{
  "destination": "balearics",
  "name": "Balearic Islands",
  "question": "Can you snorkel and dive from a charter boat in the Balearic Islands, and how warm is the sea?",
  "answer": "Yes, as long as you anchor on sand or a buoy: the Balearic Posidonia decree bans anchoring on Posidonia seagrass, and Cabrera National Park needs an online authorisation to navigate, moor or dive, with buoys from €18.60 a day in summer for boats up to 12 m. The sea averages 14.3 °C in February and 26.2 °C in August (NOAA, 1991–2020 mean at our reference point); by our rule of thumb July to September are the months at 24 °C or more, when a rash vest or 1–2 mm shorty is enough, while February calls for a 7 mm wetsuit, or a drysuit for diving.",
  "canonical_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/snorkel-dive/balearics/",
  "markdown_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/snorkel-dive/balearics.md",
  "destination_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/balearics/",
  "best_time_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/best-time/balearics/",
  "fishing_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/fishing/balearics/",
  "api_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/api/snorkel-dive/balearics.json",
  "book_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/go/samboat?dest=balearics&pos=api",
  "checked": "2026-10-28",
  "sea_temperature": {
    "unit": "celsius",
    "source": "NOAA OISST v2.1 long-term monthly mean",
    "period": "1991–2020",
    "reference_point": {
      "place": "Off Ibiza Town",
      "lat": 38.875,
      "lon": 1.625
    },
    "note": "NOAA OISST v2.1 long-term mean, 1991–2020, one 1/4° sea cell per destination. It is the sea surface; shallow bays can be warmer and water at depth cooler.",
    "warm_water_threshold_c": 24,
    "months": [
      {
        "month": 1,
        "name": "January",
        "sea_c": 14.8,
        "warm_water": false,
        "wetsuit_rule_of_thumb": "7 mm wetsuit, or a drysuit for diving"
      },
      {
        "month": 2,
        "name": "February",
        "sea_c": 14.3,
        "warm_water": false,
        "wetsuit_rule_of_thumb": "7 mm wetsuit, or a drysuit for diving"
      },
      {
        "month": 3,
        "name": "March",
        "sea_c": 14.5,
        "warm_water": false,
        "wetsuit_rule_of_thumb": "7 mm wetsuit, or a drysuit for diving"
      },
      {
        "month": 4,
        "name": "April",
        "sea_c": 15.8,
        "warm_water": false,
        "wetsuit_rule_of_thumb": "7 mm wetsuit, or a drysuit for diving"
      },
      {
        "month": 5,
        "name": "May",
        "sea_c": 18.2,
        "warm_water": false,
        "wetsuit_rule_of_thumb": "5 mm full wetsuit"
      },
      {
        "month": 6,
        "name": "June",
        "sea_c": 21.5,
        "warm_water": false,
        "wetsuit_rule_of_thumb": "3 mm full wetsuit"
      },
      {
        "month": 7,
        "name": "July",
        "sea_c": 24.7,
        "warm_water": true,
        "wetsuit_rule_of_thumb": "3 mm shorty"
      },
      {
        "month": 8,
        "name": "August",
        "sea_c": 26.2,
        "warm_water": true,
        "wetsuit_rule_of_thumb": "rash vest or 1–2 mm shorty"
      },
      {
        "month": 9,
        "name": "September",
        "sea_c": 24.9,
        "warm_water": true,
        "wetsuit_rule_of_thumb": "3 mm shorty"
      },
      {
        "month": 10,
        "name": "October",
        "sea_c": 22.2,
        "warm_water": false,
        "wetsuit_rule_of_thumb": "3 mm full wetsuit"
      },
      {
        "month": 11,
        "name": "November",
        "sea_c": 19,
        "warm_water": false,
        "wetsuit_rule_of_thumb": "5 mm full wetsuit"
      },
      {
        "month": 12,
        "name": "December",
        "sea_c": 16.3,
        "warm_water": false,
        "wetsuit_rule_of_thumb": "7 mm wetsuit, or a drysuit for diving"
      }
    ],
    "derived": "warm_water and wetsuit_rule_of_thumb are our rules applied to the NOAA mean; sea_c is NOAA's, rounded to 0.1."
  },
  "wetsuit_rule": "Our rule of thumb for snorkelling, applied to the monthly mean: 28 °C or more: swimsuit or rash vest; 26–28 °C: rash vest or 1–2 mm shorty; 24–26 °C: 3 mm shorty; 21–24 °C: 3 mm full wetsuit; 18–21 °C: 5 mm full wetsuit; below 18 °C: 7 mm wetsuit, or a drysuit for diving. Divers lose heat faster and meet cooler water at depth: go one band thicker. People feel cold differently; this is a guide, not a source's advice.",
  "sites": [
    {
      "name": "Cabrera Archipelago Maritime-Terrestrial National Park",
      "kind": "national park",
      "where": "South of Mallorca",
      "facts": [
        {
          "text": "Navigating, mooring and diving need an authorisation, applied for online. A navigation permit is valid 12 months; at most 50 boats a day may use the park's mooring buoys.",
          "status": "official",
          "sources": [
            {
              "id": "dive_es_cabrera_caib",
              "name": "Govern de les Illes Balears (CAIB)",
              "title": "Autorización para navegar, fondear o bucear en el Parque Nacional Marítimo-Terrestre del Archipiélago de Cabrera",
              "url": "https://www.caib.es/sites/espaisnaturalsprotegits/es/10_at_navegar_fondear_o_bucear_pnmta_cabrera_/",
              "checked": "2026-10-28",
              "note": "Official procedure page (Spanish; translations ours). Undated: no year is shown for the buoy fee table.",
              "tier": "official"
            }
          ]
        },
        {
          "text": "For scuba diving you must present the diving certificate of every diver; the authorised dive zones can change from year to year.",
          "status": "official",
          "sources": [
            {
              "id": "dive_es_cabrera_miteco",
              "name": "MITECO (Spanish Ministry for the Ecological Transition), National Parks network",
              "title": "Archipiélago de Cabrera: usos compatibles",
              "url": "https://www.miteco.gob.es/es/red-parques-nacionales/nuestros-parques/cabrera/conservacion-biodiversidad/usos-compatilbes.html",
              "checked": "2026-10-28",
              "note": "Official page (Spanish; translations ours). Its overnight limits differ from the CAIB procedure page.",
              "tier": "official"
            }
          ]
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "name": "Posidonia oceanica seagrass meadows",
      "kind": "protected areas",
      "where": "All Balearic waters",
      "facts": [
        {
          "text": "Decree 25/2018, art. 7.1: anchoring boats on Posidonia oceanica is prohibited as a general rule.",
          "status": "official",
          "sources": [
            {
              "id": "dive_es_posidonia",
              "name": "Govern de les Illes Balears (CAIB)",
              "title": "Decreto 25/2018, de 27 de julio, sobre la conservación de la Posidonia oceanica en las Illes Balears",
              "url": "https://caib.es/sites/cuidamposidonia/en/decree_posidonia/",
              "checked": "2026-10-28",
              "note": "Official text of the decree (BOIB no. 8006) on the regional government's Posidonia site. Read: art. 4, 7 and 8 and the transitional provisions.",
              "tier": "official"
            }
          ]
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "fees": [
    {
      "item": "Cabrera buoy, white (boats up to 12 m), per day",
      "amount": "€9.30 (1 Oct–30 Apr) · €18.60 (1 May–30 Sep)",
      "status": "official",
      "sources": [
        {
          "id": "dive_es_cabrera_caib",
          "name": "Govern de les Illes Balears (CAIB)",
          "title": "Autorización para navegar, fondear o bucear en el Parque Nacional Marítimo-Terrestre del Archipiélago de Cabrera",
          "url": "https://www.caib.es/sites/espaisnaturalsprotegits/es/10_at_navegar_fondear_o_bucear_pnmta_cabrera_/",
          "checked": "2026-10-28",
          "note": "Official procedure page (Spanish; translations ours). Undated: no year is shown for the buoy fee table.",
          "tier": "official"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "item": "Cabrera buoy, yellow (over 12 to 15 m), per day",
      "amount": "€20 (1 Oct–30 Apr) · €40 (1 May–30 Sep)",
      "status": "official",
      "sources": [
        {
          "id": "dive_es_cabrera_caib",
          "name": "Govern de les Illes Balears (CAIB)",
          "title": "Autorización para navegar, fondear o bucear en el Parque Nacional Marítimo-Terrestre del Archipiélago de Cabrera",
          "url": "https://www.caib.es/sites/espaisnaturalsprotegits/es/10_at_navegar_fondear_o_bucear_pnmta_cabrera_/",
          "checked": "2026-10-28",
          "note": "Official procedure page (Spanish; translations ours). Undated: no year is shown for the buoy fee table.",
          "tier": "official"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "item": "Cabrera buoy, orange (over 15 to 20 m), per day",
      "amount": "€35 (1 Oct–30 Apr) · €90 (1 May–30 Sep)",
      "status": "official",
      "sources": [
        {
          "id": "dive_es_cabrera_caib",
          "name": "Govern de les Illes Balears (CAIB)",
          "title": "Autorización para navegar, fondear o bucear en el Parque Nacional Marítimo-Terrestre del Archipiélago de Cabrera",
          "url": "https://www.caib.es/sites/espaisnaturalsprotegits/es/10_at_navegar_fondear_o_bucear_pnmta_cabrera_/",
          "checked": "2026-10-28",
          "note": "Official procedure page (Spanish; translations ours). Undated: no year is shown for the buoy fee table.",
          "tier": "official"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "mooring_and_anchoring": [
    {
      "text": "Decree 25/2018: no anchoring on Posidonia (art. 7.1); over Posidonia, only low-impact systems such as individual buoys or buoy fields, or the sand patches inside a buoy field (art. 7.2); the chain and other gear must not touch nearby meadows (art. 7.3); until buoys are installed, anchor only on sand (transitional provision 2).",
      "status": "official",
      "sources": [
        {
          "id": "dive_es_posidonia",
          "name": "Govern de les Illes Balears (CAIB)",
          "title": "Decreto 25/2018, de 27 de julio, sobre la conservación de la Posidonia oceanica en las Illes Balears",
          "url": "https://caib.es/sites/cuidamposidonia/en/decree_posidonia/",
          "checked": "2026-10-28",
          "note": "Official text of the decree (BOIB no. 8006) on the regional government's Posidonia site. Read: art. 4, 7 and 8 and the transitional provisions.",
          "tier": "official"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "text": "Cabrera: a buoy is booked from 18:00 on the first day to 17:00 on the last; if you book a bigger buoy than your boat needs you pay its rate.",
      "status": "official",
      "sources": [
        {
          "id": "dive_es_cabrera_caib",
          "name": "Govern de les Illes Balears (CAIB)",
          "title": "Autorización para navegar, fondear o bucear en el Parque Nacional Marítimo-Terrestre del Archipiélago de Cabrera",
          "url": "https://www.caib.es/sites/espaisnaturalsprotegits/es/10_at_navegar_fondear_o_bucear_pnmta_cabrera_/",
          "checked": "2026-10-28",
          "note": "Official procedure page (Spanish; translations ours). Undated: no year is shown for the buoy fee table.",
          "tier": "official"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "text": "Cabrera overnight limits differ between the two official pages: the regional procedure page says two nights in July and August and seven the rest of the year; the national parks page says one night in July and August, two in September and seven the rest of the year.",
      "status": "official",
      "sources": [
        {
          "id": "dive_es_cabrera_caib",
          "name": "Govern de les Illes Balears (CAIB)",
          "title": "Autorización para navegar, fondear o bucear en el Parque Nacional Marítimo-Terrestre del Archipiélago de Cabrera",
          "url": "https://www.caib.es/sites/espaisnaturalsprotegits/es/10_at_navegar_fondear_o_bucear_pnmta_cabrera_/",
          "checked": "2026-10-28",
          "note": "Official procedure page (Spanish; translations ours). Undated: no year is shown for the buoy fee table.",
          "tier": "official"
        },
        {
          "id": "dive_es_cabrera_miteco",
          "name": "MITECO (Spanish Ministry for the Ecological Transition), National Parks network",
          "title": "Archipiélago de Cabrera: usos compatibles",
          "url": "https://www.miteco.gob.es/es/red-parques-nacionales/nuestros-parques/cabrera/conservacion-biodiversidad/usos-compatilbes.html",
          "checked": "2026-10-28",
          "note": "Official page (Spanish; translations ours). Its overnight limits differ from the CAIB procedure page.",
          "tier": "official"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "diving": [
    {
      "text": "Cabrera: scuba diving needs the park's authorisation and each diver's certificate; authorised zones are reviewed every year.",
      "status": "official",
      "sources": [
        {
          "id": "dive_es_cabrera_miteco",
          "name": "MITECO (Spanish Ministry for the Ecological Transition), National Parks network",
          "title": "Archipiélago de Cabrera: usos compatibles",
          "url": "https://www.miteco.gob.es/es/red-parques-nacionales/nuestros-parques/cabrera/conservacion-biodiversidad/usos-compatilbes.html",
          "checked": "2026-10-28",
          "note": "Official page (Spanish; translations ours). Its overnight limits differ from the CAIB procedure page.",
          "tier": "official"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "text": "Whether you must dive with a dive centre elsewhere in the Balearics: not verified.",
      "status": "not_verified",
      "sources": []
    }
  ],
  "visibility": {
    "text": "We found no official or survey source for underwater visibility, so we give no figure. Ask the local dive centre on the day.",
    "status": "not_verified",
    "sources": []
  },
  "not_verified": [
    "Which Cabrera overnight limit applies in 2027 (the two official pages differ).",
    "Fines under the Posidonia decree.",
    "Snorkel and dive rules in the Es Freus / Ses Salines reserve between Ibiza and Formentera.",
    "Underwater visibility."
  ],
  "source_counts": {
    "official": 4,
    "secondary": 0
  },
  "status_legend": {
    "official": "Read in an official text: government, park authority, ministry or official tourism board.",
    "secondary": "From a newspaper, NGO, guide or tour operator; not official.",
    "not_verified": "We could not confirm it. We leave it open rather than guess."
  },
  "caveat": "Park rules change and some are seasonal. Check with the park, the charter base or a local dive centre. The answer, wetsuit column and warm-water flag are our wording and rules applied to labelled facts and NOAA means.",
  "sources": [
    {
      "id": "dive_es_posidonia",
      "name": "Govern de les Illes Balears (CAIB)",
      "title": "Decreto 25/2018, de 27 de julio, sobre la conservación de la Posidonia oceanica en las Illes Balears",
      "url": "https://caib.es/sites/cuidamposidonia/en/decree_posidonia/",
      "checked": "2026-10-28",
      "note": "Official text of the decree (BOIB no. 8006) on the regional government's Posidonia site. Read: art. 4, 7 and 8 and the transitional provisions.",
      "tier": "official"
    },
    {
      "id": "dive_es_cabrera_caib",
      "name": "Govern de les Illes Balears (CAIB)",
      "title": "Autorización para navegar, fondear o bucear en el Parque Nacional Marítimo-Terrestre del Archipiélago de Cabrera",
      "url": "https://www.caib.es/sites/espaisnaturalsprotegits/es/10_at_navegar_fondear_o_bucear_pnmta_cabrera_/",
      "checked": "2026-10-28",
      "note": "Official procedure page (Spanish; translations ours). Undated: no year is shown for the buoy fee table.",
      "tier": "official"
    },
    {
      "id": "dive_es_cabrera_miteco",
      "name": "MITECO (Spanish Ministry for the Ecological Transition), National Parks network",
      "title": "Archipiélago de Cabrera: usos compatibles",
      "url": "https://www.miteco.gob.es/es/red-parques-nacionales/nuestros-parques/cabrera/conservacion-biodiversidad/usos-compatilbes.html",
      "checked": "2026-10-28",
      "note": "Official page (Spanish; translations ours). Its overnight limits differ from the CAIB procedure page.",
      "tier": "official"
    },
    {
      "id": "noaa_oisst_ltm",
      "name": "NOAA PSL (NOAA/NCEI OISST v2.1)",
      "title": "NOAA High-resolution Blended Analysis: OISST v2.1 long-term mean monthly sea surface temperature, 1991–2020 (sst.mon.ltm.1991-2020.nc)",
      "url": "https://psl.noaa.gov/thredds/catalog/Datasets/noaa.oisst.v2.highres/catalog.html",
      "checked": "2026-10-28",
      "note": "NOAA's published 1/4° monthly climatology (climo_period 1991/01/01–2020/12/31; every month of every cell we use rests on 30 years). Read on 28 Oct 2026 through PSL's THREDDS point service by scripts/fetch-sst.mjs; we chose one sea cell per destination and rounded to 0.1 °C. Satellite-and-in-situ analysis of the sea surface, not a beach or depth reading.",
      "tier": "official"
    }
  ],
  "attribution": "Cite \"Catamaran Index\" with a link to the canonical_url of the page the figure comes from, and name the original source listed with it.",
  "affiliate_note": "book_url links go through /go/samboat, an affiliate link: Catamaran Index may earn a commission on bookings, at no extra cost to the traveller. It never changes the data."
}