Benidorm Boat Trips to the Island
Benidorm boat trips depart regularly from the town's marinas to Benidorm Island, a protected natural reserve 3 km offshore. These excursions offer views of Peacock Island's rocky coastline, marine life, and clear Mediterranean waters. Most benidorm boat trips tours include swimming stops and allow time to explore the island's walking trails and resident peacock colony.
Benidorm's coastal fleet has operated continuous service to Peacock Island since 1962, when the first scheduled ferry replaced the fishing skiffs that once ferried day-trippers across the 3.5-kilometre channel.
The island itself—officially Isla de Benidorm—rises 73 metres from the Mediterranean, a limestone outcrop uninhabited save for a seasonal restaurant and the feral peacock population introduced in the 1970s. The crossing takes fifteen minutes in calm conditions, though spring levante winds can extend that to twenty-five.
Benidorm boat trips depart from multiple harbours along the resort's twin bays. The main embarkation point sits at the eastern end of Levante Beach, where a purpose-built jetty serves glass-bottomed catamarans and mid-sized ferries. A secondary pier operates from the old town's Poniente side, traditionally used by smaller vessels and private charters. The fleet expanded significantly in the 2010s, adding vessels designed for specific itineraries: party boats with onboard DJ setups for evening circuits, family-friendly ferries with shallow boarding ramps and shaded upper decks, and glass-hulled catamarans that pause over the Llosa de la Mitjana reef for underwater viewing. By 2020, the combined fleet carried over 400,000 passengers annually, a figure that dipped during the pandemic years but recovered to 380,000 in 2025.
Routes beyond the island have diversified the maritime offering. Benidorm boat trips to Altea trace the northern coastline, a forty-minute passage that rounds the Sierra Helada headland and enters Altea Bay beneath the whitewashed old town. The route to Calpe, less frequent but popular with couples, extends the journey to ninety minutes, passing the limestone cliffs of the Mascarat gorge and terminating beneath the Peñón de Ifach. Party boats typically operate evening circuits within Benidorm's bay, circumnavigating the island without docking, while family-oriented departures focus on the shorter island crossing with time ashore for swimming and cliff-path walks.
The island itself became a protected natural area in 2002, though public access remains unrestricted. Marine conservation zones flank its eastern and southern coasts, prohibiting anchoring but permitting swimming. The restaurant, perched on the island's sheltered western cove, serves grilled fish and paella between April and October. Peacocks roam the scrub-covered slopes freely, descendants of a small population introduced to control insect populations. The island's visibility from Benidorm's shoreline—clear on all but the foggiest winter days—has made it a visual anchor for the resort, appearing in promotional material since the tourism boom of the 1960s.
2 hr 30 min
