Balearic Islands · Spain — 38.98°N, 1.30°E

License-free boat rental in San Antonio

Q: Do I need a license?

In Spain, no qualification is required up to 15 hp (11 kW) on a hull of 5 m maximum (6 m under sail), in daylight and within 2 nautical miles of shelter. One of the most generous rules in the Mediterranean — but each harbour master can refine it locally: your operator will confirm what applies to their waters.

San Antonio, in Balearic Islands, draws an international crowd every summer: catalogues are deep but scattered across platforms. Boat-Comparator compares live boat rental offers in San Antonio and lets you book on the cheapest platform.

In San Antonio, license-free rental rules differ from the French framework: the operator sets out the permitted power and area at the briefing.

Boats available in San Antonio, live

Boataround, SamBoat, Click&Boat and GlobeSailor queried right now, sorted by price. You book on the platform, with no added fees.

Observed prices in San Antonio (real nightly readings, latest on 2026-10-06): median €99/day, €40 to €508, 2 offers compared at the latest reading. Methodology and full figures →

License-free boating in San Antonio: the local waters

Sant Antoni de Portmany occupies the big bay on Ibiza’s western side, and it is the bay that sets the range of a boat hired without a qualification: wide, facing north-west, with pale sandy coves on both shores and a bottom that shoals gently. The Spanish 2-miles-from-shelter rule is comfortable here, since the bay itself acts as shelter along almost its whole length. The sailing club is 0.3 miles from the centre; Ibiza Town, on the far side of the island, is 14 km away by road and a good deal more by sea: outside the zone either way.

What matters more here is the hour and the seagrass. The hour, because the bay fills up in the afternoon and anchoring off the coves turns sporting; the posidonia, because it carpets exactly the pale bottoms that look most inviting — anchor on bare sand, never on the dark patches. A 5 m hull and 15 hp maximum without a qualification, daytime navigation, and the exact area set by the operator at the briefing.

Ten license-free offers at a €115 median

Sant Antoni de Portmany is Ibiza’s cheapest base in our readings, by a wide margin. On 8 September 2026 (departures on 8 October), the whole base counts 23 offers from €46 to €464 per day, median €115 — and ten of those are available without a qualification, from €46 to €163 per day, median €115 as well. A rare situation: here the license-free boat is the median boat, the local fleet being made up almost entirely of small craft.

The contrast with the other side of the island is brutal. On 9 September, Santa Eulària, 20 km away across Ibiza, shows 55 offers and a median of €1,180 per day: a factor of ten on the same island, in the same week. The port of departure matters more here than the destination — the principle our cheap license-free rental guide sets out.

Why Sant Antoni is still Ibiza’s affordable base

That calling is nothing new. José Ramón-Cardona and María Dolores Sánchez-Fernández, in a study published in 2022 in Social Sciences, recall that the town was the pioneer of Ibizan tourism in the 1950s, driven by local workers and modest traders rather than by outside capital. Seventy years on, the rental fleet still carries that mark: many small boats, few large ones — hence the €115 median, and hence the gap with Santa Eulària.

At anchor, one habit only: bare sand, never the dark seagrass patches, which carpet precisely the pale, most tempting bottoms of the bay. The distances quoted above are computed from OpenStreetMap coordinates (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL): Nautic Sant Antoni. All our Balearic bases are gathered on the boat rental in the Balearics page.

When to sail in San Antonio

San Antonio (Balearic Islands, Spain) — The Balearics and Costa Brava fill up in summer; June and September stay warm, with fewer crowds and lower prices.

How it works

Enter your dates and party size: Boat-Comparator queries Boataround, SamBoat, Click&Boat and GlobeSailor in parallel, gathers the boats available in San Antonio and ranks them by real price. You then book directly on the platform, under its guarantees. Free, no sign-up.

Not sure which platform to trust? Read our comparison and our detailed reviews: Click&Boat, SamBoat, Boataround, GlobeSailor.

Frequently asked questions

How much does license-free boat rental cost in San Antonio?

Expect €40–508 per day — where you land depends on size, the boat's year and the platform. Prices shown here are those actually published at the time of your search.

Do I need a license?

In Spain, no qualification is required up to 15 hp (11 kW) on a hull of 5 m maximum (6 m under sail), in daylight and within 2 nautical miles of shelter. One of the most generous rules in the Mediterranean — but each harbour master can refine it locally: your operator will confirm what applies to their waters.

Which platforms do you compare in San Antonio?

Boataround, SamBoat, Click&Boat and GlobeSailor are queried live; GetMyBoat and Boatsetter will join as partnership agreements land.

Why are boats so cheap in Sant Antoni de Portmany?

Because the local fleet is made up almost entirely of small craft: in the reading of 8 September 2026, ten of the base’s 23 offers are available license-free, and the base median (€115 per day) is identical to that of the license-free segment. In Santa Eulària, on the same island, the 9 September median was €1,180 per day across 55 offers.

Can you reach Ibiza Town license-free from Sant Antoni?

No: Ibiza Town is on the far side of the island, while Spanish rules require you to stay within 2 nautical miles of shelter and to sail in daylight. The day plays out in the bay of Portmany and its coves — which also matches the real range of a 5 m hull with 15 hp.

Price alert

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