Ibiza: why this Spanish island is perfect for a winter weekend

I’ve never been much of a clubber so Ibiza wasn’t high on my travel list. But after hearing what a beautiful island it is I decided to try it for a winter weekend in hopes of better weather than the UK. It delivered on that and so much more besides. Here’s why I’d recommend a winter weekend in Ibiza.

Ibiza Town1. The sun shone every day

The weather was actually better than anticipated. My friend and I went in mid-November, and every day it got to around 21 degrees Celsius. Not beach weather, but soon after we arrived, we were sitting outside our hotel drinking wine and eating patatas bravas. We ate breakfast and lunch outside every day, and after dinner, we had cocktails sitting outside bars under heaters with only a light jacket on.

Patatas Bravas at Hostal Parque, Ibiza Town2. It’s great value out-of-season

We used Avios points and a companion voucher earned with a BA Amex card, so our flights were only £9. But flights at this time of year are much cheaper than high season. Car hire was also a bargain. We were thinking of hiring a car for a day to explore the island, but through booking.com it was only £50 for four days. So as we would have taken taxis to and from the airport, we opted to have a car the whole time.

Hotel accommodation was good value too. We stayed at Hostal Parque in Ibiza Town and paid £80 a night for a twin room. It has a good restaurant and is in a great location in the pretty Plaza del Parque square which has no traffic and is ringed with more places to eat and drink. It’s also right next to the old town walls which are lit up at night. And on the other side is tree-lined Passeig de Vara de Rey, a pedestrianised thoroughfare with shops, cafes and ice cream parlours.

Hostal Parque, Ibiza TownIbiza old town wallsPasseig de Vara de Rey3. Great restaurants and bars are still open

While some Ibiza restaurants close along with the clubs at the end of October (including those within the old town walls), there were plenty of great options still open. A few steps from the hotel we had delicious pasta at Locals Only, where the presentation of my rigatoni was amazing. Even closer is Dilo where I had excellent fish in a lovely setting. Just outside the square is La Brasa d’Eivissa which has a gorgeous entrance and courtyard and an extensive menu of dishes.

Rigatoni at Locals Only, Ibiza TownDinner at Dilo, Ibiza TownLa Brasa, Ibiza TownAfter dinner, the most happening spot was Madagascar, which is also in Plaza del Parque. The cocktails were good and there were plenty of outside heaters. For a different vibe, there’s also the stylish bar at The Standard hotel. Cocktails are inevitably more expensive but they do all the classics and have a very good 2-4-1 happy hour from 6-8pm.

Cocktails at Madagascar, Ibiza TownStandard Hotel bar, Ibiza Town4. You’ll have Ibiza’s old town to yourself

Ibiza is the second walled town I’ve visited this year and while it’s not on the same scale as Dubrovnik, it’s well worth exploring. And in November, we pretty much had the place to ourselves. The old town walls are over 25m high and you can walk all around their 2km perimeter, pausing at some of all of the seven bastions.

Ibiza old town walls and bastionPortal de Ses Taules is a good place to start a walk. The ramp to the gateway is directly opposite Ibiza Town’s market square. Once inside you go through Pati d’Armes, an arched courtyard that was the location of the island’s first hippy markets.

Portal de Ses Taules, Ibiza TownPati d'Armes, Ibiza old townThroughout the walk around the walls, there are great views of the rest of the old town and down to the port. And you can divert inside the walls to visit sights like Museu Puget, a lovely gallery that displays paintings of local life by Ibizan artist Narcis Puget Vinas and his son Narcis Puget Riquer.

Ibiza port view from old town wallsView from Ibiza old town wallsMuseu Puget, Ibiza TownMuseu Puget, Ibiza TownYou can also step off the walls to visit Ibiza’s cathedral. It’s on the highest point of the old town so is very visible wherever you are in Ibiza Town and was bigger inside than we expected. Opposite is a tourist information office and in the same building is the Centre d’Interpretacio Madina Yabisa which charts Ibiza Town’s Moorish roots.

Ibiza CathedralCentre d'Interpretacio Madina Yabisa, Ibiza TownAnd of course, you can just step off the walls to wander the old town’s narrow streets and maybe even chat with a local or two. When we did, we heard how much they liked this quiet time of year! As mentioned earlier, almost all of the old town restaurants and bars were closed, but there were places open just outside. We had some great Spanish omelette for lunch at La Esquina which is next to Portal des Taules.

Ibiza TownIbiza TownSpanish Omelette at La Esquina, Ibiza Town5. Parking and driving around the island are much easier

In our chats with locals, they also mentioned that the roads in Ibiza can be a nightmare in the summer. It’s a very small island, but getting anywhere can take a long time when the roads are congested. In November that wasn’t the case. We parked easily and for free at Parquing Es Gorg a dedicated tourist car park next to Ikea. It was just a 15-minute walk from our hotel; slightly longer when wheeling our luggage. We went out exploring from there on two days and almost every car journey between stops was less than 15 minutes.

On the first day, we headed north to Santa Gertrudis de Fruitera. It was recommended by a very helpful lady in Ibiza Town’s main tourist information office in Avinguda d’Ignasi Wallis. She said it was a good place for morning coffee or breakfast and she wasn’t wrong. It’s a gorgeous little village with a lovely church and Bar Costa was the perfect spot to start our day. It’s known for its super fresh bocadillos and the manchego cheese one was a great veggie breakfast option.

Santa Gertrudis de Fruitera, IbizaSanta Gertrudis de Fruitera, IbizaBar Costa, Santa Gertrudis de Fruitera, IbizaAfter a walk around the village, our next stop was Las Dalias, Ibiza’s famous hippy market. I’d guess that there weren’t as many stalls as during the high season. But there were plenty of options to browse and we were quite surprised at how nice the products were. Definitely not just tourist tat!

Las Dalias hippy market, IbizaLas Dalias hippy market, IbizaThen we headed to Santa Eulària des Riu, a town on Ibiza’s east coast which is known for its 16th-century fortress church Puig de Missa. After climbing up, we found it was closed but it was worth seeing it from the outside and there’s a beautiful cemetery next door. Ten minutes walk from there in the centre of town we had lunch at local favourite Can Cosmi, before a walk along the seafront promenade.

Puig de Misa, Santa Eularia, IbizaSanta Eularia des Riu, IbizaThe next day was Sunday and we decided to head south to see Ibiza’s salt pans, but stopped off first at Sant Josep De Sa Talaia. It’s another pretty village with a lovely whitewashed church. I guess we’d just missed the Sunday service as the doors were closed but there were a few nice cafes with locals enjoying their morning coffee.

Church of Sant Josep de sa Talaia, IbizaSant Josep de sa Talaia, IbizaIbiza’s salt can be found at the island’s southern tip in Parc Natural de Ses Salines which is a Unesco World Heritage site. The park is 168 square kilometres of salt pans, marshes, sandy beaches and 210 species of birds. There’s an information centre at Sant Francesc de s’Estany church and it’s a great place to get a view of the marshes and huge piles of salt. And of course, we had to buy some Sal de Ibiza products at a nearby shop.

Sant Francesc de s'Estany and Interpretation Centre of Ses Salines, IbizaSes Salines, IbizaSalt piles at Ses Salines, IbizaSal de Ibiza productsFive minutes drive from the information centre is La Escollera where we went for our traditional Spanish Sunday lunch of paella. It’s in a gorgeous spot on Es Cavallet beach and was clearly popular with locals out of season, so I’d recommend booking even in November. It’s a great place for a relaxed and delicious lunch with a sea view.

La Escollera, Es Cavallet, IbizaVeggie paella at La Escollera, Es Cavallet, IbizaBack in Ibiza Town, we decided to continue the sea view theme and end our day out with a drink at Mar y Sol, a cafe bar that’s right opposite the marina. We assume it’s linked to Ibiza’s original superclub Pacha as it’s right by the Pacha shop and has the distinctive Pacha cherries outside. The port area is busy in the summer with lots of bars, but at this time of year you can just take a nice quiet stroll along Passeig Maritim and admire the many yachts moored at the marina.

Cafe Mar y Sol, Ibiza TownPg Maritim, Ibiza Town portIbiza Town marinaAnd that brings me back to the start. Ibiza might be best known for its clubs, but even if you’re not a clubber it’s a beautiful island that’s well worth visiting and perfect for a winter weekend in the sun.

For more weekend break ideas visit the Europe section of my blog. And you might also enjoy reading Lost in Ibiza, a novel I read before visiting the island. You can read my short review of the book here.

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