Cala Gracioneta is about thirty metres long and twenty wide, which makes it one of the smallest beaches on Ibiza that anyone bothers to name. It sits immediately north of Cala Gració, a few minutes from San Antonio, and you get to it down a stone staircase beside the fishermen's huts at the end of the bigger beach.
The sand is soft and golden, the water is shallow and clear, and there is one restaurant with tables on terraces above the sand and sunbeds below. That is the entire inventory. On a July afternoon the whole cove is full by eleven.
Getting down to it
Park at Cala Gració, walk to the far end of that beach, and look for the steps by the huts. It is a two-minute walk and the staircase is stone and uneven, so shoes with some grip are worth having on, particularly if somebody small is doing it in flip-flops.
There is no road access and no parking of its own, which is the reason the cove stays as quiet as it does.
What it is like
Pine trees come down to the edge of the sand on both sides, so there is real shade by the middle of the afternoon, which is unusual on this coast. The water is protected by the arms of the cove and stays flat in most conditions, and it shelves gently enough for children.
Chiringuito Gracioneta is the restaurant, and it is the reason a lot of people come rather than an afterthought. Tables sit right above the water on wooden decks, and in the evening it is one of the better places on the west coast to watch the light go.
When to come
Early or late. It is small enough that twenty people make it feel busy, and in July and August the sunbeds and the restaurant tables are gone by late morning.
Out of the peak weeks it is a different place: quiet on a weekday in May or October, with the shade and the water doing all the work.
Quick answers
How do you get to Cala Gracioneta? On foot from Cala Gració, down a stone staircase at the northern end.
Is there parking? Not at the cove. Park at Cala Gració and walk.
How big is it? About thirty metres by twenty. Very small.
Is it good for children? The water is, being shallow and sheltered. The steps down are the thing to think about.
Is there a restaurant? Yes, one, on decks above the sand.
Is it sandy? Yes, soft golden sand rather than pebbles.
If it is full
Cala Gració next door is much larger, has the parking and takes the overflow, and the water is the same. The walk between the two takes two minutes, so it is easy to look at Gracioneta first and fall back if it has gone.
For the wider picture of which bay suits which kind of day, there is our guide to the best beaches in Ibiza.