Ibiza is 45 kilometres end to end and most of the interior is pine, terraced farmland and dry-stone wall, which makes it a better walking island than its reputation suggests. The routes below run from an hour to a full day, and we have put the distances and the times on each so you can pick by how much of the morning you want to spend.
The season matters more than the route. From late October to May the ground is green and the temperature is right; in July and August anything over an hour needs to start at seven.
Sa Talaia, the high point
About 9 km from Sant Josep, roughly 3 hours. Sa Talaia is 475 metres, the highest point on Ibiza, and the climb from the village behind San Jose is the standard island walk. It is a steady rise through pine on a mix of track and path rather than anything technical.
From the top the view covers the whole island and Formentera beyond it, and on a clear winter day the Cabrera archipelago off Mallorca shows on the horizon.
Ses Balandres, the roped descent
5.5 km from Santa Agnes via Puig Joan Andreu, about 1 hour 40. This is the one people remember. The path crosses the Corona plateau, climbs Puig Joan Andreu for the view back over the almond terraces, then drops to the north coast at Ses Balandres.
The last part of the descent is fitted with wooden steps, handrails and ropes, put there by fishermen rather than by a council, and it is steep. At the bottom there are stone fishing huts, a gravel shore and the Ses Margalides islets offshore. Do not attempt the descent in the wet.
Torre des Savinar
3.2 km loop, about 1 hour 20. The short walk up to the eighteenth-century watchtower above Cala d'Hort is the cheapest view on the island for the effort involved: Es Vedra square in front of you, and the old quarry below.
For a full day, the same car park starts a 21 km circuit round Cabo Llentrisca with 750 metres of climb. That one is a proper hike and needs water, a map and an early start.
San Antonio to Cala Salada
4 to 5 km one way, 1.5 to 2 hours. A flat coastal walk north out of San Antonio along the cliffs, with the coves opening up one after another and a swim at the end. It is the easiest of these and the one that works with children.
The Corona plateau
Distances to taste. Around Santa Agnes the lanes run between almond terraces and dry-stone walls, and in late January and early February the almond blossom turns the whole plain white. There is no single route here so much as a network of tracks, and an hour in any direction is a good hour.
What to take
Shoes with a sole. The rock is limestone and it polishes.
More water than you think. There is nothing on any of these routes.
A charged phone. Signal is patchy in the north, and several of these paths are not waymarked.
Quick answers
When is the best time to walk on Ibiza? October to May. Summer walking means starting at dawn.
What is the highest point? Sa Talaia, 475 metres, above San Jose.
Is there a long-distance path? No single one, but the coast and the Els Amunts hills in the north link into long days easily.
Are the trails waymarked? Some are. Several are not, so take a map.
Is Ses Balandres safe? The descent uses ropes and wooden steps and is steep. Dry weather and proper shoes only.
Can you walk in winter? Yes, and it is the best time.