Mallorca South & Palma Bay
The Med's superyacht capital — a marina city under a Gothic cathedral, with the fleet's best refit yards and calmest south-coast calas an hour astern.
Palma is where the Mediterranean fleet lives — Club de Mar and STP's thousand-tonne travel lift share the bay with a Gothic cathedral that has watched galleons and gigayachts alike swing at anchor beneath its walls. West along the coast, Port Adriano and Puerto Portals hold the marina glamour — Starck-designed berths, beach clubs, a forty-year-old see-and-be-seen scene — while the south shore unwinds into quiet, sand-bottomed calas and the long white sweep of Es Trenc.
"You refit in Palma, you're seen in Portals, and you disappear for lunch at Es Trenc."
The gallery
Signature anchorages
Five stops between the cathedral and the open sea — from a floodlit roadstead to a cliff-locked inlet.
- Palma Bay, off the Moll VellOpen roadstead, fair holding sand/mud — the money shot: La Seu's Gothic south facade floodlit above the anchored fleet. First and last night here.
- Cala Portals VellsQuadruple cove off Cabo Falco; anchor 2–8m sand/weed, sheltered but for easterlies. Old quarry caves here supplied the stone for Palma Cathedral; tender in for the inner coves.
- El Toro & IlletesCalm, clear water inside the bay, on the doorstep of the Illetes beach-club strip — Purobeach, Balneario Illetas. An easy link stop toward Portals.
- Es TrencThe island's signature natural beach, protected park since 2017; best holding toward the southern end near Illa Gavina. Mind rockier patches close inshore.
- Cala PiA 420m limestone-cliff inlet, cliffs to 30m; sheltered from all but southerlies. Bow-and-stern anchoring (two anchors set to hold the yacht steady across the inlet), rock/weed bottom, very clear water.
The scene
Forty years of marina glamour, a royal regatta, and the beach clubs that set the terms.
Puerto Portals
Mallorca's most glamorous marina turns 40 in 2026 — founded by Klaus Graf in 1986, now run by his daughter Corinna. Lobster Club, UM Beach House and La Cabaña ring the basin with beach-club daybeds and infinity pools.
Purobeach Illetas
A small peninsula in Palma Bay, 180° sea views; yachts anchor off and tender guests in via the club's own jetty. The Nixe Palace next door once drew Grace Kelly and Errol Flynn.
Copa del Rey MAPFRE
Palma's royal regatta, out of Real Club Náutico — the 44th edition runs 1–8 August 2026. King Felipe VI usually races the Navy's Aifos; the Royal Family, summering at nearby Marivent Palace, hosts the prize-giving.
Table & stay ashore
Three Michelin-starred tables, a fortress turned hotel, and the resort between the mountains and the sea.
Zaranda
Chef Fernando Pérez Arellano, inside the Es Princep hotel in Palma's old town. Twelve- and eighteen-course tasting menus; regained its stars the moment it moved from Madrid to Mallorca.
Marc Fosh
Hotel Convent de la Missió, old town — the first British chef awarded a Michelin star in Spain, cooking largely from his own Finca Son Mir.
Es Fum
Inside the St. Regis Mardavall, between Palma and Puerto Portals — a Michelin-starred kitchen as part of the resort's own art-bar, spa and four terracotta villas.
Cap Rocat
A 19th-century fortress at Cap Enderrocat rebuilt as a hotel — drawbridge, gun batteries, suites in the old shooting buttresses. Deliberately secluded, minutes from Palma.
St. Regis Mardavall Mallorca Resort
125 rooms across four terracotta buildings between the Tramuntana foothills and the sea, 15 minutes from central Palma.
Es Princep
68 rooms built into Palma's old city walls; home to Zaranda, the Cocó Spa, and the Gremium rooftop bar over the harbour.
The week, sketched
Palma / Club de Mar
Arrive and check in; evening stroll to La Seu floodlit above the anchorage, dinner at Zaranda or Marc Fosh in the old town.
Puerto Portals
Short hop west; berth or anchor off, lunch at Lobster Club, an afternoon between the boutiques and the beach club.
Port Adriano & Portals Vells
Pass the Starck-designed marina, then anchor at Cala Portals Vells for the old quarry caves and calm swimming.
El Toro & Illetes
Short cruise back toward Palma; Purobeach or Balneario Illetas for lunch on easy, clear water.
Es Trenc
Day sail south to anchor off the natural park's white sand — a full beach day, sunset over the salt flats.
Cala Pi
A quiet morning at the cliff-lined inlet; bow-and-stern anchor, tender to the small beach.
Return to Palma
Last night on the Moll Vell under the cathedral; dinner ashore, departure via PMI the next morning.
The bay week
A short loop that never leaves Palma Bay.
Palma / Club de Mar
Arrive and check in; La Seu floodlit above the anchorage, dinner at Marc Fosh in the old town.
El Toro & Illetes
Calm, clear water on the doorstep of the Illetes strip; lunch at Purobeach or Balneario Illetas.
Puerto Portals
A short hop west; berth or anchor off, lunch at Lobster Club, an afternoon at the beach club.
Cala Portals Vells
Anchor in the quadruple cove off Cabo Falco for the old quarry caves and calm swimming.
Return to Palma
A last night on the Moll Vell under the cathedral, dinner at Es Fum or Zaranda, departure via PMI.
The three tables
A food-led week that trades some cruising ground for three Michelin kitchens and a fortress in between.
Palma / Club de Mar
Arrive; La Seu floodlit above the anchorage, dinner at Zaranda inside Es Princep in the old town.
Cap Rocat
A short hop to the fortress hotel at Cap Enderrocat; anchor off, or take a suite built into the old gun batteries for the night.
Cala Portals Vells & Puerto Portals
A late morning at the quadruple cove off Cabo Falco, on to Puerto Portals for the evening scene at Lobster Club or UM Beach House.
St. Regis Mardavall & Es Fum
Anchor off between Palma and Portals; dinner at Es Fum, the resort's own Michelin-starred kitchen.
El Toro & Illetes
Calm water on the doorstep of Purobeach; a slow lunch, a slow afternoon.
Es Trenc
South to the natural park for a full beach day, best holding toward Illa Gavina at the southern end.
Return to Palma, via Marc Fosh
Back to the Moll Vell under the cathedral; a last dinner at Marc Fosh, cooked largely from the chef's own Finca Son Mir.
Pair with
The year, measured
Monthly means at the heart of this water — daily maxima averaged, wind as mean daily peak.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Air, day °C | 14 | 17 | 18 | 20 | 24 | 29 | 33 | 32 | 28 | 24 | 19 | 17 |
| Sea °C | 16 | 14 | 15 | 17 | 20 | 24 | 28 | 28 | 27 | 24 | 19 | 17 |
| Wind, peak kt | 9 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 9 |
ERA5 reanalysis via Open-Meteo · 2019–2023 means · sea temperature 2022–2023
The yachts that run these waters
Profiles from the record — introductions via the harbour desk.
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