The Balearics by boat: Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza

The Balearics offer three distinct cruising programmes: Mallorca for variety, from the wild Tramuntana coast to the south-east calas; Menorca for unspoilt nature; Ibiza-Formentera for turquoise water and energy. The crossing from the Spanish mainland runs 55 to 100 miles depending on your departure port. Two rules then shape every single day afloat: never anchor on posidonia seagrass, and book everything ahead in August.

Three islands, three personalities

Mallorca is the most complete: Palma, one of the western Mediterranean's great yachting hubs, the south-east calas (Mondragó, Cala Figuera), and the northern Tramuntana coast — forty miles of magnificent cliffs where Port de Sóller is the only real shelter. Menorca, a biosphere reserve, plays the nature card: the historic anchorage of Cala Taulera near Mahón, the bay of Fornells, the wild southern calas; it is also the island most exposed to the tramontana wind. Ibiza-Formentera is the star double act: Espalmador, the beaches of Ses Salines, genuinely Caribbean water — and the archipelago's highest density of dayboats and superyachts. Between the three, the channels are half-day passages: Mallorca-Menorca is about 20 miles at the narrowest point, Mallorca-Ibiza around fifty — enough to combine two islands over a fortnight without pushing the crew.

The crossing from the mainland

Three classic routes: Denia to San Antonio (Ibiza), 55 to 60 miles, the shortest — around ten hours at 6 knots; Valencia to Ibiza, about 90 miles; Barcelona to Sóller (Mallorca), about 95 miles, often done overnight. The channel between the mainland and the islands kicks up an unpleasant sea in established north-easterlies or south-westerlies: the weather window outranks the calendar. Watch the fast-ferry traffic, dense and quick — a proper AIS watch at night is not optional. And plan to arrive in daylight, with a couple of hours in hand: cala approaches are not done on instruments alone, and a first landfall deserves calm light and a rested helm.

Posidonia: the rule that shapes every anchorage

The archipelago protects its seagrass strictly: anchoring on posidonia is banned, patrolled in season and fined. In practice:

• anchor on the pale sand patches, easy to read in these waters;
• check the official seagrass maps on the dedicated apps before choosing your cala;
• use the regulated buoy fields in sensitive zones, bookable online and priced by boat length;
• in the Cabrera national park, south of Mallorca, advance authorisation and a mooring buoy are mandatory — slots are limited and go fast.

Zones and procedures change from one season to the next: check the rules in force before you sail.

August: living with the crowds

In August the archipelago runs at full capacity. The strategies that actually work:

• reach the anchorage before 11 a.m., ahead of the day-boat wave;
• sleep in the secondary calas and visit the headline spots during the day;
• avoid Formentera at weekends and aim for Tuesday or Wednesday;
• book berths and buoys several weeks ahead;
• or, better, shift the trip to June or September: the same water, half the people.

None of this makes August impossible — it makes it a game of timing. The crews who enjoy it are the ones who move early, anchor early and treat the marquee spots as lunchtime visits rather than overnight ambitions.

Budget: huge spreads from island to island

The Balearics have the most contrasted pricing in the Mediterranean: a 12-metre berth can cost 60 € a night in a secondary Menorcan harbour and several hundred euros in the marinas of Ibiza or Palma at the height of summer. Regulated buoys stay reasonable — in the region of 20 to 50 € depending on boat size. Anchoring on sand remains free: that is the archipelago's real luxury. To frame a full summer budget line by line, our cost calculator gives the orders of magnitude.

Where to start

Pick the island to match the crew: Menorca for quiet, Mallorca for variety, Ibiza-Formentera for atmosphere. Book buoys, berths and — for Cabrera — the park authorisation early. Download the seagrass maps before departure. If you are coming from the mainland, prepare the crossing as a genuine offshore passage: safety gear checked, window confirmed, crew rested. On the platform question, the archipelago is the kingdom of motor yachts and fast dayboats — the short distances suit them — but a sailing yacht comes into its own outside peak season. And if you are still weighing up basins, compare with our guide to Corsica by boat: wilder, less crowded, and just as demanding about where you drop the hook.