Things to do in Ibiza

Citorah PickBeach

Llevant

Citorah says Ride out to Ses Illetes or Llevant, on either side of the Trucadors peninsula, in the Ses Salines Natural Park: from La Savina, follow the road beside the Estany Pudent.

Citorah PickBeach

Cala d’Hort

Citorah says The beach itself is coarse golden sand with a shallow, kid-safe entry, maybe 180m long, fringed by pines that give actual shade on the south end if you’re there before 11. The point of coming is Es Vedrà — the limestone monolith parked offshore (382 or 413 metres tall, depending on whose figures you read) that makes Salinas look like a car park with cocktails. Salinas is where Ibiza performs; Cala d’Hort is where it sits still.

Wrong for Anyone wanting a DJ, bottle service, or to be seen.

Citorah PickBeach

Cala Salada

Citorah says It’s family-friendly, not naturist, not party-adjacent — the opposite of Salinas, where €35 buys you a sunbed next to a podcaster recording his life.

Wrong for Anyone wanting a DJ, a cocktail list, or table service to their towel.

Citorah PickBeach

Es Cavallet

Citorah says Salinas is where the influencers go to be photographed; Es Cavallet is where the people who live in Ibiza go to actually swim. It’s the island’s historic gay beach, still the most relaxed mixed crowd you’ll find, and on quiet days the only soundtrack is the wind in the dunes.

Wrong for Under-fives wanting a calm cove, and for anyone allergic to the sight of a naked German.

Citorah PickBeach

Las Salinas

Citorah says The beach itself is fine pale sand, about 1.5km long, water shelves gently for 20m before deepening — kids can stand, but it’s not a paddling-pool bay. Shade is real here, which is the whole point: the pine forest at the back means you can actually sit out a 35°C afternoon without renting a bed.

Wrong for Anyone wanting quiet — by 14:00 in July it’s a parade.

Citorah PickBeach

Cala Comte

Citorah says What you’re walking onto is four linked coves of pale gold sand looking out at Illa des Bosc and Sa Conillera — shallow, turquoise, properly Caribbean-looking water, and that’s not hyperbole, it’s the geology.

Wrong for If you came to Ibiza to be seen — there’s no DJ, no €30 cocktail.

Citorah PickBeach

Saladeta

Citorah says Then a goat-track scramble over the headland to Saladeta, the smaller sister cove, which is the one you actually want: finer sand, fewer bodies, water so clear the boats look like they’re floating on glass.

The catch The Saladeta access track sits behind the same summer barrier — if there’s a chain across it, walk over the headland from Salada (5 minutes, sandals fine). Don’t drive a hire car down it under any circumstance.

Citorah PickBeach · The north

Cala Benirràs

Citorah says What it has instead is the sunset drum circle the cove has been famous for since the 70s — though since 2020 the Sant Joan municipality has imposed restrictions on the Sunday sessions in particular (crowd, parking, noise), so the schedule now drifts: informal drumming most evenings, the bigger Sunday gatherings sometimes officially curtailed and sometimes happening anyway.

Wrong for If you wanted loungers, cocktails on tap, or a flat shore for toddlers

Citorah PickBeach · The north

Aigües Blanques

Citorah says It’s the island’s longest-running officially nudist stretch, which keeps the day-trippers and bachelor parties away and means the vibe is older, quieter, mostly couples and regulars. Pick this over Salinas when you want the sea without the EDM and the €35 sunbeds.

Wrong for Families with small kids, anyone shy about nudity, and anyone who needs a beach club.

Citorah PickBeach · The north

Cala Xarraca

Citorah says What you get: a small horseshoe of dark coarse sand and pebbles maybe 80 metres across, hemmed in by rust-coloured rock that drops fast into clear water — proper snorkelling depth within ten strokes of shore, octopus and bream if you bring a mask.

Wrong for If you wanted a flat sandy expanse for a toddler or a beach club lunch with bottle service.

Citorah PickBeach

Cala Tarida

Citorah says Go to Cala Tarida instead and drive forty minutes for actual water.

Citorah PickBeach

S’Estanyol

Citorah says If you’ve only got the afternoon and you don’t want to drive, walk the coastal path round Cap Martinet to S’Estanyol — the tiny single chiringuito on the sand does a fair grilled fish for €22 and a Mahou for €4, no reservations, cash. Actual water, no ferry wash.

Citorah PickBeach

Migjorn

Citorah says You’ll cross the spine and drop down to the Migjorn coast — the southern stretch, a long curved beach that runs about 5 km. This is where the locals’ beach bars are.

Citorah PickBeach

Cala Saona

Citorah says Cala Saona is a small horseshoe bay with the best sunset on Formentera — west-facing, framed by red cliffs on both sides, far less crowded than Ses Illetes (which is on the north peninsula and absolutely dies after the day-charter boats leave).

Citorah PickBeach

Ses Illetes

Citorah says Beautiful beach, unquestionably. But by 11:00 it’s covered in superyacht tenders, the sand is invisible, and the chiringuitos are charging €25 for a club sandwich. Hit Ses Illetes in May or September if you want to see why it’s famous — or just anchor offshore for an hour, swim, leave.

Citorah PickBeach

S’Espalmador

Citorah says S’Espalmador — the tiny uninhabited island between Ibiza and Formentera with shallow turquoise water and a protected lagoon where mud bathing is banned (fines run to €1,000)

Citorah PickBeach · The north

Portinatx

Citorah says Portinatx, a former fishing port, has several small sandy coves.

Citorah PickBeach · Santa Eulària

Platja de Santa Eulària

Citorah says The town beach, the Platja de Santa Eulària, is right in the centre, in front of a tree-lined promenade that leads to the marina and the Puig de Missa.

Citorah PickSight · Ibiza Town

Dalt Vila

Citorah says A gentle last day in Dalt Vila, Ibiza Town’s old quarter, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1999. ibiza.travel says its streets are full of craft workshops, restaurants and small galleries, so have a final dinner up in the old town rather than at the marina

Citorah PickSight

Es Vedrà

Citorah says The point of coming is Es Vedrà — the limestone monolith parked offshore (382 or 413 metres tall, depending on whose figures you read) that makes Salinas look like a car park with cocktails.

Citorah PickSight

Far de la Mola

Citorah says The eastern tip of the island, the highest point, the lighthouse Jules Verne wrote about. The road climbs gently: the only real hill on Formentera, easy with an engine and the one climb of the day on a bicycle.

Citorah PickDay trip

Formentera

Citorah says The Ibiza → Formentera day trip is the single best thing you can do here that almost nobody on a “best of Ibiza” list mentions.

Citorah PickDay trip

Es Pujols

Citorah says Es Pujols is the only proper “town” on Formentera with a beach attached

Citorah PickDay trip

Santa Gertrudis

Citorah says Santa Gertrudis de Fruitera sits at the geographic centre of the island. Its restaurants, cafés and boutiques draw visitors and locals all year, the Santa Eulària council’s tourism site says, though summer nights are the liveliest.

Citorah PickBoat party · San Antonio

Pukka Up

Citorah says If this is your first Ibiza boat party, take Pukka Up. It has been running since 2003 and calls itself “the original Ibiza boat party”. The format is simple: a two-hour pre-party at Rio Ibiza, on Sant Antoni’s Passeig de la Mar, then a three-hour sunset boat. Every 2026 ticket included a welcome drink and two sangrias.

The catch You had to swap your ticket for a wristband at Rio Ibiza by 17:00 (16:00 in September and October), and latecomers lost boat and club entry with no refund.

Citorah PickBoat party · San Antonio

Float Your Boat

Citorah says Float Your Boat is the music-led one. The vibe reads “we came for the DJ”, not “we came for the photos”.

The catch Two sailings a week, against Pukka Up’s three, so there are fewer dates to choose from.

Citorah PickBoat party · Playa d’en Bossa

Oceanbeat

Best for groups who’d rather pay once with the drinks included · anyone staying on Playa d’en Bossa

Citorah says Oceanbeat checks in at Vanilla Beach on Playa d’en Bossa, and its site is now oceanbeat.com. It lists a maximum of 200 guests a party. Its terms say check-in may vary from Playa d’en Bossa to San Antonio, so check your booking. The vibe is closer to a floating festival than a party boat.

Wrong for Anyone who hates crowds. Two hundred people on a deck is exactly that many.