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Formentera is a 30-minute crossing from Ibiza, and the question every operator gets first is whether to book a half-day or a full-day. The honest answer for July and August 2026 is that the half-day is a trap for most clients. Between Ibiza marina exit, the crossing, anchoring inside the Ses Salines park, and getting the tender ashore for lunch, a four-hour half-day at €1,200 to €4,500 delivers about 90 minutes of actual water time. A full-day at €2,400 to €9,500 delivers four to six. The rate-per-hour-on-anchor is lower on the full day in every yacht size band we ran.
This piece covers the half-day versus full-day maths, the Ses Salines park anchoring fee, the Formentera-based fleet, and the line items most operators do not put in the first quote. The companion piece is the Ibiza day charter operator ranking and the Ibiza day rate curve by yacht size.
The crossing, in minutes
The transit from Marina Botafoch in Ibiza Town to the Es Pujols or Illetes anchorage on Formentera runs 35 to 50 minutes at standard cruising on a 20m to 24m motor yacht. From Marina Ibiza or Marina Port Ibiza, add five minutes. From the south coast of Ibiza (Cala Jondal, Playa d'en Bossa), it is 25 to 35 minutes. From San Antonio on the west coast, it is over 75 minutes, which is why nobody books day charters to Formentera from there.
The return leg is the same in calm weather. With the Tramontana blowing from the north, the return into a head sea adds 10 to 20 minutes and slows the tender to shore at the Ibiza end. Operators do not advertise the headwind delay in the booking emails. Expect it on three to four August days out of any given week.
The half-day format, hour by hour
A typical 12:00 to 17:00 half-day on a 22m motor yacht from Ibiza Town:
- 12:00 to 12:15: embark, brief, depart marina.
- 12:15 to 13:00: transit south to Formentera, slow to 8 knots inside the park boundary.
- 13:00 to 13:30: anchor or pick up an Illetes mooring buoy, deploy swim platform, swim ladder, water toys.
- 13:30 to 14:30: lunch aboard or tender ashore to Juan y Andrea / Beso Beach / Es Ministre.
- 14:30 to 16:15: swim, tender exploration, second anchorage at Ses Salines or Cala Saona.
- 16:15 to 16:30: re-stow toys, lift anchor.
- 16:30 to 17:00: transit back to Ibiza.
Net time at anchor or in the water: under three hours. Net time at the table or ashore: 45 minutes to an hour. If the lunch ashore runs long (and at Juan y Andrea in August it always does), the second anchorage gets cut entirely and the half-day becomes lunch and one swim.
The full-day format, hour by hour
The same yacht, 10:30 to 18:30:
- 10:30 to 11:30: embark, brief, transit to first Formentera anchorage.
- 11:30 to 13:00: first swim, water toys, tender to beach for a coffee.
- 13:00 to 15:00: relocate to Es Pujols or Illetes for lunch ashore.
- 15:00 to 17:00: third anchorage at Espalmador (the small island off the north tip, weather permitting) or Cala Saona on the west coast.
- 17:00 to 18:30: transit back via the south Ibiza coast for a closing swim at Es Cubells if time.
Net time at anchor or in the water: five to six hours. Two or three actual anchorages instead of one. Lunch ashore without rushing. The €1,200 to €5,000 increment over the half-day buys two to three hours of additional water time at a marginal rate of €400 to €900 per hour. That is the same hourly maths as the half-day, sometimes lower.
The exception: the sunset half-day
The only half-day format that holds up is the 16:30 to 21:30 sunset run. The transit south happens late, the anchorage at Cala Saona or Illetes is on the west and southwest coasts that face the sun, lunch is dinner ashore at Beso Beach or Es Calo at 19:00, and the return crossing happens at twilight with the wind dropping. Operators charge a 15-20% premium for sunset slots over standard half-days because the boats double-shift (lunch run 10:30-15:30, sunset run 16:30-21:30), but on a per-hour-on-the-water basis it is the strongest half-day format. Some operators only sell sunset half-days in July and August and refuse the lunch half-day entirely. That is a sign you should listen to.
The Ses Salines park fee, in 2026 numbers
The Parc Natural de Ses Salines covers the south of Ibiza, the channel between Ibiza and Formentera, and most of the north Formentera coast. Anchoring inside the park is restricted. There are three categories of zone:
- Posidonia zone (red). Anchoring on Posidonia seagrass is prohibited. The park rangers enforce by patrol boat and by satellite imagery review. Fines for anchoring on Posidonia start at €600 and reach €60,000 for a commercial operator.
- Buoy zone (yellow). Mooring buoys are bookable through the park concession, typically €60 to €120 per buoy per day depending on yacht length, with capacity caps in July and August that book out by 09:00.
- Sandy bottom zone (green). Anchoring permitted with a daily park fee, €25 to €60 per visit per yacht in 2026 depending on yacht LOA and zone.
Licensed commercial operators based in Ibiza or Formentera hold annual park permits and amortise the per-visit fee across their charter calendar. The operator's day rate to you should include the park fee for the standard Illetes / Espalmador / Cala Saona route. If the quote does not list the park fee as included, ask. Some smaller Formentera-based operators charge it as a separate €40 to €80 line item on the invoice, which is fine if disclosed up front, not fine if it appears at disembarkation.
We have passed on operators who quoted "anchorage free" and then added the park fee at the dock. There are five to seven of them out of Ibiza Town. They are not on our affiliate list.
Booking from Formentera versus Ibiza
The Formentera-based commercial day-charter fleet is small. Our counts for 2026:
- 32 to 38 yachts under 18m, mostly RIBs and open motor cruisers.
- 8 to 12 yachts between 18m and 24m.
- Under 5 yachts above 24m, and most of those are foreign-registered yachts that reposition to Formentera mid-season rather than a year-round Formentera fleet.
Embarkation is at La Savina marina on the north of the island. The marina is small. Tender pickup at Estany des Peix or directly off the beach at Es Pujols is also legal for licensed operators, which avoids the marina entirely.
The advantage of booking out of Formentera: no Ibiza-Formentera crossing time, so a 10-hour day at anchor delivers 9 hours on the water rather than 7. The disadvantage: smaller fleet, less choice in chef and yacht style, and the marina is hard to reach if your hotel is on Ibiza. Most clients who stay in Ibiza book out of Ibiza Town. Clients who stay at Gecko Hotel, Es Ram, or one of the Formentera villas should book from La Savina.
The honest yacht-size recommendation
For a Formentera day from Ibiza, the sweet spot is 18m to 22m. Below 18m, the open RIB or small motor cruiser format means no shade aboard, no real galley for an on-board lunch, and a head sea on the return that gets unpleasant. Above 24m, you are paying for size you cannot use on the day; the Illetes anchorage and the Espalmador anchorage are both crowded and shallow, and the bigger yachts end up anchored further out in less interesting water.
We would book a 20m motor yacht with a captain, two deckhands, and a hostess, no chef (lunch is ashore at Juan y Andrea or Beso Beach), for €4,500 to €6,500 peak-season full-day in 2026. That is the format we would defend. A 24m with a chef for €9,500 is a 30% upgrade in comfort for the boarding party for €3,000 to €5,000 more, which is fine if the budget supports it. A 32m for a Formentera day is excessive; that yacht should be doing a Mallorca-Formentera-Ibiza three-day instead.
Lunch ashore: what to book, what to pass on
Three Formentera beach restaurants take yacht-charter clients on day visits. The bookings are difficult.
- Juan y Andrea at Illetes. The reference. €120 to €180 per head with wine in 2026. Bookings open at 09:00 four days out. Tender drop is on the beach in front of the restaurant. Service is fast for the volume, slow by yacht standards. Book the 14:00 seating, not the 13:00.
- Beso Beach at Ses Illetes. Similar price band. The DJ kicks in around 15:00. Suitable for clients who want lunch into afternoon-club. We pass for groups with children over 12.
- Es Ministre further south near Migjorn. Quieter, traditional, half the price. Tender access via a longer ride. The right call if you want lunch ashore without the scene.
We would skip Sa Sequi for yacht-charter day visits. Tender access is awkward, the dock fee for the operator is over the top, and the food is unremarkable.
Passed on
We do not list:
- Operators who quote a "Formentera day" but anchor inside Ibiza waters at Cala Bassa and call it the same. Two operators currently doing this.
- Half-day lunch formats in July and August. Sunset half-day yes. Lunch half-day no.
- Independent unlicensed charter (often Italian or French-registered private yachts taking paid day guests). Enforcement is real and the client is exposed.
How to book
For a full-day Formentera charter from Ibiza in 2026, you want a licensed operator with an annual Ses Salines park permit, transparent fee disclosure, and a confirmed lunch reservation at a named restaurant. The price you should pay for a 20m motor yacht with the standard crew, fuel, park fee, and a beach-restaurant lunch reservation is €4,500 to €6,500 peak season, €3,200 to €4,800 shoulder. For pricing across other sizes see the Ibiza day rate by yacht size. For the operators worth booking, the Ibiza day charter operator ranking is the calibration. If you are also building a weekly Balearic charter, the Ibiza-Mallorca week and Formentera anchorage reality cover the longer-form options.
Where to stay so the day works
The Formentera day is easiest to run when the hotel is in Ibiza Town or on the south coast of Ibiza. From Cap Martinet, Es Vive, Six Senses Ibiza, or Nobu Ibiza Bay the transit to the embarkation marina is under 20 minutes. See hotelsforkings.com/ibiza for the south-coast picks. If you are staying on Formentera itself, see hotelsforkings.com/formentera for the small set of properties that handle yacht-charter transfers cleanly.