The island and Ibiza in the Med are not only for twenty-somethings or teenagers. It has been heavily popularised (and to some extent, criticised) by TV programmes discussing its party and clubbing culture, but tourism on the island is not just that, by a long shot. There are lots of hotels in ibiza to suit each person, young, old, male, female, families and it actually doesn’t matter if you are a partygoer or not.
Things to do in Ibiza
Ibiza has a wonderful history and it is now designated as a UNESCO ‘World Heritage’ site. Ibiza and its closest ally – the Isle of Formentera to the south are both known as the Pine Islands, or in Spanish – ‘Pityuses’. The pine from the Iberian peninsula is traditionally either Pino negro – or ‘black pine’ (Ltn: Pinus uncinata) or Scots pine (Ltn: Pinus sylvestris), a very well-known variety of pine used in essential oils. Its unforgiving pine forests are long and winding, with a beautiful fragrance mellifluously running through them.
Coming in as the third largest of the Balearic Islands – Ibiza is associated with a love of dance music – so much so that it is known to have been the originator of ambient electronic music – with the likes of legendary DJs such as DJ Alfredo, DJ Judge Jules, and DJ Jose Padilla famously performing on the island. The electronic vibes, although heard in clubs – are not necessarily all about jumping up and down on the stage in a drunken frenzy, for some chill-out Ibiza tunes are wonderful backbeats for sunning yourself in a relaxing beach spot.
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The island has other treasures too – it’s quite deceptive to listen to the news reports of what the island is about. Historically, and just before 2010, the government on the island, along with the Spanish Tourist Board had been working to change the identity of the island to a much more family-feel of tourism, with police closing down nightclubs playing loud music into the early hours. However, by 2010 this idea was reversed yet again reinstated in about 2015. It’s hard to separate the island from its main source of income and its tradition of great-sounding music, but the family-feel holiday is still quite relevant. There’s plenty to do for families too.
One such great holiday idea is to try the’ Escape Room’. Designed for families (and groups), this is a perfect outing. The Escape Room is a themed real-life game where participants use intelligence and creativity with family teamwork to solve a sequence of puzzles, find clues and complete missions within an hour time limit. The room is full of clues and mysteries, and you can choose from four escape games – traditional Sherlock, the Wonderland experience, the Mad Scientist or Zombie Apocalypse. Each room is decorated accordingly. The recommended number of players is between two and six.
Another classic example of a tour for families is the full-day Jeep tour. Get a drive in a shining new Jeep Wrangler, swim and snorkel in the crystal clear waters of ‘secret’ beaches and take yourselves on a magnificent tour of the most beautiful parts of the island to the summit at the top. As you can see, the dance-fuelled nightlife can be cast away, if you want something a little more classy to do or to keep your family entertained.
Other things to see and do include snorkeling speed boat trips and sunset watches, private tours by bamboo bicycles, Jet Ski experiences, electric bike tours of the island and full-day boat rentals, amongst many other activities. In terms of sightseeing, there’s nature walks and parks such as the Cala Saladeta, which is a hilly climb down to a wondrous beach with lovely blue-green waters, and lots of wildlife. The castle of Ibiza is another great day out – you’ll be thrilled by the views at the top, and there is little restaurant and juice bar tucked away to get refreshments and prepare yourself for the way back down.
If you want to see Authentic Ibiza, try out the church of Puig de Missa. The décor of the church is most original and the old town of Santa Eulàlia del Riu has a friendly, cute feel and the area is surrounded by old Ibizan villas and houses. There’s also the Ibiza Museum of Contemporary Art at Calle Pintor Narciso Puge or the Creu d’en Ribes, a sacred shrine that looks and feels quite majestic.
We’ve come a long from Sash! or Swedish House Mafia bouncing the streets of Ibiza past 11:00 pm. Although Ibiza probably would not be Ibiza without its culture of sounds, there is a whole new world beyond the music that Ibiza has to explore – but don’t let that stop you, for some of the tunes coming from DJ-mixers in one of the top music destinations worldwide – are really worth listening to. Ibiza has its reputation, but don’t let it stop there.
1 Comment
Way back when I was a twentysomething- FORTY + years ago, Ibiza was known as a place to meet hot Swedish girls. I see not much as changed, and that’s a good thing, for those young men of the 18-30 range. I’d like to do the pine forests and beach walks-and if those Swedish ladies are still happening to go there, for old times’ sake, well okay, then.