I have been to Ibiza 3 times now having returned from my third trip to the island at the beginning of July 2001.
When you tell some one you’re off to Ibiza it is usually met with looks of pity - oh you off raving, are you a mentalist or are you mad! Well yes Ibiza is the clubbing capital of the world and yes San Antonio is a bit of a 18 - 30’s nightmare - drunk teenagers not know what plant they are on and not caring either!! BUT there is another side to the island as well.
My partner and l were looking for a cheap week away and after a bit of a trek we got Ibiza - we live in Belfast, so to get the cheapie, we had to drive to Dublin (2.5 hours or so depending on traffic), flew with Ryanair to Gatwick and from Gatwick with JMC to Ibiza. Now we knew we were going to Club 18-30s accommodation BUT it was cheap £189 for the week per person.
After being picked up by our teenaged rep we got to our apartments - we were first to be dropped off which was great. Easy check-in although they wanted to keep my passport behind the counter - l didn’t want this so after a bit of wrangling l got my own way! Off up to our room - No 203 Casa Maria - slap bang in the Centre of San Antonio!! (I took my earplugs!) I wasn’t expecting much to be honest - well l was pleasantly surprised - it was a studio apartment which had obviously been recently renovated. Two single beds and a sofa bed, a kitchenette with 2 rings and a fridge and a decent sized bathroom (with no bidet!!) and the balcony was decent too.
Club 18-30 are notorious for dragging customers to welcome meetings - l was well aware of this - l had been there before (I was young and naive once you know!!) - so the knock for the welcome meeting began at 10.30am. Now this annoyed me for 2 reasons - (1) the meeting was not until 12.30pm and (2) they knew we arrived late that night - approx. 4 am. I tried to ignore the hammering at the door until 12.10pm when l was trying to get ready to go out - so l lost it!! I opened the door to find a pre-pubescent child at the door demanding l attend this meeting - l told him where to go in no uncertain terms and l am pleased to say that they did not bother us the rest of the week!
So what is there to do on the island?
Food
There are decent restaurants out there if you search. Of course you can have your chicken and chips for every night of your holiday but if your palette is used to something better then please look. There is an Indian restaurant in San An called the Curry Club - excellent service and food, Coastline Cafe Bar serves excellent Spanish cuisine. Such eateries do cost that bit more but if you want quality it does cost you. If you are luck enough to be mobile check out the restaurants nestled in the hills - stunning views and food.
Sights
Ibiza is a beautiful island with its hills and mountains leading to the sandy coves and beaches. Please do not judge it on the man made beach in San Antonio - the beach is dirty and the sea even worse. Beaches such as Cala Basa or Cala Conta are nice but busy. Numerous coves are sign posted of the roads especially around Portninax - take time to visit.
Ibiza is well known for the sun set - in San Antonio there are the Sun Set Cafes such as Kanya, Coastline, Mambo, Savannah and the best know Cafe Del Mar - here hundreds of people congregate to watch the sun set - people of all nationalities and ages l must emphasis also Relaxing music beams out from the bars and it really is a beautiful experience. I would also recommend watching the sunset at Benarres Beach on the north of the island not far from San Miguel (as in the famous local beer!)- the beach is sandy full of hippies on bongos and guitars strumming away - a really relaxing experience.
On a Wednesday in the resort of Es Canar you will find the weekly hippie market selling all types of produce. It took us approximately 1.5 hours to get there as you head to Ibiza town, San Euliguia and Es Canar. Traffic can build up so beware and take water least you dehydrate. It took us about 1.5 hours to wander around the market and live music can be heard also. It is a well set up market with resting areas and loads of amenities to be found. There is carparking costing 500 pesetas (about £2) for as long as you want.
Another town to visit is the capital city Ibiza Town - historic castles, amazing sites and great shopping. I cannot go into great depth about the town as we only drove around it at night but it really looked fascinating.
Clubbing
Ibiza is known for its clubs - Eden, Privilege, Es Paradis, Pacha Amnesia and El Divinio. Various UK clubs hold nights here and in San An they are promoted to death by kids getting paid a pittance to parade up and down the beach handing out flyers. Competition is fierce!
The clubs can cost from 4000 pesetas to 7000 pesetas (£20 upwards), drinks can cost an arm and a leg (David bought a Jack Daniel’s and coke in Pacha and it cost 2000 pesetas £8 - l nearly died on the spot!). Tickets can be bought in bars at a minimal reduction with the promise of a free drink of anything so it is worth taking advantage of this.
The weather was excellent hitting 35 degrees most days. I really could not complain.
We quite like Ibiza, the resorts are not just aimed at the young clubbers or teenagers, family resorts such as Es Canar or Playa de Bosa are excellent in catering for the family market too.
The next time a friend or colleague tells you they are heading to Ibiza please do not pity them or ask are they mad - there are many sides to the island you just need to get out of the tourist resort and explore.