If you love seeing dolphins in their natural habitat and want to go dolphin watching in Mallorca, then this is the number one way to do this.

I recommend booking tickets for a cruise on the Starfish boat in Cala d’Or.

This is hands down THE BEST EXCURSION and one of the top 10 things to do in Mallorca for all the family as it will give you the very real opportunity of seeing dolphins in the wild.

Getting tickets

You will see the Starfish cruiser picking up passengers from Tuesdays to Fridays from April, right through the summer season until the end of October.

The boat picks up passengers right along the Cala d’Or coastline, so you join if you’re staying in Porto Petro, Cala Barca, Cala Egos, Caló d’es Pou (Es Fortí), Cala Gran, Cala Esmeralda, Cala Ferrera, Cala Marçal and Portocolom.

The boat usually leaves at 10am so even if you’re staying in another area of the island and have a hire car, you can easily drive over to do this excursion.

Cala d’Or is just over an hour’s drive from the capital Palma. But this tour really is accessible to anyone staying in and around Cala d’Or.

We bought our tickets online, but there are also various sales points throughout Cala d’Or. Just ask at your hotel reception.

You can find the pick up points here, and make sure you arrive for at least 15 minutes early before the boat arrives to make sure you don’t miss it!

Starfish excursion cala dor mallorca
Boarding the Starfish Catarman at Cala Egos, Mallorca.

Dolphin Watching in Mallorca – what’s it like?

It’s a great experience. Also this cruise is a great way to see the other areas of the stunning Cala d’Or coastline too.

Since passengers are collected from all along the coast, you’ll get to see the other coves which you can go back to visit later on in your holiday.

Be warned though. This excursion is extremely popular, so the boat can get busy, but there is plenty of space.

If you want to get some sunshine, sit outside on the top deck.  However if you get seasick, you may prefer to stay in the shade and where the boat feels more stable by sitting on the bottom deck. We stood outside in shade where it was less busy and cooler.

There is a glass bottom on the boat so you can see under the waves. It’s great pop down here when you are around the dolphins and can see them under the deck.

Once all the passengers have been collected, the boat then goes out to sea and in the direction of the fishing trawlers.

The dolphins will very quickly come and check out the catamaran.  I think they may be used to it. 

Dolphin watching in Mallorca is a magical experience, especially for children to watch dolphins play in the water. We even saw one pod of dolphins with baby dolphins too!

I’m sure they knew they had an audience, and swam to the glass bottom, and jumped out of the water, showing off to onlookers.

When the dolphins swam off in search of food, the boat then left.  I really felt that the captain wasn’t on a time schedule and waited until the dolphins left us which was brilliant.

I can’t remember how long we spent watching them play but it was for quite some time. 

We then continued the cruise down the coast to blue waters of Cala Mondrago.

Dolphin watching in Mallorca

More than just Dolphin Watching in Mallorca

The boat dropped anchor just on the edge of Cala Mondrago, and set up a huge inflatable slide for us all to enjoy.

Starfish cruise at Cala Modrago Mallorca

The colour of the water was just incredible.  So we took some time to go on the slide, snorkel in the water and jump off the side of the boat.

Drinks, snacks and ice creams are also available on the bottom deck.  I bought my daughter an ice lolly for around 2€ which was really good value.

After some time moored here, we then took a different route back along the coast to our drop-off point in Cala Egos.  We saw another area of the beautiful coastline.

This is an incredible day out.  We were absolutely exhausted by the end of it, but memories from the trip will live on forever. 


Dolphin Watching in Mallorca – Prices

The cost of the tickets during 2021 was 35€ for an adult and 20€ for children 11 and under. For 2022, they were 49€ for adults and 30€ for children! In 2023, we are looking at prices 52€ for adults and 32€ for children. This is quite a price hike!

During peak season there is more than one Starfish Catamaran going out. So don’t worry too much if one boat is fully booked. You can generally get a place on another. Or just turn up at the pickup point and buy tickets directly. If the boat is full, then you may not get aboard which is why I would recommend booking in advance.

I can’t wait to do this excursion again next summer.  It’s possibly one of the best ways to go dolphin watching in Mallorca.

Book boat trips: Dolphin watching in Mallorca

You can also book other dolphin watching in Mallorca boat trips from this selection of activities here.

Dolphin Watching in Mallorca – Youtube video


What it’s like to holiday in Cala d’Or – Youtube video

If you want to find out more about what it’s like to holiday in Cala d’Or, then watch is video. If you want to find out more about holidaying in other areas of Mallorca, click here.