Fornells Boat Trips

"We took the late afternoon sailing and the inlet just kept widening until the open sea appeared past the headland. We had reserved online, so it was effectively a skip-the-line Fornells harbour boarding rather than queuing at the quay. The wooden llaüt sat low in the water, so you hear every slap of the hull. The round watchtower above the entrance looks far bigger from the sea than it does from the road."

"The fornells boat trips leave from a quay a five-minute walk from the village, and within twenty minutes the water shifts from pale green to a blue clear enough to follow the anchor chain down. Our skipper cut the engine at a cove with red-tinted sand and let everyone swim for half an hour. Bring a towel, the wind dries you fast."

"Very calm inside the inlet, but once we rounded the point the tramuntana picked up and the last thirty minutes were bumpy. Nothing felt unsafe, you just hold onto your phone. The run of ochre cliffs and empty coves was worth the spray."

"Seeing Cala Pregonda from the water is a different thing entirely, the sand really does read as copper against the black rock stacks. Most fornells boat trips tours stop there long enough for a proper swim rather than a two-minute photo pause. Our guide pointed out the seagrass meadows below us and explained why the water stays so clear."

"We passed under Cap de Cavalleria with the low sun behind the lighthouse and the whole cliff face going orange. The skipper held the boat steady for a few minutes so everyone could look up at it properly. Two shearwaters followed the wake most of the way back."

"We picked up our fornells boat trips tickets the evening before and there was still space on the morning departure. The swim stop was in a cove with no road access, so we had it to ourselves apart from one anchored yacht. Water was cold in March but clear down to the sand."

"Only nine of us on board, which made the whole thing feel almost private. A couple of the smaller inlets were skipped because of the swell and the crew were upfront about that before we left the quay. We still saw the tower, the islet off the point, and mile after mile of undeveloped coast."

"The stretch of shoreline you reach on fornells boat trips looks nothing like the resort side of the island, just dark rock and small beaches with no buildings behind them. Our boat had a shaded section at the stern which mattered even in April. The crew passed round cold water and kept the commentary short."

"We chose a twelve-seat operator rather than one of the larger catamarans and it meant we could nose into narrower inlets. You can see the posidonia meadows as dark patches under the hull, and the skipper explained they are protected across the island. We passed Illa dels Porros near sunset with the light low enough to pick out every ledge."

"Half our group felt queasy once we left the shelter of the bay, so take something beforehand if you are prone to it. The coastline itself is the reason to go, cliff after cliff with almost nothing built on it. I would happily do it again on a calmer day."