Cala Salada and Punta Galera with its flat rocks. Very clear water and, in the evening, the island's best sunset. It fits into half a day.

Es Vedrà and the south-west

Cala d'Hort, Cala Vedella, Cala Llentrisca and, above all, a loop around the islet of Es Vedrà, which is far more impressive from the water than from the viewpoint. It's a nature reserve: landing isn't allowed. We cover it all in Es Vedrà: viewpoints, legends and how to see it.

Formentera, ses Illetes and s'Espalmador

The classic for catamarans and private boats. You cross es Freus and anchor off ses Illetes or s'Espalmador, in water like a swimming pool. In high summer there are huge numbers of boats at anchor, so set off early. If you just want to get there and back, the ferry is quicker and cheaper: Ibiza to Formentera ferry. And if you want to explore the island on land, see Formentera day trip.

The north and the east coast

Fewer boats and wilder scenery: the Sant Miquel cliffs, Benirràs, Cala Xarraca, Portinatx, Cala d'en Serra and, on the east side, the islet of Tagomago and the coves of Sant Carles. Ideal for a private boat on calm days.

Boat hire without a licence: limits and rules

In Spain, the rules on who can skipper a boat are set by Royal Decree 875/2014 on recreational boating qualifications. Its article 10 allows you to skipper without a qualification:

• motorboats up to 5 metres long and 15 hp (without a reducer), or sailing boats up to 6 metres;
• only in daylight;
• no more than 2 nautical miles (about 3.7 km) from the port, marina or beach you left from;
• if you're 18 or over;
• never jet skis.

What changes in 2026. Royal Decree 1188/2025, published in the BOE on 30 December 2025, rewrites that article with effect from 1 October 2026. The licence-free exception is kept for private use of those boats, and the decree itself explains that for rentals, the person hiring must hold the relevant qualification, because of the number of accidents involving inexperienced people in hired boats. In practice, for the 2027 season, expect many companies to ask for at least the licencia de navegación, the most basic qualification.

The licencia de navegación lets you skipper boats up to 6 metres and jet skis, in daylight and within 2 miles of a port or shelter. There's no exam: you get it on a short theory and practical course (about six hours, usually in one day) at an approved sailing school, from age 18 (or 16 with parental consent). If you often hire boats on holiday, it's worth getting. If you're from abroad, qualifications from other European Economic Area countries and those listed in the regulations are accepted for hiring, within their limits; UK holders should check with the hire company whether their certificate (such as the RYA ICC) is accepted.

The rules at sea most often broken, with or without a licence:

• Buoyed swimming zones: the yellow buoys off beaches mark swimmers' areas. No boat may enter, except through the marked channels.
• Speed near the coast: close to shore you go at little more than idle. The general rule is a maximum of 3 knots within 200 metres of a beach or 50 metres of any other stretch of coast.
• Distance from swimmers and divers: a marker buoy in the water means someone is underneath. Keep well away.

Fines and the island's other rules are in Ibiza rules for tourists.

Anchoring and posidonia

Ibiza's water is crystal-clear largely thanks to Posidonia oceanica, a flowering plant that forms meadows on sandy seabeds. The Pitiusas meadows have been World Heritage since 1999, as part of the "Ibiza, Biodiversity and Culture" site.

The problem is that it grows very slowly, a few centimetres a year, and a dragging anchor rips out in a minute what took centuries. That's why anchoring on posidonia is banned in the Balearics, and in summer regional government patrols tour the coves asking boats to lift their anchor.

How to do it right:

• Anchor on sand: it shows as pale patches; posidonia is dark. In clear water you can easily tell from the deck.
• Check the charts before you go: the Balearic Government publishes maps of the posidonia meadows, and many boating apps include them as a layer showing where not to anchor.
• Use the buoys: some bays have eco-mooring buoy fields in season, run by Ports IB, which you book on its website. They're being expanded year by year, so check which are operating before you set out.

More on posidonia and the seabeds worth exploring with a mask in snorkelling and diving in Ibiza and in Ses Salines Natural Park.

Seasickness, sun and safety

Seasickness. You feel the sea much more on a small boat: if you're prone to it, take a tablet half an hour before boarding, stay on deck looking at the horizon and, on windy days, pick a nearby sheltered cove.

Sun. On the water the reflection fools you and you burn without noticing: water-resistant sun cream every two hours, a cap, a T-shirt in the middle of the day and plenty of water.

Swimming. Don't jump in without checking the depth, get in via the ladder with the engine off and don't swim far from the boat if there's a current. If you're snorkelling some distance away, take a marker buoy.

Alcohol. Whoever is skippering a boat is subject to alcohol limits, just like driving, and there are checks at sea in summer. If you're at the helm, the sensible thing is not to drink until you're back in port.

Emergencies. 112 also works at sea if you have coverage. Salvamento Marítimo (the Spanish coastguard) handles maritime emergencies on 900 202 202, and on the radio it's VHF channel 16. Before you set off, tell someone on land your route and expected return time.

Sharing a boat between several people

A private boat for six at €330 works out at €55 a head, plus fuel: less than many group trips, and to the cove you choose. The hard part is usually getting the group together.

That's where the Ibiza Connects app helps. In the app's plans you can suggest a boat day and see who joins until the group is full. And in the boats to hire and split section there's a list of hire boats on the island to set up the plan with others (you book on the boat's own website; the app doesn't rent anything).

Watch out for "single seats". In the Balearics, Decree 44/2025 on boat rental bans selling individual places on a charter boat and renting out privately registered boats for tourism (Spain's competition authority, the CNMC, challenged it in January 2026, so check whether that changes). The safe option is for the group to hire the whole boat from an authorised company and split the cost. If someone charges you for "a seat" on their private motorboat, it isn't a legal rental and the insurance may not cover you. If you'd rather go by the seat, book a group trip (catamaran or water taxi) with a company that sells official tickets.

Agree beforehand who pays for what (boat, fuel, food) and the time you'll head back: on a boat, arguments have nowhere to go.

Common mistakes

1. Booking the biggest boat thinking it'll be more comfortable. In Ibiza a small motorboat gets into coves where a yacht has to stay outside.
2. Not asking about fuel. It's the cost that most often surprises people on the final bill.
3. Setting off late in August. By midday the best coves are full of anchored boats.
4. Ignoring the wind. An easterly day on the east coast means a day of bumps and seasickness.
5. Anchoring on the dark patches. That's posidonia, and it's a fine.
6. Assuming you can hire without a licence like before. From 1 October 2026, check with the company before you pay.
7. Paying for a seat on a private boat. It's not allowed in the Balearics and you're left with no protection if something goes wrong.

Sources and official information

• BOE · Royal Decree 875/2014 on recreational boating qualifications (consolidated text)
• BOE · Royal Decree 1188/2025 (changes to licence-free boating from 1-10-2026)
• Govern de les Illes Balears · Department of the Environment (posidonia and anchoring)
• Balears Natura · Protected natural areas
• Wikipedia · Posidonia oceanica (growth and the Pitiusas meadow)
• Salvamento Marítimo · Emergencies at sea
• CNMC · Challenge to Balearic Decree 44/2025 on boat rental (29-1-2026)
• Ports IB · Mooring buoy fields and anchorages