Crewed Itinerary · Balearic Islands · One-Way

Balearic Islands Yacht Charter: A 7-Day One-Way from Palma to Ibiza

The one-way week puts both sides of the Balearics into a single charter. The first half runs Mallorca's rugged Tramuntana coast: granite mountains drop straight to the water, and the working fishing harbors along the way haven't changed character in a century. Cabrera National Park, the yacht-only anchorage south of Mallorca, is the marquee day in the middle of the week. After the open-water crossing the boat reaches Ibiza, where the water turns clearer and the coves shallower. Dinner the rest of the week is ashore in working port towns. The week ends in Ibiza Town's harbor under the old walled city.

The route is a 150-nautical-mile one-way from Palma to Ibiza Town. Motor yachts and modern catamarans both work it well, with both staging cleanly across the open-water crossing. Embarkation is at Palma; disembarkation Saturday morning at Ibiza Town. Prime season runs late May through early October.

Duration
7 days / 8 nights · one-way
Base
Palma de Mallorca → Ibiza Town
Plan your Balearics charter Custom-tailored to your dates and group preferences
Es Trenc beach aerial — long white-sand south Mallorca beach with yacht at anchor offshore.
Cabrera Cova Blava sea-cave snorkel — yacht moored at Port de Cabrera.
Motor yacht on the open water mid-crossing from Mallorca to Ibiza.
Ibiza Town arrival from the water — Ibiza's old walled town rising above the marina.

A Balearic Islands yacht charter that runs both halves in seven nights

The one-way week puts both halves of the Balearics into a single charter. The first half runs the rugged Mallorca coast — mountains above the boat at anchor, working fishing harbors, and the yacht-only national park as the marquee day. The open-water crossing in the middle of the week brings the boat south to Ibiza, where the water clears and the coves shallow. The second half ends in Ibiza Town's harbor under the old walled city.

The week starts in Palma. The first two days run east and south along Mallorca's coast — first an easy-water beach day, then the yacht-only national park overnight with its medieval watchtower above the harbor. Day three is the crossing — fifty to eighty miles to Ibiza's north coast depending on weather. The remaining days run the lighter half: the famous offshore cliff-stack for sunset, Formentera's sand-bottom anchorages for lunch, and a final night under the walled town of Ibiza.

Two other Balearic weeks run alongside this one. The Mallorca round-trip stays on the rugged side, returning to Palma at the end of the week. The Ibiza-and-Formentera round-trip stays on the lighter side, starting and ending in Ibiza Town. The full-Balearics one-way is the right call for groups who want the broadest single week the Balearics deliver — both coasts inside seven nights, with the boat repositioning from Palma to Ibiza along the way.

1

Day 1 of 7 · Palma → Es Trenc

Palma Embark and the South Coast

Anchorage: Es Trenc
Palma's main marinas sit at the foot of La Seu, the cathedral that defines the city's skyline from the water. Embarkation is fifteen minutes from the airport.
Palma's main marinas sit at the foot of La Seu, the cathedral that defines the city's skyline from the water. Embarkation is fifteen minutes from the airport.

The week starts in Palma. Fifteen minutes by road from PMI airport, the city's three main yacht facilities — Marina Port de Mallorca, Real Club Náutico de Palma, and STP — sit along the western arc of Palma Bay. Crew meet you at the slip with cold drinks and the chart briefing; the galley is stocked, luggage settled into cabins.

By midafternoon the captain is slipping lines. A twenty-two-nautical-mile run east and south along Mallorca's south coast to Es Trenc — the three-kilometer unbuilt white-sand beach that's the south coast's iconic anchorage. Sand-bottom anchorage in 5 to 10 meters of water; the captain anchors offshore in the protected zone. Late-afternoon swim, dinner on board at anchor as the sun sets behind the western tip of the island. Es Trenc is a national park since 2017 — protected by Spain's Llei d'Espais Naturals legislation, which is why the beach remains unbuilt three decades after every other south-Mallorca beach was developed.

Day Highlights

  • Embarkation at Palma — fifteen minutes from PMI airport.
  • Twenty-two-nautical-mile afternoon run east-southeast.
  • Anchor offshore at Es Trenc — three kilometers of unbuilt white sand.
  • Es Trenc national park status (since 2017) protects the natural state.
  • Swim, dinner aboard at anchor as the sun sets.
2

Day 2 of 7 · Es Trenc → Cabrera

Cabrera Permit Anchorage and the 14th-Century Castle

Anchorage: Cabrera National Park (permit anchorage)
The natural harbor at Cabrera National Park. A medieval watchtower stands on the eastern headland, a short walk up from the dock.
The natural harbor at Cabrera National Park. A medieval watchtower stands on the eastern headland, a short walk up from the dock.

A short twelve-nautical-mile run south from Es Trenc to Cabrera. The captain has booked the buoy twenty days in advance through the CAIB reservation system at https://www.caib.es/rescabfront/ — the buoy is issued at one of three mooring fields (Port de Cabrera, Es Burrí, or Sa Coveta Roja). Cabrera caps fifty boats per day across the three fields and enforces a limited charter quota when oversubscribed; peak July/August Saturdays carry a twenty-boat waitlist in practice.

The afternoon at Cabrera is the marquee yacht-only-access moment of the week. Tender ashore to the dock at the harbor, then a fifteen-minute walk up to the medieval watchtower on the eastern headland — free, self-guided, climbed for the panoramic view. Swim in the harbor basin in water that looks like the Mediterranean did fifty years ago. The island has no shops, no fuel, no restaurants.

Dinner aboard at anchor. The 1-to-2-night stay limit in peak summer (July/August) is enforced; in shoulder season the captain can stretch to up to seven nights for guests who want the deeper Cabrera experience. Cabrera under stars from the swim platform is the kind of view you don't forget.

Day Highlights

  • Short twelve-nautical-mile run south to Cabrera National Park.
  • Captain has booked the buoy 20 days in advance through CAIB.
  • Spain's first maritime-terrestrial national park (1991).
  • Tender ashore to the hexagonal castle.
  • Swim in Port de Cabrera — Mediterranean water as it was fifty years ago.
  • Dinner aboard at anchor — no on-island services.
3

Day 3 of 7 · Cabrera → Ibiza (the crossing day)

Cova Blava in the Morning, Ibiza by Evening

Anchorage: Cala Salada (north Ibiza)
A forty-meter sea-cave on Cabrera's west coast, reachable only by tender. Mid-morning light fills the cave with shafts of electric blue.
A forty-meter sea-cave on Cabrera's west coast, reachable only by tender. Mid-morning light fills the cave with shafts of electric blue.

An early start. The captain pulls the Cabrera buoy before sunrise and runs three nautical miles north to Cova Blava — the forty-meter sea-cave on Cabrera's west coast. Tender from the yacht into the cave (the entrance is 6 meters high and the natural arch climbs to 20 meters inside); the noon-hour light comes in through the opening to turn the water electric blue. Visit before 11:00 to beat the commercial day-boat surge from Colònia de Sant Jordi.

By midmorning the captain points the bow west for the longest leg of the week — sixty-five nautical miles open-water across to Ibiza's north coast. From Cabrera the bearing is roughly 270°; from Es Trenc/Sa Ràpita the bearing flattens. The captain has read the morning's conditions before committing — on a settled day with the prevailing summer SE thermals a sailing yacht runs the leg under canvas, a catamaran reaches across, a motor yacht covers it in five to seven hours under power. The mid-passage view is open water in every direction — Mallorca receding behind, Ibiza appearing as a slow blue silhouette on the western horizon by mid-afternoon.

Arrival at Cala Salada or Portinatx on Ibiza's north coast — quieter coves than the south-coast circuit, sand-bottom anchorage in 8 to 15 meters, the wooden-pier restaurants that define the old-Ibiza dinner. The captain books the table on the way in; dinner ashore as the day's run settles into evening.

Day Highlights

  • Early-morning Cova Blava — forty-meter sea-cave, tender entry.
  • Sixty-five-nautical-mile open-water crossing west to Ibiza.
  • Mid-passage open water in every direction.
  • Arrival at Cala Salada or Portinatx on Ibiza's north coast.
  • Wooden-pier dinner — the old-Ibiza north-coast.
4

Day 4 of 7 · Ibiza north → Ibiza west

Cala Bassa Lunch, Es Vedrà Sunset

Anchorage: Cala d'Hort (off Es Vedrà)
The offshore cliff-stack at Ibiza's southwest corner — uninhabited, dramatic, the half-hour of sunset behind it the visual signature of an Ibiza charter.
The offshore cliff-stack at Ibiza's southwest corner — uninhabited, dramatic, the half-hour of sunset behind it the visual signature of an Ibiza charter.

A morning's slow run south along Ibiza's west coast. Cala Bassa for lunch — the sand-bottom beach club anchorage on the west coast, lower-key than Cala Jondal's south-coast, lunch at the cove's beach club ashore with tender straight from the anchored yacht. The afternoon swims off the swim platform; the captain repositions further south to Cala d'Hort by midafternoon.

Cala d'Hort sits at Ibiza's southwest tip across the channel from the Es Vedrà nature reserve. The 413-meter limestone cliff-stack is uninhabited and part of the marine reserve; the cliff catches the southwest sun for the half-hour before sundown. The captain positions the yacht for the sunset around 20:00 in September, around 21:00 in July and August. Dinner aboard at anchor, the silhouette of Es Vedrà off the bow holding the sky until full dark.

Day Highlights

  • Slow morning run south along Ibiza's west coast.
  • Lunch at Cala Bassa — sand-bottom anchorage, west-coast beach-club.
  • Reposition to Cala d'Hort by midafternoon.
  • Sunset behind the 413-meter Es Vedrà cliff-stack.
  • Dinner aboard at anchor — silhouette of Es Vedrà holds the sky.
5

Day 5 of 7 · Cala d'Hort → Formentera

Juan y Andrea and the Formentera Marquee Day

Anchorage: Espalmador / Ses Illetes (Formentera)
Espalmador and the long sand spit south of Ibiza — shallow turquoise water on both sides, the brightest swimming in the Balearics.
Espalmador and the long sand spit south of Ibiza — shallow turquoise water on both sides, the brightest swimming in the Balearics.

A morning's run east and south to Espalmador — the small uninhabited island between Ibiza and Formentera. The Freus strait between them is three nautical miles of shallow turquoise water over protected seagrass meadows. The captain anchors in the regulated marine reserve zone — Formentera requires permit-buoy reservations in season similar to Cabrera but less strict — and tenders across to Ses Illetes for the day's marquee lunch.

Lunch is on Formentera's long sand spit, at the paella restaurant the captain books in advance. There's no dock at the beach — the restaurant's tender picks guests up from the yacht's anchor and runs them ashore for the long Mediterranean lunch into late afternoon.

The afternoon swims off the swim platform — Ses Illetes water is the warmest swimming water in the western Mediterranean in July and August, and the sand bottom holds the water clear well into the evening. Overnight at anchor or repositioned to the lee side of Ses Illetes depending on the evening wind.

Day Highlights

  • Three-nautical-mile crossing south to Formentera's Espalmador.
  • Anchor in Formentera's protected sand-bottom cove.
  • Lunch at Juan y Andrea — VHF 74 for tender pickup, .
  • Swim through the afternoon — warmest swimming water in the western Med.
  • Overnight in the marine reserve at anchor.
6

Day 6 of 7 · Formentera → east Ibiza

The East Coast Loop — Tagomago and Santa Eulària

Anchorage: Santa Eulària des Riu
The Ibiza east-coast loop — short hops between coves, tendered runs to beach bars, swim afternoons between.
The Ibiza east-coast loop — short hops between coves, tendered runs to beach bars, swim afternoons between.

A short run north and east up Ibiza's east coast to a small privately-owned villa-island just offshore. The yacht anchors in the deep water between the island and Ibiza's mainland; the afternoon swims off the swim platform.

By midafternoon the captain repositions back south to Santa Eulària — a small marina town with quay-side restaurants and an old church above the river. Dinner is at one of the small-family restaurants along the riverside walk; the captain has booked the table earlier in the day. Overnight at the marina or anchored offshore.

Day Highlights

  • Twenty-five-nautical-mile morning run north and east.
  • Tagomago — anchored offshore only, no island landing.
  • Afternoon swim in deep water between Tagomago and mainland.
  • Reposition south to Santa Eulària for the evening.
  • Dinner ashore — Casa Maca or riverside boardwalk.
7

Day 7 of 7 · Run to Ibiza Town and disembark

Dalt Vila Arrival and the Run Home

Anchorage: Ibiza Town (disembarkation)
Ibiza Town's walled hill rising above the harbor — the closing approach at the end of the week.
Ibiza Town's walled hill rising above the harbor — the closing approach at the end of the week.

An early start. A short ten-nautical-mile run south down Ibiza's east coast back to Ibiza Town. The afternoon is the long, slow re-entry into the harbor — Dalt Vila's walls growing along the south side, Marina Ibiza (for yachts up to 110m) or Marina Botafoch (for yachts up to 30m) taking the boat back at the slip by midafternoon. The chef's last plate runs over lunch at anchor or on the slow run home; an aft-deck final sundowner runs as the yacht works back to the marina.

Disembarkation is typically 09:00 Saturday morning. Guests who want one more night on board can extend at anchor in Ibiza Town's harbor with the captain returning the boat to the marina the morning of departure. From Ibiza Town it's fifteen minutes to IBZ airport, where Saturday afternoon and evening have the most outbound European connections — direct flights to Madrid, Barcelona, London, Amsterdam, and major European hubs. US guests connect through Madrid or Barcelona; the captain books the marina-to-airport transfer.

Day Highlights

  • Ten-nautical-mile run south to Ibiza Town.
  • Arrival under Dalt Vila — the walls grow along the south side.
  • Marina Ibiza or Marina Botafoch for the final-night berth.
  • Disembarkation Saturday morning.
  • Fifteen-minute transfer to IBZ airport for connecting flights via Madrid or Barcelona.

Frequently asked

How long is a typical full-Balearics one-way?
Seven days is standard — the right number to do Mallorca's south coast, Cabrera, the crossing to Ibiza, Ibiza's southwest, Formentera, and the run up to Ibiza Town for disembarkation. Ten-day variants extend to Mallorca's Tramuntana coast (Sa Foradada, Sa Calobra, Cap Formentor) on the front end. Five-day variants cut Formentera or shorten Ibiza to a single-night stop. The full-Balearics one-way captures the broadest editorial arc in seven nights — Tramuntana is the trade-off if you want both.
How does the Mallorca-to-Ibiza crossing work?
The crossing is 50 to 60 nautical miles from Port d'Andratx or Sa Ràpita on Mallorca's western and southern ports; from Palma directly it's roughly 80 nautical miles. The captain reads the morning's conditions before deciding the day — on a settled day with the prevailing summer SE thermals a sailing yacht runs the leg under canvas, a catamaran reaches across, a motor yacht covers it in five to seven hours under power. The arrival anchorage is Cala Salada or Portinatx on Ibiza's north coast — quieter than the south-coast circuit, easier to settle into after a half-day passage. Crossings in late August can be affected by occasional summer thunderstorms; the captain has the schedule slack to wait a day if conditions require it.
Cabrera National Park — can we guarantee the stop?
Cabrera permits open exactly twenty days in advance and high-demand Saturdays in July and August fill within minutes; there's a fixed limited charter quota when oversubscribed. The captain books the buoy as part of standard charter preparation, but the day-to-day is subject to permit availability. The week is built so that if Cabrera doesn't clear for your specific date, the south-Mallorca night substitutes Mondragó or Cala Figuera and the Cova Blava sea-cave is reached by tender from a nearby anchorage outside the permit zone. Cabrera's hull-length cap is thirty-five meters; yachts above that follow the same Mondragó/Cala Figuera + tender-into-Cova-Blava pattern.
What about the IBZ disembarkation — connecting flights to the US?
Direct US-to-IBZ flights are rare; the standard US guest connects through Madrid (MAD), Barcelona (BCN), Lisbon (LIS), or Amsterdam (AMS). From Ibiza Town it's fifteen minutes to IBZ airport. Saturday afternoon and evening have the most outbound European connections from IBZ; the captain books the marina-to-airport transfer. For groups who want a smoother return logistics, an alternative is to book a round-trip Mallorca week instead — Palma's PMI airport has more direct US-feeder flights through MAD and BCN.

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