Cala Fustam

The water is the thing: very clear, in a cove with wild country on every side and nothing built around it. Getting there is half the visit. The path from Sant Tomàs runs along a scenic stretch of coast for about an hour and a quarter, and the walk alone repays the effort.

The beach itself is rougher than the photographs suggest. Dried seaweed banks up on the sand and smells, and the inlet can silt up with it. Come for the walk and the swim, and treat the sand as a bonus.

• There is no drinking water nearby. Carry enough for the walk there and back.
• The path is rocky, and flip-flops are the wrong footwear for it.
• Dried seaweed collects on the beach and smells, and the inlet can silt up with it.
• The approach is hard going and not suited to small children.
• There is no wheelchair access: the beach is reached only on foot over rough ground.

There is no parking at the beach, and every arrival ends with a walk along the coast. From the car park at Sant Tomàs the walk takes about an hour and a quarter on a scenic, rocky path. The beach can also be reached on foot from Cala Trebalúger.

The nearest car park on the map, by Bar Es Bruc, is about 2.9 km away in a straight line. The nearest bus stop, Càmping Cala Galdana, is about 3.1 km away in a straight line, so coming by bus still means a long walk in.

Best: a calm, settled day, setting off early in the morning.

Avoid: the middle of the day in high summer, and days of rough sea.

The walk in runs over an hour each way in Mediterranean summer heat, and the cove lies open to the sea, so it takes big waves in rough weather and collects seaweed after storms.