What a berth in Mallorca costs, from 15 to 30 metres

A berth in Mallorca is priced by metre, by season and by postcode. Market data for the island puts the annual rent of a 30 metre berth at Port Adriano at around 91,000 euros, roughly 250 euros a day across the year, while a 15 metre berth at Puerto Portals is quoted at about 35,000 euros a year. Short stays in the premium marinas are charged at between 50 and 350 euros a day depending on length and season.

Why the same metre costs three different prices

Three factors set the number. Length is the obvious one and it scales worse than linearly, because a 30 metre berth also needs the water, the depth and the manoeuvring room of a large yacht. Season is the second: August in the Bay of Palma is the most expensive water in the Balearics, and the same berth in February can be a fraction of it. Address is the third. Puerto Portals, Port Adriano and Club de Mar Mallorca carry a premium that has little to do with cleats and everything to do with who ties up next to you.

Renting, or buying the right to a berth

Mallorca's marinas sit on public maritime land, so nobody buys a berth outright. What changes hands is a concession, a time limited right of use, and the secondary market for those rights is where the large sums appear. Prestige marinas sit at the top of that market. Two questions decide the value of any concession: how many years remain, and what happens at expiry. Both belong in the contract before any money moves.

The alternative to paying for water

Anchoring is free, and in Balearic waters it is also regulated. The Posidonia meadows are protected and the seabed decides where an anchor may go, which is set out in our guide to the anchoring rules. For yachts above roughly 30 metres the swing circle rarely fits into a legal sand patch in a small cala, so the marina bill is not really a choice. For a 12 metre yacht it very often is.

What the annual figure does not include

Electricity and water are metered, and in the premium marinas they are billed on top. Add insurance, antifouling, and the haul out. Palma is unusually well equipped for the last of those, since the city holds one of Europe's largest refit capacities, as described in our piece on the yard that lifts 1,000 tonnes.

Sources

• Mallorca mooring guide: costs, rules and the concession system
• Mallorca marina berth guide: buying, renting and concessions
• Overview of the marinas of Mallorca