Boat hire in Palma de Mallorca: what you're allowed to drive now

If you're searching for boat rental in Palma de Mallorca with "no licence", the short answer is that it no longer exists legally. Since 1 October 2026 anyone renting a motorboat in Spain needs a boating qualification, even for the smallest 5-metre, 15 hp runabout that used to be rented out with no qualification at all.

That doesn't mean staying ashore. You have two legal routes: get the navigation licence, which takes a day and lets you drive bigger boats than the old "no-licence" ones, or book the boat with a skipper. Both are set out below with numbers, plus what the law now requires of rental companies and what's down to you once you cast off.

Boat rental in Palma with no licence: what changed on 1 October

Royal Decree 1188/2025 amended article 10 of Spain's boating-qualification regulations (RD 875/2014). The new wording, in force since 1 October, keeps licence-free boating only for private use of motorboats up to 5 m and 15 hp, no more than 2 nautical miles from the departure port or beach and only in daylight. The decree's preamble is clear: in the case of rentals, the person renting must hold the relevant qualification. The official reason is the number of incidents and accidents involving rental boats.

In practice: the owner of a small motorboat can still use it without a licence, but you, as the customer of a rental company, cannot. You can read the text in the BOE, RD 1188/2025.

Which qualification you need: navigation licence and PER

The navigation licence (licencia de navegación) is the cheapest and quickest route. It's governed by article 11 of RD 875/2014 and issued by the sailing and powerboat federations and recreational boating schools. The course usually takes one day: about 2 hours of theory and 4 of practice, with no exam.

With it you can drive:

• Leisure boats up to 6 m long, with whatever power the manufacturer allows (more than the old 15 hp).
• Jet skis on your own, outside circuits and guided tours.
• Always in daylight and no more than 2 nautical miles from a port or shelter.

The minimum age is 18, or 16 with consent from parents or guardians. If you already hold a higher Spanish qualification, such as the PER, it's valid for renting. With a foreign qualification, ask the company before paying: the regulations recognise some but not all, and each case has to be checked. The consolidated text is in the BOE, RD 875/2014.

What Decree 44/2025 requires of rental companies

The Balearic Islands added their own layer of rules with a decree regulating leisure-boat rental on the islands. It doesn't change the licence requirement, but it gives you clues for spotting a serious company:

• Commercial boat, not private. Boats on the seventh list (private use) can't be rented to tourists. A rental boat must be on the sixth list or have an equivalent EU registration.
• Visible registration number. Companies file an annual declaration and go on a Balearic register. That number has to appear in their adverts.
• Licence check. If you rent without a skipper, the company must check that you hold an adequate qualification or refuse to sign.
• Professional skipper. If you book with crew, the skipper must hold a professional qualification; an amateur isn't enough.
• Posidonia warning. They must tell you that anchoring on Posidonia seagrass is banned and where the protected areas are, and the contract must include this.

"A friend's boat, cash in hand" offers are not legal in the Balearics.

Boat hire with skipper in Palma: the no-licence alternative

For most visitors, a boat with a skipper is the best option: you need no qualification, the skipper knows the coves with little swell and you're spared the question of where to anchor. The 2-mile limit of the licence doesn't apply to you either.

Direct prices for llaüts, the traditional Balearic wooden boat (slow, stable and shaded, ideal for families):

The €590 one includes skipper, aperitif, three drinks per person, snorkelling gear and paddleboard, on a route past Cala Major and Illetes. The €690 Mar i Cel includes skipper, fuel, insurance, VAT, Mallorcan nibbles and drinks. On the third, the skipper's fee isn't included: always compare the final price.

On the booking platforms, a private boat with skipper from Playa de Palma costs from €750, an electric llaüt from Puerto Portals from €483 and a sailing boat with skipper from Palma from €617.50. Before booking, read our GetYourGuide review. To compare more options, see the guide to private boats with skipper, the one on sailing trips and the review of llaüts in Palma.

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The skipper-free "rental" listings in that list, such as the premium boat from €370, require a licence. If a listing doesn't say which qualification it asks for, ask before booking.

Boat rental prices in Palma: deposit, fuel and extras

The "no-licence" listings one rental platform still shows in Palma run from about €185 a day, averaging €352 and topping out at €861. Those prices are a useful guide for small motorboats, but you can now only rent them with a licence. Note: of 121 boats listed, only 9 included fuel.

A typical Can Pastilla listing for a 6-person motorboat, still sold as "no licence" and now requiring one, shows the extras well:

• Boat for 4 hours: from €270.
• Deposit: €500.
• Fuel: €20 (4 h) or €30 (8 h).
• Cleaning: €20 per day.
• Insurance with excess included.

With a skipper, fuel is usually included on llaüts and often not on larger motorboats, where it's charged separately (a 9 m boat can burn about 12 litres an hour). Add-on paellas and open bars are charged per person, even when the boat is priced "per group".

Where rental boats leave from in Palma

The departure points decide which coves are within reach, which matters with a navigation licence, since it doesn't let you go more than 2 miles from port.

• Real Club Náutico de Palma (RCNP), at the end of the Passeig Marítim (seafront promenade): meeting point for llaüts with skipper, next to the San Telmo chapel. The club currently warns that from 9 to 15 October access and parking are limited by resurfacing works; check at rcnp.es.
• Club de Mar, Muelle Pelaires, west side of the port: many private charters leave from here. It's the closest to Illetes and Portals Vells.
• Can Pastilla and Cala Gamba: closer to Cala Blava and Cap Enderrocat. Less time motoring, more time swimming.
• Club Nàutic S'Arenal: in the municipality of Llucmajor, base of the Life & Sea catamarans.

With a navigation licence, from Can Pastilla you reach Cala Blava and Cap Enderrocat within the limit. Portals Vells is further from Palma city: check the distance on the chart before setting out. More on each club in the review of Palma's yacht clubs and on each pontoon in departures from El Arenal and departures from Palma port.

On the weather, one local rule worth knowing: the south-westerly sea breeze, the embat (afternoon sea breeze), builds after midday and peaks around 14:00. If you're driving yourself, go out in the morning. More in the guide to boating weather.

Posidonia and buoy fields: where to anchor without a fine

Anchoring on Posidonia is banned in the Balearics (Decree 25/2018). The meadows of this seagrass are the dark patches on the seabed; anchors and chains rip them up. Fines follow Law 42/2007: minor €100 to €3,000, serious €3,001 to €200,000 and very serious €200,001 to €2,000,000, depending on the square metres damaged.

Enforcement is real: the Posidonia monitoring service carried out 72,605 interventions in Mallorca in a single season, and 7% of boats were anchored on the meadow. Most end with a request to move, few with a formal report, but the scale of fines is there.

How to avoid it:

1. Look for sandy patches on the Govern (Balearic government) viewer, ideib.caib.es/posidonia, before setting out.
2. At Cala Blava use the Cap Blanc–Cala Blava buoy field (24 buoys). Inside a regulated field you can't drop anchor: you tie up to the buoy.
3. Book the buoy on the day at reservas.portsib.es.

Buoy prices: half day (10:00–14:00 or 14:00–18:00) €3.93 for 8 m and €9.08 for 12 m; full day €9.44 for 8 m. Half-day and full-day passes can only be booked for the same day. The other nearby field is at Sant Elm (23 buoys). If you're after swim stops, the snorkelling and paddleboarding guide covers which coves are worth it.

Other legal ways to get on the water without a licence

If you want neither a course nor a private skipper, there are cheaper options:

• Jet ski on a guided tour or a circuit. It's the only motor vehicle you can drive without a licence, always with an instructor or inside a marked circuit. Prices and rules in the jet ski and parasailing guide.
• Catamaran or shared boat. For much less money, they take you to the coves on the Llucmajor side with a swim included. See the Palma catamaran guide.
• Compare everything leaving the port: the guide to which boat to choose in Palma.

Checklist before you sign the rental