Barcelona to Alcúdia Ferry

The crossing between Barcelona and Port d'Alcúdia lands you on the north coast of Mallorca rather than at the island's main hub in Palma, which is what sets this route apart. Alcúdia sits close to the beaches of the Bay of Alcúdia, the Cap de Formentor peninsula and the S'Albufera wetlands, so it saves a long overland drive if the north of the island is where you are headed.

The route is worked by Baleària alone, using the high-speed catamaran Margarita Salas, one of the first fast ferries in the world built to run on liquefied natural gas. The direct sailing takes about 3 hours 30 minutes across roughly 130 nautical miles, far quicker than the overnight conventional ships that serve Palma. Departures from Barcelona have typically left in the afternoon, around 15:45, reaching Alcúdia in the early evening.

Fast ferry, not a night boat

Because the Margarita Salas is a day-sailing catamaran, there are no cabins. Instead you get reserved reclining seats, a café-bar and an open sun deck, which suits the short hop well. The vessel carries cars, motorcycles and vans as well as foot passengers, so it is a practical option for a self-drive holiday in the north of Mallorca.

How it fits the wider network

Alcúdia is very much the secondary Barcelona–Mallorca gateway. The vast majority of mainland traffic to the island funnels through Palma, which has far more sailings and runs all year. Baleària operates the Alcúdia fast ferry as part of a combined Barcelona–Alcúdia–Ciutadella corridor, with some sailings calling first at Menorca and others at Mallorca depending on the day of the week.

Frequency is concentrated in the warmer months, when demand for the northern beaches peaks, and thins out sharply outside the main season. Timetables and the exact port-call order change through the year, so confirm the sailing pattern for your travel dates before booking.