Jet Skis on the Costa Brava: Ride Prices, Routes and Licence Rules
Jet ski rental in Costa Brava starts from €110 for a 30-minute circuit with one rider, and guided coastal rides cost €150 to €230, with €30 to €70 added for a passenger. Below: what each format includes, what two-up and group rides cost per person, the licence rules, age and weight limits, and where the jet skis go out from.
Three ways to ride: circuit, guided route or self-drive
On this coast a jet ski is sold in three formats, and the format decides more than the price: it decides who steers, how far you go and whether you need a licence at all.
The 30-minute circuit off Lloret de Mar
The shortest and cheapest ride is a marked circuit. Off the beach at Lloret de Mar the jet skis go out from a platform about 600 metres offshore, and the ride lasts 30 minutes. A single rider pays €110, and a jet ski with a passenger costs €140. No licence is needed, because the jet ski stays inside the marked area rather than heading off along the coast — this is the simplest jet ski in Costa Brava without a licence. For a first ride this is the format that makes the most sense: half an hour is enough to learn how the throttle and the turns feel, and you are not committed to a long route before you know whether you like it.
Guided coastal routes behind an instructor
The second format is a guided ride along the coast. An instructor goes out in front on his own jet ski, and every rider in the group follows him for the whole excursion. From Lloret there are three such routes: south to Blanes, north to Tossa de Mar, and a longer tour that the market sells as the Classic Costa Brava. Further north, around L'Estartit, guided rides run between L'Escala and Palamós and always take in the Medes Islands, on 130 hp jet skis. You steer your own machine on all of these, but you do not choose the line — the instructor does. This is the format most visitors mean when they search for a jet ski tour in Costa Brava, and it is the one that shows the coves and cliffs from the water.
Self-drive: only with a navigation licence
The third format is a jet ski rented on its own, without anyone in front. Here the rules change completely. Spain's licence-free regime for small boats explicitly leaves jet skis out, so self-drive is only for riders who hold a Spanish navigation title — the licencia de navegación or a higher one. At Cala Canyelles in Lloret, for example, the boats and the three-seat 130 hp jet ski go out with a PNB, a PER or a higher licence; a guest without one goes out with a professional skipper at the controls. The licence section below explains what each title allows.
| Format | Licence | Who sets the route | Where | Price from |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30-minute circuit | not needed | the marked circuit | Lloret de Mar, platform offshore | €110 per jet ski |
| Guided coastal route | not needed | the instructor in front | Lloret to Blanes or Tossa; L'Escala–Palamós via the Medes | €150 per jet ski |
| Self-drive | licencia de navegación or higher | you | Lloret (Cala Canyelles), Roses | on request |
Ride prices from €110 to €300
The four ride prices in the table below cover the circuit and the three coastal routes from Lloret. Each is a price per jet ski per ride, not per hour, and each has a second figure for a jet ski carrying a passenger.
| Ride | One rider | Rider + passenger | Passenger supplement | Supplement share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30-minute circuit | €110 | €140 | +€30 | 27% |
| Coastal route, Lloret to Blanes | €150 | €200 | +€50 | 33% |
| Coastal route, Lloret to Tossa de Mar | €190 | €250 | +€60 | 32% |
| Classic Costa Brava tour (longest route) | €230 | €300 | +€70 | 30% |
Four rides, one price ladder
The single-rider prices climb in even steps of €40: €110 for the circuit, €150 for Blanes, €190 for Tossa de Mar and €230 for the Classic Costa Brava tour. The longest tour costs a little over twice the circuit — 2.1 times for one rider and about 2.1 times with a passenger as well (€300 against €140). Blanes is the short route and the Classic Costa Brava tour is the longest, so the ladder follows distance along the coast rather than any change in the jet ski itself. If you already know you enjoy riding, the step from the circuit to a coastal route is the one that changes the experience most: you swap laps inside a marked area for a line along the cliffs.
The passenger supplement
A passenger is never free, but the supplement is much smaller than a second jet ski. It adds €30 to the circuit and €50, €60 and €70 to the three routes, which is between 27% and 33% of the single-rider price. Put another way, a second person on the same machine costs roughly a third of what a second jet ski would. That is why two-up riding is the cheapest way for a couple to go out together — the next section works out what it means per head.
What a starting price leaves open
These figures are the prices for a ride, not a quote for your date. Two things are worth checking before you compare them with anything else. First, the duration: only the circuit has a fixed length of 30 minutes, and how long each coastal route lasts depends on the route, so ask for the time on the water rather than assume it. Second, what the figure covers: it is the price of the ride itself, so ask what, if anything, is added on top before you pay. A €230 tour that lasts twice as long as a €150 one is better value; one that adds only a short detour is not. Compare cost per minute only once you know the minutes.
Two-up and group rides: cost per person
Because a passenger costs a fraction of a second machine, the price per person drops sharply when two people share. The table shows each ride for one person alone and per head when two share one jet ski.
| Ride | One person, own jet ski | Two people, one jet ski | Per person when sharing | Saving per person |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30-minute circuit | €110 | €140 | €70 | €40 |
| Lloret to Blanes | €150 | €200 | €100 | €50 |
| Lloret to Tossa de Mar | €190 | €250 | €125 | €65 |
| Classic Costa Brava tour | €230 | €300 | €150 | €80 |
Sharing a jet ski or taking two
Two people on one jet ski on the circuit pay €140, which is €70 each. The same two people on separate machines pay €220. On the Classic Costa Brava tour the gap widens: €300 for two on one jet ski against €460 for two jet skis. Sharing saves between €40 and €80 per person depending on the ride. What sharing costs you is time at the handlebars: one of you is the passenger for the whole ride, so if both of you want to steer, two machines are the honest answer.
Groups and the limit of four jet skis per instructor
Spanish rules for guided rides without a licence cap the size of a group under one instructor: each monitor supervises at most four jet skis, and each jet ski carries at most two people. A full group behind one instructor is therefore eight riders on four machines. For a family or a group of friends this sets the arithmetic. Four people on two shared jet skis on the circuit pay €280; four people each on their own jet ski pay €440. Eight people on four shared machines on the Lloret to Tossa de Mar route pay €1,000 — €125 a head — and still fit behind a single instructor. Larger groups are split, so ask whether everyone will ride in the same group if that matters to you.
Weight: 150 kg across two riders
The passenger price only works if the pair fits the weight limit. On the Lloret circuit a jet ski takes at most two people with a combined weight of 150 kg. Two adults above that limit ride on separate machines and pay two single-rider prices, so a couple weighing more than 150 kg together should budget €220 for the circuit, not €140. It is worth mentioning your combined weight when you book, so the right number of machines is reserved.
Licence rules for jet skis in Spain
Most of the confusion about jet ski rental in Costa Brava comes from one rule: boats can be rented without a licence, but jet skis cannot be driven alone without one.
Why the licence-free boat rule does not cover jet skis
Spain lets you take out a small motor boat with no title at all — up to 5 metres and 15 hp, within 2 nautical miles of the departure point, in daylight and from the age of 18. Sailing boats up to 6 metres are covered too. The same article of Royal Decree 875/2014 then says, in a separate paragraph, that jet skis are excepted from this regime. So a licence-free boat and a licence-free jet ski ride are not the same thing in law: the boat you drive yourself; the jet ski you ride either inside a circuit or behind an instructor.
The licencia de navegación and higher titles
To drive a jet ski on your own you need at least the licencia de navegación. It allows you to take charge of recreational boats and jet skis up to 6 metres long, so it covers every jet ski on the coast. Higher titles — the PNB (patrón de navegación básica) and the PER (patrón de embarcaciones de recreo) — include it, and operators that rent jet skis for self-drive list exactly these: a PNB, a PER or a higher licence. If you hold a recreational boating licence from another country, check before you travel whether it is recognised in Spain for jet skis, and bring the document itself: a jet ski with a licence in Costa Brava is rented against the title, not against your word.
Without a licence: what the rules allow
Riding without a licence is legal, but only in organised formats. Spanish rules for jet ski activities name them: group excursions led by a monitor, and individual excursions where a monitor holding a jet ski licence drives and you ride as the passenger. The circuit off Lloret is the third common option — the jet ski stays in a marked area. On the guided routes around the Medes Islands the wording is the same: you are always accompanied by an instructor, and you do not need any licence to ride. In my view, for most visitors this is the sensible choice anyway: the guided format takes you to the parts of the coast worth seeing without asking you to know the water.
| Situation | Licence | What you can do |
|---|---|---|
| No title | not needed | the 30-minute circuit; guided routes behind a monitor; ride as passenger with a monitor driving |
| Licencia de navegación | minimum for self-drive | drive a jet ski up to 6 m yourself |
| PNB, PER or higher | includes jet skis | self-drive rental where offered; larger boats as well |
Age, kit and riding behind the instructor
The practical conditions are short, but each of them can stop a ride at the platform, so they are worth reading before you book.
18 and over, or 16 with a guardian's permission
On the Lloret circuit the minimum age to ride is 18, and riders from 16 can go out with the permission of a parent or guardian. Below 16, a young person does not drive the jet ski; whether a child can ride as a passenger is a question to put to the operator directly, because the age rules quoted on the coast are about the person at the handlebars. Self-drive with a licence follows the age of the licence holder. The licence-free boat rule, by comparison, starts at 18 with no exception — a useful detail if a 16- or 17-year-old in your group wants to steer something.
What to bring
For the circuit the only equipment you are asked to bring is a swimsuit. In practice that means thinking about what you do not bring: anything that cannot get wet stays on shore, because a jet ski has no dry storage for a phone or a wallet worth trusting at speed. Sunglasses with a strap, sun cream applied beforehand and a towel waiting on the beach make the half hour more comfortable. If you are joining a longer coastal route, ask whether a stop is planned and whether there is anywhere to keep a small bag.
Following the leader on a coastal route
On the guided rides the instructor goes out in front and guides the group, and each rider must follow him for the entire excursion. That rule is the price of riding without a licence: you do not overtake, you do not choose your own line into a cove, and you keep the distance the instructor sets. Riders who expect to open the throttle freely on the open sea are often surprised by this. If speed and freedom are what you want, the honest answer is a licence and a self-drive rental; if seeing the coast is what you want, following the leader costs you nothing and keeps the group together.
Where to ride: from Blanes and Lloret to the Medes Islands
Jet ski bases on the Costa Brava cluster in a few places, and each one gives a different stretch of coast.
Lloret de Mar, Blanes and Tossa de Mar
Lloret de Mar has the most choice. On the main beach the circuit and the three guided routes start from the offshore platform: the short ride south to Blanes, the longer one north to Tossa de Mar, and the Classic Costa Brava tour, the longest of the three. At Cala Canyelles, a cove within Lloret de Mar, jet skis go out alongside motor boats — the three-seat 130 hp model is driven by licence holders, and guests without a licence go out with a professional skipper. For a first ride, Lloret makes comparison easy: the circuit and every route are priced side by side, so you can see in one place what each extra stretch of coast costs.
L'Estartit, L'Escala, Palamós and the Medes Islands
Further north the coast changes, and so do the rides. Around L'Estartit, guided jet ski routes run between L'Escala and Palamós on 130 hp machines, and every route includes the Medes Islands, the small archipelago just off L'Estartit. The format is the same as in Lloret — an instructor is always with the group and no licence is needed — but the scenery is different: rocky islets close to shore rather than a long line of town beaches. If you are staying in the middle or north of the Costa Brava, this is the jet ski tour in Costa Brava worth looking at first, rather than driving down to Lloret.
Roses, and when a licence-free boat suits you better
In the far north, Roses also has a jet ski base. Self-drive in Roses works the same way as anywhere in Spain: with a licence you drive alone, without one you ride with an instructor. It is also worth knowing where a jet ski is the wrong tool. If your group is four or five people and the plan is a quiet day of swimming in coves, a licence-free boat is a different and often better choice — the boats start from €95 a day for a 4.7-metre, 15 hp boat for five people with fuel included, which is less than one jet ski on a 30-minute circuit with a passenger. A jet ski is speed and spray for one or two people; a boat is a day out for the group. The page on licence-free boat rental in Costa Brava covers that option, including the 2-mile limit that keeps those boats away from the more distant coves.
Key points before you book a ride
Five figures to keep in mind
- Starting price: €110 for a 30-minute circuit with one rider; guided coastal routes €150, €190 and €230.
- Passenger: +€30 to +€70, roughly a third of the single-rider price; €70 to €150 per person when two share one jet ski.
- Licence: jet skis are excluded from Spain's licence-free regime; self-drive needs the licencia de navegación or a higher title.
- Without a licence: a marked circuit or a guided route, with one instructor for at most four jet skis.
- Limits: 18 and over, or 16 with a guardian's permission; at most two people and 150 kg per jet ski.
Questions to ask before you pay
Before you compare two offers, ask the same four things of each: how long the ride lasts on the water, whether the price is for one rider or for two, whether a licence is needed for the format you want, and where the ride starts. A circuit and a coastal route at the same price are not the same ride, and a per-ride price without a duration is only half a price. With those four answers the figures on this page become directly comparable, and the choice comes down to how much coast you want to see.