Ibiza ferry: from the mainland and Ibiza, on to Formentera and what counts as public service

Baleària lists Barcelona–Ibiza as a conventional ferry: its pages give about 8 to 9 hours, and the figures differ from page to page. It presents Valencia–Ibiza as a direct crossing, with no fast ferry, of about 5 hours 10 minutes. From Dénia, its fast ferry Eleanor Roosevelt takes about 2 hours 15 minutes.

Trasmed (part of the Grimaldi group) lists Barcelona–Ibiza and Valencia–Ibiza, as well as Eivissa–Ibiza and Maó–Ibiza. Its website gives an average of about 8 to 9 hours from Barcelona and 5 to 6 hours from Valencia, with day and night sailings on the latter. GNV lists Barcelona–Ibiza, with about 9 hours outbound and 7 hours 45 minutes on the return on the direct sailing, and Valencia–Ibiza, with about 5 hours 15 minutes; for both it also shows options with a stop in Eivissa, which are much longer.

According to those pages, all the routes arrive at the port of Eivissa. In the ones we reviewed, no regular route from the mainland to Sant Antoni appears. Dates and season: check with each operator.

We do not give prices: each operator shows fares that change with the date, the accommodation (seat or cabin) and the vehicle. Compare for your dates and see what each fare includes.

Baleària runs the Eivissa–Ibiza fast ferry, which according to its website takes around 2 hours and arrives at the port of Eivissa (Botafoc quay). It lets you leave Ibiza early and come back late in the afternoon, so a day return is possible. Trasmed also lists Eivissa–Ibiza, with no crossing time on its routes page.

We did not find an overall timetable on those websites: use each operator's booking search with your dates. If you are continuing to Formentera, see the next section.

Between the port of Eivissa and La Savina, Formentera's port, there is a regular line run by several operators. Baleària lists a fast ferry of about 30 minutes; Formentera Lines (Mediterránea, the Formentera shipping company, part of the IMG group since 2022) advertises its Ibiza–Formentera fast ferry, also 30 minutes, arriving at the La Savina ferry terminal; and Trasmapi lists the Ibiza–Formentera route, taking cars, vans and motorbikes up to 2.10 m in height.

Sailings are spread through the day, and Baleària mentions a departure every 45 minutes in summer. Frequencies and times change by season: check each operator's own. Trasmed and Baleària also list routes from Barcelona and Valencia to Formentera; check on their websites whether they stop in Ibiza.

Excursion boats and swim-and-sail trips have their own guide: Formentera day trip from Ibiza. Taking a vehicle to Formentera has separate rules, explained below.

First: the ferries on these routes are run by private companies (Baleària, Trasmed, GNV, Formentera Lines, Trasmapi). In the official sources we reviewed, we found no passenger line using ships owned by a public authority. What does exist is public regulation of those lines, and this is what the sources record.

Balearic law (Law 11/2010 on the organisation of maritime transport in the Balearic Islands): its article 14 declares three regular inter-island lines to be of strategic interest, two of them La Savina–Eivissa and Eivissa–Eivissa, and allows them to be provided under public service obligations or by administrative contract. Its article 16 sets minimum public service obligations: service for at least twelve consecutive months, ten daily passenger frequencies between Eivissa and Formentera (plus five freight ones on working days) and three weekly frequencies between Eivissa and Eivissa. Article 28 gives Formentera residents a minimum of ten frequencies per direction and a maximum price.

State rules (Royal Decree 1516/2007, in force in the BOE consolidated text): article 8 sets minimum public service obligations of three weekly trips, among others, on Barcelona–Ibiza, Valencia–Ibiza and Dénia–Ibiza. Operators may meet them individually or jointly, and the minimum period of service is two years. It is an obligation placed on private companies, not a public ship.

Resident discount: according to the Balearic Government, regular maritime transport carries a state bonus of 50% and a regional bonus of 25% for citizens of the EU, the European Economic Area and Switzerland who live in the Balearic Islands, and a regional bonus of 39% on Ibiza–Formentera trips for Formentera residents of any nationality. The Ministry of Transport says these are regulated by additional provision 13 of Law 17/2012 and Royal Decree 1316/2001. It is for residents only and residence must be proved: if you are visiting, it does not apply to you.

What we could not confirm: a public service contract signed by the Balearic Government for Eivissa–Formentera or Eivissa–Eivissa, or which companies meet those minimum frequencies today. The law allows for one, but we found none published: treat it as a legal framework, not as a contracted public service.

Balearic law separates regular maritime transport between ports from tourist or recreational passenger transport, that is, excursions: the latter is subject to prior notification, must be provided under conditions distinct from regular lines and only some of the law's provisions apply to it (articles 3.10, 23 and 24 of Law 11/2010).

The boats in this section are run by private companies with their own tickets: return ferries to Formentera from Figueretas or Platja d'en Bossa, seasonal passenger boats to La Savina and catamaran or private-boat trips to Illetes, s'Espalmador or Cala Saona. We could not confirm their timetables or season in an official source: check them with each company.

If what you want is a beach day on Formentera with swimming and lunch, the Formentera day trip guide compares the options.

Baleària, Trasmed and GNV take cars, motorbikes and vans on their routes to Ibiza, and Trasmed says it sets no luggage limit as long as you can carry it aboard in one go. But in summer, entering Ibiza and Formentera with a vehicle is limited by law, and whoever boards must carry the authorisation (article 27 of Law 11/2010).

Ibiza (Law 5/2024): according to BOIB no. 36 of 21-03-2026, the 2026 restriction period runs from 1 June to 30 September, and the entry and stay of motor vehicles is prohibited apart from the law's exceptions (among them, residents of the island); that agreement leaves motorbikes and mopeds outside the restriction and sets for 2027 a general period that may be shortened by weeks in June and September. The Consell d'Eivissa publishes the rules at ibizacircular.es, and operators must inform you when selling the ticket and check the permit at boarding. Trasmed says that with a return ticket it handles the authorisation for your stay and, with a one-way ticket, for your arrival day.

Formentera (Law 7/2019): according to BOIB no. 27 of 28-02-2026, the Consell de Formentera prohibits from 1 June to 30 September 2026 the entry, circulation and parking of every kind of motor vehicle, except exempt ones, which must also apply for authorisation. It sets a ceiling of 10,287 vehicles, with quotas for visitors' cars (1,732), visitors' motorbikes (122) and zero for quads, caravans and motorhomes. Authorisations, seasonal or one-off and tied to the licence plate, are granted in order of request until the quota runs out and are requested at formentera.eco before you reach the island. Each year the Consell approves the period and the ceiling again: always check the rules for the year of your trip.

For a few days in Ibiza or Formentera it is often better to travel without a car and rent only when you need one; our Ibiza without a car guide brings those options together.

The port of Eivissa is in the city itself, next to Dalt Vila, according to the Autoritat Portuària de Balears (APB), which also manages the port of La Savina. Sant Antoni is managed directly by Ports de les Illes Balears (PortsIB); its website lists no ferry service.

Book ahead if you travel in summer, with a car or on an overnight crossing with a cabin: GNV says that in summer tickets tend to cost more because of demand and that low season has better fares, and on Formentera vehicle authorisations run out in order of request.

Get to the port in good time: Trasmed says 60 minutes before with a vehicle and 30 on foot; GNV, 2 hours before with a vehicle. Baleària shows it when you book.

Pets: Trasmed accepts pets in adapted cabins, in monitored kennels or in a carrier under 8 kg in a seat; GNV accepts them with their own ticket and a carrier or adapted cabin. Check your operator's conditions before paying.

Sea and timetables: crossing times depend on the ship and sea conditions, and operators warn that timetables vary by season.