I usually skip Ibiza’s west coast completely in August. The crowds get intense. But Cala Vadella is the one exception I make when I have kids with me. The drive down from Sant Josep involves a steep hill covered in dry pine needles and suddenly you’re just there at the water line. You step out of your rental car right onto the sand. It absolutely packs out by midday. So the real reason to come here is the deep horseshoe shape of the bay blocking the offshore wind and keeping the water completely flat while everywhere else on the coast is getting battered by waves.
The sand and the water
The water stays waist-deep for about fifty meters out into the bay. Toddlers paddle around safely. Parents actually get to sit down on a towel for a few minutes without hovering. And the sand is fine enough that you don’t need water shoes. You can rent a pair of sunbeds and a blue umbrella for 30 euros a day. The guys collecting the cash start doing their rounds right around 10:30 in the morning. Skip the rental and buy a 12-euro parasol from the Spar supermarket up the street instead because this beach faces directly west and the afternoon sun stays incredibly hot right onto your back straight through dinner time.
Eating near the water
A tight semicircle of buildings sits immediately behind the beach. You literally walk out of the sea and sit at a restaurant table in sixty seconds. Maria Luigi makes a totally decent pizza if you just want to feed a family fast. Can Jaume serves massive pans of seafood paella. They get completely slammed on Sunday afternoons. Book a table a day ahead of time if you want to sit looking at the water before the kitchen runs out of the good rice and starts turning people away. The one genuinely annoying thing about this cove is the solitary ATM next to the dive center. It charges an absurd 4.50 euro flat fee for cash withdrawals. Bring euros from the airport.
Walking to Cala Molí
Take your snorkel to the rocky edges on the right side of the bay. The water is extremely clear. You’ll see sea bream swimming around the submerged boulders near the drop-off. A dirt path leads straight over the cliffs from here to the neighboring beach of Cala Molí. That walk takes about forty minutes. Do not attempt it in cheap flip-flops. The limestone rocks are sharp. The trail gets surprisingly steep in the middle section where all the topsoil washes completely away down the ravine during the heavy rains we get in January.
Getting there and parking
Parking is the primary headache in Cala Vadella. A large dirt lot sits just behind the main row of shops. It fills up to the absolute brim by 11 AM in July. If you arrive after lunch you will end up leaving your car a mile up the steep approach road and walking down in the afternoon heat alongside irritated tourists. The L10 bus from Sant Antoni is a much smarter option. It costs two euros. It runs a highly reliable loop. Just double check the faded printed return schedule posted on the glass at the stop. The final bus of the evening sometimes leaves five minutes early if the driver simply gets bored waiting around.
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Photo: sven.h, via Wikimedia Commons