A licence-free boat in Peñíscola, your own course beneath the rock.

Peñíscola is best understood from the sea: a rock set in the water, with the white village and the castle on top. With a licence-free boat you can go round it yourself, stop wherever you like and jump in with a mask.

The boat and what is included

Nautic Riders, at the Nudo Beach Club on the Playa Sur, next to the port, hires out a 15 hp boat that can be driven without a nautical licence. Up to seven people fit. The price includes fuel and a snorkel kit with diving mask. Before setting off you leave a deposit, which is returned when you get back if there is no damage, and show your ID card, NIE or passport. The driver must be over 18.

It costs €120 an hour, €190 for two hours and €360 for four hours, per boat. Between seven, an hour works out at about €17 a head. The booking form listing also mentions three hours, so ask what durations are available that day.

What you can see

A 15 hp boat is not fast: it is for cruising along the coast, which is exactly what matters here. From the port, the trip round the rock puts you beneath the wall, opposite the Sant Pere gate of 1411, which was opened when the sea reached the walls, and beneath the mouth of the Bufador, the natural tunnel through which the water shoots out in a storm. To the north the Playa Norte opens out, with the castle behind.

To the south begins the Sierra de Irta, a natural park and marine reserve with about 12 km of undeveloped coast. Nautic Riders' website does not say how far you can go with the 15 hp boat or for how long: ask when you collect the boat, along with the areas where you can anchor and swim.

Who it is for

For a group of friends or a family who want their own boat for an hour or two, with no fixed schedules or other passengers. You do not need to know how to sail, but you do need common sense: you are the skipper. If you prefer to be taken, Golondrinas Clavel's tour boat makes the trip round the rock in 30 minutes all year and, in July and August, the boat to the Irta coast with a swim.

When and how to book

The company recommends booking in advance, especially in summer, on its website or by WhatsApp on 663 299 778. It publishes no seasonal calendar. In bad weather, it cancels the outing or moves it to another day: with a strong levante, the sea off Peñíscola gets uncomfortable for a small boat.

Before and after on land

The port is a few minutes' walk from the old town. If you go out mid-morning, when you get back climb to the Papa Luna castle or walk the old town and walls. For lunch, El Raconet de Ca Deu, inside the old town, is open every day with soupy rice dishes. To spend the night by the sea, Camping Ferrer is 800 m from the old town.