Illetas Beach

Ses Illetes beach, Formentera

The beach of Illetas de Formentera is known all over the world. Turquoise waters and a natural environment that has nothing to envy to a tropical destination.

Description of ses Illetes beach

Ses Illetes beach in Formentera is the next beach after Platja de les Xalanes. and also, as in the case of the previous one, many people who refer to Illetes are unknowingly thinking of this beach, for its beauty, its fine sand and its calm and transparent waters.

Platja de Ses Illetes is a long beach, about 500 meters long, almost straight and with a slight slope to the north. The southernmost part of the beach, where it connects with Platja de Ses Xalanes, is protected by the so-called Illa des Forn island and the Illa de Tramuntana island. For this reason the waters are a little calmer than in the northern part of the beach, where the sandy area is more open to the sea.

The width of the sandy area also increases as we move towards the northern part of it, reaching approximately 25 meters in width. The spectacular, transparent and colorful waters of the beach make it the most photographed beach of Formentera along with its neighbor Platja de Ses Xalanes.

Protected natural park

The beach of Ses Illetes is integrated within the Natural Park of Ses Salines and is therefore a protected natural environment. This means that although you can enjoy beach activities in the area of Ses Illetes, mobility is limited to the delimited zones and

Alternate name for Ses Illetes: Playa de n’Adolf

The beach of Illetas de Formentera is also known as “Platja de n’Adolf”, and is named, like several places in the area (the pujolets de n’Adolf, es Pas de n’Adolf), after one of the most tragic events of the last 150 years: the shipwreck of the Swedish ship Adolf on the night of December 3 to 4, 1882.

The Adolf was a 625-ton corvette from Umea (Sweden) bound for Marseille, which during its passage through the Balearic Islands was hit by a nighttime westerly gale that brought it, unnoticed by the captain, close to this part of the coast of Formentera. The strong wind and waves swept the boat into the shallow reefs and left it stranded on the sand with 14 men on board. In the morning the ship was discovered lying on its port side a few meters offshore.

It was ascertained that there were men on board and that they could not leave the ship, which, being aground, was constantly being battered by the furious waves and could break up at any moment. Although the storm had not subsided and the swell was still very heavy, the rescue of the crew was immediately organized and the crew were able to leave the ship almost 24 hours later.

According to information that appeared in the weekly newspaper El ibicenco and the newspaper El Balear, the rescue under these harsh sea conditions was devised and carried out by the Ibiza notary Narcís Puget Sentí, with a small boat with which he managed, after several hours and several trips from the beach, to rescue all the crew members one by one.

For this rescue Narcís Puget was awarded the gold medal of the Spanish Society for the Rescue of Shipwrecked Persons (today this organization is part of the Red Cross). Since that event, several areas were named after the ship that ran aground in this area 135 years ago.

Crystal clear and peaceful waters

The beach of Illetas is a very long beach, of sandy dune type and with a very fine and white sand. It is similar to Ses Xalanes beach, and in fact they are next to each other, although Illetas beach is less protected by reefs and more open to the sea, it is wider (especially in its northern part) and longer.

Its southernmost part (the closest, most accessible and protected from the waves) is usually very crowded, so we recommend arriving in advance to avoid crowds.

This beach in the area of Illetas is the last beach that can be reached by motorcycle or car, from here, to reach the following small bays that are further on as the beaches of Es Trucadors we will have to move on foot or have a boat.

Accessibility and Occupancy Level

The occupation of Ses Illetes beach is very high. If you arrive at rush hour you probably won’t find a place to put your towel, especially in the southernmost part. On the other hand, if you decide to go to the farthest part of the beach, you will surely find space even if it has to be a little farther from the shore.