Formentera’s maritime history: watchtowers, lighthouses, salt and llaüts

Formentera has always lived looking out to sea. Pirates came from it, salt left by it, and it is still the only way to reach the island today, as there is no airport. Here is a journey through its maritime history via the places you can still visit.

Pirates and watchtowers

Between the 14th and 17th centuries, constant raids by Barbary pirates made settled life in Formentera almost impossible, and the island was left practically uninhabited. It was repopulated at the end of the 17th century by people from Ibiza, and in the 18th century a network of watchtowers was built to warn of approaching enemy ships.

Five survive today: Punta Prima (1762), next to es Pujols, the largest on the main island; sa Gavina, on the north-west coast; des Garroveret, at Cap de Barbaria; des Pi des Català, next to Migjorn beach, the only one you can visit inside; and sa Guardiola, on s’Espalmador, which kept watch over the es Freus passage.

Salt and la Savina port

Throughout the 19th century and much of the 20th, salt from ses Salines was Formentera’s main source of income. Until the end of the 19th century, fishing boats took shelter in the Estany des Peix, while the larger ships that loaded the salt anchored off the islet of la Savina. The oldest breakwater in today’s port dates from 1901. Along green route 1, from la Savina to ses Illetes, you can still see the old Molí de Sal, where the salt was loaded.

Llaüts and boathouses

Formentera’s traditional boat is the llaüt, the wooden fishing boat of the Balearic Islands. To protect them from the sea, fishermen built boathouses in the coves. The wooden ones at es Caló de Sant Agustí were declared a Site of Cultural Interest (Bien de Interés Cultural) in 2002. In Cala Saona, too, llaüts were once kept in boathouses sheltered by the bay.

Formentera’s lighthouses

Three lighthouses guide sailors around the island:

• La Mola lighthouse: opened in 1861, it stands on the edge of a cliff some 120 metres high at the island’s eastern tip. Beside it there is a monument to Jules Verne, who mentions the spot in his novel Hector Servadac, and the building houses a cultural space with an exhibition (closed on Mondays and from 1 December to 11 February; check opening times on formentera.es).
• Cap de Barbaria lighthouse: at the south-western tip, on top of the cliffs, in an almost desert-like landscape. From 15 May to 15 October you cannot drive or ride a motorbike there: the last stretch, about 1.7 km, has to be done on foot or by bike.
• La Savina lighthouse: the small lighthouse on the rocks next to the port, which you see as you arrive by ferry from Ibiza.

Seaplanes in ses Salines

A lesser-known legacy is the seaplane depot and jetty built during the Spanish Civil War next to the Estany Pudent, within ses Salines Natural Park. The fuel depot was protected by a solid structure with zigzag entrances against possible bombing raids, and next to the jetty there was a ramp for hauling the aircraft in and out of the water.

Heritage beneath the sea

Formentera’s seabed holds another treasure too: its posidonia meadows, which are part of the “Ibiza, Biodiversity and Culture” World Heritage Site. If you dive or snorkel, remember that any archaeological remains you find underwater are protected by law: do not touch them or take them, and notify the authorities.

If you want to go diving in Formentera, we recommend Formentera Divers, the island’s go-to dive centre. It is in la Savina, open all year round, and runs try dives, courses and guided dives.

How to see Formentera’s maritime history from the sea

The best way to understand an island that lived from the sea is to explore it from the water. With Isla Azul’s boat hire in Formentera you can set off from la Savina and see the cliffs of Cap de Barbaria, Punta Prima tower or the es Freus passage towards s’Espalmador from the sea.

Remember that since 1 October 2026 you need at least the navigation licence to skipper a hire boat yourself (up to 6 metres long, in daylight only and no more than 2 nautical miles from a port or sheltered spot); if you have no qualification, you can go out with a skipper. And always anchor on sand, never on posidonia.