Formentera essentials

Arriving by sea

Formentera has no airport; you always arrive by boat (formentera.es). Most visitors fly to Ibiza Airport, run by Aena, and cross from the port of Ibiza to La Savina. Baleària gives the crossing as 20 km and 30 minutes, with departures every 45 minutes and almost 30 a day from each port in summer (balearia.com, read 22 October 2026). Trasmapi runs fast ferries and fast car ferries, and Aquabus carries foot passengers and bikes but no cars. Check every timetable on the operator’s own site.

From the mainland, Baleària sails direct from Dénia to Formentera in about 2 hours (111 km); the Consell notes that the direct mainland connection runs in season. From Barcelona and Palma, Baleària’s routes go via Ibiza.

The summer vehicle limit (checked 23 October 2026)

For 2026, the Consell Insular de Formentera prohibited the entry, driving and parking of motor vehicles on the island from 1 June to 30 September, except vehicles exempt under article 3.2 of Law 7/2019, which must still apply for an authorisation; quads, caravans and motorhomes are never exempt (BOIB no. 27, 28 February 2026).

Authorisations, and the live quota, are on the Consell’s portal formentera.eco, which says the 2026 season ended on 30 September and reopens on 20 April 2027. The 2027 period has not yet been published: check formentera.eco from April.

The Ses Salines natural park and s’Espalmador

The north of Formentera lies in the Parc Natural de ses Salines d’Eivissa i Formentera. Jet skis and spearfishing are banned; landing on the islets between Ibiza and Formentera is forbidden, with one exception, s’Espalmador, where you may land only through the entry and exit channels and walk only on the public shore and the signed path to the lagoon. Bathing in or using the mud of s’Espalmador’s lagoon is prohibited (caib.es).

Anchor only on sand where the rules allow it, never on the Posidonia seagrass (caib.es; posidonia.caib.es). Ports IB runs a buoy field in the Badia de s’Alga off s’Espalmador, booked online at reservas.portsib.es.

Entry: EES and ETIAS (checked 22 October 2026)

The EU Entry/Exit System (EES) started on 12 October 2025 and was rolled out over six months at the Schengen area’s external borders (European Commission). If you are not an EU citizen, your passport details, fingerprints and a photo are recorded the first time you enter.

ETIAS, the travel authorisation for visa-exempt visitors, is not yet in operation: the official site says no applications are being collected and that the start date will be announced several months ahead (travel-europe.europa.eu). Never pay an unofficial website.

The Balearic tourist tax

The Impuesto sobre Estancias Turísticas is charged per person per night by hotels, holiday apartments and other tourist accommodation in the Balearic Islands; under-16s are exempt, and the rate depends on the type of accommodation and the season (Llei 2/2016 and Decret 35/2016, atib.es). Your hotel collects it.

Buses, taxis and bikes

The Consell’s bus lines link La Savina with the villages, Es Pujols, Ses Illetes and the Far de la Mola; the Radio Taxi answers on +34 971 32 23 42 all year. The Consell’s own advice is to get around by bike and bus: the island is flat and compact, with 32 Green Routes away from the main road (formentera.es).

Churches, dunes and the sea

Cover shoulders and knees in churches. Keep to the boardwalks over the dunes, take your rubbish home, and leave the Posidonia that washes up on the beaches where it lies: it protects the sand.

Health and emergencies

Call 112 for police, fire or an ambulance. The island’s public hospital is the Hospital de Formentera in Sant Francesc (IB-SALUT). EU visitors should carry their European Health Insurance Card; everyone should have travel insurance.

Questions and answers