Es Pujols

Es Pujols is the largest resort on Formentera, on the north coast. It has a sand beach, a promenade and the one street on the island where something actually happens in the evening: terraces, stalls, small bars. It is also where most of the hotels and apartments are.

History

Es Pujols was a fishermen’s spot: the small wooden boathouses on stilts along the water, the escars, are still there and are older than anything built around them. They were used to haul flat-bottomed boats out of the swell, because there was no real harbour here. When Formentera began receiving visitors from the second half of the twentieth century, this was the obvious place to build: flat, on the sea and close to the port of La Savina. That is why Es Pujols is the only point on the island that looks like a resort, while the rest stayed agricultural.

What to do here

• Look at the escars, the wooden boathouses along the water — the oldest things here.
• Swim off the beach; the water is shallow and sheltered.
• Walk the main street in the evening, the one place on Formentera where anything happens after dinner.
• Take the coast path north-west towards the salt flats and the port of La Savina.
• Rent your bike or scooter here; it is the island’s most practical starting point.
• Look north from the beach towards Ibiza — in clear weather the other island is visible.

Facts

• Es Pujols is Formentera’s main resort and lies on the north coast.
• The wooden boathouses on stilts along the water are called escars, a traditional building type of these islands.
• It has the island’s greatest concentration of hotels, apartments and evening venues.
• The port of La Savina, where the ferries from Ibiza arrive, is nearby.

Good for

Anyone staying overnight on Formentera who does not want the evening to be completely dark and silent.