The crossing
Formentera lies south of Ibiza across a strait called Es Freus, four miles wide at its broadest and studded with islets: Espalmador, S’Espardell and a scatter of rocks between them. From Ibiza Town or Marina Botafoch it is about 9 nautical miles to the anchorage off Espalmador and 11 to La Savina, Formentera’s only harbour. Under power that is an hour and a half; under sail with the afternoon breeze, two to three hours. From Sant Antoni on Ibiza’s west coast, round Es Vedrà to Cala Saona, is about 14 miles and one of the best short passages in the islands.
The strait is shallow and well marked. The main pass runs between Espalmador and the Ibiza shore, with cardinal marks on the shoals either side; take it, keep right, watch the depth and give way to the ferries, which do not slow down. In a settled sea breeze it is straightforward. In a fresh southerly it is uncomfortable and the anchorages on the north side of Formentera become exposed, which is when you go to Cala Saona or back to Ibiza.
Where to stop
Buoys, sand and seagrass
The water is that colour because the seabed is posidonia, a seagrass meadow that is protected across the Balearics and enforced here more strictly than anywhere else. Anchoring on it is an offence; patrol boats check where your chain lies and will move you or fine you. In practice this means three things. First, in summer you moor on the regulated buoys at Illetes and S’Espalmador, booked online by the night and sized to your boat; they sell out in July and August, so book when you book the charter. Second, outside the buoy fields you anchor only on the pale sand patches, which are visible from deck in this water and marked on our passage plans. Third, you do not anchor at all inside the Ses Salines natural park except in those places. It sounds restrictive; it is why the water still looks like this.
A realistic two days
Day one. Leave Ibiza Town by nine, before the breeze, motor across Es Freus and be on a buoy or a sand patch off Espalmador by half ten. Swim, lunch aboard, and move the two miles round to Illetes when the afternoon breeze fills in from the west. Tender ashore for a walk along the spit, dinner at one of the beach restaurants, night on the buoy.
Day two. Morning at Illetes while it is empty, then round the north of the island and down the west coast to Cala Saona for lunch and a long afternoon. If you are returning to Ibiza that evening, the sail back north to Es Vedrà and Ibiza Town is a downwind run in the sea breeze, about 12 miles. If you have a third day, stay at Saona and go into La Savina the next morning for the island by bike.
Most crews do this with a skipper, and for a first visit that is the right call: the buoys, the pass and the sand patches are all easier the second time. Bareboat crews get the same plan on paper, with waypoints, and a phone number.
Practical notes
- Day charter or week? Ibiza–Formentera works as a single long day from Ibiza Town, as a weekend, or as the first two days of a week that continues to Ibiza’s west coast.
- Wind: mornings calm, sea breeze from the west or south-west from late morning. Southerlies are the ones that spoil it.
- Water and provisions: La Savina has both; nowhere else on the island is reachable by tender for a proper shop.
- Formentera has no airport: everyone else arrives by ferry. Arriving by your own boat is the point.
- Licences: the same as anywhere in Spain. See which licences are accepted.
