Spain, Spain, Travel blog

Quiet and relaxing Ibiza holidays – No Party!

Quiet and relaxing Ibiza holidays 2

Ibiza is known for two things: never ending parties and sunset.. but mostly for parties! Nevertheless, you can still spend a quiet and relaxing Ibiza holidays, away from the party crowd.

Because of it’s party reputation, Ibiza is often forgotten by who is looking for a relaxing holiday in favor of calmer Mediterranean islands, like Mallorca or Sardinia.

Truth is, there is so much to do and see on this island that parties are just a small part of what you can do and therefore it is also suitable for who is looking for relaxing Ibiza holidays!

Staying in the quiet part of Ibiza

Ibiza is the third largest of the Balearic Islands, less than an hour flight from Barcelona (which is why normally flights from Barcelona to Ibiza are very cheap).

It is relatively small. You can easily drive from West to East in about an hour, so it doesn’t really matter where you will stay. The best is to rent a car in Ibiza anyways.

While Ibiza Town is the most crowded area. The North side is wilder and with less touristic infrastructure. For relaxing Ibiza holidays, consider staying in one of the nice farmhouses or private villas around Saint Josep, Portinatx or San Rafael; you might not have a sea view but a beautiful panorama on the green valleys. Santa Eulalia is a town in the east part of the island and is much quieter as Ibiza town and is a good alternative if you want to have restaurants and shopping options witout the party crowd. It is also know as the gastronomic capital of Ibiza

When to go to Ibiza for relaxing holidays?

The season in Ibiza starts from mid-May and last until mid-October. Most of restaurants, hotels, bars, clubs are open during these months and closed the rest of the year.

In April and May temperature starts to get warmer. It could be a good time to visit the island before all the tourists arrive even if it is often quite windy and temperature of the water won’t be warm enough to swim.

June till mid-October are obviously the hottest months with 27-33 C degrees.  

First half of October is probably the best time to visit. The weather and water are still very warm and there are normally less people in comparison to the whole summer. You can easily enjoy the empty beaches and the air feels that nostalgic of another season coming to an end.

Winter on the island can reserve some little surprises too. January until mid-February, is quite popular and spectacular when the almond blossoms season in the valley of Santa Ines (Santa Agnès).

9 things to do for relaxing Ibiza holidays

What else to do in Ibiza beside partyig and working on your tan?

Visit the beautiful and white Old Town

Ibiza Town is the largest town on the island. Very pretty is the fortified Old Town (founded by the Phoenicians over 2,500 years ago), located on the top of the hill with a beautiful view on the harbor. 

Take some time to have a walk through its pretty white-painted houses, narrow cobbled streets full of pink and white flowers, late night open shops and restaurants!

Little tip : if you arrive at sunset, stop at the terrace near the castle to enjoy the view all over the Old Town and see all the white houses change into orange/yellow colors.

Quiet and relaxing Ibiza holidays 2

Enjoy the quiet Beaches of Ibiza

The sea in Ibiza is just amazing! Transparent, clean and warm!  You can find several beaches all around the island, some more accessible with restaurants, other more adventure, especially in the North. Most of the beaches are quite rocky with just a small strip of sand.

The sandiest beaches are Agua Blanca on the East side; Talamanca and Playa d’en Bossa close to Ibiza Town; Cala d’Hort and Cala Tarida on the West side.

Beautiful landscape and water in Cala Saladeta (watch out for jellyfish) and Sa Caleta too, even if a little bit rockier.

Cala Barrias is a beautiful hidden beach in the North of the island. Each Sundays on summer, drummers form all over the island gather to play while the sun goes down into the sea.

Quiet beaches of Ibiza Cala Comte
Quiet beaches of Ibiza Sa caleta

Shopping at the hippie markets

Known for its techno parties, Ibiza has actually a hippie spirit!

There are many hippie markets to visit. The biggest and most popular is probably “Mercadillo Las Dalias” close to the town of Santa Eulàlia. You can find unique treasure like handcrafted boho clothes, shoes, accessories and homemade beauty products.

Opening hours: Saturdays from 10am till 8pm. 

Special summer night version: July – Mondays and Tuesdays from 7pm, August – Mon, Tue and Sundays from 7pm.

Other markets are:

Saint Jordi flea market – on Saturdays

Punta Arabí market (the original hippie market  of Ibiza)– on Wednesdays

San Rafael artisan market – on Thursdays 

San Josè ecological food and craft market – on Saturdays

Day trip to Formentera

Only 30 mins far from Ibiza, lays the wonderful little island of Formentera. Perfect for a day trip, you will find crystal, shallow water and a 3km long sandy beach difficult to find elsewhere in Europe.

Once arrived in Formentera, you can rent a bike or a scooter to move around. 

My favorite spot is walking from Platja de Llevant till Playa de Illetas. Here, the East and West sides merge into one beach creating a little peninsula and an unique landscape with sea on both sides!

Formentera

Dream under the colors of Ibiza unforgettable sunset

Sunsets in Ibiza are just magical! From any beach or lookout on the West side, sunset is an incredible show of colors to watch!

My favorite spots: Es Vedrà lookout for a more romantic view and Cala Comte, to slide into the night with breathtaking sky colors, music and some drinks.

Quiet and relaxing Ibiza holidays watch the sunset

Hiking to the highest point of Ibiza: Sa Talaia 

Even if we are on the sea, doesn’t mean you have to leave your hiking shoes at home! In Ibiza there are many hiking paths, all pretty easy and of different duration.

Two nice paths are: the one from Sant Josep till the highest point of the island (Sa Talaia mountain) and from Es Vedrà lookout till the unique and curious rocks of Atlantis. On a unique journey, you will feel one with the nature, what is better than this during your relaxing Ibiza holidays?!

Eat local food

Paella and seafood over all, tapas and good wine. Food in Ibiza is really good.

Some favorite spots:

S’Espartar

Mesa Ibiza

A mi Manera Ibiza

La Cabana

Having an extra relaxing time at Hacienda na Xamena

Why not to add one more treat to your holiday? Hacienda na Xamena is a spa resort which offers infinity swimming pool on the sea with 8 different mini-pools heated at three different temperatures, body massage and facial treatment. 

Practice Yoga for ultimate relaxing Ibiza holidays

For yoga lovers, Ibiza is the right place! There are many yoga schools, retreats, hot yoga studios and private teachers for some yoga on the sea!

A really nice studio is Project Ibiza, that also offers kickboxing, bouldering and acrobatic yoga class.