The twin-hulled catamaran emerged as Ibiza's preferred touring vessel in the late 1990s, when operators realized its shallow draft and wide beam could anchor closer to rocky coves than monohulls, delivering swimmers directly to cliff-lined beaches inaccessible by car.
By 2003, the fleet operating out of Port of Ibiza had grown to seventeen vessels, each permitted to carry between thirty and sixty passengers under Balearic maritime law. The catamaran's stability made it ideal for open-bar service and onboard dining, transforming what had been spartan fishing-boat charters into full-day floating hospitality platforms.
Today, a catamaran Ibiza day trip serves two distinct itineraries. Coastal routes trace the western and southern shorelines, stopping at Cala Comte, Cala Bassa, and Cala Tarida—beaches where the seabed drops from sand to posidonia meadows within twenty meters of shore, creating the gradient of blues that appears in every promotional photograph. Formentera crossings, by contrast, cover the twelve-nautical-mile channel separating Ibiza from its smaller southern neighbor, a passage that takes ninety minutes under motor and sail. These crossings anchor off Ses Illetes or Playa de Llevant, where sandbars extend two hundred meters into water rarely deeper than three meters, allowing passengers to wade far from the hull. Both routes depart the Port of Ibiza marina complex between 09:00 and 10:30, returning by sunset or shortly after.
Most operators equip their catamarans with paddleboards, snorkel sets, and in some cases inflatable slides or trampolines stretched across the bow netting. Formentera itineraries typically include a catered lunch served on deck or at a beach club, while coastal tours emphasize swimming stops and open-bar service. The vessels themselves range from bareboat sailing cats crewed by a skipper and deckhand to motor catamarans fitted with Jacuzzis, sound systems, and shaded lounges. Ibiza's summer wind patterns—levante from the east in the morning, shifting to poniente by afternoon—mean that outbound legs under sail are smoother than the return, and captains adjust departure times to avoid the chop that builds after 15:00. The season runs April through October, with July and August requiring advance booking due to mooring limits at the most popular coves.
6 hr
