Yachting

Charter, berths, licences and the rules of Balearic water. What a week costs, what the paperwork demands and where the fines start.

10 stories

The bow of a large white sailing yacht under sail in deep blue water off Mallorca

Charter

A white 30 metre motor yacht at anchor in the Bay of Palma at golden hour, tender alongside, Palma cathedral on the distant skyline.

Yachting · 8 min

What a week of yacht charter in Mallorca really costs

The advertised base fee is not the price. Budget roughly 1.5 times that number and the invoice will hold no surprises.

Charter

A crewed sailing catamaran under full sail off the south coast of Mallorca, crew trimming the mainsail and guests on the forward deck.

Yachting · 7 min

Crewed, bareboat or by the cabin: the three ways to charter in Mallorca

Three products, three price levels, three sets of obligations. The choice is decided by who holds the licence and who carries the risk.

Licences

Hands on the stainless steel wheel of a motor yacht flybridge with an illuminated chart plotter, the Mallorca coastline ahead.

Yachting · 7 min

Which skipper licence the Balearics accept

The Spanish PER covers 15 metres and 12 nautical miles, and it is the ticket that unlocks almost the entire Balearic bareboat fleet.

Rules

Underwater view of a dense Posidonia oceanica seagrass meadow in clear turquoise Balearic water with a yacht hull floating above.

Yachting · 8 min

Anchoring over Posidonia: the rule that can cost more than the charter

The Balearics were the first Mediterranean region to ban anchoring on seagrass outright. The penalty scale starts at 100 euros and does not stop at fi

Regulation

Charter yachts moored stern to along a quay in a Mallorcan marina at dawn with passerelles lowered and glassy water.

Yachting · 7 min

Spain's charter licence rules, and what changed in August 2025

The individual licence is gone, the sworn declaration replaced it, and since 15 August 2025 the identification duties are considerably stricter.

Tax

Aerial view straight down onto a white motor yacht in its berth in a Mallorcan marina with a Spanish ensign on the stern staff.

Yachting · 6 min

The 12 per cent matriculation tax, and when a yacht escapes it

Spain taxes vessels over 8 metres used by residents at 12 per cent. Exclusively commercial charter yachts pay nothing, and the word exclusively is doi

Marinas

Aerial view of an exclusive Mallorcan marina in late afternoon light with rows of white yachts along pontoons and a palm lined promenade.

Yachting · 7 min

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

A 30 metre berth at Port Adriano is quoted at about 91,000 euros a year. The nightly rate in the same water starts near 50 euros and passes 350 in sea

Industry

A very large white superyacht hull lifted out of the water by a huge blue travel lift gantry in a Mediterranean refit yard.

Yachting · 7 min

The machine that lifts 1,000 tonnes: how Palma became a refit capital

Europe's largest travel lift stands in Palma. It is 26 metres long, 25 metres high and picks up sailing yachts of 67 metres.

Diary

A waterfront boat show on a city quay in spring with yachts along floating pontoons and white exhibition marquees on the promenade.

Yachting · 6 min

Palma International Boat Show 2026: dates, scale and what is worth seeing

29 April to 2 May 2026 on the Moll Vell, 295 exhibitors, more than 300 yachts, and a new build hub of 5,000 square metres at Club de Mar.

Market

Aerial view of dozens of white charter yachts and sailing boats anchored in a wide Mallorcan bay over turquoise shallows.

Yachting · 7 min

The Balearic charter fleet in numbers

213 charter registrations in six months, a sector turnover of 1.106 billion euros and 3.1 per cent of Balearic GDP. The islands are Spain's charter ma