If Ibiza is the island equivalent of a massive night out, Formentera is more like the after-party you never want to end. A 12-mile-long scrap of land just off the bigger Balearic isle’s southern edge, life here revolves around the beaches – some of the best you’ll find in the Med. Most of Formentera’s coast is fringed with sandy bays, and development is minimal. Walk through steep dunes to reach powder-fine Platja Llevant, where the shallow waters reach bath-tub temperature on summer days, or explore the tiny fishing hamlet of Es Caló de Sant Agustí, tucked into a rocky cove ringed by faded wooden boat shelters. Platja de ses Illetes is known not just for its Caribbean-standard beach but restaurant Juan y Andrea, something of a local institution. Take a seat under a white parasol for some prime people-watching opportunities, as diners saunter in from moored yachts to sip rosé or feast on cartwheel-sized paellas and prawns just pulled from the sea.
Over the centuries, Formentera’s idyllic beaches have been in the possession of, among others, the Carthaginians, Romans, Vandals, Arabs and Catalans
PHOTOGRAPHS: ANDY BRANDL/GETTY IMAGES, NIC HAMILTON PHOTOGRAPHIC/ALAMY, SIMON MAYCOCK/ALAMY
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