3, 5, 7, 10 and 14 day weather forecast in Formentera

Formentera

The smallest of the Balearic Islands, Formentera has not been as over-developed as its larger sisters. Where Ibiza has been overrun with clubbers and Mallorca with middle-aged English and German holiday makers, Formentera retains a hippie feel and chilled out vibe that make it a wonderful place to kick back for a couple of weeks. Originally inhabited by the Carthaginians, it passed to the Romans, who used it as a major agricultural centre and referred to it as their “granary” (frumenteria, from which it derives its name), before being conquered by the Moors around 715. After a devastating attack by the Norwegians in 1109, which was followed by raids by Turkish pirates, the population of island slowly began to move away, until by the fourteenth century, when the Catalans claimed it, it was uninhabited. Repopulated in 1697, it never regained its original levels of productivity. Today, Formentera is mostly barren, apart from the rosemary that grows wild everywhere, and the large part of its income is derived from the tourists who come to enjoy the glorious Mediterranean climate and the fact that, unlike elsewhere in Spain, nude sunbathing is allowed almost everywhere.

The only way to get to the island is by boat from Ibiza; almost as soon as you leave Ibiza Harbour you will get a wonderful view of the citadel atop the dramatic craggy cliffs. The capital of the island is Sant Francisc Xavier, where there is a wonderful whitewashed fortified church; other than that, there isn’t a great deal to see. Es Pujols is the largest resort, although it is dwarfed by those on Mallorca and Ibiza, and boasts some fine beaches, white sand dunes, good water sports facilities and the only club on the island. For those hoping to get away from it all, Es Trucadors peninsula pokes a flat and sandy finger out towards Ibiza. There are more long slender beaches here – notably the spectacular sands of Platja de Ses Illetes – and at the peninsula's end, across a narrow channel, lies the uninhabited island of Espalmador, where there's another great beach, and water as turquoise as you’ll find anywhere in the Caribbean. It's possible to wade across most of the year, or you can get there by boat.

Pine-covered La Mola is the highest point on the island – the lighthouse there, with its spectacular views of the night sky, inspired Jules Verne to write The Career of a Comet. Next to the lighthouse, Café es Puig serves delicious plates of cheese and ham. Other gastronomic delights on the island include a bewildering array of seafood, grilled simply on the plancha with garlic and oil, fried with rice or made into complex stews such as guisat. Islanders are very proud of their home-produced liquid salt, which they say adds a unique flavour to their food as well as being the healthiest of all salts. After dark, life is as low-key and bohemian as it’s always been – think relaxed beach bars with jugs of sangria and a lone Spanish guitar player strumming the chords of La Bamba.