Sailing around Ibiza and Formentera
Ibiza and Formentera are a sailing ground of their own: two islands a few miles apart, ringed with calas and white-sand beaches, and water as clear as the Caribbean over the Posidonia meadows that make it so. A boat is the way to see them. The beaches that are crowded by road are empty from the sea, and Formentera, with no airport and a ferry that fills, is half an hour’s sail from Ibiza’s marina.
This guide covers the week round both islands, with its winds, its marinas, the anchoring rules the Balearic government enforces, and the licence Spain asks for. The figures beside it are live, from the operators’ booking systems today.
When to go
The season runs from May to October. June and September are the months to choose: warm, settled and with room in the anchorages. July and August are hot, the anchorages off Formentera are full by midday and the marinas are the most expensive in the Mediterranean; book early for those weeks and expect to anchor. May is quiet and the sea still cool; October is warm, quiet and cheaper, with the first autumn fronts possible at the end of the month.
Charters here run Saturday to Saturday from Ibiza town and from Sant Antoni, with check-in on Saturday afternoon and check-out by nine the following Saturday.
The winds
There is no Meltemi and no Bura here. The summer wind is a sea breeze that fills in late morning from the south or south-east and dies at dusk, force 3 to 4 on a normal day, which makes the sailing gentle and the anchorages calm at night. The exceptions are the fronts that cross from the Spanish mainland, mostly in spring and autumn, bringing a day or two of fresh north-westerlies, and the occasional summer thunderstorm.
The practical consequence is that the week is planned around shelter from the sea breeze rather than from a gale: the north coast of Ibiza in a southerly, the south and Formentera in a northerly.
Anchoring and the seagrass
The Posidonia meadows are protected by law in the Balearic Islands, and the rules are enforced by patrol boats with fines that run into the thousands. Anchoring on the seagrass is forbidden; anchor on sand, which is the pale patches, and never on the dark ones. The government lays mooring buoys in summer in the most popular bays: Ses Illetes and Espalmador off Formentera, Cala Jondal and the bays around Es Vedrà. They are booked online by the day and are the only legal mooring on busy days.
The operators explain the map at check-in, and the chart plotter on most boats shows the meadows. It is the one thing a crew new to the islands has to learn, and it is not hard.
Where the boats leave from
Marina Ibiza and Marina Botafoch sit across the harbour from the old town, Ibiza Magna under its walls; Sant Antoni, on the west coast, is the other base and the quieter one. The airport is fifteen minutes from Ibiza town. Fleets are smaller than in Croatia or Greece, so the choice of boats is narrower and the good weeks go early; Mallorca, a day’s sail north, has the larger fleets of the Balearics.
Licences and papers
Spain requires the skipper of a bareboat charter to hold a licence. Charter companies accept an ICC, an RYA Day Skipper or a national licence of equivalent level from non-residents; the operator checks it at check-in. A VHF certificate is asked for by some operators and not others. Without a licence, book a skippered charter; many of the boats here are offered with a skipper as a matter of course.
The operator handles the boat’s papers. Obligatory extras on Spanish boats are usually the final cleaning and sometimes a check-in fee, and they are inside every price on this site.
Marinas and money
Marina nights in Ibiza town are the most expensive in the Mediterranean in August, at several hundred euros for a 40-foot boat, and need booking; Sant Antoni and Santa Eulària are cheaper, and Formentera’s La Savina is small and full. Most crews spend the week at anchor, which is free, and come into a marina once for water and a long shower. Fuel is at Ibiza, Sant Antoni, Santa Eulària and La Savina.
A week round Ibiza and Formentera
Clockwise round Ibiza with two nights at Formentera, keeping the sea breeze on the beam. Every leg is short; the days are for swimming.
| Day | From | To | Distance | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Ibiza | Espalmador, Formentera | 10 nm | Check in, provision, and sail an hour and a half to the islet between Ibiza and Formentera; a buoy or sand anchor for the first night. |
| Day 2 | Espalmador | Cala Saona, Formentera | 10 nm | Round Formentera’s west point past Ses Illetes beach to the sunset bay on the west coast. |
| Day 3 | Cala Saona | Cala Jondal, Ibiza | 12 nm | Back across to Ibiza’s south coast, a bay with a beach club and buoys; Es Vedrà is the next headland west. |
| Day 4 | Cala Jondal | Sant Antoni | 15 nm | Past Es Vedrà, the rock in the sea, and up the west coast to the bay of Sant Antoni; a marina night for water and the town. |
| Day 5 | Sant Antoni | Portinatx | 15 nm | The north-west coast of calas, Cala Salada and Benirràs among them, to the northern tip and its sheltered bay. |
| Day 6 | Portinatx | Santa Eulària | 16 nm | Down the north-east coast past Tagomago to the marina town on the east coast. |
| Day 7 | Santa Eulària | Ibiza | 9 nm | The last short leg south to the harbour; the boat in its berth by the afternoon. |
Questions people ask
Do I need a licence to charter a boat in Ibiza?
Yes. Spain requires a skipper’s licence; charter companies accept an ICC, an RYA Day Skipper or a national equivalent from visitors. Otherwise, book a skippered charter, which is common here.
Can I anchor anywhere in Ibiza and Formentera?
On sand, yes; on the Posidonia seagrass, no: it is protected and the fines are large. In the busiest bays, government buoys are laid in summer and booked online by the day.
When is the best time to sail around Ibiza?
June or September: warm, settled, with room in the anchorages and prices well below August.
How far is Formentera from Ibiza by boat?
About ten miles from Ibiza town to the anchorage at Espalmador, an hour and a half under sail in a normal sea breeze.