How to get to Formentor

Formentor Beach is one of the most visited places in Mallorca, and for good reason: it is one of the most beautiful spots in Mallorca, together with Formentor Lighthouse. However, since 2018 due to the overcrowding of this area and the traffic jams on the road during the summer, restrictions have been established on the road in high season.

So don’t even think about trying to get to Formentor before reading this article. We will explain when you are able go, where to park, how to get there if you don’t have a car and all about the road restrictions.

Formentor Beach is located about 14 km from Puerto de Pollensa. It is a beach of fine sand, crystal clear waters and is surrounded by Mediterranean pine trees. On Formentor Beach is the Hotel Formentor, a summer refuge for artists, European royalty and is the venue for annual Literary Conferences. It is considered one of the most prestigious hotels on the island.

For more information about this fantastic beach, viewpoints in the Formentor area, hiking routes and what to do and see, visit our blogpost: A Day in Formentor in Mallorca.

Formentor Road Restrictions

Questions we receive constantly are: “Is the Road to Formentor open?”, “Why is the Road to Formentor lighthouse closed?”, “Why is Cap de Formentor closed?” and, above all “How do you get to Cap de Formentor?”. In this article you will find all the answers:

Since the summer of 2021 the road to Formentor, which begins in Puerto Pollensa, has been restricted to traffic.

The restrictions on the Formentor road are intended to regulate vehicle traffic (especially cars) that access the Formentor peninsula. Formentor is a natural area and is part of the Serra de Tramuntana Mountain Range, which is protected by UNESCO as an area of cultural landscape. The restrictions are in place to avoid crowding, traffic jams and to preserve the environment. At the same time, options are offered to continue to access Formentor in a sustainable way.

In 2023, the restrictions on the Formentor road begin on June 1 and end on September 30, between 10:00 a.m. and 10:30 p.m. This means that on dates and times not included in this schedule, you can drive on the Formentor road without restrictions. The restrictions affect two sections of road:

• From Puerto Pollensa to Formentor Beach (the blue line in the photo above):

You can take the shuttle bus.

It can be accessed by car BUT you will ONLY avoid a fine if you park in one of the legally established car parks in Formentor, have the ticket and send it by email to the DGT (The Directorate-General for Traffic). Below we explain how to do it in the “Formentor Car Park” section.

• From Formentor Beach to Formentor Lighthouse (the red line in the photo above):

You can only go from Formentor Beach to the lighthouse at Cap de Formentor by shuttle bus. Keep in mind that the local authorities have installed cameras along the road to control the license plates of cars.

Despite the restrictions, we have different options to get to Formentor Beach, each with its advantages and disadvantages. Below we detail how you can enjoy Formentor.

How to get to Formentor Beach by car

Renting a car to visit Formentor Beach is one of the most popular options with tourists visiting Mallorca. Renting a car offers greater flexibility, but it must be taken into account that it is a windy road, very busy, and that it has the restrictions that we have mentioned. To this we must add the cost of parking in Formentor, which we will talk about below.

To get to the beach of Formentor by car, apart from the road restrictions, you must check whether there will be space in the car park. At the beginning of the road to Formentor, just before reaching the roundabout, there is a panel that informs about the available parking spaces.

You must bear in mind that if you do not want to risk a fine, you will need a parking ticket. Likewise, it must be considered that although the panel indicates that there are spaces available, there are more cars on the road already on the way to the beach and with the intention of parking there. What you can’t know is how many cars are ahead of you.

Where can you park in Formentor?

In Formentor there are three legally established parking areas: Formentor Lighthouse Car Park, and Platjamar A and B Car Parks. In low season it is easy to find a place to park, but from mid-June to the end of August it can be very difficult. From the parking lot you can walk to the beach that is right next to it.

How much does it cost to park in Formentor?

Formentor parking prices are expensive. In fact, many users rate it on opinion portals as one of the most expensive car parks in Spain and Europe. The price of the Formentor Beach car park is €0.064 per minute, which is almost equivalent to €4 per hour. From our point of view, to visit Formentor and its beach you will need about 4 hours, so it will be about €16 for parking.

The car park is open 24 hours.

If you search on Google you will see that there are three car parks in the Formentor area. Be careful because the one that says “parking” is an area where you can park, it is not a legal car park. This means that you will not have a ticket, which is very important if you have entered Formentor during the period of restrictions on the Formentor road.

Finally: How to avoid the fine for accessing Formentor during the period of restrictions? You need a parking ticket, you must send it within 3 days after your visit to Formentor to ticketsformentor@dgt.es with the subject “Formentor Playa” and specify the date you were there, together with the vehicle registration number. Later, from the DGT they confirm the authorization.

If you decide to skip the above procedure, the fine is about €80. In 2022, more than 50,000 fines were issued for driving on the Formentor road without authorization in restricted sections.

Shuttle Bus to Formentor and Cap Formentor:

So it might be worth considering different options of how to get to Formentor. One of the best ways to access the beach of Formentor is with the shuttle bus line 334 Puerto Pollensa-Faro Formentor operated by the TIB (public transport of the Balearic Islands).

The shuttle bus schedule is from 9:30 a.m. to 9:50 p.m., and there are departures every 35 minutes. The price of the journey is €1.80-€3, depending on whether it is paid by card or cash. It has the following stops:

• L-334  Alcúdia – Port de Pollença – Formentor Beach – Cala Figuera / Cala Murta – Formentor Lighthouse

The best place to leave from is Puerto de Pollença, where there are several stops. The new central bus stop in Puerto de Pollença includes free parking. The other stops are on the highway service road, where you can also park for free. The bus service stops at the Mirador de Es Colomer viewpoint, Formentor beach, the coves of Cala Murta / Cala Figuera and the Formentor Lighthouse. In these last two only from June to September. Schedules can be found here.

Boat to Formentor from Puerto Pollensa

From Puerto de Pollensa there is a ferry to Formentor Beach. The journey is about 25 minutes and is usually available from April to October. The approximate price of this service is €18 round trip. With different schedules during the day, you can plan to spend the whole day in Formentor or just a few hours. It is an excellent way to get to Formentor Beach, since the views during the trip are sublime, you will pass by Sa Fortaleza and some small coves and you will enjoy some of Mallorca’s best coastline.

One option that we really like is to take the shuttle bus to Formentor Beach, spend time on the beach and then return by boat to Puerto Pollensa. Or do it the other way around!

Get your Formentor Ferry Tickets!

Many of the photos that you find in this report are from the trip we made by ferry in September 2018, and you can see how quiet the ferry was, since at 11:00 we were barely 40 people on board.

Another interesting option is taking the boat from Alcudia to Formentor, with a one-hour stop on the beach, the ideal amount of time to enjoy a swim in its crystalline waters, before returning back to the Port of Alcudia.

Visit Formentor on an organised tour:

As Formentor is one of the most popular places in Mallorca, from the different tourist resorts on the island, you can find some organized excursions that pick you up at your hotel, and take you to visit Formentor Beach, combining the visit with a market, such as the Alcudia or Sineu Markets. Normally the excursion takes place on Tuesday, Wednesday and Sunday. The price is approximately €45-50 including a visit to a Mallorcan market, a stop at the Colomer viewpoint, time on the beach and a boat trip.

One of the best ways to visit Formentor on an organized excursion is with the one that leaves from Puerto Alcudia, since this is one of the most popular excursions in Mallorca. This 4-hour excursion is in an open-top bus, which takes you on a panoramic sightseeing tour along the bay of Pollensa and then winds its way up the Formentor road. As well as giving you free time on Formentor Beach, you also make a stop at the Mirador del Colomer Viewpoint and it includes a 25-minute boat trip from Formentor to Puerto Pollensa. All this assisted with the explanations of a guide.

• You can find all the details about this excursion here: Formentor tour with Bus and Boat.

How to get to the Formentor Lighthouse?

The lighthouse at Cap de Formentor is another of the essential sites in Formentor, and is also subject to the Formentor road restrictions that we mentioned at the beginning of the article.

How to get to Cap de Formentor then?

• From the car park of the Hotel Formentor to the Formentor lighthouse between 10:00 a.m. and 10:30 p.m., it can only be accessed by the Balearic Government TiB shuttle bus
• NO authorization is given BETWEEN 10:00 AM AND 10:30 PM to ACCESS THE FORMENTOR LIGHTHOUSE (KILOMETERS 8.7 TO 19,600). YOU HAVE TO ACCESS BY SHUTTLE BUS. Between kilometer 8.7 and 19,600 of the road to Faro de Formentor, compliance with the driving ban is controlled with license plate readers
• Between 10:30 p.m. and 10:00 a.m. the following day ACCESS IS FREE on the entire road, taking care to enter the road after 10:30 p.m. and leave the road before 10:00 a.m..

Basically this means that if you want to go see the spectacular sunset at the Formentor Lighthouse, or go to enjoy Cala Figuera and Cala Murta, you must use the shuttle bus.

We hope this article has resolved your doubts about how to get to Formentor, the Formentor lighthouse and learn about traffic restrictions in Mallorca. Any questions you have, you can leave us a comment, and we will be happy to answer.