How to plan the perfect holiday in Ibiza
As archaeological displays at Ibiza Airport remind you, this sun-drenched Balearic island has a long and compelling history – one involving neolithic peoples, Carthaginians, Romans, Byzantines, Moors, Pisans, Catalans and Germanic Majorcans, to name just a few. The exuberant (to put it mildly) party scene for which the island is today best known only really started in the 1960s, on the back of the hippie incursion.
But Ibiza really is many different things to many different people, with boho boltholes in abundance, rural retreats, seaside resorts with all the trimmings, including kids’ clubs, glossy beach clubs, organic farm-stays, spectacular beaches and hidden coves. It’s great for a foodie holiday, a beach holiday, a girlfriends' getaway or a city break, or as a party destination for a special birthday or celebration, or hell, just because… And you can alway mix some or all of these and have several kinds of holiday in one.
We’ve rounded up some of the best places to stay in Ibiza, along with our pick of the best restaurants, bars, beach clubs, places to swim, and places to walk. Or here are more recommendations for the best hotels in Ibiza.
Little more than a two-hour flight from the UK, Ibiza is great for a weekend but even better for a week or perhaps longer. The hippy markets in Ibiza are worth a gander, and it also has a growing wellness scene, which we explore in our feature on wellness and walking in Ibiza, including hotels in Ibiza with yoga.
Meanwhile Ibiza Town is a year-round destination perfect for an out-of-season city break – particularly special is the fortified old town, Dalt Vila, which dates back to Phoenician times. We’ve included some hotels in Ibiza that are open year-round.
On the other hand, most of the following hotels and restaurants shut up shop sometime between the club closing parties of October and the opening parties of May. If you do choose to come to Ibiza out of season, your best bet aside Ibiza Town is Santa Eulalia in the east, which remains lively year-round and is a favourite with locals; nearby Akasha is a rare year-round club if you’re intent on some party action.
Locals also take the chance to breathe and take stock in winter, and to enjoy untouristy festivals in winter such as the one dedicated to a local fish, the gerret, in Santa Eulalia each March.
Where to stay in Ibiza
Nobu, Talamanca Bay
If you’re looking for the level of service that will make you feel like a movie star without being queasily obsequious, this first European outpost of the iconic brand owned by Japanese chef Nobu Matsuhisa and Robert De Niro is your place. Nowhere else will you find such genuinely charming and congenial (and good-looking) staff, devoted to helping you indulge and switch off. Regular hiking and wellness retreats, yoga lessons and a Six Senses spa all conspire to help you achieve this.
With a delicious setting just outside Ibiza Town, on the beach promenade, Nobu Ibiza is the perfect escape from the fray while being just a quick taxi jaunt from many of the island’s main attractions, whether that be ferries for Formentera, the historic sights of Dalt Vila, or some of Ibiza’s best nightclubs. And despite the tranquillity, the pool vibe here is strong, with one of the coolest playlists on the island to wiggle your limbs to as you soak up the sun’s rays. Of the two fabulous cabana-lined seafront pools, one is is adult-only, the other is for families. if you do come with offspring, the kids’ club is beyond the ordinary, with everything from DJ-ing and sushi-making to beachcombing and sound healing.
Rooms and suites are stylish refuges sprinkled with hand-crafted ceramics and woven lamps, in an airy palette of whites, golds and aqua; some of the best suites have their own plunge pools. Cuisine-wise, Nobu (see below) is the obvious star here, but there’s also divine toes-in-the-sand dining at chiringuito-style Chambao, with modern takes on classics including gazpacho, clams, steak tartare, and tempura veg. Breakfasts are also out-of-this world, including detox juices, savoury tarts, Ibizan flatbreads, and out-of-this world cooked dishes such as Matsuhisa Benedict with poached eggs, crispy tofu, spinach, snow crab, shiso, hollandaise and salmon egg.
Can Lluc, San Rafael
If you’re looking for an Ibiza hideaway and restorative break, this family-run boutique agroturismo squirrelled away in pine forests at the end of a dirt track roughly halfway between Ibiza Town and party central San Antonio (about 15 minutes from each) ticks all the boxes, with a spa, yoga sessions, and an outdoor pool free of party tunes – only the sounds of unspoilt nature all around.
You can opt for one of the cosy, traditionally Ibizan rooms in the 300-year-old stone-walled ancestral house, complete with wooden ceilings and other original features, or blow the budget with a stay in one of the gorgeously designed pool villas with up to two bedrooms – some with heart-stirring valley, sunset and Med views, as well as indulgences such as outdoor showers.
Equal passion for top-notch hospitality has gone into the cuisine here, served in a restaurant with an expansive terrace and based on the estate’s own olive oil and ingredients from local fishermen, wineries and other producers – think sobrasada skewers and oxtail and truffle cannelloni, to name just two outstanding dishes, plus sublime breakfasts including traditional Ibizan mint cheesecake.
Hotel Montesol Experimental, Ibiza Town
Staying in the middle of the island capital might seem an unusual choice, but Montesol Experimental makes a convincing case for you to do so. Built in 1933, this neo-colonial building was only the first or second hotel on the island, predating the hippy invasion by three decades, and welcoming royals and celebs of the calibre of Orson Welles in its 1950s heyday.
In 2023, it reopened under the auspices of the hip, Paris-based Experimental Group, and its 33 rooms and suites bear all the hallmarks of designer Dorothée Meilichzon’s playful aesthetic - cosmic shapes including moons carved into walls to create an opening between the bedroom and bathroom, walls textured by hand-pressing seashells into the lime, and ceramic wall-hung masks, to take just a few examples.
The best rooms have stop-in-your tracks views up to Dalt Vila, as does the rooftop bar with its sultry DJ sets and sensational signature cocktails. It’s seasonal, but the hotel itself is open all year long (fairly rare in Ibiza, and making the Montesol perfect for an off-season and even winter break).
There’s sashimis, nigiris and other Asian-inflected seafood to be snaffled up here, or the ground-floor restaurant with its perfect-for-people-watching terrace on the passeig is a winner too, with standout dishes including chicken anticucho with jalapeño emulsion and burnt lemon. Breakfasts are cooked to order and as innovative as you’d expect from this boundary-pushing option, with the likes of roast sweet-potato toast with mollet egg and creme fraîche, plus Bloody Marys with sesame, miso and spicy tincture – the perfect hair of the dog after a night out in Ibiza Town.
There’s no pool here, but the same group runs the Experimental Beach Club at Ses Salines beach in the nature reserve of the same name a 20-minute taxi ride or drive away.
Where to eat in Ibiza
Madunia
For seriously swanky, special-occasion dining, this 2024 opening pulls out all the stops. With tables arrayed over a serious of lantern-lit terraces descending down a hillside on Cap Negret just north of rowdy party capital San Antonio, it offers all the romance and glamour of dining by starlight as lights twinkle on the sea below you.
To a funky playlist, you’ll be attended to by stellar staff who will guide you through the jaw-dropping menu by Arauz Beusink, trained in Michelin-starred restaurants and offering a micro-seasonal approach in dishes created to be shared around the table. Must-tries include red prawn carpaccio with finger lime, caviar and red prawn oil, and Spanish Wagyu slow-cooked short rib with rosemary and black garlic glace. And no dinner here is complete without a traditionally Ibizan café caleta – coffee laced with rum and brandy, set alight beside your table with great panache.
Nobu Ibiza
Dinner at Nobu Ibiza, under scorchingly talented and devastatingly handsome young Italian chef Enrico Maimonte, is a life-changing experience. And though it’s the iconic Japanese chef’s black cod miso that has been raved about for so long, it’s best to put yourself in the hands of the chef with the Taste of Ibiza Multi Course Menu – it’s personalised according to the freshest catch and seasonal produce. The yellowtail jalapeño is just one of the heavenly discoveries, while even those without a sweet tooth will be floored by desserts such as pistachio semifreddo.
The seafood is super-local, from the Pityusic Islands/Pine Islands (Ibiza, Formentera, uninhabited S'Espalmador and a few islets) and there’s an extraordinary wine list to let the savvy sommelier guide you through – although cocktails such as salicornia margarita with samphire, olive oil and lime juice will rival any of its vintages for your affections.
Niko
Dare we say it, the black cod served at this modern Japanese restaurant in the Mondrian Hotel in Cala Llonga rivals and possibly even trumps its rival Nobu. Not as buzzy as Nobu but with exquisite views over the gorgeous bay and its lush hinterland, it similarly offers Japanese haute cuisine of a breathtaking level, based on Mediterranean produce and served by enchanting staff well equipped to guide you through the excellent range of sakes, if that’s your tipple. There’s also a large sushi counter where you can watch the chefs work their magic.
Sidrería Poma
Tucked away in a quiet corner of Ibiza Town, off busier Passeig de Vara de Rey, this lo-fi little cider bar serves authentic Austurian cuisine to a mainly local crowd. From a changing chalkboard, you can choose from such delights as fabada, a bean stew with chorizo, morcilla and pork belly, and carne guisada (beef stew), plus lots of tapas dishes. And there are good cocktails and wines as well as regional cider to quaff.
Where to swim in Ibiza
The secret coves of the north-east coast
Largely removed from the island’s party hotspots, the north-east coast is a place of quiet coves, many accessible only by foot. Some of my favourites are Cala d'en Serra and Cala Mestella, both with old fisherman’s boathouses and low-key beach bars serving Spanish classics by daytime.
Ses Salines Beach
In the diagonally opposite corner of the island, in the south-west beyond the airport, Ses Salines sits in the nature reserve of the same name – an otherworldly place of shimmering salt flats, pine woods and golden dunes. There’s a variety of beach clubs and bars close to the car park, including the Experimental Beach Club run by the same folk as the Hotel Montesol; the further you walk along the sand towards the rocks, the more nudist the beach becomes. The saltiness of the sea here makes swimming a somewhat buoyant experience.
Cala d'Hort Beach
This beach is best known as a place to watch the sun set behind Es Vedra – the supposedly sacred rock off Ibiza’s west coast, said to be the third-most magnetic spot on Earth, the birthplace of the Phoenicia goddess of spirituality and the moon, Tanit, or the home o the sirens of Greek mythology. But whatever time of day you come, it’s lovely for swimming, or for body surfing when the breeze is up.
What to do in Ibiza
Explore Ibiza Town
The island capital often gets overlooked by holidaymakers dashing off to the beach resorts, but its historic old town Dalt Vila is a World Heritage site complete with a castle, a cathedral, Renaissance walls, cobblestoned streets and a Museum of Contemporary Art to check out. There’s also an archaeological museum where you can study finds from the island's necropolis sites. Meanwhile, the yacht-filled port is brilliant for people-watching, especially by night.
Dance!
Ibiza’s superclubs (including Pacha, Amnesia and Hï Ibiza) are legendary for good reason, putting on globally revered DJs and spectacular shows, but there’s also plenty for those who prefer a more intimate vibe. Above San Antonio, legendary hotel and club Pikes, open only to over-27s, is where the island’s music scene started; Freddie Mercury celebrated his 40th birthday here and you can now dance in what was his favourite suite, tiny club space Freddies. Wham! also filmed their iconic Club Tropicana video by and in its pool.
Another relatively intimate and grown-up spot is Club Chinois in Ibiza Town’s marina, with eye-widening immersive effects. And from 2025, look out for the world's first hyper-club, [UNVRS], on the one-time site of Privilege nightclub.
Sail Away to Formentera
The quietest and smallest of the inhabited Balearics, Formentera is a place to get away from the party frenzy of Ibiza, whether for a day trip or longer (it’s just half an hour away by the quickest ferries). Once here, hire a bicycle/e-bike or a scooters and head off in search of its beaches (many of them wilder than Ibiza’s), lighthouses, green routes (rural tracks and paths) and artisan markets. There are few cars on the island and lots of lovely places to stop for a seafood feast.
British Airways flies from London Gatwick to Ibiza for as little as £46 one way.
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