Ferries leave Ibiza Town for Formentera every fifteen to thirty minutes through the summer and take about half an hour, which makes it a day out rather than a trip. The first sailing is around seven in the morning and the last one back is close to half past one, so the day is as long as you want it.
What you get at the other end is a flatter, emptier island with the clearest water in the Balearics and almost no building above two storeys. We have set out how the day works, because the mistake most people make is spending too much of it moving.
Getting there
Boats run from the main port in Ibiza Town and land at La Savina on Formentera's north-west corner. In high summer there are more than fifty crossings a day. Out of season the timetable thins considerably, so check the last return before you go rather than after.
You can also sail from Santa Eulalia and from San Antonio in season, though those runs are longer and less frequent.
Getting around once you land
Nothing on Formentera is far, but everything is spread out, and La Savina is not where you want to spend the day. Hire at the port: scooters, bicycles and small cars are all rented within a few metres of where the ferry ties up, and in July and August it is worth booking that ahead.
There is a bus, and there are taxis, but the island is built for two wheels. It is flat except for the climb up to La Mola at the eastern end.
The beaches
Ses Illetes is the one on the postcards: a long thin spit of sand on the north coast with water on both sides, shallow and almost always calm. It is fifteen minutes from the port and it is busy in August by the middle of the morning.
Llevant is the same spit on the other side and is usually quieter. Further down the island, Migjorn is the long southern beach, several kilometres of it, with space even in high season. Cala Saona on the west coast is the small sheltered one with the sunset.
La Mola and the market
The eastern end of the island climbs to a plateau, and the village of El Pilar de la Mola sits on top of it with a lighthouse beyond. The market here runs on Wednesday and Sunday afternoons from early May to 12 October, from about 16:30 to 22:30, with around fifty stalls of handmade work: leather, ceramics, silver, and usually a band in the square.
If your day falls on one of those two, build it round the market and come back on a late ferry.
Quick answers
How long is the ferry from Ibiza to Formentera? About half an hour from Ibiza Town.
How often do they run? Every fifteen to thirty minutes in summer, with more than fifty crossings a day.
Can you do it as a day trip? Yes, comfortably. First out around 07:00, last back around 01:30 in season.
Do you need to hire something? Practically, yes. Scooters, bikes and cars are all at the port.
Which beach should you go to? Ses Illetes for the water, Migjorn for the space, Cala Saona for the sunset.
When is the La Mola market? Wednesday and Sunday afternoons, early May to 12 October.
Can you take a hire car across? You can, but it is usually easier and cheaper to hire on the other side.
Worth knowing
Ses Illetes sits inside a natural park and there is a charge to drive into it in summer, which is one more argument for two wheels. The island is also noticeably quieter than Ibiza after dark; if you want an evening, La Savina and Es Pujols are where it is.
The markets on the Ibiza side are in our guide to the hippy markets, and the shops on Formentera itself in our guide to shopping there.