Our Costa Blanca Boat Trip
Siesta Cruise'n'Swim for up to Six
Javea/Moraira/Calpe 00447968042414
While we were visiting freinds in Spain; we thought it would be fun to go on a boat trip with our two friends, and our two boys, one 11, one 13. we wanted to be able to sit in comfort and relax and see a bit of the Costa Blanca coast from the sea, catch a bit of sun, and go for a swim without having to spend all day doing it.
So we checked out the alternatives; although if you want to go straight to the hire we liked best click the underlined text Hire a Skippered Sports Boat
Hiring a speedboat
You can hire a boat from the Arenal Beach in Javea, and do your own Costa Blanca Boat Trip, so we went round in the late afternoon and noticed a family bringing a hire boat in.
As they walked away from the hire office we collared them and asked how their day had gone.
They were tired and maybe a little stressed, but they put up with our questions for as long as they could.
€450 gets you a 16 foot open boat with a 90hp outboard engine and a full tank of fuel for 4 hours.
They'd looked at boat hire in Denia, but although the prices had looked similar at first, the costs somehow worked out to more, and they would have had to go from Denia and return there, which was about 45mins away from where they wanted to start from.
There were lifejackets on board, a sun shade that had to be put down while they were moving, and basic seats.
The first hour and a half was spent driving round in circles trying to get used to the boat. Eating just before going out on the boat trip created the first problem because there was NO TOILET on the boat!, and they couldn't just run it ashore onto the beaches because powered boats are forbidden in the swimming areas.
So they returned to the hire office and tied up, found and used the toilet, bought a few cans of coke and packets of crisps and set off again.
It was a beautiful sunny day, and after a while, not being able to use the sunshade while moving was a bit frustrating.
The fun of driving a fast boat in circles soon wears off and the constant noise of the outboard engine can become irritating after a while.
They didn't know where to go to, to safely get off and swim, and finally found a yellow warning buoy to tie up to for a rest, and although they did get off and get a swim they got the definite feeling that they were roughing it, especially when they ran out of crisps and cola.
By the time they got back, they'd all decided they wouldn't do it again on their own, they felt that any boat trip really should be skippered to get the best out of their limited time.
After that we went to Calpe and investigated the next alternative;
Hire a fully kitted out Fishing Boat
Once again, we were looking at organising our own Costa Blanca Boat Trip by hiring a 20 foot fishing boat in Calpe, available ready for fishing.
Great, it had a toilet behind a little trapdoor, but there was nowhere to sit unless you're driving, and as it's designed purely for fishing, getting in and out of the water wasn't going to be so easy.
It was available all day, provided we put down a stonking great deposit and paid €175 each - WHAT! NO WAY!
Buying a ticket on a Scheduled Boat Trip
Booking a scheduled costa blanca boat trip from Denia on one of two much larger boats is a very different matter, one is a huge Catamaran which sometimes has the sail up and sometimes not, and the other is a fairly basic ferryboat with bus type seating on it.
We'd seen the big white Catamaran with a lot of people on it and it looked as if they were having really impressive boat trip.
Our friends had been on both these boat trips and were able to explain that they go from port to port picking up people and dropping them off - a bit like the River Thames boat ride; it's ok if you've never done it before.
But we didn't want a boat trip / bus ride shared with 100 other people sitting on bench seats, and anyway although they advertise commentary in other languages, the commentary when they bother to make it is usually in Spanish and we don't speak Spanish.
At €25-€30 each it's a bit cheaper than the personal boat trip options, especially as kids go half price. The blurb says you get a chance to swim in the sea; but as always you only get what you pay for. And it's nothing like having a family day out with your own skipper to look after you.
Incidentally we spoke to a family who went on the other boat trip on the ferry that is supposed to have a submarine vision window - they told us that the sea conditions were horrible - most people on board were sick, and the submarine vision windows, that you had to take turns to look through was so scratched you couldn't really see much at all and the occasional commentary was in Spanish; very disappointing!
Playing it rich on a 12 metre 9 tonne big boys toy!
This involved the hire of a skippered 12 metre sports boat in Moraira for 5 hours for €500 plus IVA, plus fuel.
I asked a few people that had boats how much fuel it would use; and they said a 12 metre twin engined sports boat could use from 60 litres an HOUR.
So just doing the maths, €500 plus IVA @ 16% came to €580; adding €300 for fuel brought that particular Costa Blanca Boat Trip to around €880 with the possibility it could cost more!.
I don't care how nice or spacious the boat is, or how posy the boat trip would be, I just didn't want to spend that much money on one trip, and the idea that an uncertain amount of fuel would be used made me feel sort of uncomfortable; I mean, surely the operator knows how much it'll use.
What if it used more than €300's worth?, or a lot more.......I can see why only rich people or drug dealers can afford to keep or hire boats like that.
Besides that, I prefer to know what the costs are going to be up front, so that meant looking for another hire alternative.
Hire an Inflatable Boat
The same firm in Moriara also do a 5 hour hire of an inflatable boat for €250 plus IVA and fuel, but we didn't fancy that, too small, there’s nowhere to sit comfortably and you'll get wet whether you like it or not.
No, that didn't sound like fun to me.
The All Day Wet n Wild Boat Ride!
Hire a skippered 45mph Bow Rider all day for €725, with drinks included and gear hire if you want; actually it sounds like fun.
We didn't look too closely at this hire offer, even though the kids were desperate to try it, because:
a) although it's actually good value considering what's being offered, we just couldn't be bothered with wild watersports - we wanted a relaxing afternoon; and b) I didn't want to spend that much money on just one hire/trip.
Siesta and Wine while you recline...or Iced Beer if you prefer it !
A Costa Blanca Boat Trip on a 26 foot sports boat for 4 hours during the hottest part of the day for €300 including fuel and any drinks....and a skipper to drive it.
This sounded like a much better deal and we went for it. We were phoned an hour before the trip to confirm that the sea conditions were nice enough for the trip so we didn't all waste our time if it wasn't, and to remind us of what not to wear on board - NO STILETTOS PLEASE!
We didn't know Moraira so he met us at a local cafe where we paid him, and after a quick chat over coffee, about safety and which of us could and couldn't swim, he walked us to the boat.
We could have parked for free, but that would have meant walking about half a mile in the hot sun, so we parked in the Marina Car Park, however, during the summer it often gets full so don't count on getting a space there.
He had a map of the coast with the places marked on it where we could get off and swim if we wanted to; I could have kicked myself for not bringing my snorkel, mask and flippers, because, as it turned out he would have been quite happy with that, although he doesn't allow spearguns or scuba gear.
There was fishing gear on board for us to use if we wanted too, so if you fancied having a go at the Spanish Mackerel in the bay, that would have been ok too.....
The boat had a cabin with leather sofa type seats where we could go to get out of the sun or use the small toilet if necessary, a fridge with cold drinks, and cans of beer, an ice locker, chilled wine and even crisps if we wanted them!
There was a cd/radio, a sun shade if we wanted whether moving or not, although we preferred not to use it, plenty of surprisingly comfortable leather seats where we laid our towels on them so we could lounge about all afternoon, and a little shower hose at the back so we could rinse the seawater off after a swim.
The boat was fully equipped with all the necessary safety gear, 2 marine radio's, gps, depthsounder, etc, and more than enough lifejackets.
The hardest part of the boat trip was getting on and off the boat! Once on board and comfortably seated it was time to relax and enjoy the ride, which included driving right up to cliffs that were full of seabirds, buzzing sunfish that dived once we got near them, and being overtaken by a flying fish!
Then we stopped at a lovely spot where you could see the bottom through the clear water; mostly sand and a few little rocks, with small fish cruising about in shoals.
We threw some bread and bits of cheese and the fish went nuts! They came from everywhere and the water literally boiled with fish, it was a fascinating display, just like looking into a giant aquariam at feeding time.
Next we decided it was time to cool off....
The Skipper threw floats out (attached to the boat with floating lines) and we climbed down the ladder into the water......
aaaah! lovely and cool!
After a bit of splashing about, we just lay there and soaked in the water, while the fish slowly became brave enough to swim around us.
I'm told you can get them to take food from your hand, but I haven't got enough patience for that.
Each time we got out of the water there was iced beer, wine, or cold drinks if we wanted, although Don managed to get his drinks handed down to him while he relaxed in a pool chair drinking red wine!.
About 4.45pm we got back on the boat, rinsed off, and dried ourselves as the skipper raised the anchor and headed back to port.
Our day on the Mediterranean turned out much better than we expected, and as our skipper was a Brit there were no communication problems.
Juicy Steak and Ribs at the Captains Table
We were off the boat by 5.30pm, and because we were starving, we walked over to have Steaks and Ribs at the Captains Table in Moraira. It's owned and operated by Paul and Jo, a british couple who do their best to see that you enjoy your grub.
They've got an Earlybird menu which starts at 6pm, and the skipper swears they're the best in Moriara.
We don't know what the other places are like - but we can definitely recommend their BBQ Ribs.
The final word and the phone number
The boat trip to Calpe Rock, and the dinner at the Captains Table were great value. The boat trip runs in the Moraira Calpe Javea area and was well worth the money; I would recommend that boat trip to anyone.
It runs in the Moraira Calpe Javea area. To hire this boat ring 079680042414, or +4479680042414 if you are already in Spain.
Remember, Bob gets very busy during July, and August. Don't wait until the last minute to hire it, or you'll miss a really nice day out on the Costa Blanca, don't worry if you don't get an answer, just send a text.
Update:
Option 3 is no longer availiable; the Yacht Brokers office in Calpe that used to run the fishing boat hire is now closed.
News:
We've been told that the open speedboats available from the Arenal Beach at Javea, no longer have sunshades or bimini's, which to us is crazy.
Spending the hottest part of the day in an open boat under the hot sun, is stupid if you have no shade.
Most people underestimate how much fluid they lose when the outside temp gets up around 35 -40 degrees, so it's easy to become seriously dehydrated if you aren't near a pub!
So it looks like the best value option is still the Javea / Calpe / Moraira Boat Hire where you get cold drinks iced beer or wine. and a cool cabin to lie down in if you get a bit too much sun.
Incidentally Classyrags in Moraira is the place to find a pretty dress, and er, yes this bit is an ad.