Choosing only ten beaches from Ibiza’s over 120 beaches is no easy task, especially considering that around 80 of them are easily accessible without a boat. While this list is only a start, all these beaches rank amongst the most beautiful on the island – and even the world.
Here are our top ten selection– in alphabetical order or it would have been even tougher to choose. While you are on the island, make sure to hit as many of these as you can. Dive in!
CALA BASSA
What a jewel. In Cala Bassa you will find incredibly crystalline waters, fine white sand and a gently sloping beach, making it into a natural shimmering swimming pool. These qualities make very accessible and safe, so it is a favourite for families with children, but it is incredibly popular throughout the season.
The beach offers every service, including the famous beach club Cala Basa Beach Club (CBbC) with several restaurants, watersports, dinghy service, beach massages and more – all right on the beach.
While it seems like it could be somewhere in the Indian Ocean or Caribbean, Cala Bassa is close to San Antonio and can be reached easily by car, bus and even ferry.
Because of its amazing qualities, it gets very busy, so head out there early to enjoy its natural beauty and choose your favourite spot.
CALA BENIRRÁS
Cala Benirrás gains part of its fame for its Sundays of drumming hippies, its magical sunset, and an incredibly carefree vibe. One of the best-known beaches in the north, it is remarkably picturesque. Its large cove with pebbled sand, crystal-clear water and traditional fishermen’s huts on its sides, plus some interesting rocky formations, make it a popular spot for snorkeling and diving.
Its hallmark is an unusual rock formation known as Es Cap Bernat in the middle of the cove. This thin and pointy sea stack rises 27 meters and is known by the locals as “the finger of God.”
During the day, the crowd is mixed, with families and children alongside hippies. Sundays start with a hippie market before the most suggestive sunset of the week. The legendary bongo drummers assemble, filling the air with hypnotic beats that peak as the sun disappears beneath the horizon.
Easy to reach by car, bus or ferry, during the summer months, a shuttle service is also in service. The beach has three restaurants, including the iconic Elements Beach Club and a pizza place. Water shoes are advisable here for easier access when heading into the water.
CALA BOIX
Cala Boix is unique on the island. The beach has transparent turquoise waters and a dark grey sand seen nowhere else on the island. Due to its mineral content, the sand gets hot under the summer sun so beach shoes are a must. With pine trees all around, almost reaching down to the water on the sloping cliffs, it has a distinctively Mediterranean feel to it.
This beach is perfect for those who want to get away from the masses taking over the beaches in full-blown summer. Given its quiet atmosphere, it suits families and those looking for a peaceful setting – as long as you are ready to face the steep stairway carved into the cliff to reach the beach, making it unsuitable for those with limited mobility.
With a chiringuito on the beach and three restaurants on top of the cliff, one with a gorgeous view, Cala Boix offers a taste of the other side of Ibiza, as the north is known for its much more tranquil pace.
CALA CARBÓ
Here’s a gorgeous little beach that you will never forget. An unusually shaped inlet creates a most evocative little cove known as Calo Carbó. The beach consists of medium-grained golden sand and pebbles, providing a lovely bathing area with completely transparent aquamarine waters. The cove’s extended and intricate rocky banks also invite underwater exploration and snorkeling.
This corner of the island remains peaceful throughout the season. A few restaurants, beach service, plenty of parking and even massage service make this the perfect choice if you are looking for a feeling of faraway relax. Depending on the time of year, you can even catch the sunset from varying parts of the cove. Do bring your water shoes for an entirely comfortable sea entrance
Easy to reach by car, Cala Carbó is part of the Cala d’Hort’s Nature Reserve so remarkably pristine. Surrounded by thick vegetation, the sides of the cove also have traditional fishermen’s huts and a little dock for fishing and the mooring of small boats. There’s nothing quite like it anywhere else on the island.
CALA D’EN SERRA
While not the easiest to reach, Cala d’en Serra boasts a charming cove of golden sand with pebbles and rocks. Its remote location make this beach very peaceful and sheltered, with spectacular aqua-azure waters and a sandy seabed with plenty of posidonia marine grass. The surrounding cliffs and an evocative promontory add to its faraway feel.
By the shore several fishermen’s huts line the left side of the cove. If you’re up for a little adventure, swim to the right to reach another little beach that’s also gorgeous and even more hidden and remote.
With relatively limited service, Cala d’en Serra has one beach bar with only a few tables and sunbeds. This beach is for lovers of seclusion, peace, and natural beauty, as it is entirely surrounded by one of the greenest parts of the island in the north, with several kilometres of natural woodland around it.
CALA D’HORT
Wild and mystical, Cala d’Hort is undeniably striking. It boasts majestic views of the massive Es Vedrà – which rises 400 meters above sea level – making the whole area appear enchanted, particularly at sunset.
Enclosed almost entirely beneath steep cliffs and with limited phone signal, Cala d’Hort makes you feel like you are a million kilometres away.
With a nice combination of sand, pebbles, and rocks, this beach has a sparkling azure water that is completely transparent and immaculately pure. Lined by traditional fishermen’s huts along its entire right side, the cove also offers incredible underwater views.
On top of its beauty, countless tales and legends surround this area, its mysterious qualities, and the unusual occurrences that take place there. Whatever the case, Cala d’Hort remains an inherently beautiful, mystically suggestive, and famous beach.
Despite that sense of wilderness, it nonetheless provides all the comforts, with three restaurants, all amenities, and even a boutique available.
CALA NOVA
One of the most splendid coves on the east coast of Ibiza, Cala Nova appears to be removed from any form of human meddling while being very close to urban centres S Eulalia and Es Canar.
This large open bay boasts various shades of aqua-sapphire with fine golden sand that can sometimes resemble Salinas beach. Aside from a few boulders and varying amounts of poseidonia sea meadows, the seabed is sandy and completely visible.
As it is an open bay, when the wind blows from the north, Cala Nova is also one of the few surfing spots in Ibiza, a surfer’s dream on an island that doesn’t have much in that respect. The beach is also very easily accessible and has all amenities, including several restaurants – such as Aiyanna and Atzaró – for every taste and budget.
CALA SALADETA
Cala Saladeta seems like it belongs on deserted island – especially when it’s empty but even busy it retains its natural beauty with crystal-clear waters and fine white sand. What’s most spectacular about it is the distinctive colour of the water, which takes on various shades of blue, turquoise and aquamarine depending on where you choose to enjoy it.
Situated at the far end of Cala Salada, it takes a bit of walk to get to Cala Saladeta, but the destination is worth every step. You can reach it by walking on the rocks if you are adventurous or from above the cliff via the woods. Both routes offer different but breath-taking views of the cove.
You can also sprawl out on the rocks in between Cala Salada and Cala Saladeta. From that post, you can sit and observe the vast marine wildlife swimming in the water as this is a protected area.
Bring everything with you, though. Although you may find many beach vendors, selling anything from empanadas to jewellery, Cala Saladeta has no official vendors or restrooms.
CALA SAN VICENTE
Far away from the wild fun of the centre of the island, Cala San Vicente presents yet another side of Ibiza. Secluded in the north, this large beach of golden sand is kissed by sparkling sapphire waters and tucked away between cliffs covered in pine trees and vegetation.
The crowd is variegated and international with all age groups represented, and the beach offers activities for everyone. For the more active visitors, this spot is great for windsurfing, if it gets windy. The underwater environment is also gorgeous if you are after a snorkelling adventure. It is also great to relax and breathe in the natural beauty of the northern part of the island.
Reached by driving down panoramic roads, this large beach is a favourite with families and those seeking a more tranquil experience. As far away as it is, it offers all comforts. The palm trees lining the promenade along the edge of the beach add an extra touch of holiday atmosphere, as well as the numerous resorts, restaurants, and beach bars.
LAS SALINAS
On the southernmost tip of Ibiza, Las Salinas is arguably the most famous beach on the Ibiza and a tourist favourite. At the heart of Las Salinas Natural Park, it reaches out to Formentera via a submerged path with only a private island between the sister islands.
This long beach boasts fine white sand, limpid waters and a tropical feel. Its unspoilt beauty makes it very popular so it is one of the busiest beaches on the island. If you are willing to walk to its northern end, it counts several little coves often frequented by nudists.
Las Salinas has often been dubbed the beach of the rich and famous, with plenty of yachts anchored in front of the beach. Here you will be spoilt for choice in terms of beach clubs and restaurants, but be prepared to pay as these do not come cheap.
