Formentera anchoring 2027: Posidonia and buoys

Anchoring around Formentera is regulated by three layers of rules: a Balearic decree that protects Posidonia everywhere, the management plan of the Ses Salines natural park for the north of the island, and national rules on bathing strips. Together they decide where you can drop an anchor, and where you need to take a buoy instead.

The Posidonia ban

Posidonia oceanica is a seagrass that forms meadows on the sea floor. Decret 25/2018 bans anchoring on it across the Balearic Islands. The only exception is an authorised low-impact system: single buoys and buoy fields. The decree adds that:

In a buoy-field zone you must use the buoys, never anchor directly on the meadow, and anchoring is allowed on the sand areas inside the field.
The chain and other anchoring elements must not damage nearby meadows.
Pumping bilges or discharging waste in a buoy field is an aggravating factor.
Force majeure, danger to life or navigation, authorised scientific work and the management of a protected area are exceptions.
Buoys are removed when they are not needed outside the season.

The Ses Salines natural park

The marine area of the Ses Salines natural park, which covers the north of Formentera and S'Espalmador, sorts anchoring into three kinds:

Banned. No anchoring at all, except in a force majeure, in the marine strict protection areas, in the marine sector of Caló de s'Oli, and in the southernmost sector of Cala de sa Torreta, near S'Espalmador.
Buoys only. In Badia de s'Alga at S'Espalmador and in the south and innermost part of Caló de s'Oli, you must tie up to the buoys provided.
Sand only. In the rest of the park's marine area you may anchor on sand, never on Posidonia, and the skipper is responsible.

The same plan bans navigation and anchoring in the 200 m bathing strip along the coast, and boats cross it only through the marked channels. Landing on S'Espalmador is allowed only through the entry and exit channels, and mud baths in its lagoon are prohibited.

The buoy fields

Formentera has two regulated fields, run by Ports IB: Badia de s'Alga at S'Espalmador, with 68 buoys, and Es Caló de s'Oli on Formentera, with 21. The third field of the group, Platja de ses Salines, with 39, is on Ibiza. The rules are the same on all three:

Booking. Only online at reservas.portsib.es. You register, add your vessel and its documents, and choose a slot. Charter boats use a boat code supplied by the rental company.
Prices. The price list covers buoys for boats from 8 m to 25 m. For example, a 12 m boat pays 9.08 euros for a swim voucher, 21.78 euros for a day and 36.30 euros for an overnight stay, and a 25 m boat pays 108.90 euros for a day and 181.50 euros for a night. Check the platform for the current prices.
Slots. A swim voucher is a morning (10:00 to 14:00) or afternoon (14:00 to 18:00) slot, a day runs from 10:00 to 18:00, and a night from 18:30 to 18:00 the next day, with check-in from 18:30 to 19:30. A swim voucher exists only for the 8, 12 and 15 m buoys.
Limits. At most three nights per field, no second booking of the same boat in the same field within four days, a speed limit of 3 knots inside, and no anchoring inside the field.
Weather. A field is not a shelter in bad weather, and Ports IB cancels bookings when the weather turns.
Season. Booking has run from 1 June to 30 September, extendable to 15 October. An attendant answers on VHF channel 77 from 12:00 to 20:00 in that period. In 2026 the fields opened late: the buoys were laid from 15 June and each field opened for booking once its buoys were in.
Outside the season. No booking is taken. The buoys still in the water are free to use until Ports IB takes them out for the winter, as Decret 25/2018 requires once they are not needed.

Bathing strips

Off a beach, a strip 200 m wide is reserved for bathers, and 50 m wide elsewhere. The speed limit inside it is 3 knots, and nothing may be discharged. Leave it clear, and cross it only through a marked channel.

Es Freus

The Es Freus marine reserve restricts fishing and the extraction of marine life across the reserve. Anchoring is banned in its maximum protection zone around the islet of s'Espardell. Elsewhere in the reserve the Posidonia ban and the park rules decide where you may anchor. See the boat guide for the crossing itself.

Penalties

Anchoring on Posidonia is an administrative infraction. The decree sends breaches to two laws, and the fine depends on how much meadow is damaged:

Class	National nature law (Ley 42/2007)	Balearic coastal law (Ley 5/2005)
Minor	100 to 3,000 euros	300 to 6,000 euros
Serious	3,001 to 200,000 euros	6,001 to 100,000 euros
Very serious	200,001 to 2,000,000 euros	100,001 to 450,000 euros

Checklist before you anchor

Look for Posidonia on the bottom and choose sand.
Stay outside the bathing strip, and keep to 3 knots near it.
In s'Alga and the south of Caló de s'Oli, book a buoy at reservas.portsib.es.
Never anchor in the marine sector of Caló de s'Oli, in the south of Cala de sa Torreta or around s'Espardell.
Check the wind on the weather page before you commit to a bay.

Frequently asked questions

Can I anchor on Posidonia in Formentera?

No. Anchoring on Posidonia oceanica is banned across the Balearic Islands under Decret 25/2018. Anchor on sand, or use a buoy in a regulated field.

Where are the buoy fields in Formentera?

Formentera has two Ports IB buoy fields: Badia de s'Alga at S'Espalmador, with 68 buoys, and Es Caló de s'Oli on Formentera, with 21. The third field of the group, Platja de ses Salines, is on Ibiza.

How do I book a buoy?

Only online at reservas.portsib.es. A phone call or email is not accepted, and the platform asks for your registration and your vessel's documents.

Where is anchoring completely banned?

In the strict protection marine areas of the Ses Salines natural park, in the marine sector of Caló de s'Oli, in the southernmost sector of Cala de sa Torreta, and in the maximum protection zone around s'Espardell.

Can I anchor anywhere else in the Ses Salines natural park?

Yes, outside the banned and regulated zones you may anchor on sand only, never on Posidonia, and you are responsible for where your anchor lies.

How close to the beach can I anchor?

Not inside the bathing strip: 200 m from the shore off a beach and 50 m elsewhere. The speed limit inside the strip is 3 knots, and in the Ses Salines natural park no vessel may navigate or anchor in the 200 m strip except through the marked channels.

What are the fines for anchoring on Posidonia?

A breach is an administrative infraction under the national nature law (100 to 3,000 euros for a minor one, 3,001 to 200,000 for a serious one and 200,001 to 2,000,000 for a very serious one) and the Balearic coastal law (300 to 6,000, 6,001 to 100,000 and 100,001 to 450,000 euros). The class depends on the damage to the meadow.

Are the buoys removed in winter?

Yes. Booking runs from 1 June to 30 September, extendable to 15 October. After that no booking is taken and the buoys still in the water are free to use until they are taken out for the winter, as Decret 25/2018 requires once they are not needed.

Were the buoy fields open in 2026?

Late. At the start of the 2026 summer none of the three Ports IB fields was in the water; the buoys were laid from 15 June and each field opened for booking once its buoys were in.