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Spain · Balearic Islands
The Balearics
Mallorca, Ibiza, Menorca and Formentera — four islands with almost nothing in common.
Overview
The Balearics are usually sold as one destination and are really four. Mallorca has the Tramuntana mountains dropping into the sea and a serious restaurant scene; Menorca is quieter, lower and lined with unbuilt coves; Ibiza carries a reputation it only half deserves, and its north is empty; Formentera has the clearest water in the western Mediterranean and sandbanks you can anchor beside. The crossings between them are short, which is what makes a week here work — you can change the character of the holiday in two hours.
Where to dine
A table by the water
Juan y Andrea
Illetes, FormenteraA beach institution reached by tender, with a dinghy service from the anchorage. Grilled fish, little else.
Es Molí de Sal
FormenteraA converted salt mill on the sand looking across to Ibiza. Paella and rice dishes worth the crossing.
Sa Foradada
Deià, MallorcaOn a headland below Deià, reachable by tender or a steep walk — paella cooked over wood at sunset.
Zaranda
MallorcaThe island's most decorated kitchen, working Mallorcan produce at a level that surprises first-time visitors.
The fish bars of Santa Eulària
IbizaThe island's quieter east coast — where Ibiza eats when it is not performing.
What to do
Anchorages & excursions
Es Vedrà
A 400m limestone monolith off Ibiza's south-west, with an anchorage beneath it. Sunset here is the reason people come.
Serra de Tramuntana
A UNESCO cultural landscape of terraces and dry-stone walls — Deià, Valldemossa and Sóller behind them.
S'Espalmador
An uninhabited island between Ibiza and Formentera; wade across the sandbar at low water.
Dalt Vila, Ibiza
The UNESCO-listed walled old town above the port — Renaissance ramparts, and best walked after dark.
Menorca's northern coves
Cala Pregonda, Cavalleria and the wilder north shore — red sand, no development, sea access.
Plan your voyage
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