Having been to Formentera myself for the day, without question the best way to see the island is to hire a scooter.
I have done a lot of research and can now clearly tell you exactly how to do the trip. I found lots of conflicting advice about hiring motorbikes, scooters, mopeds and normal bikes as well as suggestions on hiring a car or getting the bus.
Illetes Beach
Hiring and Renting a Bike
It is true that you can hire a mountain bike at a cost of eight euros but the island is just too big to take in on a push bike.
If you simply hired a bike then you would have to pick one destination that you went to and returned, in order to make the ferry back later in the evening which typically would be at seven o’clock.
What you need to bear in mind is that the ferry departs at 10am from Playa d’en Bossa in Ibiza and takes 35 minutes.
So by the time you arrive in Formentera and hire your bike, you really don’t have that much time to explore.
If you are just hiring a normal bike then I suggest you ride towards the best beach on the island which is the much photographed Platja de Illetes, a narrow strip of sand with Platja de Llevant on the other side of the sand dunes.
I would also recommend as a second choice, you bike to the Platja de Migjorn beach, the longest stretch of sand on the island.
On this beach many people like to sunbathe in the nude although it is not a naturalist beach. I would suggest allowing an hour to get to Migjorn beach on bike.
I suggest that you look at our main page on exploring Formentera by scooter to see the route that I took as well as photos and pictures of the day.
Hiring and Renting a Scooter or Motorbike
You may as well make the most of your day and hiring a scooter only cost us €15 by taking advantage of the special deal when booking our ferry across. The Ulises cat ferry was only €20 return and took just 35 minutes which was the quickest out of all the ferry companies we looked into. This price includes scooter insurance.
Compare this to the Aqua bus company who charge €19 return but their boat is much slower taking over an hour, in some cases an hour and a half depending on where you depart from.
Renting a scooter on Formentera has many advantages over hiring a car. You will be able to go down small dirt tracks specially designed as bike routes.
Another significant factor is the unbelievable feeling of being in control of a small scooter with the air rushing past you.
It feels very natural as if you are in one with the island. It’s a feeling you just wouldn’t get cooped up in a hire car.
I was amazed at the cheap cost of hiring a scooter at only €15 for the day. My girlfriend and I hired a scooter each, although we could have shared one bike and rode pillion.
If you have the choice, I would suggest renting a scooter each just to experience the thrill and adventure of zooming around the island and enjoying the sensation of riding the motorbike.
When my girlfriend first got on the motorbike she did have a panic attack but with a few practice runs up and down the quiet side street, she was convinced that it was really quite easy after all. Luckily the roads are very quiet and there are many bike lanes that you can also use.
My initial research on the Internet before I went to Formentera suggested that the cost of hiring a scooter or motorbike would be €35 for one day which seemed a lot to me.
As I said, by getting the Ulises Cat ferry across we were able to get a discounted rate of just €15. All we had to do was hand in our voucher when we got to the port of La Savina in Formentera. We just needed to put down a refundable deposit of €20 per bike as well as producing our driving licences.
Beach near Es Calo
Hiring and Renting a Car
I would also advise against hiring a car simply because I feel the island is too small to rent a car. In 20 minutes you would literally be at the other end of the island at the Faro La Mola lighthouse.
The distance from one end of the island to the other is just 20 km. You would then wonder what on earth you are going to do and see next!
Petrol Stations on Formentera
One definite tip is to allow enough time to get back to La Savina in time for your ferry back.
There are only two petrol stations on the island, one at San Fernando and the other just before La Savina. With just two ferries back in the evening at five o’clock and seven o’clock, you can just imagine the huge amount of scooters pulling in about 6.30pm in time for that last ferry back to Ibiza!
We seriously misjudged the time and realised that if we waited to fill up with petrol we were going to miss the only ferry back!
We’ve raced back to the office of four motor and apologised profusely. The lady naturally had seen this many times before and simply told us it would be six Euros. That was actually for both scooters so you can see just how little it costs for a day exploring the island.
Resources for Hiring Motorbikes, Scooters, Bikes and Quadbikes
Below we list some of the companies that you can rent from when you arrive in Formentera. It would appear that most rental companies hire cars, motorbikes, scooters and pushbikes.
Motorent Pujols
Motorcycles, scooters, quads and bikes. Four offices in major parts of the island of Formentera, technical service, roadside assistance, delivery to your accommodation and a great team of professionals are just some of the characteristics of the best and most comprehensive car rental Formentera.
Phone: 0034 971 32 21 38
Email: info@motorentpujols.com
Website: https://www.motorentpujols.com/
Prices:
A 49cc scooter which can take 2 people is €25 for 1 day rising to €35 for 1 day in July and August.
A 125cc motorbike which can take 2 people is €31 for 1 day rising to €41 for 1 day in July and August.
A 250cc quadbike which can take 2 people has to be hired for a minimum of 3 days at a cost of €135 rising to €180 in July and August.
A normal pushbike can be hired for just €6.10 a day or €8.10 for a mountain bike.
Formotor Rent Formentera
Formotor rent cars, bikes, scooters and motorcycles.
Phone: Office in La Savina: 0034 971 32 29 29
Email – rent@formotor.com
Website: https://formotor.com/
Distances
La Savina port to Sant Francesc de Formentera is 3km
La Savina port to Sant Ferran is 6km
La Savina port to Es Pujols is 6km
La Savina port to Es Calo is 12km
La Savina port to Es Pilar is 17km
La Savina port to Cala en Baster is 8km
La Savina port to Ca Mari is 8km
La Savina port to Punta Prima is 8km
La Savina port to Cala Saona is 8km
La Savina port to Cap Barbaria is 11km
Summary
The day that I rented a scooter to tour around the island of Formentera was the best day of my whole holiday in Ibiza.
Photography credits go to Jane Ecob from https://www.aperfectfit.co.uk
Related Pages:
Super helpful in planning upcoming trip!