Cala Saona in Formentera

Cala Saône in Formentera It is one of the best beaches on this Balearic island. It is located to the west of it and only about five kilometers from the capital, Saint francis javier. The area is not excessively urbanized. You have a hotel and some other constructions, but also a wide natural space.

Specifically, Cala Saona is located in the Cap Alt Natural Area of ​​Interest. It is in a small bay bounded by Rasa Point south and by Caló d'en Trull to the north. It is one of the most beautiful places on the island, an environment that you should know if you visit it. For all this, we are going to explain everything you need to know about Cala Saona in Formentera and also about other places close to it that, equally, deserve that you come to know them.

How to get to Cala Saona?

The island of Formentera is not very big. It barely has eighty-three square kilometers. But, to get to Cala Saona, you have several options. One or the other will fit you better depending on where you are. if you're in Saint francis javier, the capital, you have to travel along the road that takes you to Cap of Barbaria and, shortly before reaching this, take a right. You can also go to Ses Bardetes and, once there, take Cala Saona Street. Through several local roads, you will reach the beach.

To park, you will have no problem. There's a parking with capacity for about two hundred vehicles next to the sandbank. However, if you go in high season, it is better to do it early. The beach has a high level of occupancy and you may not have a place to park. But, if you prefer, you have bus service from San Francisco Javier to her. The stop, moreover, is barely fifty meters from the cove.

On the other hand, if you leave from the port of The Sabine, which is the place of arrival of the boats that come from Ibiza, you can take a very different route to Cala Saona. You have the option to rent one bike and get to the beach through the paths that go south between pine forests and stone walls. As we told you, in Formentera there are no distances. And, between both points, there is hardly an extension of six kilometers in a straight line.

Another possibility to get to this beautiful cove is by ship. Its peculiar underwater and morphological conditions allow anchoring about a hundred meters from the sand. We do not advise you to do it closer, since there are submerged rocks that cannot be seen and reach up to approximately two meters from the surface.

How is Cala Saona in Formentera?

This beach is one small u-shaped cove that, as we said, frame Caló d'en Trull y Rasa Point. In the latter, there are cliffs of reddish rock that offer you exceptional views of Ibiza and its islet Es Vedra, an imposing rocky pyramid that has great ecological value and that will draw your attention due to its unique morphology.

The beach is approximately one hundred and forty meters long and about forty wide. Behind her, you can see a dune landscape typical of the area and, even further inland, a leafy pinewood that will be perfect for you to take advantage of its shade. Likewise, continuing towards the center of the island, you will see rainfed crops destined for self-consumption by their owners with fig trees that provide shade for livestock. To facilitate this mission, its branches are supported by stalons.

Another curiosity of Cala Saona are the scars what can you see. This name is given to the artisanal slipways intended to house the fishing boats (the llauts) of the inhabitants of the area. These are small booths made with sticks and leaves on which two trunks are placed as tracks to raise and lower the boats.

On the other hand, despite its tourist influx, Cala Saona is a semi-virgin beach that does not have the typical services. Instead, in its surroundings you have, as we were saying, a hotel and some restaurants and bars. In the latter, you can sit down and have a drink and watch the beautiful sunset that dyes the sand in warm and spectacular colors.

What to see near Cala Saona?

In addition to sunbathing and swimming or practicing water sports, in Cala Saona in Formentera you can do other things. For example, visit your surroundings. If you like to walk, you have numerous trails that run between pine and juniper forests. You will appreciate the characteristic smell of thyme and rosemary typical of this area of ​​the island and you will also see magical rural landscapes. On the other hand, if you go back towards the coast, the panorama will be transformed. But the contrast between the reddish cliffs and the turquoise blue of the Mediterranean Sea is also beautiful.

Saint francis javier

You can also take advantage of your stay in Cala Saona to visit the beautiful capital of the island of Formentera. It is a small town of just three thousand five hundred inhabitants with narrow streets full of charm and white houses that alternate with small shops and bars.

In it you have to visit the iglesia, built in the XNUMXth century to serve as a center of worship, but also as a defense against the pirates who, at the time, were attacking the island. Therefore, it responds to the scheme of church-fortress, with high, thick and windowless walls and an iron gate that was protected with a peddler. It was also covered with a barrel vault to resist enemy artillery fire.

You should also visit in San Francisco Javier the Sa Miranda mills, Town hall, example of typical Balearic construction, and the Ethnological Museum of Formentera. The latter is located on Carrer Jaume I and offers you a journey through the traditional life of the island that includes the customs, folklore and means of subsistence of its inhabitants.

But the most emblematic monument of the town is the sa Tanca Vella chapel. It is the oldest temple on the island, since it was built around 1336. It is a very simple construction, with a single nave and a barrel vault. It is consecrated to San Valero. And, as a curiosity, we will tell you that the legend indicates that it is connected through passageways, precisely, with the San Valero cave located in the Torrent of S'Alga.

Finally, don't forget to visit in San Francisco Javier its traditional craft market, which is mounted every day in the morning between May and October. It is a magnificent complement to the typical shops that you find in its streets and that also offer you jewelry, books, clothes and all kinds of remembrances of the Balearic island.

The Sabine

Passing through this town is practically obligatory if you travel to Formentera. Because, as we told you before, it is the port of entry for boats arriving from Ibiza and other places. In addition, it is only eight kilometers by road from Cala Saona (six in a straight line, as we have already indicated).

In La Sabina you have hotels, bars, restaurants and gift shops. But, above all, it stands out for its two spectacular lagoons. We talk to you about Estany des Peix, which receives its water through Sa Boca, a small passage that connects it with the sea. In it, you can practice water sports such as sailing or kayaking.

And also of Estany Pudent, an even larger lake that separates the towns of The Sabine y Es Pujols. In this case, bathing is not allowed. But we advise you to take a bike route along its banks, for example, through the way of Es Brolls. You can see a large number of bird species that populate it. Thus, storks, flamingos or black-necked grebes.

On the other hand, at one of the ends of the Estany Pudent you will find Ses Salines, the old Formentera salt mine, with its pink or violet tones. It has been in operation since the XNUMXth century and used the Estany itself to extract water from the sea and take it to ponds where the salt was extracted.

Finally, we advise you to visit this town in the afternoon. The reason is that you install a style market hippie very interesting. Also, then you have a lively nightlife.

San Ferran de ses Roques

This small town is located in the center of the island, very close to San Francisco Javier. You can take a walk through her flirty historical Center and its pedestrian streets. By the way, you will see the Church of San Ferran, built in the XNUMXth century and declared an asset of cultural interest. It is a small temple with a Latin cross plan and two chapels.

On the other hand, very close to this small town you have the imposing cliffs and the defensive tower of Punta Prima. You will also find two ancient windmills, the typical piers of Cove in Baster and megalithic tomb of Ca na Costa. The latter, approximately two thousand years old, has a semicircular shape, with two parts: the funerary chamber with its access corridor and three rings that surround it.

In conclusion, we have explained everything you need to know about the precious Cala Saona in Formentera. Likewise, we have told you about the towns that you will find nearby for you to visit. However, since you are in the Balearic Islands, we also advise you to visit the nearby Ibiza, with its spectacular landscapes and its monuments. Dare to travel to these beautiful Mediterranean islands.