Formentera is the little island located in the south of Ibiza known for its beautiful beaches, relaxed atmosphere and good restaurants. I was in Formentera 8 years ago last time and when we were looking for a close by destination to do our family trip, we decided to visit this fantastic island again. There are multiple ferries from Ibiza to Formentera and you can take your car with you. Thanks to Windparadise the distributor of Red Paddle Co. I had an inflatable SUP board with me that literally took care of the whole entertaining the kids part during the whole vacation.
There are not many big hotels in Formentera, which is good. We decided to stay in the beach bungalows of Dunas Playa. If you want to stay as close as possible to the beach, this cute bungalow complex is a good choice. The close by Piratabus bar at the top of the cliffs is famous for its sunset.
The coast line of Formentera is beautiful. Since there are not many hotels built, it is still natural. The month of August gets quite crowded and for some reason becomes a small island of Italians. They love Formentera for sure. I would recommend June or September if you want to avoid many tourists on this little island.
While traveling an inflatable SUP board is the best. It does not take much space. Easy to set up and most importantly it is fun and safe for kids. We had with us the Red Paddle Co.’s Sport 11 model. It is an all-round board more oriented for touring. I was able to do 1 hour excursions in the morning and later the kids took over and had so much fun. This board has enough volume to put two kids on the board and paddle at the same time. My boys and I loved it. We paddled around, looked at the boats in the bay and saw some fish. These SUP boards give to the kids the opportunity to learn about the seas from a closer perspective. Then we got some waves due to the storm in the north of Mallorca and Menorca. The waves were about half a meter tall but were perfect for the kids to play. On this board we had sometimes 4 kids and they had so much fun. When your kids play on the inflatable board I would recommend you to take out the fin. That is the only part that can hurt them. Then it is quite safe. Unlike the rigid boards, when the kids fall on the board, they don’t get hurt. I was pushing the board a bit when the waves were approaching with kids on the board and they tried to stand up at the same time and surf the board.
Depending on the wind conditions you can choose the south or north coast of Formentera to paddle around. The island is small enough that you can choose which side you want to go the same day. In La Savina, the major town where the ferries arrive, you can rent SUP boards in the Club Nautico area. Also there are various SUP companies that arrange trips or rent out equipment. Another cool idea can be to paddle around Formentera which can be done in 2-3 days.
Besides paddling and beach relaxation, I can recommend testing the restaurants on the island. We liked most the Restaurant at Las Dunas, Restaurante Vogamari, Cana Pepa (both for dinner and breakfast), Café Matinal for their breakfast and Beso Beach for great atmosphere. Also the town of Sant Francesc Xavier is a very cute town with relaxed Plaza, nice restaurants and good shopping.
A special thanks goes to Windparadise the distributor of Red Paddle Co. inflatable SUP boards in Spain for letting me use the Sport Model.
Until the next article I wish you a lot of fun time on the water. If you have any questions about SUP surfing or real estate in Mallorca (which is my real job), you can reach me at ahmet@mallorcaresidencia.com. Information about SUP events in Mallorca can be found on our Club de SUP Mallorca Facebook page, www.facebook.com/groups/clubsupmallorca.
Ahmet Senoglu
ahmet@mallorcaresidencia.com
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