The Balearic Islands are by no means a secret for those in search of a better yachting experience. Whether for weekend cruises, luxury crewed yacht charter or a simple spot of day boating, they represent a critical highlight on the Mediterranean yachting scene. As you might expect, a lot of visitors to the island tend to gravitate toward the elegant city streets of Palma or to the beach-lined superyacht resort of Alcúdia. But with its blend of yachting facilities, beaches and cruising options, there’s no doubt that the exclusive south eastern resort of Cala d’Or remains one of Mallorca’s finest places to go boating.
As a full-service yachting company with a waterfront office at the heart of the Marina, Argo Yachting understands this as well as anyone. We offer a fleet of new Chris-Craft and Saxdor yachts, as well as a range of premium brokerage craft – and with our extensive network of local contacts, we can source berths to rent, lease or purchase in any of our home marinas, including Cala d’Or, Port Adriano, Puerto Portals and nearby Puerto Banus. In short, if you want to know how and where to go boating near Cala d’Or, we have the yachts, the experience and the insider knowledge to help.
With its cosmopolitan clientele and multilingual staff, luxurious Yacht Club Cala d’Or features a beautiful crescent-shaped restaurant and bar with a long infinity pool, set among expansive outdoor terracing and landscaped gardens. Wrapping around the sheltered northern edge of Cala d’Or Marina with spectacular views of the assembled yachts, it also features a fully equipped gym, sauna and steam room, as well as games rooms, meeting facilities and a well-deserved reputation for impeccable service. That said, the northern part of the marina is lined on both sides with an array of bars and restaurants, so there are plenty of options for a relaxing drink or a decadent meal. If you can drag yourself away from the delights of Yacht Club Cala d’Or, the Waves Bar and 17 Restaurant on the eastern side is particularly well regarded by visiting yachtsmen.
Cala d’Or comprises a compact but complex coastline of seven coves (or calas) and the largest and most comprehensively developed of them is Cala Gran. Here, the soft white sands are well serviced by various bars and restaurants and in apt recognition of its popularity, it also features showers and toilets, disabled access, a kids’ play area and a lifeguard service. With its hotels, restaurants, parasols and pedalos, Cala Ferrera, a little way north, is equally well appointed and makes a great spot for sheltered snorkelling. And if you want a slightly wilder, less developed feel, it’s worth popping round the corner to Cala Serena, where rocky outcrops keep the waters calm and docile.
With their narrow inlets, deep-set beaches, warm shallow waters and natural shelter, the calas on this part of the coastline are all extremely attractive. But if they get a touch busy in peak season and you find yourself in need of a quieter, more private anchorage or a fishing town where the pace feels slower and more rustic, there are plenty of cruising options just a short hop away…
For a taste of authentic Mallorcan fishing life, Porto Cristo is a lovely place to stop. At little more than an hour’s cruise northeast from Cala d’Or Marina, there’s an elegant feel-good vibe to its harbour, which puts visiting leisure boats alongside the active local fishing fleet, with direct access to the village’s warm sandy beach. It has all the facilities you need for an extended stay too, so if it appeals to you, why not stick around for a visit to the underground caves of Cuevas del Drach?
If you head southwest instead, there are some lovely coves among the pine-fringed hills of the Mondragó Natural Park, as well as a superb little cove at Caló del Moro. It’s a fine spot to anchor your yacht and nudge ashore in a tender – and if you continue your cruise around the southernmost tip of the island, you will find yourself at another outstanding beach in the form of Playa Es Caragol. While it has little in the way of tourist facilities, its white sands, warm, shallow waters and cosseting wraparound dunes make it a spectacular place for a swim. And if you want to sample a traditional coastal village largely untouched by tour operators, Colonia Sant Jordi, just a little further west, has a laid-back marina, with a scattering of eateries and easy access to the nature reserve at nearby Cabrera Island.
If you’re on a crewed charter or you have the size of yacht to bring more extensive cruising itineraries into play, Cala d’Or could easily operate as your hub for a circumnavigation of the island that takes in plenty of tempting destinations.
As the capital of the Balearics, Palma de Mallorca in the west is as cosmopolitan as it is suave. Home to more than half of Mallorca’s population, it offers an infectious year-round buzz, with vibrant bars, magnificent art and a superb superyacht marina at its heart. As the recipient of extensive investment over the last decade, Puerto de Sollér in the north is also among the island’s most lavish charter hubs with a sheltered half-mile beach that is perfect for active watersports. And as Mallorca’s largest holiday resort, Alcúdia in the northeast features an impressively fortified old town with a charming mix of high-end boutique shopping and lively markets, as well as a pair of huge white, sandy bays with family-friendly waters.
However local or ambitious your cruising plans might be, Argo Yachting’s new and brokerage boat brands have been carefully selected to make the most of your Balearic Islands yachting experience. For a modest outlay, the dynamic new Saxdor fleet provides an extraordinary breadth of abilities. Created by the same people behind Axopar, Paragon, Aquador and XO, Saxdor is the perfect solution for nosing ashore in shallow-water coves and for gaining access to even the most compact village harbours. Our Chris-Craft fleet meanwhile has the style, heritage and calibre to ferry you ashore with the utmost elegance. With classical inboard and outboard-powered launches from 23 to 35 feet, plus the ability to stay on board on larger craft, a Chris-Craft is in its element at even the most prestigious Mediterranean yacht club.
