Whenever I think of Ibiza I think of clubbing, hen parties and stags. After all, the Balearic island is world renowned for its nightlife and clubbing – with famous DJs hosting club nights and beach parties. But what if you’re not into that? Or in my case… a bit old for that? Is Ibiza worth visiting for non-clubbers and people who don’t want to party? Can Ibiza be a place to go for a quiet, relaxing holiday? Absolutely! Ibiza is actually a very chill island with loads of things to do for non-clubbers and families. And I love a chill island!
Disclaimer: My trip to Ibiza was provided by Jet2 Holidays to showcase their short breaks and flights to Ibiza. Whilst they provided the hotel, flights and transfers, I chose my own accommodation, restaurants and all my activities. Everything shared in this blog post is from my personal experiences.
Getting to Ibiza from London
Our flights from London Stansted Airport were with Jet2 at 5:55 AM on a Thursday so we stayed the night on Wednesday at Hampton by Hilton London Stansted Airport. I’m not a massive fan of early flights – mainly because I don’t sleep well the night before as I’m worried about missing the alarm… but the great thing about an early flight meant that we landed at around 9:30 AM in Ibiza, giving us more time to explore!
What I loved about flying with Jet2 for this trip to Ibiza was that we could check in our luggage the night before using their Twilight Service. This meant that in the morning we just headed straight through to security! As a bit of an anxious flier, this brought me great joy.
When we landed in Ibiza we had a transfer with Jet2 booked directly to our hotel, which was perfect. It was easy to locate the bus, especially as the Jet2 staff were so helpful, and we were at our hotel in about 30 mins. Great service!
Where to stay in Ibiza
There are so many options when it comes to quiet and family friendly areas to stay in Ibiza. When I was researching hotels in Ibiza with Jet2holidays I was looking for a hotel that oozed luxury, had a great location and fabulous facilities. I found that in Aguas de Ibiza Grand Deluxe Hotel!
Located in the beautiful area of Santa Eulalia, the hotel is just steps away from the marina and the promenade that takes you to the beach. There are loads of restaurants in walking distance but Aguas de Ibiza Grand Deluxe Hotel also has two restaurants to choose from should you wish to eat at the hotel – Alabastro Lounge and Maymanta, which is their rooftop restaurant. Just look at the views!
And if you think a rooftop restaurant is boujee… wait until you see the adults-only rooftop pool! Just imagine yourself lying on one of these sunbeds, in the water, with a cocktail in hand…. bliss. Did I mention there’s a rooftop bar too?
And if you have little ones, there are two outdoor pools in the garden area, including a children’s pool. There’s also a kids club if you need some adult-only time (so you can enjoy the spa or rooftop pool!).
Speaking of the spa… Aquas de Ibiza Grand Luxe hotel has a fabulous spa with steam rooms, saunas, a Turkish bath and Whirlpool. Plus of course you can book massage treatments and facials.
We stayed in a Premier room, which was huge! The room was light and airy and had a gorgeous bathtub, large shower as well as a big balcony. We didn’t have the best view but that didn’t bother me at all. The room was so lovely, I was happy to just stay inside!
For me, the only thing the hotel could’ve improved about the room was having USB plug points by the bed. Mainly because I brought the wrong travel adaptor and had to go buy one at a local shop. I think all hotels should have them as standard!
We had breakfast included and it was really good! One of the best breakfast buffets I’d had in a long time, plus they had other items you could order, such as pancakes and omelettes. They also have Cava if you like a glass of bubbles with your breakfast. You can opt to sit inside or outside and the restaurant is only open for breakfast.
Take a look at my YouTube short to see more of Aguas de Ibiza Grand Luxe Hotel.
Getting around Ibiza
Ibiza is pretty big at 572 square kilometers so there’s lots to explore. Yes there are buses but I’d highly recommend hiring a car, or in our case a scooter. This way you can explore the island at your leisure and visit as many beaches and small towns as you like – whenever you like. Taxis are plentiful but they are not cheap. A couple of nights we got taxis to dinner so we could have some wine and a 30 minute taxi ride cost around €40.
We contacted the concierge at our hotel, Aguas de Ibiza Grand Luxe, in advance of our stay to organise our scooter. The company, Turbo, collected us at the hotel and took us to their office nearby in Es Canar to sign the contract. They also collected the scooter at the hotel when we left, which was super convenient! There was also plenty of free parking outside the hotel. Also, with a scooter we never struggled to find parking or even had to pay for it.
Top things to do in Ibiza
If you’re not into clubbing or partying, there are so many other things to do in Ibiza! Here’s a list of the top things to do in Ibiza.
Visit a market
If you love a market, then you’ll love Ibiza as there’s a market on somewhere around the island every day. Here is a list of every market in Ibiza and when they are open, to help you plan your trip.
Ibiza’s most famous market, the Hippy Market Punta ArabÃ, was actually really close to our hotel in Santa Eulalia but of course it wasn’t open the days that we were on holiday! It’s open on Wednesdays and we arrived on a Thursday. So if this is high on your list, make sure you’re in Ibiza on a Wednesday!
Every Friday, Saturday and Sunday (from May to October) you can visit the market at Benirrás beach. It’s open until 10pm so you can visit it during the day or before or after you watch the sun go down. Apparently Benirrás beach is a great place to see the sunset and often there are musicians – sounds like a vibe!
If a car boot market is more your thing, there’s one every Saturday almost all year round at Sant Jordi. Another market that’s open all year round is Las Dalias de Ibiza. They also have night markets on certain nights but check their website for dates.
Explore Dalt Vila, Ibiza’s Old Town
One of the absolute highlights of our short break to Ibiza was visiting Dalt Vila! It surpassed all my expectations. Dalt Vila is Ibiza’s fortified Old Town and a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Dalt Vila is home to Ibiza Castle and the 13th-century Cathedral of Nuestra Señora de las Nieves. I highly recommend going inside the Cathedral as it’s stunning – and free to visit. You don’t have to spend very long and it’s definitely worth seeing.
We started at the top of Dalt Vila and had a coffee in a lovely square before we started the walk along the fortified walls, which lead to the Cathedral. There’s also a few spots along the walk where you can get great views over the Mediterranean Sea.
There are lots of cute buildings, churches and museums and when you get down to the bottom, near the gate, there are lots of shops and restaurants too.
It’s so picturesque, you’ll be wanting to take photos everywhere! How cute is this bar? I bet at night it must be so lovely.
And of course I found my spiritual home when I spotted this Spritzeria! If you’re looking for an Aperol Spritz this is the place to go!
We spent around half a day exploring Dalt Vila and the Old Town, including stopping for some lunch at La Brasa. We definitely could’ve spent longer but the beach was calling!
Visit the small villages
Ibiza has lots of small villages all around the island – each with their own charm. On our first day we visited Santa Gertrudis. Despite the weather not being great that day, we had a lovely time. Santa Gertrudis has loads of great restaurants and independent shops as well as a pedestrianised street so that you can enjoy a meal or walk around without any cars bothering you.
In the heart of the village sits a Catholic church called Santa Gertrudis de Fruitera. It’s white with a yellow bell tower and it dates back to the 18th century. It’s very beautiful inside and definitely worth a visit. It’s also free to visit.
We did head to Sant Antoni de Portmany, which is the part of the island that clubbers flock to. It has a marina and a lovely long promenade which we walked along. There also lots of boats here where you can go on excursions. We definitely wouldn’t stay in this area but it was nice for a walk! Plus, it feels like you can’t come to Ibiza and not see it. And if you’re a ‘people watcher’, you’ll love it.
Other places to to add to your list to visit are Sant Joan de Labritja, Santa Agnès de Corona, Sant Agustà des Vedrà and Es Cubells.
Chill on a beach
Ibiza has some fabulous beaches! As we went in mid-May we didn’t go to as many beaches as we would have in hotter weather. The weather was definitely hot enough to sunbathe but the water was cold! My husband did manage a swim on our last day but I only braved it enough to go up to my thighs.
If you decide to stay in Santa Eulalia, they have a lovely beach below a long promenade – so you’re really close to shops, restaurants and bars. Plus, what a view! One part of the beach also has sunbeds and umbrellas to rent if that’s more your style.
We really liked the beach at Cala Tarida, which is also a good beach for families. You can rent sunbeds and umbrellas and there are a few places to buy food and drink. It’s a lovely, sandy beach with easy access to the water.
Another beach we visited was Cala d’Hort which has views of the rocky island of Es Vedrà . Apparently this is one of the best places to view the sunset as the sun slips behind the island. The beach is sandy on one side and has pebbles on the other and you can rent sunbeds. There are also restaurants, which have amazing views of the beach and Es Vedrà .
And of course, if you have time, you can always do a day trip to Formentera. We didn’t have enough time to go as we were only in Ibiza for three nights, but it’s absolutely on our list when we are next in Ibiza. The water looks incredible! Plus it only takes about 30 minutes on a ferry.
Eat amazing food
My husband and I were so impressed with the food in Ibiza and there’s a couple of restaurants we would fly to Ibiza just to eat there again! Here are the restaurants in Ibiza that we would recommend.
Sa Capella
One of the restaurants we would absolutely fly back to Ibiza for is Sa Capella, which is located in a 16th century chapel near to Sant Antoni de Portmany.
It has a beautiful outdoor dining area but trust me, this is one restaurant where you definitely want to be seated inside! It’s probably one of the most beautiful restaurants I’ve ever been to in my life. And of course photos will never do it justice…
Inside the lighting is just perfect (for us, anyway!) and we loved the old stone walls – just utterly amazing. It’s so atmospheric.
We were very lucky to be sat right in front of the open kitchen where they were cooking on open fire. I love being able to watch the chefs work! They were really friendly too and even posed for a photo at the end of our meal.
The food was absolutely incredible. I’m still thinking about the smoked Wagyu carpaccio…. and the ribeye was cooked to perfection. We had an amazing, truly memorable evening. Yes it was expensive, but 100% worth it!
Junto’s House
Junto’s House is located in the village of Sant Mateu and is a farm-to-table restaurant with a boutique shop selling carefully selected sustainable products, including clothing and homeware. We got a taxi here and it took us about 25 mins from our hotel in Santa Eulalia.
A top tip is to arrive before it’s dark as the setting is just beautiful! As it was only mid-May, I thought they might seat us inside but they sat everyone outside. Luckily there were heaters and blankets as it got pretty chilly!
All of the food is locally sourced and they even have their own farm, so all the vegetables (which are seasonal, of course) are from 0 km away. If you’re big on sustainability, you’ll love Junto’s House!
The menu isn’t divided into clear starters, mains and desserts but rather small plates and sharing plates. We started with two vegetable dishes as a starter – the carrots with a citrus dressing and the roasted pumpkin that had a fairly spicy sort of pesto!
For our mains, we ordered the lamb shoulder – which is to share. It came with baby potatoes and a big salad. It was substantial! The lamb was absolutely delicious although it lacked a little bit of salt – luckily easily remedied. For dessert we had a chocolate ganache, which was utterly decadent and a great way to round off the meal.
We absolutely loved our meal at Junto’s House. The setting is just beautiful, the food was great and the service was excellent. We would definitely go back!
Giri Cafe
We actually just stumbled across Giri Cafe when we were visiting San Joan de Labritja. It is very unassuming from the outside and we almost chose the restaurant across the road, which had a large terrace. I’m so glad we didn’t because tucked away was the most gorgeous garden restaurant!
It’s pretty big too so we had plenty of tables to choose from – and to be honest, even the inside of the restaurant is really stylish. I imagine in peak season though that you would probably need to book but mid-May we didn’t have any issue getting a table.
The menu is predominantly Mediterranean and seasonal. They use vegetables and herbs from their own garden as well as food sourced from local markets. We wanted a bit of a light lunch so we ordered chicken croquettes (which were delicious) and a couple of salads to share.
I highly recommend Giri Cafe for a leisurely lunch in a stunning setting. The food was great and the service was really good.
Lagom
We had lunch at Lagom on our first day in Ibiza as it’s in Santa Eulalia, right by our hotel. We chose it because it looked really stylish and had a great view over the marina – even though the weather wasn’t great that afternoon. When it rains… drink Cava!
We ordered some grilled squid and beef carpaccio to start, which were beautifully presented and very yummy. We then shared a whole grilled seabass for our main, which was perfectly cooked. Oddly it didn’t come with any sides and we thought about ordering some potato but decided to save our appetite for dinner!
We had a wonderful lunch at Lagom. Lovely setting, great food and service. In the evening you can also enjoy a pre-dinner drink here, overlooking the boats in the marina.
La Brasa
After walking around the Old Town we decided to have lunch before heading to a beach for the afternoon. We walked past La Brasa and thought it looked utterly charming so we decided to eat here. It had only just opened its doors so we were the only table at first, but then slowly more people arrived. We chose to sit in the garden-like area, which has more shade, but they also had outside tables at the back which had more sun.
To be honest, we didn’t order a lot of food as we just wanted a light lunch. We only had some fried zucchini flowers with mozzarella and anchovies and some chicken and ham croquettes. I have to say the croquettes didn’t look that great when they arrived but they were really tasty! The zucchini flowers were delicious and also slightly unusual as they had a bit of sweet chili sauce and seaweed salad on the top.
I don’t feel like we had enough food to say whether it’s really good or not food-wise, but the setting is absolutely stunning! The service was great and the Cava was perfectly chilled. What more could you ask for?
So that’s how we spent three nights in Ibiza! It was the perfect short break and just what we needed to recharge and enjoy a different country and culture. I hope, if you’re not into clubbing, that I’ve inspired you to visit!
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