Best time to visit Mallorca for a boat trip

If you're looking for the best time to visit Mallorca for a boat trip, the short answer is June to September: little rain, warm weather and a sea that's already inviting for a swim. June is the most pleasant month for sailing (plenty of sun, water still fresh), August has the warmest water and September combines a mild sea with slightly fewer people, although it's the month with the most storms.

What hardly any brochure tells you is that the time of day matters as much as the month. On the Bay of Palma, almost one summer afternoon in two brings a south-westerly breeze, the embat (afternoon sea breeze), which whips up a short chop from midday. If you get seasick or are travelling with young children, book a morning trip. Below you'll find the calendar by activity, Palma's weather month by month, sunset times and what happens when the captain decides not to sail.

Best time for a boat trip in Mallorca, month by month

The table sums up how each month works for what people usually want on the water. It's based on sea temperature, rain, wind and the months in which operators publish departures; it isn't a promise of good weather on any particular day.

A few quick readings of the table:

• May and June are the months for sailing without the crowds. June has 315 hours of sun and only 1.7 rainy days on average, but the sea is around 21 °C: the first dip wakes you up.
• July and August have the best weather and the warmest water, and also the fullest boats and the most vessels anchored in every cove. If you go in these months, a morning trip makes all the difference.
• September is probably the best balance: the sea is still almost 25 °C and the season starts to ease off. Bear in mind it's the month with the most stormy days (3 on average).
• October is still fine for swimming (sea at 22 °C, highs of almost 24 °C at the port), but it's the wettest month and sunset comes much earlier.

The dolphin row shows when there are trips and when the sea cooperates, not how many dolphins there are: there's no public monthly count for the bay. The operators that look for them don't guarantee sightings at any time of year; we explain this in the guide to dolphin watching in Mallorca.

Palma weather by month: air, sea, rain and sun

These are the averages from the AEMET (Spain's state weather agency) station at the port of Palma (Portopí, 3 m above sea level), which best describes what you'll feel on deck. You can check them on the AEMET Palma Puerto page.

A useful detail: many weather apps show Palma airport, not the port. The airport is inland and is hotter by day and colder at night: in July it records highs of 31.2 °C against 29.4 °C at the port, and in January its lows drop to 3.8 °C when the port is around 8 °C. It also has 39 days of fog a year against about 4 at the port. On the water it'll be a little less hot than your phone says.

The port gets about 449 mm of rain a year, spread over 53 days, with 2,779 hours of sun. July is the driest month (0.7 rainy days) and the sunniest (346 hours). Rain returns in September, the month with the most stormy days, and October, November and December have the most rainy days, between 6 and 7.

Sea temperature in Mallorca: when it's nice to swim

The sea temperature in Palma lags behind the air. According to the Puertos del Estado (Spanish state ports) data series, the water bottoms out in February and March (around 14 °C) and doesn't reach 17 °C until May. The jump comes in June (21 °C), and the peak is August, at around 26 °C. September (24.7 °C) and October (22 °C) hold on to much of that warmth.

Most catamarans on the bay make one or two swim stops on the Llucmajor coast (Cova Verda, Cap Rocat, Cala Vella, Cala Blava). If you're more interested in the water than the cruise, see the guide to snorkelling and paddleboarding from Palma. And if you're going in spring or autumn, ask whether there's a swim stop: Barca Samba, for example, only does its sunset swim from June to August; the rest of the year it's a cruise with no swim.

The embat wind: why mornings are calmer

The embat is the local name for the sea breeze. On the Bay of Palma it blows from the south-west, from the sea towards land, and it's very much a summer thing: at the airport it shows up almost one day in two, peaking in July. Studies by AEMET and the Spanish Climatology Association put its strength in the Palma and Calvià area at force 3–4 in June and July and force 2–3 in August and September, peaking at around 14:00. At night the wind turns and blows off the land (the terral).

In practice, that means:

• Morning trips find a flatter sea. It's also what Sa Calma, one of the bay's operators, advises people who get seasick.
• In the afternoon there's a short chop, which you notice more on the way back to port and on small boats.
• The 10:00 to 15:00 catamarans do the long part of the day on a calm sea and come back when the embat is already blowing. The 15:30 ones leave with the breeze at its peak.

From Palma's quays (1–2) the catamarans cross the bay towards the Llucmajor coast (3–4); Life & Sea leaves from S'Arenal (5), and the Calvià boats from Palmanova and Magaluf (6–7). To choose a boat and a time, the guide to catamaran trips in Palma compares morning and afternoon departures.

Tramuntana and northerly winds

The tramuntana is the north wind, and the mistral the north-westerly. There's no reliable public statistic on how many days it blows or how many trips it cancels, so don't trust anyone who gives you a figure. What we do know is that each coast of Mallorca behaves differently depending on the wind: the breeze on the south of the island isn't the one on the north, where it blows from the north-east.

So if your plan is a trip along the north coast or the Serra de Tramuntana, like the boat from Port de Sóller to Sa Calobra or the trips from Alcúdia and Pollença, check the forecast for that coast, not Palma's. And if there's a strong-wind warning, ask the operator the day before.

Sunset cruises: sunset times by month

Sunset in Palma ranges from 20:14 in early April to 21:22 in late June, the latest of the year. In August it's already earlier (20:47 in mid-month) and on 1 October the sun sets at 19:33. When the clocks change at the end of October it drops suddenly to 17:50.

Sunset boats adjust their departure time through the season, so don't rely on a timetable you saw at another time of year: check the time on your ticket. After sunset there's still about half an hour of light (civil twilight). We compare Palma's sunset boats, from €20 to over €80, in the guide to sunset cruises in Palma.

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Bad weather and cancellations: who decides and what you get back

The captain or the operator always decides, not you or the booking platform. Barca Samba says so plainly in its FAQs: the weather decision is the captain's alone. Life & Sea leaves safety in the skipper's hands, and the catamarans' route can change if the captain sees fit, for example to anchor in a more sheltered cove.

What you get back depends on where you booked:

• GetYourGuide: if the provider cancels because the weather makes the activity impossible or dangerous, you get the booking price back. Any other claim goes to the provider. We explain it in our GetYourGuide review.
• Barcos Azules (Sóller – Sa Calobra): if they cancel due to force majeure, you choose a new date or a refund. Their booking conditions give the details; more in our Barcos Azules review.
• Click-Mallorca: if the operator cancels for safety or weather, a new date or a full refund. But light rain or clouds don't entitle you to cancel (Click-Mallorca review).
• Civitatis: its terms say it isn't responsible for the weather in which the provider runs the activity, and that in that case the service counts as delivered. In plain English: if the boat sails in a choppy sea, there's no refund. More in our Civitatis review.
• Life & Sea: changes due to weather or technical reasons are made without compensation; if the company cancels, it refunds what you paid.

What doesn't count as bad weather: a cloudy day or a few drops of rain. If you're the one who wants to cancel, most operators on the bay give you 24 hours' notice; Attraction asks for 48 hours and Palma Cruises charges 20% if you cancel less than 3 days before.

Seasickness on a boat: how to avoid it

Seasickness is felt mostly on afternoon trips, when the embat has already raised a swell. The NHS advice is simple and works better if you combine it:

Acupressure bands don't work for everyone. And a practical warning: if you get seasick easily, avoid boats with steep stairs between decks and don't drink alcohol on board; the guide to boat parties in Mallorca tells you which ones they are. The full information is on the NHS page on motion sickness.

What to bring on a boat trip

The short list, for a 4–5 hour catamaran trip on the bay:

• Swimwear already on, a towel and sun cream.
• Your own snorkel mask. Magic Catamarans asks for a €10–20 deposit on the gear and Oasis charges €20 for it.
• A card. On Magic you pay on board by card only and American Express isn't accepted. On Barca Samba the bar takes cash or card.
• Something warm for spring and autumn sunset boats and for Life & Sea's 06:00 dolphin trip, which specifically recommends it.
• Phone and earphones if you're going with Palma Cruises: the audio guide runs on your phone.
• No drinks of your own. Life & Sea and Barca Samba don't allow outside food or drink on board.
• Minimal luggage. Barca Samba doesn't store suitcases; don't come straight from the hotel with your luggage on your departure day.

Arrive 10–15 minutes early. Attraction asks for 10 minutes, Life & Sea 15, and Barca Samba closes boarding 5 minutes before departure: anyone not there loses their place.

See dates for the 5-hour catamaran with lunchfrom €59Affiliate link: if you book, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

Boat season in Mallorca: there isn't just one

You often hear that the boat season in Mallorca runs from April to October. It isn't a rule: each operator sets its own calendar, and in October plenty of boats still leave from Palma and Calvià. Some examples:

The calendar also changes within the season: Oasis's prices go up from 1 June to 14 September, the Barca Samba sunset swim only happens from June to August, and in October the short Palma cruise brings its last departure forward week by week. In the south-east, the trip to Caló des Moro from Cala Figuera only runs from June to September, and for Cabrera it's worth confirming dates with each company, because none of them publish theirs.

Operators barely publish a winter calendar. If you're travelling between November and March, the most reliable signal is the booking calendar itself: if a date is on sale, the boat is scheduled to sail. To see at a glance which option fits your dates, use our boat trip comparison.

FAQs about the best time to go

If you've already got your dates, see which beaches in Palma are handy for windy days when the boat doesn't sail.