A grown up map of the coast, from Cala Comte to Espalmador, and how to read which beach belongs to which kind of day.
Ibiza has fifty named beaches and most weeks you only need three. The trick is knowing which three for which day. The west coast belongs to the morning. Cala Salada and Cala Conta have water that needs to be photographed before midday. The northern coves around Cala Xarraca are for the long, quiet afternoon. The south is for the social day, the one with a beach club lunch and a slow drift back to the marina at golden hour.
Cross to Formentera and the geography simplifies. Espalmador in the morning, when the sandbar is clearest. Ses Illetes for the long lunch, with the table either at Beso Beach or Juan y Andrea depending on which one your group prefers. Cala Saona for the afternoon swim. Cap de Barbaria for sunset on the rare day someone is willing to drive south rather than turn back to Ibiza. Formentera does not need a complicated route. It needs the right pace.
Back on Ibiza, the destinations beyond the coast are worth a half day each. Dalt Vila, the old fortified town, is best at sunrise or after seven in the evening. The salt flats of Ses Salines are a quiet drive in the late afternoon when the light is pink. The hills of Sant Joan are for a slow morning of breakfast and a market. Pace, not distance, is what defines a great day in the island.
The mistake most first time visitors make is to try to see every beach in three days. The mistake second time visitors make is to default to whichever cove was their favourite last year. The island rewards rotation. Pick a different anchorage every other day and the week opens up in a way the obvious itinerary never quite does.
