Walking in Ibiza: short hikes

Latest update: 13 December 2024

You probably already know that you can dance endlessly in the club and eat fantastic food in restaurants in Ibiza. But did you know that the island is also ideal for beautiful walks? Don’t worry, no endless walks. Although that’s an option too. But I’ve listed a few short hikes in Ibiza for you.

Walking in Ibiza: wear the right shoes

Let me start by saying this: I know it’s awesome to walk around in flip-flops. But for all these Ibiza hikes, I would really wear good shoes. At least your sneakers, but preferably hiking boots. Hiking in Ibiza isn’t necessarily hard, but lots of trails have stones and some climbing.

So buy your hiking shoes at Amazon, for example. All of these Ibiza walking options are short, so you’ll be back on a beautiful beach to cool your feet in the sea in no time.

Sa Talaia mountain ‘climbing’

With about 475 meters, the Sa Talaia mountain is the highest mountain in Ibiza. For the ascent, you should count on about half an hour. Going down is a little faster for most people. You start the walk here. This is where you park your car and will see a sign pointing to a steep path full of rocks. That is a tough start, but soon, a regular hiking trail follows. You first have a view over the island from this path, but then you disappear into the forest. Well, disappear. There are plenty of signs pointing the route to the top of the Sa Talaia mountain.

Some parts of the route are pretty steep – for this Dutchie at least. Spanish joggers run past me and don’t seem to be bothered by the elevation. Towards the top, it gets a bit more challenging again. The hiking trail gives way to a rocky area. So pay attention to where you put your feet. If it promises to be a warm day, start your climb nice and early or as late as possible. And always bring enough water and sunscreen.

Hiking to Atlantis in Ibiza

The walk to Atlantis is challenging for people with a fear of heights (read: me). I find the descent quite steep, and once I arrive at Atlantis, I have to climb over pieces of stone and lower myself along high rocks to places where I can barely put my feet. But it’s worth the fear (and the tears) to me.

Park your car in the parking lot at the viewpoint of Es Vedra (Google Maps location). Here, you follow the road straight ahead, so you just walk in the direction of Es Vedra. But! As soon as you go through a worn-down fence, turn left. Straight ahead is Es Vedra. You don’t want to go there (now). There is also a metal post with an A4 sheet on it at this point. There is a good chance that it has blown away or been removed since my visit, but who knows – it might point you in the right direction.

In fact, Atlantis can’t be missed from this point because all routes that you follow down eventually end up at Atlantis. Check this blog for more information. It takes me about half an hour to descend, and it takes me almost 45 minutes to get back up. That’s excluding the walk from the parking lot, but that’s a nice and easy walk.

Short hike to Tanit’s cave

I joined Walking Ibiza for the walk to the cave of Tanit. They regularly organize walks around the island at a bargain price. So I have to admit that I didn’t pay much attention to the route and just happily and blindly followed the guide. It took us about 2.5 hours with the group. Now there are quite a few breaks and some waiting time, so I think you’ll be able to finish the hike within 1.5 hours by yourself. But, you can also extend your hike. Check out the walking trail of about 10 kilometers here.

We start our walk in Cala Vicente at The Boat House (Google Maps location) and walk towards the countryside of Ibiza from there. You will find the cave of Tanit here.

Hike to the natural bridge of Cala d’Albarca

The endpoint of this walk is the natural bridge of Cala d’Albarca. A beautiful spot to take pictures. From the bridge, of course, but also the view from the cliffs over the bay is gorgeous. And it’s so quiet here!

The walk to the natural bridge is a lovely hike – on the way down. Because the way back goes up. I easily make it to the bridge within half an hour, the way back is more difficult, so it takes me a lot longer.

Getting lost on this walk is virtually impossible. Park in this parking lot (Google Maps location). If you are standing with your nose towards the water, you have two options on your right. Choose the left path; it will lead you down. The walking trail is easy to follow, and it’s easy to walk but is full of stones and rocks.

Cave hunting at Punta Xarraco

The circle walking trail of Punta Xarraco is an easy hiking route on a (mostly) well-paved walking path. Occasionally, you have to pay a bit more attention to where you put your feet due to the many stones, but in general, it is doable. During this hike in Ibiza, you have a beautiful view of the sea almost all the time. If you park your car here, you will see a sign on the left that shows you the route.

But, you can also walk the hiking trail the other way around. I do, because I also want to discover the caves of Punta Xarraco. This makes me deviate from the regular walking trail a little bit. I walk along the wall to the right and keep right until I reach a kind of plateau by the sea. Here, I climb down at the right and then follow the coastline to the left, and there is Cova d’en Jaumet. The Cova Llevant cave must be somewhere around here, too, but I haven’t found it. Perhaps you will succeed with this description of Besos de Ibiza.

Back on the walking trail, and just before the path leads me up, I climb down again to admire the lunar landscape. Suddenly it feels like I’ve arrived at the end of the world but in Ibiza. 😉 I climb back up from here to finish the rest of the hike.

Hiking to the Torre d’en Rovira

In theory, you can walk all the way from Cala Comte to the defense tower Torre d’en Rovira. I just think that’s too far. So I park my rental car (if you still need one, try Discover Cars or Rentalcars.com) along Carrer Cala Embarcado. Just follow the shoreline towards the tower – also if you do start at the beach. From my starting point, it is about a fifteen to twenty-minute walk to the tower. It is probably twice as far if you start at the beach.

This short walk along the coastline of Ibiza guarantees beautiful views over the sea. The water is so blue, and the cliffs are so high. The defense tower is on the tip of a cliff. When I’m there, the building is closed. It seems you can get in sometimes, but I wouldn’t count on it.

Hiking trail Portinatx to Moscarter

From the northern town of Portinatx, you can easily walk to the lighthouse of Moscarter. Park somewhere near here, and you’ll probably see the lighthouse in the distance. You mainly walk along the coastline. Sometimes I discover an arrow painted on rocks to guide the way, but the route is pretty self-evident. You can turn around at the lighthouse, or you can complete the trail. Here you will find a route description. The walk to the lighthouse takes less than half an hour; the entire trail takes about an hour or two.

Another option is to park somewhere along the Cami Cala d’en Serra. If you do, you will first walk through a stretch of forest before you find the coast. Unfortunately, there is no signage, so you have to trust your navigation skills and instinct. But in terms of physical effort, it’s an easy walk in Ibiza.

Social walk in Ibiza: Es Amunts

Another lovely spot to hike in Ibiza is the Es Amunts area. It’s countryside Ibiza with some hills and excellent views, forests of pine trees and remnants of cal ovens – a lot of variety. I’ve actually explored this area again with Walking Ibiza, with Sheila as my guide. The walk is called ‘Short & Sweet,’ but I still thought it was pretty intense on a hot day. Especially the uphill parts were killing me.

Cosmo, the dog that originally walked the entire island with his owner Toby (which led to the idea to start Walking Ibiza), joins us and knows exactly where all the cool spots in the shade are.

Mid-may, after a lot of rain, the area is covered with wildflowers. Sheila (Toby’s mum, by the way) points out wild herbs and tells stories about the area and her life. And in the meantime, we get to know the group. After the walk, Sheila serves coffee, tea, and cake. So lovely! We even went to a nearby bar for a beer with the group. So if you’re up for a social walk, definitely check out Walking Ibiza’s options.

Walking in Ibiza

Ibiza definitely offers a wide variety of walking options. I’ve chosen to stick to short hikes, but please go and explore longer if you like. Just make sure that whenever you go walking in Ibiza, you wear proper shoes, apply sunscreen, and bring plenty of water. Enjoy your Ibiza hike!

First published: July 2021. Updated since!