An Ideal Holiday On Ibiza

The better known Balearic Islands include Ibiza, Mallorca and Menorca, although there are several smaller islands in the group like Formentera. Cabrera is a national Park available only for day visits and Formentera has a small population of only 7,000 (around the size of a small town on Mallorca).

For summer tourists, Ibiza does seem to have something for everyone. Of course weather is crucial and the island’s location, in the Mediterranean around 50 miles south west of Mallorca and 50 miles from the coast of the Spanish mainland, affords it hot sunny days during the summer and typically mild dry days during most of the winter months.

Many will know Ibiza as a haven for some of the best known nights clubs in Europe. There are half a dozen or so major clubs on the island that attract most visitors in addition to many more smaller venues and caf?ars. The clubs are split between two the locations of Ibiza Town in the east and San Antonio in the west of the island. Midway along the road that joins these two towns are two of the larger night clubs. The first is Privilege, just outside the town of San Rafael which claims to be the largest night club in the world with a capacity of 10,000 people. Riding on the success of Privilege is the nearby Amnesia club which is located less than a mile away, on the same Ibiza Town-San Antonia road.

In Ibiza Town itself, Pacha is a well known club, attracting a more up market clientele. Close by in the harbour area is another large club, El Divino, which sits out on one of the marina walkways. In San Antonio the big clubs are Es Paradis built in a Roman/marble style and right next door, Eden, making this a very convenient way to spend an evening clubbing, without having to worry about any transport. South of Ibiza town on the beach area of Playa d’en Bossa are two more night clubs. The Space club is very popular, as is the nearby Bora Bora club, a venue right on the beach front which doesn’t usually charge an entrance fee, preferring to make its money selling drinks.

For anyone not interested in night clubs the island may seem to have little to offer, but when you consider that all these big clubs {sit on a single line across the centre of the island, areas to the north and south are remarkably free of such diversions and can be very quiet in comparison. For some this presents a perfect compromise of fun and excitement when they want it and peaceful, quiet days on the beach when they just want to relax. The small cove at Cala Jondal is one of the smaller, but attractive beaches. The beach here is well looked after and only the Blue Marlin beach bar threatens to disturb the peace, although it rarely does. North of Ibiza Town the small beach at Cala Llonga is very pretty, as are the beaches in the north of the island at Cala Verde and Cala Blanca. The small cove and sandy beach at Cala San Vicente in the far north are just about as far away from the night club zone that you can get and is a favourite spot for young families.

Ibiza is also a favoured island for those with boats, either yachts or motor cruisers. There are hundreds of remote, sheltered coves and inlets to explore and moor up at for a peaceful day. Modern marinas provide shelter and permanent moorings at places like Ibiza Town (Eivissa), San Antonio and the huge marina at Eularia, which provides over 700 berths, although most are taken during the peak season. The airport on Ibiza is a modern complex located 4 miles south of Ibiza Town and is convenient for most resort areas. It can quickly be reached by bus, taxi or transfer coaches, with almost every resort on the island being less than 20 miles from the airport. By contrast, the nearby island of Formentera, which lies less than 3 miles off the south-eastern tip of Ibiza, is not that easy to get to. There is no airport on the island, so visitors need to use one of the frequent ferries that depart from Ibiza and make the crossing to the small port at La Savina in just 30 minutes.

The authorities on Ibiza are very keen to retain the tourism benefits generated by the club scene while at the same time controlling events so that other visitors and residents can also enjoy their time on the island. It’s a difficult balancing act but one which seems to be working at the moment and providing the perfect holiday island that many seek.