Cala Presili

Cliffs at your back, open sea in front, and the Favàritx Lighthouse standing along the coast — that is the whole of the place, and the reason people walk out to it. Nothing has been built here. No bar, no kiosk, no lifeguard, just sand, rock and water, with the sea clear over the shallows. Much of the shore is rock, and getting into the water is not always comfortable; on a calm morning it is as quiet a swim as the island offers. The 20 to 30 minute walk each way keeps the numbers down, and the beach is clothing-optional.

• Nothing here at all — no bar, no kiosk, no toilets and no drinking water nearby. Bring water, food and a bag for your rubbish.
• No shade — none on the walk, none on the beach. An umbrella is worth carrying, and the rock gets hot enough to burn bare feet.
• Half sand, half rock — sandals or reef shoes make getting in and out of the water easier.
• Clothing-optional — the beach is used that way, and both choices pass unremarked.
• The walk is the plan — 20 to 30 minutes each way from the car park, so count an hour of walking before you count beach time.

The last stretch is on foot, and it is the part that catches people out. Two car parks sit about 490 m and 830 m away in a straight line, but the way in takes 20 to 30 minutes each way, with no shade on any of it — carry water for the walk as well as for the beach. A guidepost and a map board stand along the route. Arriving by bus shortens nothing: the walk from the nearest stop is the same one. Leave time and water for the return, which has no more shade than the way out.

Best: early morning or the last hours of the afternoon, and outside the August peak.

Avoid: the middle of a hot summer day, and days when the wind is up.

There is no shade on the walk or on the beach, and the rock gets extremely hot underfoot, so the middle of the day is the hardest time to be here with no umbrella. The cove faces open water, and wind and swell can take the swimming out of it entirely.