Boat & catamaran tours — Fuerteventura

• €30–125per person for a shared trip; €17 return for a crossing to Lobos
• 2–5 hhow long a shared trip lasts
• 2 coastsnorth and south — no trip in this hub works both

Boat days here split between two coasts and two formats. From Puerto de Corralejo in the north run both the ten- and twenty-minute crossings to the islet of Lobos and the four-hour catamarans that anchor off it. From Morro Jable and Jandía Marina in the south, boats work the Jandía coast and head out after dolphins and whales. A few northern boats are sold whole, from €150 for the crossing to €550 for three hours of speedboat.

Do you need a permit to visit Isla de Lobos?#

The whole islet is the Parque Natural Islote de Lobos, and visiting it requires a permit from the Cabildo of Fuerteventura obtained in advance. The permit is free, it is issued through lobospass.com, and the calendar opens a few days ahead rather than months. It is checked when you land: a boat ticket does not replace it.

Operators can file the request with your booking: FuerteCharter's form includes the access requests at no extra cost, taking each adult's name, country and ID number, and OBY adds the permit to your ticket if you ask on WhatsApp. FuerteCharter runs that step only on the boats that land; its mini-cruise, sunsets and combos anchor off the islet. On the one combo that puts half the group ashore by speedboat the form skips it, so ask who files it.

Isla de Lobos

the islet off Corralejo, a natural park in its entirety. Landing needs a free, named authorisation from the Cabildo, requested at lobospass.com — a boat ticket does not replace it, and it is checked when you step ashore.

Corralejo

the town at the northern tip and the only port for Lobos. Three of the operators here sail from it: the FuerteCharter base, the Muelle and Puerto de Corralejo are all within the same harbour.

Morro Jable and Jandía Marina

the two berths at the southern end of the island, about a hundred kilometres from Corralejo. Everything cetacean leaves from there, and nothing there goes near Lobos.

North or south — what changes?#

Corralejo is the Lobos side, and FuerteCharter sells both halves of it. Transport: the water taxi at 9:45, 10:30, 11:15 and 12:00, the electric ferry at 9:30, 10:45, 12:00, 13:15, 15:45 and 17:00, with an open return either way. And a day on the water: the 18:45 sunset catamarans and the four- and five-hour combos. OBY leaves the dock at 10:00 and 14:30, Lobos in Catamaran anchors with ten guests at most.

The south is Magic & Sailing out of Morro Jable and Jandía Marina, with pick-up from selected points in Costa Calma, Esquinzo, Jandía and Morro Jable. Cetaceans are the pitch there, and the operator says plainly that sightings are never guaranteed. Spanish rules keep the boat honest: no more than four knots, no cutting across a group and no entering the 60-metre exclusion zone.

What do children pay?#

Almost every trip has a child fare, but the age brackets and the discount are each operator's own. A child costs least on the crossings and most where the boat is small and the day is long — €45 on the ten-guest catamaran, €50 on the FuerteCharter combos, €60 on the twelve-guest Magic Deluxe. Babies are counted separately: FuerteCharter carries under-threes free on the ferry and under-twos on the water taxi.

What is worth checking before you book?#

• The Lobos permit is free and comes from lobospass.com; sites that charge for the paperwork are not the Cabildo.
• Age limits: Aphrodite Sunset is strictly eighteen and over, Magic Dreams takes guests from twelve, the Catamarán Sunset Luxury is adults only, and babies under two cannot board the dolphin trip.
• Booking and pick-up: Lobos in Catamaran wants online bookings at least 24 hours ahead and serves the Corralejo area only, while OBY cancels free up to 24 hours before departure.
• A crossing is transport, not a tour: there is no guide on the islet, snorkelling gear is not part of the water taxi, and a bicycle costs €5 extra on the FuerteCharter boats.