Hello dear travel lovers. The amazing shores of Costa Brava attract thousands of tourists with their beauty. Charming coves, crystal clear waters and rocky coastlines covered with pine trees. But to be honest, looking from land we only see half of the picture. From the sea, all of this unfolds from a completely different perspective.

The most popular way to admire the coastline from the water is by taking sea tours on sightseeing boats. These tours not only allow you to cruise along the coast, but also to enter hidden coves. The cost of such a trip is around 30 euros per person.

However, there is another option. Renting a boat and setting sail with just your own group. Today I will tell you what is needed to rent a boat, share my own boat rental experience and explain why you should take advantage of this service especially in 2026. I will also talk about what will change starting from October and why such trips will become completely different in the future.

As you might guess, we had an experience renting a small yacht. We rented a 6 meter long motorboat. Here we had a lounging area, then a canopy shade and a ladder for swimming.

What can I tell you. Going out to sea like this for the first time was quite difficult for me. We struggled especialy with anchoring, we had to try twice. In the first cove there were too many yachts and boats, so we moved to another cove with fewer people and succeeded on our second attempt. The boat is small, everything here is quite simple to use. They checked our license and ID, they asked for the original documents. They definitely would not have rented us such a boat without the original documents.

We specifically dived with goggles to check if our anchor was holding well. We dropped the anchor according to the rules by giving scope three times the depth and everything was fine. Some fish had even started swimming around the anchor already.

Renting a boat right now is much easier than thought. There are companies in the ports along the coast where you can rent boats for a few hours or for the entire day. Nowadays, you can rent small boats around 5 meters long without a license. You can search for options and prices on websites like Click and Boat for instance. In some cases, fuel is included in the rental price.

Usually you need to leave a deposit and this fee is returned right after the boat is inspected upon return. A briefing is given on the day you set sail. they explain how to use the boat, where the life jackets are and provide a coastal map and route recommendations.

We rented a 6 meter boat that required a basic license to operate. However, starting from October 2026, the rules are changing. A requirement is being introduced to hold at least a basic license to rent even the smallest boats. So if you are thinking about renting a small boat, now is the exact time. Otherwise, you will need to get a license or pay an additional fee for a captain.

We also have our device measuring water temperature with us, namely our Pedro. We measured the temperature of the water. In Costa Brava, between Lloret de Mar and Tossa de Mar, we were near the city of Tossa de Mar. The water temperature was 23.2 degrees. Yes, it was much cooler here. At our beach the water temperature was almost 26 degrees. So there is a full 3 degree difference between them.

After a while, the waves started, there was serious rocking and wind. We spent 6 hours on the boat. We spent 2 hours of this cruising at sea and 4 hours relaxing in two different coves. During the break, we swam and sunbathed. We brought our food and drinks onto the boat and enjoyed a lovely picnic in the middle of the sea.

At the end of our trip, we rented the boat from the port of Blanes. The port is large and there are multiple rental companies, so you can choose a boat according to your budget. We really liked the parking lot right next to the boat. Finally, together with the company staff, we stopped by the gas station and filled up the tank. We spent about 20 liters of fuel.

We loved our day and will definitely set sail again. That is all for today. See you next time.