Boat Rental Javea — the Cove Coast, Properly Seen

Club Nautico Javea, on the Muelle Norte in the port. It is the only marina in town set up for charter: more than 300 berths with roughly half open to public use, fuel, a crane, a travelift, a ramp, a restaurant and a Blue Flag. The other marina you will see mentioned, Nou Fontana on the Canal de la Fontana by the Arenal, has 151 berths in the inner marina designed for boats of 5 to 8.25 metres — small boats only, and not a yacht charter base. If a listing implies otherwise, ask them which pontoon.

Not for the smallest boats. Spanish rules allow licence-free rental of a motorboat up to 5 metres with an engine of no more than 15 HP, provided you stay within 2 nautical miles of a port or shelter, go out in daylight only, and are over 18. Sailboats up to 6 metres work the same way. Anything larger needs a licence or a skipper. On this coast most people take the skipper, partly because of the reserve rules at the cape.

It depends on the boat, the season and the hours. A licence-free motorboat starts around €100 an hour. A skippered sailboat or catamaran for a day runs roughly €150 to €700 depending on size. Private motor yachts with a skipper start around €800 a day. July and August cost more than May or October. Send your dates and group size and we will give you a firm number.

No, and we will not pretend otherwise. Land access has been closed since 2007 and shut hard after rockfalls in April 2019 — fencing, a gate, private security — and it is still being enforced, with police evacuating around 100 bathers there in July 2025. By sea it is reachable and we know of no maritime exclusion zone, but nothing affirmatively authorises landing, and the rockfall risk is real and ongoing. So we treat it as sea-only and keep well off the cliffs. You will see it. You will not step onto it.

They come from a regional decree in force since 8 March 2015, and they are binding on every boat. Anchoring is prohibited outright. All recreational fishing is banned, in every form. Recreational diving requires authorisation, and motorised water sports and jet-skis are not allowed. Diving is also capped: a maximum of 30 immersions and 8 authorised vessels per day, weekends and holidays 09:00 to 17:00 from October to March, daily 08:00 to 18:00 from April to September. Snorkelling off the boat needs no paperwork. Some sites quote a speed limit for this reserve; the decree does not set one, and we are not going to invent one.

Not in the reserve, and not on posidonia anywhere on this coast. Regional law prohibits anchoring over Posidonia oceanica, and while the rule was suspended at first, the cartography was approved in 2023 and the ban became enforceable in early July that year. The zones are public — the regional Fondea app and the visor.gva.es map show exactly where the meadows are. Our skippers work off that. It leaves plenty of sand to sit on; it just means the anchor goes down where we choose, not where it is convenient.

We do not go out if it is not safe or not enjoyable. If the skipper calls it off, you choose: another date, or a full refund. This coast has enough headlands that a wrong wind direction often just means a different set of coves rather than a cancelled day.

June to October, when the sea holds above 20°C — August peaks around 26°C and is also when Granadella is at its busiest. June and September are the sweet spot: warm water, more boats free, and room to sit at anchor without three other boats swinging next to you.