Boat Trip Formentera Ibiza

Formentera lies south of Ibiza. The shared trips here leave Ibiza in the morning, stop to swim on the way, give you four to six hours on the island and bring you back in the evening. There are four ways to do it: a shared boat with food and drinks, a ferry ticket and your own plan, a long day with a bike ride and a party, or a private boat for your group.

The full day from Playa d'en Bossa leaves at 10:30, with boarding from 10:15. Breakfast is served on board off a Formentera beach, and at 12:00 you land in La Savina. Until 18:00 the island is yours, with no guide. At 18:00 the boat sails back, and the listing says it will not wait for anyone late.

Paella cooked live on board comes with wine and dessert, and the second swim, at Cala Jondal or Playa d'en Bossa, has a 6 m inflatable slide. The open bar pours beer, sangria, mimosas, wine and soft drinks, and there is a sun bed for each guest. The boat takes 100 guests where it has room for 300, and there is no loud DJ on Formentera. It is for adults, at $168 per person, rated 4.6 from 2,108 reviews.

The catamaran from Figueretas costs less and puts more into the swim. At Cala Saona there is snorkelling, a paddle board and a sea scooter. Paella is cooked on board, with sangria, wine, beer, cava and prosecco. You get about four hours on Formentera for Ses Illetes, Es Pujols or La Savina, and the day runs Cala Saona first or the island first. It is $100 per person, rated 4.3 from 364 reviews.

If you would rather plan the island yourself, the return ferry from Sant Antoni passes Es Vedrà and gives you about six hours on Formentera. Ses Illetes, La Mola and Cap de Barbaria are yours to reach by bike, scooter or car, hired at your own cost. At $49 per person, rated 4.5 from 744 reviews, it is a ticket rather than a tour.

The longest day, twelve hours, is on a double-deck catamaran with about 150 guests. Breakfast, an open bar, paella, paddle boards and swims off Espalmador and Ses Illetes are in it. On the Adventure option a local guide takes up to 15 people round Formentera by bike, and on the way back there is a sunset party with a DJ. It costs $151 per person, rated 4.2 from 24 reviews.

Four boats are private, priced per group for the whole boat. The 10-metre RIB with a skipper leaves Marina Botafoch, usually at 10:00, for Cala Pluma, Espalmador and Ses Illetes, at $1,065 per group of up to ten. Lunch at a restaurant is not included. A small boat from Santa Eulalia and an eight-hour boat for up to twelve go to Formentera too. The full-day rental from Santa Eulalia keeps to the north of Ibiza, not Formentera.

So: for a first day on Formentera with the food and drinks arranged, take the full day from Playa d'en Bossa, if everyone in your party is an adult. With children, look at the catamaran from Figueretas and check its age rules. For your own plan, the ferry; for your own group, a private boat.