Since 1 October 2026 the law requires a licence to hire any motorboat, however small. Without one you can go out with a skipper or on a jet ski with an instructor.
| Boat | Seats | Marina |
|---|---|---|
| Boat (navigation licence), 4.0 m | — | Fuengirola |
| DURATION | RATE |
|---|---|
| 1 hour | ask us |
| 2 hours | ask us |
| Half day (4 hours) | ask us |
| Full day (8 hours) | ask us |
| Boat | Seats | Marina |
|---|---|---|
| Motorboat (PNB licence), 6.6 m | 8 | Fuengirola |
| Motorboat (PNB licence), 6.9 m | — | Fuengirola |
| Motorboat (PNB licence), 6.9 m | — | Fuengirola |
Since 1 October 2026, boat hire without a licence is no longer possible: Royal Decree 1188/2025 keeps the exemption for boats of up to 5 metres and 15 hp for private use only, and whoever hires must hold a licence. The 4-metre boat in the fleet needs the Spanish navigation licence, and before you leave we go through the controls — starting, steering, anchoring and coming back alongside — and we mark on the chart the area you can go in.
If nobody in the group holds a licence, a skipper comes with you and you need neither a licence nor experience. Either way, we ask for common sense: stay inside the authorised area, do not go out if the forecast is against it, and be back in daylight.
On the hourly rates the fuel is included. On half days and full days it is not, because consumption depends on how far you go; it is topped up when you bring the boat back and you pay for what was used.
It is worth going out early. First thing the sea is flatter, there is less traffic inside the harbour mouth, and you find room to anchor without sitting on top of another boat. From midday the wind tends to get up and the sea turns choppy, especially from June to September, and with a chop the trip stops being comfortable. If the forecast is against it, the trip is postponed and nothing is charged.
Boats without a licence in Fuengirola stopped being available for hire on 1 October 2026: Royal Decree 1188/2025 keeps the exemption for boats of up to 5 metres and 15 hp for private use only, and on a hire the person at the helm must hold a licence. Anyone looking for boats without a licence in Fuengirola has three options: a boat with a skipper, the 4-metre boat with a navigation licence, or a jet ski with an instructor.
Before casting off there is a ten-minute briefing: starting, steering, anchoring and mooring again. With hourly rates fuel is included; for half and full days the tank is refilled on return and you pay for what you used. If you would rather not take the helm, the boats with a skipper leave from the same marina.
The navigation area is marked on the chart before you leave and usually runs from Fuengirola towards Benalmádena to the east and towards Mijas to the west, without heading offshore. It is a band several miles wide: more than enough to reach a cove, anchor and be back within two hours.
The limit is not arbitrary: outside that area the sea conditions change and so do the safety equipment requirements. Leaving it without the corresponding licence is an offence, and the boat's insurance stops covering you.
Ten minutes on the pontoon and on the water: starting and stopping the engine, how the helm responds at different speeds, how to anchor — letting out enough chain and checking the anchor has bitten — and how to come back alongside without knocking the boat next door.
We also cover what you cannot see: where each person's life jacket is, where the extinguisher is, how to cut the engine in an emergency and what number to call if something happens. That is another five minutes and it is the part that really matters.
The 4-metre boat, 2 metres wide with a polyethylene hull, needs at least the Spanish navigation licence, which covers up to 6 metres, in daylight and no more than 2 miles from the coast. How many people it carries depends on its paperwork, and we confirm it when you book.
The 6.6 to 6.9 metre motorboats, with room for up to 8 passengers, need more: to take one out you need at least the Spanish PNB licence (Patrón de Navegación Básica). If nobody in the group has it, you can go out on a boat with a skipper, which needs no licence at all.
Children count as passengers for capacity even though they take up less room. The maximum capacity is on each boat's paperwork and cannot be exceeded: it is the first thing the coastguard or the Guardia Civil look at in a check.
You need: sun cream, water, a cap and shoes that will not mark the deck. And the passport or ID of whoever signs the hire, which is needed for the contract and the deposit, and the original licence of whoever takes the helm.
You do not need to bring life jackets — they are included and there is one per person — nor an anchor, nor lines, nor safety equipment: the boat goes out with everything checked.
In July and August it is worth booking several days ahead and, for a weekend, with more margin still: there is only one 4-metre boat, and when it is out there is no other like it.
From October to May there is almost always availability from one day to the next. Low season also has an advantage few people make use of: the sea tends to be flatter in the morning and the coves are empty.
Very little. It is a 4-metre boat with a small engine, and at anchor it uses nothing: that is the trick to a cheap day out, motor just enough to reach the cove, then stop the engine.
On the hourly rates the fuel is included and you do not have to think about it. On half days and full days you leave with a full tank and top up on return, paying only for what was used. A relaxed eight-hour day with two stops at anchor uses considerably less than a four-hour one spent going from place to place.
If it is not here, call us: two minutes on the phone and it is sorted.
No. Since 1 October 2026 the law requires a licence to hire any motorboat, even one under 5 metres. The 4-metre boat needs at least the Spanish navigation licence and the 6.6 to 6.9 metre motorboats the PNB. Without a licence, the option is to go out with a skipper.
If you hold a licence but have little practice, before you leave we go through starting, steering, anchoring and coming back alongside, and we mark on the chart how far you can go. Without a licence, the trip is with a skipper.
On the hourly rates, yes. On half days and full days it is not, because consumption depends on how far you go: it is topped up when you bring the boat back and you pay for what you used.
Yes. It comes back in full when the boat is returned in the state it left in.
In daylight. Being back before dark is one of the conditions of the trip, along with staying inside the authorised area, and the return time is set when you book.
Leave us your number and we will call you. In July and August it is worth booking ahead.
Puerto Deportivo de Fuengirola, local 367. You can drop in and see the boats before you book.
At no charge. Going out to see what happens is never worth it.
Life jackets for everyone on board, included in the price.
