The vacation on Ibiza is already a while ago, but there is still a blogpost about it – as you could read in my last monthly review, I just don't get the time to blog regularly in the last weeks. But now! In Ibiza I not only spent a lot of time on the beach and in the old town of Eivissa, but I also drove around the island by car for one day. From Ibiza town, where I could pick up the rental car for 65 euros a day in the morning, I headed north of the island. In this blogpost I will take you a little bit to the great beaches and places I have seen there!
The northeast of Ibiza
While the south and southwest of Ibiza is the ideal starting point especially for party people, I experienced the northeast of the island a little more quietly. With many smaller and somewhat quieter beaches and smaller towns, but also by the nature here. Because north of Ibiza Town the island becomes much more mountainous – perfect for hiking, I think! Unfortunately it didn't work out for me, because I could pick up the rental car quite late in the morning and had only until the evening (so I couldn't leave early enough to go hiking before the midday heat). But even for those who don't want to go hiking, a trip to the northeast of the island is definitely worthwhile!
Santa EulAria d'es Riu
The first stop from my one-day road trip on Ibiza I made in Santa EulAria d'es Riu. The town is located in the east of Ibiza, a good 20 minutes drive from Eivissa. Parking is no problem near the harbor there. And although Santa EulAria is the second largest city on the island, it is much quieter here than in Eivissa and Sant Antoni. After a long walk through the city center including the harbor promenade and a stop at the hippie market, I had a drink in a cafe before heading back to the car. To be honest, I expected more activity, but I was in Ibiza just before the high season (and the summer vacations). I can imagine that especially Santa EulAria is a little bit more crowded in vacation times, because the place is very family friendly. To be honest, I didn't visit the church with the viewpoint Puig de Missa anymore – I mainly felt like getting back into the car and discovering even more places. The view from the hill to the city is supposed to be very nice though.
Cala de San Vincente
From Santa EulAria we continued by car to Cala de San Vincente. I had no great expectations of the place, and had considered possibly spending some time on the beach here. However, it was quite crowded – and to be honest I was looking for a smaller, more secluded beach. Cala de San Vincente with the hotels around it is quieter than Ibiza Town, but the beach is similar: lots of deck chairs, wide sandy beach and so on. Sure, this is also kind of nice, but just not what I was looking for that day. Accordingly, after a short stopover, I got back into the car relatively quickly to drive to a beach of which I had expected much more.
Punta Xarraca
Found the beach Punta Xarraca. Already the way there was a little adventure. And this although the beach is only about five minutes drive by car from the main road. Because the road is quite steep and narrow, as soon as a car comes towards you, it's definitely tight. And also the parking situation is anything but ideal – an unpaved and very narrow parking lot that was already quite full when I arrived. I was glad when I squeezed the car into a corner and at that time I didn't want to think about how I should get out of there later on. That went namely only backwards, and quite far. But first: Beach! The bay was, although it was quite crowded, very quiet. There is only one small restaurant, which is correspondingly expensive. So it is worth to take enough food with you!
I first enjoyed the view and took a few photos. Over a narrow way it went still on a rock, from which one has a mad view of the light-blue water – is worthwhile itself in any case! After that I relaxed on the beach. Unfortunately, there was very little shade at Punta Xarraca, so I quickly realized that the beach is not ideal for me with my susceptibility to sunburns. After an ice cream in the restaurant I started the adventure to park the car and drive back to the main road to my last stop: Port de Sant Miquel!
Apparently there are some great grottos near Punta Xarraca, which are best discovered on foot. As I wrote before, it was just too hot at the end of June for me to go for a walk or a hike in the middle of the day, but the caves are definitely on the agenda for the next vacation!
Port de Sant Miquel
The last stop of the day was in Port de Sant Miquel. Here you can park much more relaxed, and also here is a small and relatively quiet beach. After a refreshment in one of the restaurants directly at the beach I decided to spend the rest of the day here and rented a sun lounger (with parasol). Finally into the water, lying in the sun and reading a lot! Unfortunately always with a look at the clock, because I had to return the rental car already at half past seven in Eivissa. But it was definitely worth it, it was really relaxing and nice!
Precisely because I liked the tranquility of northeastern Ibiza so much, I can well imagine booking a hotel on this side of the island next time, instead of in Ibiza Town. Even if the journey from the airport is a bit longer, it is definitely worth it if you are not looking for a party.
I ended the evening in Ibiza town with tappas and a cocktail before walking back to my hotel. Have you ever been to Ibiza?? And if so, how did you like it there?