The secret Spanish island with unspoiled seashores and mermaid legends
Think you’ve seen all Spain has to offer? Think again.
Just a short boat ride from the Galician coast is a three-kilometre- (1.86-mile) wide island you’ve probably never heard of.
Isla de Salvora is part of the Atlantic Islands of Galicia Maritime-Terrestrial National Park in the northwest of Spain.
The island is uninhabited by humans and boasts white sand beaches alongside its rocky coast.
Until 2008, it was privately owned, and tourists weren’t allowed to visit. However, it is now open to the public – with some restrictions.
Salvora Island is a three-kilometre-wide island located off the coast of Galicia – and can only be visited via a private boat tour
Salvora is completely uninhabited by humans and boasts white sandy beaches alongside its rocky coast
The only way to visit the island is to book a private tour – a guided tour with a seafood lunch can be booked on getyourguide.com.
Visitors can depart from the Spanish coastal towns of La Coruna or Pontevedra, with the entire trip lasting four and a half hours.
According to fascinatingspain.com, the island does not provide ‘modern services’ such as restaurants or washing facilities. There are not even any bins there. Tourists must collect their rubbish and dispose of it on the mainland.
The aim, the website says, is to leave the island exactly how they found it, leaving no evidence of human activity.
The island has a rich history and was said to be a pirate refuge from the 16th to the 19th century.
Its main attraction is a lighthouse, which visitors will learn comes with a tragic shipwreck tale.
In 1921, the Santa Isabel ship, also known as the Galician Titanic, sank at the foot of the lighthouse. The accident took more than 200 lives and is a well-known local story, according to wildsea.eu.
One of Salvora Island’s attractions is its lighthouse (above), which comes with a tragic shipwreck tale
The island does not provide any modern services such as restaurants or washroom facilities
There aren’t any bins on the island – visitors must take their rubbish with them
Isla de Salvora belongs to the Atlantic Islands of Galicia Maritime-Terrestrial National Park
The remains now rest 15 metres (49ft) underwater and have become a shelter for marine life, including eels, lobster and crabs. Divers can book to explore the wreck for 40 euros (£33) with Wild Sea Europe.
Visitors can also spot the Sirena de Salvora, a mermaid statue that looks out towards the sea. The stone sculpture comes with a legend that a Roman knight who survived a shipwreck met a mermaid on the island and instantly fell in love.
According to fascinatingspain.com, the legend says they got married and had a child called Marino.
Other attractions include an abandoned village consisting of traditional stone houses and an old salting factory.
Those who have visited the island have referred to it as a ‘marvel’.
One of two reviews left on Tripadvisor dubbed it ‘one of the jewels in the Riberia’.
Another review, left by Xancinha, read: ‘It is a beautiful visit, full of stories and curiosities that only 250 people can access per day.’
