Ibiza is forty kilometres long and has roughly two reputations, only one of which occupies the island. Drive twenty minutes north of the airport and the clubs stop entirely, replaced by pine forest, terraced fields and villages of about four hundred people.
The north is a different island
Sant Joan, Sant Miquel, Santa Agnès and Sant Carles sit in the hills with whitewashed churches, one bar each and a Saturday market. The coves below them — Benirràs, Cala d’en Serra, Portinatx’s smaller beaches — are reached down single-track roads and are usually half empty even in July.
The island’s best hours are the two before sunset, on a cove where the pines come down to the sand.
Where to stay
An agroturismo — a converted farmhouse, usually with a handful of rooms and a long table — is the northern equivalent of a hotel and is what most people mean when they say they want the quiet Ibiza. Book early; there are not many and they are not large.
A car is close to essential up here. Buses connect the main towns but not the coves, and the last one back is earlier than dinner.
Eating
- Bullit de peix, the island fish stew, served in two courses with rice. Order it a day ahead at village restaurants.
- Sofrit pagès, the farmer’s dish, which appears mostly in winter and at family occasions.
- Hierbas ibicencas after dinner, which is not optional and is stronger than it tastes.
The things worth doing
Walk the coastal path between Cala Salada and Cala Gració. Take the small boat to Es Vedrà’s viewpoint at Cala d’Hort rather than the crowded roadside stop. Visit the Saturday market at Sant Joan for actual produce rather than souvenirs. And go to Formentera for a day — the ferry from Ibiza Town takes half an hour and the water there is a colour that does not photograph convincingly.
May, June and late September are the months for this version of the island: warm enough to swim, quiet enough to park, and everything open.