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A traditional boat and paddleboard on the clear water at Cala Comte
The Boat Edition · Ibiza, SpainA day at sea. A little more freedom.

A different
kind of blue.

The coast, the people, the swim you did not want to end. A richer guide to choosing your Ibiza sea day.

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Cala Comte / Salvador Ibiza
The Boat EditionIbiza · Nº 08

First, somebody
goes in.

The towel lands on a seat. There is a little hesitation at the edge, then a splash and a laugh from somewhere below. One by one, the group follows.

A boat day can look like an extravagance from the shore. Once you are out there, the best part is often very ordinary: your friends within earshot, something cold to drink, the delicious absence of a reason to put your shoes on.

The boat matters. So do the coast, the weather and the person who would really appreciate a shaded seat. Here is how to give the day its own character, with the practical decisions kept in their proper place.

01 / The island, from the other side

Land looks different
from out here.

The shoreline pulls away. The group settles in. A day that looked extravagant on a screen begins to feel wonderfully simple.

A traditional boat and paddleboard on the clear water at Cala Comte
Cala Comte / Salvador Ibiza

The first swim changes the mood. One person goes straight in; another takes the ladder slowly, arguing that they are simply “appreciating the temperature”. There is laughter from the deck. A hand reaches down for the sunglasses somebody forgot to take off.

Back aboard, a towel becomes a seat and the next swim begins to feel inevitable. This is what you are making room for when you book a boat: the small, unplanned things that happen once everyone has stopped arriving.

Ibiza offers more than one version of that day. A shared trip out of Sant Antoni. A private motorboat with the route discussed over the map. A sailing day where the journey itself is the attraction. The best choice starts with the people coming, rather than the vessel in the photograph.

02 / Pick your horizon

Which way
to the blue?

Choose the coast first. It changes your departure, the rhythm of the outing and how much time you spend travelling.

West / Sant Antoni

Coves, company
& the evening light.

The west makes sense when your imagination is full of Cala Comte, a swim stop and the sun going down. Salvador Ibiza’s sunset trip departs from Sant Antoni and combines a shared boat outing with drinks, tapas and weather-dependent water activities. The appeal is the company as much as the coastline.

Ask how much of your trip is actually spent swimming, and how much is cruising. A short outing can fit beautifully around the rest of the holiday; it does not have to compete with a full-day charter.

Explore the sunset trip ↗
Across the water / Formentera

The crossing
becomes the occasion.

If Formentera is the dream, discuss it explicitly when choosing your departure and boat. The crossing, conditions, time at anchor and any shore visit all shape the day. A long restaurant lunch and hours of swimming can compete for the same afternoon.

Our Formentera Edition helps you decide whether you want a day afloat beside the island or a day exploring it. For the latter, a passenger ferry may be the better fit.

Another way onto the water

Arrive by sea.
Keep it simple.

A sea outing does not have to mean hiring a whole boat. Santa Eulalia Ferry’s coastal service connects east-coast stops with Ibiza Town. Where the seasonal timetable fits, the crossing can become part of a town afternoon or evening.

You exchange a private deck and swim stops for the pleasure of arriving by water. Check the departure point and last useful sailing before making a plan; this is transport with a view, not a charter in disguise.

Check the coastal route ↗

Choose your rhythm

Your people.
Your kind of boat.

Choose the experience you want—not a ladder of increasingly expensive boats.

The pleasure: your own group, a skipper and room to shape the day within the agreed route and conditions.

My Choice, for example, offers a private motorboat with a captain and selected equipment included, with fuel accounted for separately. Compare the whole day, including that fuel allowance, before deciding.

This suits the group that wants to stay together, choose its music and decide whether lunch belongs aboard. Confirm the passenger limit and the actual shaded seating. A licensed maximum is not a photograph of how comfortable the day will feel.

See the operator’s current terms ↗

04 / Aboard

The luxury is
in the little things.

Shade when you want it. A dry seat. A ladder that feels manageable. The details that turn a beautiful boat into a good day.

Shaded seats and social deck space aboard My Choice
The comfort between swims / My Choice Ibiza
Swimming ladder and towels on the boat’s stern platform
Back aboard / My Choice Ibiza
Friends sharing drinks aboard a Salvador Ibiza boat
Company aboard / Salvador Ibiza

A sunbed looks wonderful in a listing. By mid-afternoon, a shaded seat can feel like the better investment. Ask for photographs of the actual boat, including the seating under cover, toilet and swimming ladder. Find out how boarding works. A glamorous bow does not tell you how comfortably your least confident swimmer will get back aboard.

For a family group, tell the operator the children's ages before booking and confirm suitable lifejackets and supervision arrangements. If anyone has limited mobility or is nervous at sea, describe what they need rather than relying on the word “accessible”. The right answer is specific.

A boat day can accommodate different moods. Someone may want to swim at every stop while someone else reads under the canopy. Neither is doing the holiday incorrectly. Ask about the practical space aboard before anyone is committed.

Keep the bag small: swimwear, a light layer, sun protection, water and the few things you would actually miss. Check what the operator provides before bringing half the villa. Soft bags are generally easier to tuck away than rigid luggage; follow your operator’s guidance.

05 / Lunch, somewhere blue

Pass the bread.
Stay a little.

Lunch aboard can be gloriously uncomplicated: bread that survives the journey, tomatoes, something cold to drink, food that does not require a balancing act with a knife and fork. Check what you can bring, what refrigeration is available and who supplies plates, water and ice.

A restaurant reservation changes the rhythm. There is the approach, getting ashore, the meal and the return to the boat. If this is the big occasion, make room for it. If the group really wants another swim, lunch need not become a three-hour commitment.

The best boat for your group might be the one with fewer things to show off—and more places to sit together.

For a meal ashore, Juan y Andrea at Ses Illetes offers a tender service. Confirm both the table and the transfer with the restaurant and skipper; landing arrangements depend on the day.

For lunch aboard, give the food the same attention as the playlist. Something fresh, something substantial, enough drinking water. The memorable part may be the friend who somehow makes a small lunch feel like a proper occasion.

A table set beside dunes and turquoise sea at Juan y Andrea
Juan y Andrea / Ses Illetes
Friends silhouetted beside the sea at Experimental Beach

The last light

Nobody quite ready
to call it a day.

The way home

A little salt.
A different mood.

At the end of a good sea day, the group has changed shape. The talker has gone quiet. The quiet one is telling a story. Somebody is wearing a shirt that belongs to somebody else. The shoreline becomes familiar again, but you arrive back into it with a slightly different feeling.

If sunset is important, choose an outing that includes it rather than assuming every day charter can stay out late. Confirm the return time before booking dinner. The best ending is one you have left time to enjoy.

Keep a little of the evening unclaimed. A shower, a drink at home, the question of what to eat. You have already had a day worth remembering.

The useful pages

The small print.
Made human.

A little preparation, kept in one place. Open what you need, then get back to the good part.

What will the whole day cost?

Do not compare charter headlines until the inclusions match. In the operator examples we checked, fuel, skipper services and taxes were treated differently. A lower starting price does not settle the question. See the researched examples.

Request one written breakdown covering the boat, skipper and crew, taxes, fuel for the proposed route, other-port charges, any tender or landing costs, catering and extras. Separate the refundable security deposit from the cost of the day. Ask what happens if the route changes and who approves additional spending.

Divide that complete figure by the confirmed group—not the optimistic headcount from the chat. Then make the decision together, before anyone pays a deposit.

What if the weather changes?

A skipper-led change of plan is part of a sea day. Agree the weather cancellation and rescheduling terms in writing: who decides, what qualifies, and whether a refund or another date is available. Do not assume a cloudy morning qualifies, or that every operator offers the same protection.

Keep a land day available if you can. In our five-day friends itinerary, the sea day has room to move. That small piece of flexibility is worth more than a tightly packed schedule.

And the water beneath the boat deserves care. Posidonia is protected; your skipper must follow anchoring and mooring restrictions, including the stricter rules of protected areas. A beautiful place is not an invitation to stop anywhere. Official guidance.

Children, access & swimming

Share children’s ages and any mobility or water-confidence needs with the operator before paying. Confirm suitable lifejackets, the boarding arrangement, toilet access, shade and the way back aboard from a swim. Specific answers matter more than a broad “family friendly” label.

Water activities depend on conditions and skipper instructions. Nobody has to get in the sea to belong on the day.

A private charter or a ferry?

Choose a charter for the experience aboard; choose a passenger crossing when the destination ashore is the main event. Compare complete costs, including transport at both ends. See Formentera and the five-day itinerary before deciding.

A sunlit afternoon by Can Bossa’s pool, with coral loungers and a shaded outdoor sofa
Can Bossa / Your own kind of afternoon.

The hours in between

A place
for your people.

The first coffee. The last swim. The table where the stories get told again. Some of the best hours of the holiday happen at home.

At Ocho, you book directly with the people who own and care for our three villas. Tell us your dates, your people and the kind of Ibiza you have in mind. We’ll help you find your place.

Can Bossa ↗Can Rafa ↗Can Saca ↗

A little Ibiza to take with you

Made to keep,
or share!

For the flight, the group chat or the person you wish was here. Keep the magazine. Pass the feeling on.

Download the PDF editionThe Boat Edition · 18 pages · 1.9 MB

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your Ibiza.

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A holiday that feels like yours.

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