Palma de Mallorca is the largest yachting harbour in the Balearics and, for most international guests, the first point of contact with chartering on Mallorca. Three marinas right beside the city, an international airport 20 minutes away, thousands of yachts between dry dock and water. Charter here and you have access to practically every class and every profile. The trade-off: Palma is pricier and busier than the neighbouring marinas of Puerto Portals or Port Adriano. When the city base is worth it — and when the short hop westward is the better plan — is the most important question we answer together up front.
When Palma is the right choice
Three profiles benefit concretely from a charter base in Palma. Crews arriving by air on the same day — a short transfer from the airport, no traffic out along the west coast, immediate handover. Superyacht guests from 30 metres up — Club de Mar is the only Mallorca marina with deep enough water, long enough berths and the supply logistics for megayachts. Charter guests with a city programme who want to alternate between days on the yacht and restaurants in the old town — Moll Vell is within walking distance of the cathedral.
When I'd recommend Puerto Portals or Port Adriano instead: for pure leisure charters, for families with small children (a shorter run to the quiet coves west of Andratx) and for week charters, where you're only in the marina on the first and last day anyway. The 15-minute drive westward spares you city noise, higher berth fees and the full weight of the traffic.
Three marinas: Club de Mar, RCNP, Moll Vell
Club de Mar is Palma's superyacht address and, at the same time, the most no-nonsense of the three. Charter a 40-metre yacht with a permanently stationed crew and you almost always end up here: deep-water berths, an in-house fuel station, large logistics spaces for tenders and watersports equipment. High-season berth day rates: typically €85–110 per metre per day, so a two-figure daily line item for the harbour alone. Club de Mar marina detail — with a map and occupancy.
Real Club Náutico de Palma (RCNP) has been the historic address since 1948 and is the city's true sailors' harbour — home port of the Copa del Rey, a tradition-minded club character, a more reserved atmosphere. For classic sailing yachts, regatta charters or simply for guests who value the nautical self-image, RCNP is the first choice. A transient charter is possible, but is often only released after a short registration. RCNP marina detail.
Marina Moll Vell is the most practical of the three for 40–65-ft charter yachts and, at the same time, the only Palma marina within a direct walk of the old town — 5 minutes to the Lonja, 12 minutes to the cathedral. For charter crews with a mixed programme of days at sea and evenings in Palma, Moll Vell is the right base. Berth prices sit 10–15% below Club de Mar at comparable service quality.
Choose Palma as your charter base and you're buying comfort and speed. Take the 15 minutes to run over to Portals and you're buying yourself quiet.
Day cruising grounds from Palma
Palma sits central enough that both the west coast (towards Andratx) and the east coast (towards Cala d'Or) are achievable day destinations — even if the west coast is far more popular, being closer and more sheltered from the wind.
West coast: Cala Mayor and Illetes (15 minutes), Cala Portals Vells (30 minutes), Cala Fornells and Cala Llamp near Andratx (45–60 minutes), Sant Elm and the island of Sa Dragonera (90 minutes). A classic day out — west in the morning to Cala Llamp, lunch in a sheltered cove, back in the afternoon via Illetes — is the standard route that works perfectly for most first-time charterers.
East coast: Cala Pi (60–75 minutes), Cala Mondragó (90–120 minutes), Cala Figuera and Cala Marmols (2 hours+). More ambitious, but with the finest sandy beaches on Mallorca. It's especially worth it in light wind or a slight easterly — then the west coast is gusty and the east is calmer.
Cabrera National Park: 2 hours one way, permit required (applied for through me or the skipper, at least 5 working days' notice, a bottleneck in high season). Cabrera is one of the few protected cruising grounds in the Mediterranean with overnight moorings — a one-day stop or two-day trip rounds off a week charter.
Prices and the booking process
Charter prices on Mallorca scale with the yacht class — the choice of Palma vs Portals makes a 5–15% difference to berth and harbour fees, but none to the yacht fee itself. The table is a rough orientation for the 2026 season; the binding figure is always the concrete offer for the specific yacht.
- Day cruisers up to 40 ft: €800–1,500 per day, skipper included. Suited to 6 people, the standard Cala Llamp route, the smaller yacht often without overnight cabins.
- 50-ft motor yachts: €2,500–4,000 per day, €25,000–35,000 per week. The class standard for a 4–6-person charter with 2–3 sleeping cabins, suitable too for three-day trips out to Cabrera.
- 70-ft yachts: €5,500–9,000 per day, €45,000–80,000 per week. A comfort charter with a fixed crew (skipper + hostess), its own tender, 6–8 guests, the ideal class for week-long trips with Cabrera and Menorca stops.
- Superyacht from 24 m (Club de Mar): €100,000–500,000 per week plus APA. MYBA standard, permanent crew, international charter managers. Hoeke Yachting handles the curation and on-the-ground care; the legal charter contract runs through established MYBA brokers.
The booking process: a short enquiry via the form or by WhatsApp with the number of guests, preferred dates, the profile (family, friends, a business occasion, experience level) and a rough budget. I reply within 24 hours with two or three concrete yacht suggestions, with honest pros and cons, including a note if a cheaper alternative outside Palma would make more sense. The firm booking is confirmed with a 30–50% deposit; the balance is due 4 weeks before the charter begins. Cancellation terms vary by yacht and season — for my curated selection, typically tiered and transparent from the first enquiry.
— Julian Hoeke