Instead of Ibiza: Formentera, the Balearic Island Where Time Takes Its Time

Ibiza is parties, clubs and oligarch prices. Formentera — reachable only by ferry from Ibiza, thirty minutes of open water — is its exact opposite: a flat, windswept island where dirt roads thread through twisted junipers, the beaches have Caribbean-clear water, and at night you actually sleep.

Playa de Ses Illetes is regularly ranked among Europe's ten finest beaches: a tongue of white sand narrowing until it dissolves into turquoise water, with Ibiza's silhouette on the horizon. The water is so transparent that boats appear to float in mid-air. In June and September you will find it almost deserted; in August it fills up, but never to Ibizan levels.

Formentera is best explored by bicycle or scooter: the island is twenty kilometres long and at most four wide, with no significant hills. The green circuits — cycle paths linking the beaches, villages and lighthouse — are the ideal way to experience it. The Faro de la Mola, at the eastern tip, is a viewpoint where Jules Verne set a scene from one of his novels, and where at sunset the sky catches fire.

The Salines — the wetland in the north of the island — are a protected habitat where pink flamingos rest during their migrations. The colours of the evaporation pans — from pink to white to green — create a spectacle that contrasts with the surrounding blue of the sea.

Sant Francesc Xavier — the island's capital — is a village with a white fortified church, a square with two bars, and a craft market that animates the lanes each afternoon. Es Pujols is the most tourist-facing area (relatively speaking), with restaurants and shops. El Pilar de la Mola holds a hippie market on Wednesdays and Sundays — a memory of the 1970s when Formentera was the destination of flower children.

Eating in Formentera is an authentically Balearic experience: bullit de peix (fish stew with potatoes and alioli), flaó (fresh cheese tart with herbs and anise), and local wine — few wineries, limited production, surprising quality. Prices are above the Spanish average but below Ibiza's.

Formentera is reached exclusively by ferry from Ibiza (30–60 minutes, frequent departures). It has no airport: that is its finest protection. Accommodation ranges from agriturismo to village guesthouses, with prices in low season dropping significantly.