Formentera Travel Guide

For years, the island of Formentera was known as the “forgotten Balearic.” The smallest island of the archipelago, it’s a 78-sq.-km (30-sq.-mile) flat limestone plain marked on the east by La Mola, a peak rising 187m (614 ft.), and on the west by Barberia, at 96m (315 ft.). The Romans called it Frumentaria (meaning “wheat granary”) when they oversaw it as a booming little agricultural center. But a shortage of water, coupled with strong winds, allows only meager vegetation to grow, notably fig trees and fields of wild rosemary.

Like Ibiza, Formentera has a salt industry.Its year-round population of 5,000 swells in summer, with most visitors coming over for the day. Limited hotels have kept development in check, and most visitors come over for the day to enjoy the beaches, where they often swim without bathing suits and sunbathe along the excellent stretches of sand.