Mallorca vs Ibiza for a yacht or catamaran charter

Each pick is our rule applied to the data, not an opinion; the rules are under how we decide.

See catamarans for rent in Mallorca on SamBoat · See catamarans for rent in Ibiza on SamBoat

We may earn a commission if you book through our links, at no extra cost to you (disclosure).

Prices are 12 Knots' average weekly asking prices in euros ("Updated October 2026"). Rows marked our rule, our arithmetic or our calculation are ours; the others are quoted.

Mallorca and Ibiza share one Balearics dataset for the licence, fishing, scores and sea rows; the real differences are price, fleet size, air temperature and wind (Palma vs Ibiza Town), the crossing distance, and that our 7-day route covers Ibiza and Formentera.

Inputs are 12 Knots' prices and The Globe Sailor's September 2026 catamaran table (secondary), food at €20–40 per person per day; the per-person totals are our arithmetic. The Globe Sailor's table does not state a period for every column: the skipper fee is per day and the port fee per night (read from the article text); fuel per week is our reading. Tax and permit lines we could not verify (never added to a total):

• Mallorca: Whether the Balearic sustainable tourism tax applies to charter-boat guests.
• Mallorca: Ports IB 2026 marina tariffs (published in BOIB 2026/66; values not read).

Full breakdown: true cost in Mallorca (Mallorca and Ibiza share one page)

The same Spanish rules apply on both islands. Yes for a normal charter yacht or catamaran in Mallorca, Ibiza or the Balearics: Spanish law exempts only small craft (motor boats up to 5 m with at most 11.26 kW, sailboats up to 6 m) used by day within 2 nautical miles of a port, marina or shelter, and Spanish-flag boats can be rented to anyone holding a title from an EEA country or one listed in annex IX. For UK certificates the sources conflict: annex IX lists the RYA Coastal Skipper, Yachtmaster and ICC, but the RYA says UK certificates stopped being accepted for Spanish-flagged pleasure boats from 1 January 2021, so confirm with your operator.

Licence rules in the Balearics · Sailing licence requirements, explained

Crossing: Ibiza Town to Palma, straight line 67.4 nm / 124.8 km (our calculation); the sailed distance is longer.

Straight line, our calculation from OpenStreetMap coordinates; the road or ferry trip is longer. Nearest airport to the base is our choice (not the airport with the best connections). Distances are straight lines between OpenStreetMap coordinates, our calculation; the road or ferry trip is longer. We make no claim about flights. Great-circle distance between OpenStreetMap (Nominatim) coordinates, Earth radius 6,371.0088 km, 1 nm = 1.852 km. Straight lines: the sailed distance is longer. Coordinates © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL (openstreetmap.org/copyright).

• Mallorca and Ibiza: Yes, a boat licence covers the people aboard. Fishing rules in the Balearics.

One NOAA sea cell off Ibiza Town serves both islands: 3 months at 24 °C or more (off Ibiza Town) serves both: 3 months at 24 °C or more (July to September). Snorkel and dive in the Balearics.

• Decree 25/2018, art. 7.1: anchoring boats on Posidonia oceanica is prohibited as a general rule. (Govern de les Illes Balears (CAIB))
• For scuba diving you must present the diving certificate of every diver; the authorised dive zones can change from year to year. (MITECO (Spanish Ministry for the Ecological Transition), National Parks network)

See catamarans for rent in Mallorca on SamBoat

See catamarans for rent in Ibiza on SamBoat

Listings and prices on SamBoat are SamBoat's own and change daily; the figures on this page are 12 Knots averages. We may earn a commission if you book through our links, at no extra cost to you (disclosure).

• Whether the Balearic sustainable tourism tax applies to charter guests: we found no page that covers charter boats.
• Mallorca sea temperature, Mallorca strong-wind days and a Mallorca seven-day route: we have one Balearics sea-temperature cell (off Ibiza Town) and no Mallorca route yet.
• Flights and connections: we make no claim about them. The airport is our choice of the nearest one to the base.

• [Secondary source]: From a newspaper, NGO, guide or tour operator; not official.
• [Not verified]: We could not confirm it. We leave it open rather than guess.
• No label: Read in an official text: government, park authority, ministry or official tourism board.
• our arithmetic: a mean, a difference, a percentage or a per-person total we calculated from the cited figures.
• our calculation: a distance, a weather mean or a day count we calculated from NASA POWER, NOAA or OpenStreetMap data.
• our rule: a verdict. Every "better pick" is a published rule applied to the data (see how we decide), not a ranking by any source.
• our choice: a reference point, an airport or a tie band.

None of this is a forecast, a safety rating or a recommendation to book a particular boat.

• V1. On a budget, flexible dates: the side with the lower 12-month mean of 12 Knots' average weekly asking prices (our arithmetic). A gap under 5% of the lower mean is "about the same" (our choice).
• V2. Fixed dates: no single pick. We list the months in which each side has the lower 12 Knots price (our arithmetic).
• V3. Summer holidays: the side with the lower mean of the July and August prices; a gap under 5% of the lower figure is "about the same" (our choice).
• V4. Christmas and New Year: the side with the lower December price; a gap under 5% is "about the same".
• V5. Families with children: the higher best-month family score on our published method (calm wind, short hops, warm sea, season); scores within 5 points are a tie (our choice). No pick where a score is partial (Thailand) or both sides share one dataset (Mallorca and Ibiza).
• V6. First charter without a sailing licence: the side whose licence regime is lower in the order none, résumé, not confirmed, licence required (our classification of the sources); the same regime is a tie. Beginner scores on our method are printed beside it.
• V7. Steady wind or calm: no single pick. We print each side's force 6 days per year (22 kn or more, NASA POWER, 2016–2025, our calculation) and which side has more; a gap within 2 days is a tie (our choice).
• V8. Warm water, snorkelling: the side with more months at 24 °C or more by NOAA's mean sea temperature at our reference point; equal counts are a tie.
• V9. Seasonal weather risk: no pick. We quote each side's weather-risk answer and link its page.
• V10. Fishing from the boat: no pick. We quote each side's licence rule and any warning from our fishing pages.

Constants (our choices): price ties under 5% of the lower figure; score ties within 5 points; wind ties within 2 force 6 days.

True cost per person = (12 Knots charter fee + fuel + 6 marina nights + mandatory extras + food at €20–40 per person per day) ÷ 6 people (our arithmetic, The Globe Sailor's September 2026 figures). Where a side has no Globe Sailor row (BVI, Bahamas, Thailand) the total is partial and the like-for-like row uses charter + food only for both sides.

Nearest airport to the base is our choice (not the airport with the best connections). Distances are straight lines between OpenStreetMap coordinates, our calculation; the road or ferry trip is longer. We make no claim about flights.

Verdicts are our rules applied to the data, not a ranking by any source. Means, differences, per-person totals, distances and verdicts are our arithmetic or our rules.

Data: JSON.

• 12 Knots: Catamaran charter in Mallorca (secondary, not official), checked 27 Oct 2026.
• 12 Knots: Catamaran charter in Ibiza (secondary, not official), checked 27 Oct 2026.
• NASA POWER: Prediction Of Worldwide Energy Resources: Monthly API (T2M, WS10M) (official), checked 28 Oct 2026.
• The Globe Sailor: What it really costs to charter a yacht (secondary, not official), checked 28 Oct 2026.
• OpenStreetMap (Nominatim geocoder): Nominatim search API: coordinates of airports and the Palma reference point (secondary, not official), checked 29 Oct 2026.
• NASA POWER: Prediction Of Worldwide Energy Resources: Daily API (WS10M_MAX, WD10M) and Monthly API (PRECTOTCORR) (official), checked 29 Oct 2026.
• Met Office: Beaufort wind force scale (official), checked 29 Oct 2026.
• BOE (Spanish Official State Gazette): Real Decreto 875/2014 on nautical licences for recreational craft, consolidated text (official), checked 28 Oct 2026.
• RYA: Evidence of competence abroad (ICC) (reference, not official), checked 28 Oct 2026.
• Anchor (formerly Helm): What qualifications do I need to charter a yacht? (secondary, not official), checked 27 Oct 2026.
• Govern de les Illes Balears (CAIB): Decreto 25/2018, de 27 de julio, sobre la conservación de la Posidonia oceanica en las Illes Balears (official), checked 28 Oct 2026.
• MITECO (Spanish Ministry for the Ecological Transition), National Parks network: Archipiélago de Cabrera: usos compatibles (official), checked 28 Oct 2026.

Method: methodology. Data: JSON.

• Balearic Islands: charter guide
• Best time to charter in the Balearics
• True cost in the Balearics
• The Balearics: weather
• Fishing rules in the Balearics
• 7-day sailing itinerary: Ibiza and Formentera
• All comparisons
• Catamaran Index home