Pharmacies in Ibiza: finding one open now

Ibiza Connects · Updated on October 16, 2026 · 10 min read

It's Sunday, it's eleven at night and you've burnt yourself on the beach, or your child has a temperature, or your medication has run out. In Ibiza there's always a pharmacy open: the duty system is approved every year by the Balearic government and requires every area of the island to have a pharmacy available at any hour. All you need is to know where to look and how the areas are split, because they don't match the municipalities exactly.

In Spain a pharmacy is a "farmacia", marked by a green cross; the duty pharmacy is the "farmacia de guardia".

How to find today's duty pharmacy in Ibiza

There are three reliable ways, from quickest to slowest:

1. The COFIB website. The Official College of Pharmacists of the Balearic Islands publishes the list of duty pharmacies. Choose the area and municipality (Eivissa, Sant Antoni, Santa Eulària, Sant Josep, Sant Joan or Formentera), the month and the day, and it shows the duty pharmacy with its address and a map. It's the source the pharmacies themselves use.
2. The notice on the door. When they close, all pharmacies hang a list in the window or on the door of the pharmacies on duty in their area that day. If you're standing outside a closed one, check the glass before searching on your phone.
3. The official calendar. The Balearic government's Pharmaceutical Regulation Service publishes the full-year duty calendar as a PDF, by municipality. It's useful if you want to plan ahead (if you're arriving late on a public holiday, for example).

Why your duty pharmacy might be in another town

For duty purposes, Ibiza and Formentera are divided into four pharmacy zones, and they aren't Ibiza's five municipalities:

What confuses visitors most: if you're staying in Playa d'en Bossa or Sant Jordi, your official zone is San Antonio's, and the night pharmacy could be 20 km away. In practice anyone can go to any pharmacy, so the easiest option is usually Ibiza Town's 24-hour duty pharmacy, five or ten minutes away by taxi.

Pharmacies by area: Ibiza Town, San Antonio, Santa Eulalia, Sant Josep and the north

Ibiza Town. It has the most pharmacies and the simplest duty system: every day one is open 24 hours, changing according to the calendar. In the centre, the modern grid (Avinguda d'Isidor Macabich and around) and neighbourhoods such as Figueretes or Es Viver there are lots of pharmacies on normal hours, so by day you'll rarely have to walk more than ten minutes.

San Antonio. In town and around the bay, including Cala de Bou, several pharmacies open from 9:00 to 21:00 on weekdays; on Sundays and public holidays one stays open on rota. At night there's just one for the whole zone (shared with Sant Josep), and it changes daily: always check the list. If you're in the West End or on the promenade, most are a few minutes' walk away.

Santa Eulalia and around. Santa Eulalia town has several pharmacies in the centre, and the municipality has others in places like Jesús, Puig d'en Valls and Santa Gertrudis. The night duty rotates among pharmacies across a zone stretching from Jesús to Portinatx, so always check the day's list before getting in the car.

Sant Josep (south and west). There are pharmacies in Sant Josep village and the larger resorts, but the western coves (Cala Vedella, Cala Tarida, Cala Comte) have none by the beach. If you're staying there, buy the basics when you arrive: sun cream, ibuprofen, plasters and something for bites.

The north (Sant Joan, Portinatx, Sant Miquel). This is the area with the fewest pharmacies and where it's hardest to find one open at night. The night duty pharmacy could be in Santa Eulalia, half an hour's drive away. Here a first-aid kit at home matters even more.

If you're travelling without a car, note down the bus routes or call a taxi: it's all explained in getting around Ibiza without a car.

What you can buy without a prescription in Spain (and what you can't)

In Spain, pharmacies are the only place that sells medicines, including those that don't need a prescription. You won't find paracetamol in a supermarket. The pharmacist is a health professional and, for minor problems, the first person to ask: they'll tell you whether something from the pharmacy will do or whether you should see a doctor.

• Without a prescription: painkillers and anti-inflammatories at lower doses, antihistamines for mild allergies, creams for bites and sunburn, rehydration salts, basic anti-diarrhoea medicine, artificial tear eye drops, pregnancy tests and condoms. The morning-after pill is also sold without a prescription.
• Prescription only: all antibiotics (Spain doesn't dispense them without a prescription, even if your country does), high-dose anti-inflammatories, anti-anxiety medication, sleeping pills and most medicines for chronic conditions.

If you need a prescription medicine and don't have a prescription, go to a health centre or SUAP (out-of-hours urgent care): the doctor writes one and the pharmacy dispenses it. We explain how in emergencies in Ibiza.

Foreign prescriptions: what Ibiza pharmacies accept

Prescriptions from another EU country. A paper prescription from a doctor in another European Union country can be dispensed in Spain, provided the medicine is authorised here and the prescription has full details: patient's name, doctor's name and signature with their registration number and contact details, the medicine (ideally by active ingredient), the dose and the date. You pay the full price. The pharmacist has the final say, especially with controlled medicines.

European e-prescriptions. Some EU countries have their e-prescriptions linked to the European digital health network (in Spain, the Ministry of Health's MiSalud@UE service), but not all countries or all pharmacies use it. Before travelling, ask your health system whether your e-prescription can be collected in Spain and always bring, just in case, a paper prescription or a report showing the active ingredient.

UK and other non-EU countries. The UK government says a UK prescription may be used to obtain medicines in Spain, but in practice it depends on the medicine and the pharmacist. To be safe, bring enough medication for the whole trip in its original packaging, with the prescription or a doctor's letter showing the active ingredient.

Sun protection, bites and jellyfish: the Ibiza first-aid kit

What people buy most at a pharmacy during Ibiza in summer is no mystery: sun cream, aftersun, antihistamines, plasters and bite creams. This is the kit those of us who live here keep in the car or the beach bag:

What to do about a jellyfish sting

Jellyfish turn up on Ibiza's beaches some summers, depending on each week's wind and currents. If you get stung:

1. Get out of the water and don't rub the area, with a towel or with sand.
2. Rinse with seawater or saline, never fresh water: fresh water makes the stinging cells still on the skin fire.
3. Remove any bits of tentacle with tweezers or the edge of a card, without touching them with your fingers.
4. Apply cold wrapped in a cloth, never ice directly, for about 15 minutes.
5. Go to the lifeguard or a pharmacy if the pain doesn't ease. See a doctor if you've been stung on the face, if it's a child, if the area is very large or if you feel dizzy or short of breath.

To choose a beach for the day (and avoid those where jellyfish gather in certain winds), see our Ibiza beach guide. Currents, beach flags and heatstroke are covered in Is Ibiza safe?.

Pharmacies in Formentera

Formentera has four pharmacies: in Sant Francesc, Sant Ferran, Es Pujols and Es Caló de Sant Agustí. Duty cover works as a separate zone: under the 2026 calendar, almost every day there's a 24-hour duty pharmacy, and on some days the shift is split between a day pharmacy (9:00 to 22:00) and a night one. Check it on the same COFIB website, choosing "Formentera". If it's a medical emergency, Formentera Hospital is in Sant Francesc (+34 971 321 212).

If you're crossing over for the day, bring the essentials from Ibiza: there's no pharmacy near the beaches at Ses Illetes and Llevant. All the logistics for the trip are in our Formentera day trip guide.

Common mistakes with pharmacies in Ibiza

• Looking for your municipality's duty pharmacy instead of your zone's. Playa d'en Bossa and Sant Jordi go with San Antonio; Sant Joan, with Santa Eulalia.
• Waiting until night-time to buy sun cream. By day lots are open; at night, one per zone.
• Asking for antibiotics without a prescription. They won't sell them to you. Go to the SUAP.
• Travelling with only just enough medication. One flight delay or strike and you're out of pills.

Sources and official information

• Govern de les Illes Balears · 2026 pharmacy duty calendar
• COFIB · List of duty pharmacies by municipality
• Spanish Ministry of Health · European e-prescription (MiSalud@UE)
• GOV.UK · Healthcare for UK nationals visiting Spain (prescriptions and GHIC)
• IB-Salut · Formentera Hospital