Eight boats you can drive without a licence, in Benalmádena, Manilva and Estepona. From €80 per hour.
See the licence-free boats8
licence-free boats
3
harbours to sail from
6 m · 15 HP
the legal limit
18+
minimum age
In Spain you may drive a motorboat of up to 6 metres in length with an engine of up to 15 HP without any nautical qualification, in daylight and within 2 miles of the coast. Solboat has eight boats that meet that rule, spread across Benalmádena, Manilva and Estepona, from €80 per hour.
No licence, no course, no previous experience: you need to be over 18 and show your ID or passport. Before you cast off we run through it all on the pontoon — how to start her, how to manoeuvre inside the marina, what the yellow buoys marking the swimming areas mean and how far out you may go. It takes about ten minutes, with the boat tied up and no rush.
Worth knowing before you book: sailing is daylight only, insurance and safety equipment are included in the price, a deposit of €200 to €300 is held and returned when you hand the boat back in good order, and fuel is paid separately according to what you've actually used. That last part is the one nobody explains up front, and the one that catches people out on the way back in.
Spanish boating regulations allow you to sail without any qualification as long as the motorboat is up to 6 metres long with a maximum of 15 HP, always in daylight and within 2 nautical miles of a harbour or place of shelter. That's why the Nova and the Kronos, at 5.5 metres, are still licence-free boats: what counts isn't length alone but the combination of length and engine power. If someone tells you the limit is 5 metres, they're selling you short.
Above 15 HP a qualification is required. That's the case with the Rocinante in Benalmádena: it carries a 115 HP engine, which is why we ask for a PER or equivalent when you collect the boat — not because of its size. The same goes for the Aqua 620 in Manilva and the BMA X199 in Estepona. And if you have no licence but want a bigger boat, the way round it is to take one with a skipper: the Tyrion catamaran in Benalmádena and the Sea Ray 33 in Manilva always sail with one of our crew at the helm.
Up to 6 metres and 15 HP, easy to handle, with insurance and safety equipment included.
Prices are for the whole boat, not per person. All of them include insurance and safety equipment; fuel is settled on your return, based on what you've used.
The Octo 47 CC (4.7 m, 6 seats) and the Andrómeda (5.2 m, 6 seats) are the easiest to handle if you've never driven a boat: €80 per hour or €150 for 2 hours, with a €200 deposit. The Nova and the Kronos (5.5 m, 8 seats) are the group option: €100 per hour or €170 for 2 hours, with a €300 deposit. Berths 685, 686 and 687.
The Octopus 470 (5 m, 6 seats) at €190 for 2 hours, and the Saver 495 and Astromar 470 (5 m, 5 seats each) at €180 for 2 hours, with a €300 deposit. This is the quietest stretch of the coast: clear the harbour mouth and the Casares coves and the Duquesa castle are a quarter of an hour away.
The Ranieri 500 (5 m, 6 seats), €190 for 2 hours with a €300 deposit, at berths 212 and 213. A good starting point for Playa del Cristo, just west of the harbour mouth, or for running east along Playa de la Rada with Sierra Bermeja behind it.
Within 2 miles and in daylight you'll find almost everything worth seeing on this coast.
You're at the helm. You pick the course, the speed and where to stop — no guide, no group and no timetable beyond the slot you've booked. It's the difference between joining a boat tour and having the boat to yourself.
You anchor close in, cut the engine and jump. The best coves on this stretch sit under cliffs with no path down to them, so more often than not you'll have the place to your group, especially midweek.
The Alborán Sea holds a resident bottlenose dolphin population and this coast is on their route. We don't guarantee it — nobody serious does — but sightings are frequent, and nearly always first thing in the morning when the water is flat.
Booking the late-afternoon slot is the best value of the summer: the heat drops, the sea goes glassy and the coast turns gold. Watch the return time, though — without a licence you have to be tied up before sunset.
No licence, no forms and no small print. Here's exactly what you get.
No boat licence, no course, no experience. Over 18, a valid ID document and a booking. The boat's paperwork is on us.
Before you leave we show you how to start her, how to manoeuvre inside the marina, how to anchor, how to read the beach buoyage and how far out you may go. Boat tied up, and as many questions as you like.
Every boat carries insurance and the approved safety equipment for its navigation zone. Fuel is separate and settled on return based on actual use, along with the €200-300 deposit.
What people ask most about sailing without a licence.
Pick a harbour, pick a boat and bring your ID. We'll handle the rest at the berth.
See the licence-free boats
