the Balearic Islands·Spain
Photo: Wikimedia Commons · Wikimedia Commons
Short hops link Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera across a shelf of shallow turquoise water, with the empty national park of Cabrera as the wild card. Reliable summer breezes make it a classic first big charter.
In season: May–Oct · Peak: Jun–Sep
Easy passages and calm anchorages most days, with the exposed Tramuntana north coast and the Mallorca–Menorca crossing as the tests. Cabrera's anchoring is permit-limited to a handful of buoys.
Short hop to the shallow turquoise banks of the south
Open-water passage between the two big islands
National park anchorage, permit-limited and almost empty
Cliffs and Sa Calobra from the water, exposed to the north wind
Charter bareboat or skippered out of Palma or Ibiza. Book the Cabrera mooring permit well ahead — the buoy count is tiny and demand is high in summer.
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