Formentera by bike: 4 days on the green routes

Formentera is practically flat, with La Mola its only real climb, and its 32 signposted green routes add up to more than 100 km. This plan links eleven of them into four days from the port of La Savina, with each route's official length and riding time. The green routes page lists all 32.

Day 1: the north and its beaches

Green route 1, La Savina - Ses Illetes (3.3 km, 15 minutes by bike), runs from the port past the salt pans and through junipers and dunes. The first beach is Es Cavall d'en Borràs, as clear as a natural pool, then Ses Illetes, named after its small islets. This is the Ses Salines natural park, which bicycles enter free.

Platja de Llevant is the other side of the same sand spit, Es Trucadors, and further north the two beaches are only metres apart: leave the bike and walk across. Llevant can have waves, since the summer wind usually blows from the east.

Day 2: Sant Francesc and the south west

Green route 2, La Savina - Sant Francesc - Es Pujols (5.6 km, 30 minutes), circles the lagoon of Estany Pudent, with a side path to Sant Francesc Xavier, the main town. From there green route 8, Sant Francesc - Ses Bardetes - Far de Barbaria (9.6 km, 60 minutes), heads south through almond trees and vineyards to the bare tip of the cape and Far des Cap de Barbaria, the lighthouse in Julio Medem's film Lucía y el sexo.

Ride back as far as Ses Bardetes, where green route 7, Sant Francesc - Ses Bardetes - Cala Saona (3.7 km, 20 minutes), turns west on dirt tracks through pine and juniper woods to Cala Saona, red rock over turquoise water and a good place to watch the sunset.

Day 3: Sant Ferran, Es Pujols and the north coast

Ride green route 2 back to Sant Francesc Xavier, then green route 16, Sant Francesc - Sant Ferran (1.8 km, 10 minutes), the old direct path past Can Teuet, the island's oldest windmill. From Sant Ferran de ses Roques, green route 21, Sant Ferran - Cala en Baster - Migjorn (4.2 km, 20 minutes), runs north first to Cala en Baster, where the boat sheds are cut into the rock like caves. Then head back to Sant Ferran.

Green route 17, Sant Ferran - Es Pujols - Estany Pudent (2.2 km, 10 minutes), follows the walled Camí de Ses Vinyes to Es Pujols and its beach. Green route 18, Sant Ferran - Es Pujols - Punta Prima (2.6 km, 15 minutes), joins the same two towns and has the only branch to Torre de Punta Prima: ride back to the fork and out to the tower, built in 1762 and 1763.

Day 4: La Mola

Green route 2 leads to Sant Francesc Xavier again, where green route 15, Sant Francesc - La Mola (9 km, 45 minutes), follows the old way east past propped fig trees and the Roman fort of Can Blai to the harbour of Es Caló de Sant Agustí, at the foot of the climb. Green route 25, the old path up, is for walking only, so ride up to El Pilar de la Mola on the road.

Green route 32, Pla de la Mola (12.3 km, 60 minutes), the longest green route, is a loop of the whole plateau designed for cycling, out to the cliffs of La Mola. It passes close to the Molí Vell de la Mola, the best preserved of the island's flour mills, and on Wednesday and Sunday afternoons from May to October the craft market is on. Finish with green route 29, La Mola - Far de la Mola (2.8 km, 10 minutes), through old farmland to Far de la Mola on the cliff edge at the island's eastern tip, beside a monument to Jules Verne.

Before you ride

• Which bike. Most green routes are gravel or earth rather than asphalt, so a hybrid bike or an e-bike suits them better than a road bike. Establishments along the port promenade in La Savina rent bicycles.
• Walking only. Green routes 19, 25, 26 and 27 are for walking only. The other 28 can be ridden.
• When to ride. The winter months are ideal and quiet. In summer a bike spares you the hunt for a parking space.