IBIZA · BALEARIC ISLANDS
Turquoise calas, slow boats, fast sundowns.
Beach hops, Formentera ferries, sunset cruises and the sea caves between the calas. Cala Comte, Es Vedra, Sunset Strip, Dalt Vila and the quiet north most travellers never reach.
Only in Ibiza
Three things you only get here.
Beach cruises and snorkels exist everywhere in the Med. These three do not. The sunset that became a global ritual. The limestone pyramid that gets called Atlantis. The ferry south to a smaller, quieter sister island. Build the rest of the week around them.
Sundown ritual
The Sunset Strip
Cafe del Mar opened in 1980 and codified the idea: sit on the rocks at San Antonio with a drink, watch the sun drop into the Mediterranean, applaud at the green flash. Forty years later half the island still stops at 8pm. The sunset cruises double the trick. You watch from the deck instead of the shore.
- 1 Ibiza: Sunset Boat Party at Ibiza Boat Club with Open Bar
- 2 Ibiza: Midday or Sunset Sailing with Snacks and Open Bar
- 3 Ibiza: Sunset Boat Party Cruise with DJs with 2 Clubs
Off the southwest coast
Es Vedra
A 380-metre limestone pyramid rising straight out of the sea, uninhabited by anyone except wild goats. Said to be one of the most magnetic points on earth. The Greek mythology fans call it Atlantis, the new-age crowd calls it a power spot, everyone agrees the photos look unreal. Reachable by boat tour from San Antonio or Cala d’Hort.
- 1 Ibiza: Es Vedrà Boat Tour with Swimming Stop
- 2 San Antonio: Es Vedrà & Formentera Boat Tour with Snorkeling
- 3 Ibiza: SpeedBoat trip to Atlantis & Es Vedra Snorkel+Paddle
The day trip
A Day in Formentera
The smallest Balearic island, twenty minutes south by fast ferry. Turquoise water that gets compared to the Maldives, white sand that is actually sand (not pebbles), beach restaurants on stilts, and almost no cars. The day everyone in Ibiza eventually takes. Twenty-seven boats and ferries leave for it every morning.
- 1 Ibiza: Formentera Cruise at Ibiza Boat Club
- 2 From Ibiza: Same-Day 2-Way Ferry Ticket to Formentera
- 3 Ibiza: Platja d’en Bossa Round-Trip Transfer to Formentera
The boat day
If it’s your first day, start here.
The single most-booked boat day on the island. Six hours on the water, beach hops, snorkel stops, food on board. Half of Ibiza ends up doing it.
The classics
Ibiza’s Most Popular Boat Days
Cala Comte, Formentera, Es Vedra, the sea caves up north. The reason most travellers come to Ibiza, in cruise form.
By place
Pick a corner of the island.
Each place is its own day. Cala Comte for the turquoise. San Antonio for the sunsets. Dalt Vila for the walls and the food. Cala Salada for the snorkel. Formentera if you have the morning free for a ferry.
By tour type
Or pick how you want to spend the day.
Catamaran if you want comfort. Jet ski if you want speed. Sailing for the slow afternoon. A bareboat rental if you have a captain in the group. Sea caves, sunset cruises, boat parties when the sun drops, the rest.
A day on the island
The hours of Ibiza.
The island runs on a 24-hour rhythm and most travellers eventually cycle through all of it. Quiet calas at breakfast. Boats and beach hops by midday. Cafe del Mar applause at sundown. A different boat with a louder DJ after dark. Pick your hour.
07:00 · Calm water
The Cove Hours
Cala Salada, Cala Gracio, Cala d’Hort. The coves before the speedboats arrive and the sun gets violent.
Quiet calas →12:00 · On the water
The Boat Hours
Beach hopping cruises, sea caves, snorkel stops, paddleboards off the back. The hours half the island spends on a deck.
Boat trips →20:00 · Golden hour
The Sunset Hour
Sunset Strip, Cafe del Mar, sailboats off Cala Conta. The hour Ibiza was built around.
Sunset cruises →23:00 · After dark
The Loud Hours
Boat parties with open bars and a DJ. A second sunset on the water, then the clubs. The hours Ibiza is famous for.
Boat parties →The day everyone takes
If you have a morning free, take the ferry.
Twenty minutes south, Formentera is what Ibiza was forty years ago: quieter, slower, fewer cars, the same impossible water. The three Formentera boats and ferries we’d send a first-timer to.
When the sun drops
The hour Ibiza was built around.
Cafe del Mar, Cafe Mambo, the long view west from any boat off Cala Conta. Three sunset cruises that nail the moment without leaving you stuck at the back of a 200-person bar queue.
The other coves
Past the famous beaches.
Cala Salada, Cala Gracio, the sea-cave coastline north of San Antonio. Quieter than Cala Comte, deeper water, fewer drone crews. Our shortlist for the day you skip the famous ones.
When the boats wait
Off the water for a day.
Jet ski the coves, jeep-safari the inland villages, walk Dalt Vila’s UNESCO walls, hunt the secret spots most tour boats never see. The half-days worth saving for when your shoulders need a break from the deck.
Just added