If you are reading this, it means that in just a few days you will be enjoying an unforgettable day at sea on board our amazing catamaran. Congratulations! We are so excited to have you joining us on board.
Throughout this page you will find useful tips and instructions that will assist in making your day as easy and efficient as possible. As I am sure you already know from prior conversations, our tour to Formentera usually starts from the beach of Las Salinas (Ses Salines) or Cala Jondal (Blue Marlin or Es Xarcu Restaurant).
Why do we start from the South of Ibiza?
We chose the beaches on the South of Ibiza to be our starting point for our Ibiza to Formentera catamaran tour for several reasons:
- The South of Ibiza Island is the closest to Formentera. This allows us to minimize the crossing time between Ibiza and Formentera, which will probably take us between 1 hour and 1.5 hours, allowing us more time to fully enjoy the island of Formentera.
- The beaches of Salinas and Cala Jondal are located west of the Freus. The Freus are the straits allowing the passage of vessel traffic between Ibiza and Formentera. Since the east wind is predominant throughout the summer in Ibiza, Salinas and Cala Jondal beach are completely sheltered from the wind and the waves, so it is ideal for embarking and disembarking safely and comfortably.
- In addition to being beautiful beaches, they also offer a variety of services:
- A guarded parking lot to leave your car.
- Easy access from the parking lot to the beach.
- A mini-market where you can buy ice, drinks, plastic cups and whatever else you feel you might need for your day at sea.
- Beach access channels for small boats, such as the dinghy I will be picking you up at the shore with.
On this map you can see our route (marked in red) from Salinas beach in Ibiza to Illetas beach in Formentera.
How to get to Salinas and Cala Jondal beach?
As previously mentioned, the beach of Las Salinas (Ses Salines) and Cala Jondal are located at the southernmost point of the island of Ibiza and, therefore, are the closest you can get to the island of Formentera.
- If you have a rental car, it will only take you about 10 to 15 minutes to get from Ibiza town to Salinas or Cala Jondal.
- If you do not have a vehicle then you can take a taxi (costing an estimate of about 20 euros from Ibiza town)
- As a cheaper option, you can also take the bus that runs regularly from Ibiza to Salinas and takes about half an hour.
Pickup at the shore of Salinas Beach
Once you have accessed the beach, on your right hand side, which is the west end of the beach, you will see a buoy marked channel directing small boats and dinghies. On the map below this text, you can see it identified as number ONE AND TWO. Along with the buoy channel, you will also see small sailing boats and catamarans on the shore. That will be our exact pick-up point. Once you are in front of the buoy marked channel, ideally at the appointed time, please call me on my mobile phone.
It will take me approximately two minutes to reach the end of the channel with our dinghy. I cannot go as far as the shoreline, I can only reach to a spot before the break of the waves, and so you must walk into the water with your bags and jump onto the dinghy. Even in the best case scenario, with no waves at all, we won’t be able to make it all the way to the sand because the dinghy propeller will hit the ground.
Pickup at Cala Jondal beach
Picking you up from Cala Jondal it’s easier because there’s a pier at Es Xarcu Restaurant and also at the famous Blue Marlin beach bard.
Our dinghy can accommodate up to 6 people. If your group is larger than 6 people, then we’ll split the group in two.
In order to speed up the boarding process, it is very important that you have everything ready by the time the captain arrives with the dinghy.
You might get wet during the boarding process, especially in Salinas. Ideally, distribute all of your baggage among the entire group, so each person carries only one bag. If you’re wearing clothes, they might get wet.
What to bring to the boat?
You should minimize what you are going to take to the boat. My advice, as I explained above, is to carry only one bag per person.
I would advise taking the following on board:
- A beach towel.
- Spare swimming suit.
- Sunscreen factor 30 or plus.
- Sunglasses.
- Cap or hat or bandanna.
- One change of warm clothes, especially for the evening. This is very important, even for the summer months.
It’s rare, but during the process of jumping on the dinghy, your bags might get a bit wet, so we recommend keeping phones and cameras in waterproof bags or plastic bags, inside your main bag.
We also recommend carrying at least 3-4 bags of ice to keep your drinks cool. We have a portable plastic coolbox on board the catamaran. In Salinas, you can buy the ice at the mini-market located next to the Marysal restaurant, at the west end of the beach, right in front of where we are picking you up with our dinghy.
And of course, do not forget all that you are planning to eat and drink during the day. The most common option is usually to disembark on the legendary Illetas beach to have lunch at one of the famous restaurants in Formentera.
If you prefer to eat on board, please bring plastic cups, plastic utensils, and plastic plates.
Booking a table at a restaurant in Formentera. Please plan ahead!
Especially for weekend trips or any day in July and August, you must book your table in advance. If you want we can arrange it for you, but we have to do it 2-3 days in advance in order to get a table at a “decent” time.
Embarking from the dinghy to the catamaran
This is usually a fairly simple process except for wavy days. Once everybody is on board, the first thing that we need to do is sort out the paperwork. The contract will be prepared, printed and ready for signing. We need to write down the names of all passengers. We need to take a photo of the original passport unless you have sent it to us by email already. After signing the contract, the 2nd payment must be received. The captain only accepts cash, so please bring this money with you.
Once the paperwork is done, it is time to lie down on the trampoline or the rest of the boat and enjoy your sailing trip to Formentera.
The complete outdoor area of the catamaran is entirely available for our customers. It is a total area of 80 m2, including the bow balconies, the nets, and all the stern area with the dining table and seats around it. It is more than enough space for the 12 person maximum legal capacity of our catamaran.
For safety reasons and to avoid seasickness or accidents, we don’t recommend to use the interior of the catamaran, which is open only for overnight-stay rentals.
Toilet on board
The small toilet on board the catamaran may only be used when the boat is completely stopped, for your own safety (except for emergencies :-). The toilet is not a conventional toilet like the ones we use on land. The captain will show you how to use it. Please remember that you can’t throw any toilet paper in the toilet.
Are we going to get seasick?
Most people won’t get sick, but if you know you are prone to motion sickness, you usually get carsick, etc, PLEASE TAKE THE ANTI-MOTION-SICKNESS PILL. So, if you know you get motion sickness often, please buy a box of Dramamine with caffeine (Biodramina) and preventively take one pill half an hour before boarding.
Smoking on board
We have 2 fuel tanks on board and gasoline in the dinghy engine and spare engine so sorry but smoking during your stay on the catamaran will not be allowed. You can smoke when you disembark for lunch out to walk on the beach or when the catamaran is completely stopped you can ask the captain and he will tell you where is safe to smoke.
Our way back to Ibiza
The skipper will calculate the time needed to return from where we are to the original pick up point in Ibiza based on the weather conditions and also the time required to disembark everybody, so that the entire group is on shore at the pick up beach upon completion of the tour at the agreed time.
See you on board for an amazing day!
I know reading all this can be overwhelming, but once you are here you will see it’s not so difficult!
Most groups write us to say that the day of the excursion to Formentera was the best of their holidays in Ibiza.
Remember to contact your captain in case you are running late or upon any last minute doubt.
By Jose Navas– The story of Charteralia, Ibiza boat hire.
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