Published
Fri, Jul 22, 2011, 09:05
- Our White Isle correspondent advises on where to go when you're not in party mode.
If you come to Ibiza and only check out the clubs you're missing the bigger picture. Clubbing in Ibiza didn't happen by chance. It has its roots firmly in over 2,000 years of tolerance for hedonism; the clubs are merely the most well-known by-product. The Balearic vibe is difficult to describe, but resonates with most people who have experienced the island.
There are evergreen and almost world famous places, like Ses Salines beach which—despite attempts to protect it—has managed to become (arguably) the most famous strip of sand on the island. It doesn't get more Balearic than Jon Sa Trinxa, long time resident at Sa Trinxa beach bar, selecting every genre of music imaginable as the tide laps around your feet. Recommending a beach at this stage, though, would be unwise, not least because everyone has different tastes. We all know what happened to coves like Benirras after everyone started talking about them. Ibiza is tiny: You can explore and find your own secluded beach in less than 20 minutes.
From a culinary point of view, there is perhaps a slight edge towards quantity over quality, but the destination restaurants are very much like the club nights. Established places like Can Pilot (San Rafael), Il Giardenetto (Marina Botafoc) and KM5 (San Jose) have spent years doing it better than the mass mediocrity proffered by tourist resorts. There is most definitely a glitterati circuit, focusing on non-club nightlife. The names of these places are almost as well known as Bora Bora or Café Del Mar, Bambuddha Groove and L'Elephant being the most obvious examples.
Formentera is a small island to the south of Ibiza that takes the idea of escapism further. It has no airport and—despite some busy resorts—it's essentially tranquility personified. Day trips leave by boat from Ibiza Town and you can either slide your way through sand dune after sand dune in search of the perfect patch of playa, or explore the isolated countryside. Both provide a welcome break from the relative hustle and bustle of Ibiza. Exploring the countryside in Ibiza can be equally as interesting too. The plateau near Es Vedra (the huge island rock near Ibiza) is a truly spectacular and breathtaking to watch the sunset. (It's a cliché for a reason.)
There are two main hippy markets on the island as well. Es Canar has one on Wednesday, while San Carlos takes over on Saturday. Las Dalias, renowned for its hippy advocacy and psy-trance parties also opens as a night market at 8 PM on Monday. Hippy culture isn't particularly visible anymore in Ibiza but it's still there. Somewhere like Las Dalias is the perfect place to throw yourself in at the deep end in pursuit.