The whole boat, a skipper who knows the coast, and a route decided by the wind rather than a timetable. Private full and half day trips from Palma and Puerto Portals — no shared decks, no queues, no fixed schedule.
A day trip by boat is the single best thing you can do with twenty-four hours in Mallorca. The island's finest places are simply not reachable by road: the sea caves under El Toro, the sand shelf off Es Trenc that turns the water an implausible turquoise, the lee side of Sa Dragonera where the visibility runs to fifteen metres, the coves beneath the Serra de Tramuntana where the cliffs drop a thousand feet into water too deep to anchor. From the coast road you see none of it. From the water you can be swimming in it by half past ten.
There is an important distinction to draw before you book, because the phrase "Mallorca boat trip" covers two very different products. One is the shared excursion: a large vessel, a seat you buy per person, a fixed route, a fixed lunch and a fixed return time, shared with anywhere between forty and two hundred strangers. The other is a private day charter, where you take the whole boat with a skipper and the day belongs to you. TSB Yachting only does the second. You choose when to leave, where to swim, how long to stay, what plays through the speakers and what you eat, and the skipper reshapes the route through the day based on the wind, the swell and where the crowds have gone.
Practically, that freedom is worth more than it sounds. The good anchorages on this coast fill between eleven and four. A private boat leaving Puerto Portals at half past nine can have Cala Falcó to itself, move on the moment the first excursion boat rounds the headland, and be somewhere quieter while everyone else is still rafting up. It is the difference between visiting the Mallorcan coastline and actually having it. If you would rather stay out longer than a day, our sailing holidays and motor yacht charters cover the same water across a week.
Morning or afternoon along the south-west coast — Illetes, Portals Vells, Cala Falcó and the El Toro caves. Two or three swim stops and back in time for dinner ashore. The best-value introduction to the island by sea.
Ten in the morning until six in the evening, and the range to reach Sant Elm, Sa Dragonera or Es Trenc with time to swim properly at each stop. Our most-booked day trip and the one we recommend first.
Out at seven, back by ten. A swim while the light goes gold, drinks on the sunpad and the run home across the Bay of Palma with the cathedral lit up on the shoreline. Best in June through September.
These are the day trips we run most often. None of them is fixed — the skipper will tell you honestly on the morning which one the forecast favours, and will happily invent a sixth if you have somewhere particular in mind.
Portals to Illetes, Cala Falcó, Portals Vells and the sea caves at El Toro. Everything within forty minutes of the marina, sheltered in almost any wind, and the right choice if you have young children, limited time or a dinner reservation to make. Sandy bottoms, easy swimming and the clearest water closest to Palma.
West past Camp de Mar and Port d'Andratx to the Dragonera channel, a protected nature reserve island with vertical cliffs, resident falcons and the best visibility on this coast. Lunch at anchor off Sant Elm or at a table in the village, then a slow return with the afternoon breeze behind you.
South-east across the bay to Mallorca's longest undeveloped beach, where a shallow sand shelf turns the water an unreasonable shade of turquoise. Continue to Cala Pi or the calas around Santanyí if the day is calm. This is the route people photograph and nobody quite believes is Europe.
The most dramatic Mallorca coastline boat tour there is. North from Andratx under the Serra de Tramuntana, where the mountains fall straight into water a thousand metres deep and the only way in is by sea. Swim into the caves, anchor below Cala Deià, and see a side of the island most visitors never do. Needs settled weather.
Thirty miles south to a protected archipelago with no hotels, no roads and no development of any kind — just a fourteenth-century castle, a mooring field and the Blue Cave. Entry is permit-controlled and numbers are capped, so this one has to be requested well in advance and started early. Worth every hour of the passage.
You arrive at the marina fifteen minutes before departure. There is no check-in desk and no queue — the skipper meets you on the pontoon, takes your bags aboard and runs a short safety brief while you settle in. Shoes off, fridge stocked, engines on.
The first leg is usually forty minutes to an hour, which is long enough for everyone to stop being on holiday-arrival mode and start being on a boat. Then the anchor goes down somewhere clear, the bathing platform comes out, and the day becomes swimming, snorkelling, paddleboarding and lunch in whatever order you like. On a full day you will move twice, sometimes three times.
The last hour is the one people remember: a slow run home along the coast with the light going low, everyone salted and quiet on the foredeck. You are alongside on time, and the skipper handles the lines while you finish your drink. Nothing about the day requires anything of you.
The right boat for a day trip depends far more on who is aboard than on how much you want to spend. A group of six who want to cover ground and swim in four places needs something quite different from twelve people who want shade, a table and one very good anchorage. We will tell you which of ours fits — including when the honest answer is the smaller one.
Twenty-five knots of cruising speed turns Es Trenc and Sa Dragonera from ambitious into comfortable. The right pick when the anchorage matters more than the journey and you want time in the water rather than time getting there.
See the fleet →
Slower, quieter, shaded and unmistakably Balearic. A Menorquín does not rush anywhere, which is exactly the point on a day built around one long lunch and three swims rather than a coastal sprint.
See the fleet →
Engine off by midday and the only sound is water. A sailing day trip covers less coast but delivers a better day, and the afternoon thermal breeze in the Bay of Palma is about as reliable as wind gets in the Mediterranean.
See the fleet →We are based in Palma, not in a call centre. On a single day out, local knowledge is the whole difference between a good trip and an expensive one.
Certified by the Spanish Maritime Authority and working these bays year-round. They know which cala is sheltered today and which one filled up an hour ago.
One quote covering boat, skipper, fuel basis and extras, sent before you commit. No per-head surcharges and no fuel surprises at the dock.
Depart when you want, stay as long as you want, change the plan at midday. The route is a suggestion, not a schedule you have bought a seat on.
If the forecast is wrong for your route we move you somewhere sheltered, and if it is wrong for the sea we reschedule or refund. We would rather move your day than spoil it.
Mallorca's day-charter season runs from late April to the end of October. Within it, the difference between the busiest week and the best week is considerable, and if your dates are flexible it is worth knowing which is which.
Warm air, water climbing through the low twenties, empty anchorages and the best prices of the season. June is arguably the finest month of the year to be on the water here — long days, reliable breeze and nobody in your bay.
Check spring dates →
The hottest, brightest and busiest weeks, with the warmest water and the highest prices. Book four to eight weeks ahead, and start early — a nine-thirty departure buys you two hours of quiet that a midday one does not.
Check high season →
The sea is at its warmest in September and the crowds have gone home. Our pick of the year for a full-day trip: flat mornings, gentle afternoons and the Tramuntana at its most photogenic in the lower light.
Check autumn dates →Tell us your date, how many are coming and whether you want to cover ground or anchor early. We will come back with the right boat, a route built around the forecast and a clear, itemised price.
Check Day Trip Availability