Hi! I’m Kelsey, and I studied abroad with Demetra and Sarah (and the many other lovely people) in London where we all met and became wonderful friends, and continue to this day being friends since we all live in Chicago together. Isn’t that a happy story? Now, I also traveled a lot during my time in the United Kingdom and ended up doing a few different trips that Sarah and Dem didn’t do, one of these was Ibiza.
When people hear of Ibiza they tend to think of nightclubs and endless parties, and if you travel to Ibiza in the summer months when that is all going on then you’re probably right, but I traveled to Ibiza in April. It is still warm and sunny and everything you expect of Ibiza, but it is considered the off-season and all those crazy nightclubs are closed and the island is mostly residents and the occasional tourist. This was the third stop of a two week spring break trip with our friends Emily and Karly, and was a welcome break from the hustle and bustle of a city, since we had visited Lisbon and Madrid in the week before.
We stayed in Sant Antoni on the western side of the island, away from the busier Ibiza Town on the Eastern Island. I recommend that if you want to go to Ibiza for the party, stay in Ibiza Town, but if you want a little less party go to Sant Antoni. This is where you can get all the gorgeous sunset photos that you can show off to your family when you get home, and the beaches will be a little less crowded.
We stayed in this little family owned hotel on the island, and as soon as we landed at 6am ended up napping for a little while before getting up and heading to the beaches before lunch, which were only about a 15 minute walk from our hotel. The first place we found was this adorable little cove that seemed a little like a hidden treasure to us after walking across a rocky stretch to get there.
We thought that this would be the perfect spot to stretch out and enjoy the sun, because when we got to the beach there was only two other people there.Then, we realized why there were only two others there; the beach was uncomfortable. It was all rock and there happened to be an angry duck guarding his waters so we couldn’t go into the water without being attacked. We were there for less than 20 minutes before we decided to walk down the coast to find a more comfortable spot. We walked about 10 minutes south before we found another beach that was more comfortable, and proceeded to lay out for a few hours. I of course took this opportunity to jump in the water at one point, before we decided to go adventure down the beach for a late lunch. This was probably the only time on the trip where we did not purchase Sangria, and instead got ourselves some of those girly beach cocktails (I got a sex on the beach…) and a delicious pizza lunch overlooking the ocean.
(Left: Me & Karly on the beach)
We quickly realized that everything on an island is more expensive, so we decided that for the rest of the this stop we would try to eat only one meal out, and then eat breakfast and pack a lunch by shopping at the local grocery stores. I recommend that anyone do this. You get to save a ton of money and you end up getting the snacks you enjoy, plus, wine is cheap and you can drink so much more shopping for yourself!
Unfortunately, this plan didn’t work so well the next day. We got up and had our breakfast at the hotel (they had the most amazing fresh squeezed orange juice!) and decided to taxi out to the incredible beach at Cala Bassa. It was off season the beach was not completely packed and it was the perfect warm day to spend there. The beach had these incredible rock ledges that looked out into the Balearic Sea, while the sand was incredibly soft and provided a great surface for reading and naps. This ended up being my favorite beach we visited through the whole of our spring break trip, since we were able to jump into fun little coves and explore around the rocky beach area as well as enjoy the sand and ocean water.
We ended up purchasing fresh fruit from a vendor on the beach and assumed we would lunch out that afternoon or go to a nearby store. What we didn’t know is that there is only one local restaurant at Cala Bassa, and that is the very expensive beach club. We purchased a jug of Sangria and our meals, to spend almost 100 euro. The Sangria was delicious though, and they put in some fresh mint to add an extra kick that I really enjoyed. This just reminded me that we need to plan ahead and research more before heading out.
(Top: Cala Bassa Beach)
We then called a cab from the beach and went back to our hotel, where we ate and then quickly went to watch the sunset. Ibiza had the best sunsets of our trip, and I recommend staying on the Sant Antoini side of the island for this reason alone.
Our next day was pretty uneventful as we spent it exploring the city of Sant Antoni, laying on another beach (closer to our hotel), and doing some shopping before leaving the next day. This night was probably my favorite spent, as we ended up purchasing two bottles of wine and just enjoyed those while we watched our last Ibiza sunset. My friend Karly had brought her camera with and we ended up getting some gorgeous photos of our last sunset and of us just hanging together. These ended up being some of my favorite photos from the trip, captured before we left early the next morning to catch our flight to Barcelona.
( Karly’s incredible photo of sunset through the wine bottle)
Ibiza was an incredible place to visit and I recommend it for anyone. It was by far the most relaxed part of our trip and the most time I have ever spent on a beach. Going during off season was right for us, as we loved the break from the busy of a city life, and I am sure during the summer months it can be even more beautiful and provide an amazing party if that is your thing.
Thanks for letting me share my experiences with you!
Runaway Blond 