Boat Rental in Ibiza — With or Without a Licence

Yes. Spanish rules let anyone over 18 drive a boat of up to 15 hp with a hull under six metres, with no licence and no prior experience. You get a safety briefing before you leave and an agreed navigation area you have to stay inside — usually the stretch of coast around your departure port rather than the open crossing to Formentera. Everything larger or more powerful needs a recognised licence.

It depends on three things: the size of the boat, whether a skipper comes along, and the date. A licence-free boat for four to six people is the cheapest way onto the water; a skippered day charter is the most expensive. Fuel is almost always billed separately, on consumption, and that surprises people more than the rental rate does. Message us with your date and group size and we come back with the current rate for the boats actually free that day.

Yes, on essentially every boat. The deposit is held on a credit card in the main renter's name and released after the boat comes back undamaged, usually within a few days. The amount scales with the value of the boat, so a licence-free six-metre and a twelve-metre motor yacht are not in the same range. You are told the exact figure before you pay anything.

Usually yes, and it is worth asking early rather than on the day. English is widely spoken among skippers here; Dutch, German and French are available but on fewer boats, so the request narrows the fleet. Tell us which language you want when you enquire and we filter for it before quoting.

Ibiza's problem wind is the tramontana from the north, and it decides the day more often than rain does. If conditions make a charter unsafe the operator cancels and you are offered a new date or your money back — the call is made by the skipper or the base, not by you, and not the night before. On borderline days the usual fix is to change the route rather than the date: the south and west coasts stay workable when the north is closed out.

The licence on the boat sets the number, not the space on deck. Licence-free boats are typically certified for four to six; mid-size motorboats for eight to twelve; larger charter boats go beyond that. Skippers count towards the total on some certificates and not on others, so give us the real headcount including children when you enquire — a group of nine booked onto an eight-person boat gets turned away at the pontoon.

Almost never. The standard across the island is that you take the boat with a full tank and bring it back full, or settle consumption at the end. What you burn depends far more on how you drive than how far you go: sitting at anchor in a cove costs nothing, and running at full throttle to Formentera and back costs a lot. Ask for the tank size and consumption when you book if you want to budget it properly.

June to August is peak: warmest water, most reliable weather, highest prices, and the popular coves are busy by midday. May, September and early October are the better value — the sea is still warm in September, boats cost less and Cala Comte is not full at eleven in the morning. Weekdays are consistently cheaper and calmer than weekends in every month.