Porto Colom (Mallorca) - Provisions & Laundry
There is a fair selection of shops around the harbour. The town also has two reasonably sized supermarkets; “Ca’s Corso”, is next to the Ca’s Corso Apartments and a “Spar”, situated by the side the harbour next to the Club Nautico offices. Both offer a good selection of fresh and cooked meats, wines and spirits, fresh fruit and vegetables.
If you have information for this section, or feedback on businesses used, please let us know at editor@noonsite.com. We also welcome new information about businesses you have used (see Related Businesses).
Next Section: Shore Services: Medical & Health
Related to following destinations: Balearics, Porto Colom (Mallorca), Spain
Port Navigation
Courtesy Flag Discounts
YachtFlags.com provides high quality courtesy flags that are manufactured in durable Knitted Polyester fabric. Knitted so that the fabric itself does not deteriorate in the constant movement that marine flags are usually exposed to, and polyester so that the flag does not weaken in the strong UV-light usually found in the main sailing areas of the world.
YachtFlags.com offers a discount to Noonsite members.
Use the coupon code NOONSITE_5A2B when checking out to get 10% off today.
Buy Now On YachtFlags.comMain Ports - Spain
Courtesy Flag Discounts
YachtFlags.com provides high quality courtesy flags that are manufactured in durable Knitted Polyester fabric. Knitted so that the fabric itself does not deteriorate in the constant movement that marine flags are usually exposed to, and polyester so that the flag does not weaken in the strong UV-light usually found in the main sailing areas of the world.
YachtFlags.com offers a discount to Noonsite members.
Use the coupon code NOONSITE_5A2B when checking out to get 10% off today.
Buy Now On YachtFlags.com
Information on Porto Colom
Anchored in Porto Colom for 3 days and had our anchoring spot just outside the official port area carefully picked on a sand patch for Posidonia reasons as read below,
for there is a massive ‘no anchoring, Posidonia’ sign hanging down the cliff to the entrance now.
The Story:
On day two, a diver with no apparent jurisdiction or affiliation to any government agency/Posidonia police swam between the boats and forced the apparently annoyed Posidonia police, who patrols the bay, to approach every last one of the boats with claims that everyone was anchoring in Posidonia.
Posidonia police checked our anchor which we played a buoy with, asked if we were anchoring in Posidonia and we answered that we already sent out our own diver to check the position of the anchor which was placed in sand.
Posidonia police guy then said cleared us and drove off. The diver though kept harassing people in the bay all day long that were cleared by Posidonia police.
This whole play the diver saw himself in was somewhere between self-righteous and vigilantism.
In the harbour area itself between the buoys, its forbidden to anchor, port overseer though didn’t drive off any of the many people that did anchor there.
It seems to us that they are really trying hard to squeeze money out of people. Surely not a welcoming place for the sailor on a budget.
What we learned from this:
There are a few spots outside the port area that have both sand and are cleared to anchor by the government Posidonia app, some 5-7 boats might find a spot there, safe from being driven off. If you anchor there, throw it in the sand and make sure it is actually on the sand and mark it.
Check with the Spanish Posidonia app that shows where you are officially cleared to anchor to have something official in hand. Don’t be subject to harassment here!
And don’t be fooled, the cloak of “environmental protection” nowadays goes hand in hand with simple business interests.
Interesting sidenote:
Anchors of local boats seem to do no damage to Posidonia fields and are therefore tolerated by Posidonia police and the diver; anchors of foreign boats though do a lot of damage apparently and need to be dealt with all the way.
Most peculiar considering that transits then have to pay for a buoy after sandy anchoring grounds where suddenly after privatization declared port area not to be anchored in.
There are a few good restaurants along the harbour, the bay was completely protected from the swell.
Further comment from dcaukill:
Booked a couple of nights in Porto Petro (Mallorca). They have now laid buoys in the anchorage on the East of the harbour which is administered by Real Club Nautico. Booked in advance by phone, the Euro 50 per night charge might have been OK if it did not appear that all of the raw sewage from the town is channelled untreated into the harbour. The smell was over-powering.
There is still an anchorage on the east side, between Arenal Gran and Arenal Petit. However, the locals are on a mission to stop sailors from anchoring on seagrass (Posidonia). They have hung banners on the cliff side opposite SA Bateria and a woman drives round in a launch taking photographs of your boat and threatening to call the police. The fact that you have carefully picked a sandy patch and dived to check your anchor is not fouling any seagrass does nothing to quell her ardour.
It is not clear what authority she has if any.
Buoys are available by prior appointment.
August 2016. No anchoring in the bay. Buoy for one night for a 12m cat was 34 euros paid for in cash to Marinero in a rib who leads you to the buoy and assists taking lines. Pleasant ashore, plenty of restaurants. Eroski supermarket nearby. Tender pontoon at the southern end of berths. Yacht club at the opposite end, but not much there in the way of facilities, wifi with a short range of the YC.
Anchored Feb/15 told its not permitted, Moorings ridiculously expensive without justification other than I suppose some are willing to pay, Many similar issues in many previously designated anchored in Balearics, Italy Greece far better in my opinion but I suppose as long as enough willing to pay €100 for a mooring of unknown security, many more anchorages will become mooring only. Very sad indeed.
We enjoyed our two night stop in Protocol on Mallorca’s East Coast and we avoided the God awful high prices of some Balearic ports staying at the Protocol Port Authority docks. Our 13-meter boat was 45€ per night including water, electricity and VAT. We had heard we should call on VHF channel 8, and they responded immediately and told us where to dock, and the docks are central to where you want to be in Protocol; there are restaurants and a small grocery store very close by. The town has a couple of very good larger grocery stores just a few blocks away.
The protocol is a large and completely protected harbour, although the south end is very shallow and is only for small boats. There are mooring balls everywhere now and reports are that they are expensive. For what it’s worth, we did see several similar-sized sailboats to our anchored in the harbour, but for all, I know they were in jail an hour later.
Portocolum is a genuine scenic fishing village, and yet it has all of the modern conveniences you expect. The convenient bus to the rest of the island makes exploration easy and cheap, and nearby Cala D’Or is a 1/2 hour bus ride.
Posted on behalf of PBurgess:
Porto Colom. June 2014.
Despite there being no formal update from Ports IB or the Mallorcan Government, there is no longer any anchoring in Porto Colom, the anchorages have been replaced by buoys which can be booked for an average 60 euro per night for an 11 to the 12m yacht. Ports IB berths can be booked online in the IB marina for 35 euro per night for a maximum 5-day stay. Club Nautico Berths are on average 100 euro per night.