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The best things to do in Mallorca, Spain
Your vacations are fast approaching and you’d like to visit Mallorca in the Balearic Islands? Discover our complete guide on our travel blog!
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This island in the Balearic Islands, a Spanish archipelago in the Mediterranean, is clearly worth the detour. If our first ideas of Ibiza are usually: parties, nightclubs and luxury, you should know that there’s a whole other side to the island, and it’s this one that we’re going to let you discover. 🏝
Peaceful villages, coves, turquoise waters, a unique art of living with designer restaurants and exceptional places, it’s quite a program that awaits you on this 571 km island! For both of us, this road trip to Ibiza was a “coup de coeur”. We went in October and the weather was perfect (between 22 and 27 degrees), we even managed to spend a day in Formentera and go for a swim… 🌞 Well come on, we’ll take you on board with us visit Ibiza and give you all our tips on what to see and what to do in Ibiza!
If you’re wondering where to sleep in Ibiza to get the most out of the island… Here’s our advice: choose 2 different hotels (one in the north, the second in the south) to get the most out of your Ibiza road trip. The two addresses we tested have their strengths, and we’ll tell you more below.
A guaranteed crush for all lovers of design or retro decor, the Paradiso Ibiza Art Hotel is a colorful place. You’ll feel almost like you’re in Palm Springs, with its West Coast-inspired objects. The rooms are large and comfortable, and some have a terrace – we had a great time! The only downside is the soundproofing between the different rooms, which isn’t exceptional depending on the noise level of the neighbors. 😅
We loved photographing it from every angle and enjoying its festive atmosphere. In fact, the day is lively on the two pool sides with a DJ Set and there’s a large terrace where you can have breakfast, lunch or a drink. Read more about the Paradiso restaurant below. ✨ We recommend spending 1 or 2 nights at the Paradiso hotel during your Ibiza vacation, then changing hotels to visit another side of the island. ❤️
We discovered this hotel by chance when we went for lunch at its restaurant, Messa Escondida (we’ll tell you more about this restaurant at the end of the article, in the “restaurants in Ibiza” category). And what a surprise! We fell under the spell of this boutique hotel, its view of the Es Vedra rock and its colorful, bohemian decor. Greek inspirations can be found in the architecture and even in the restaurant menu. The place also boasts a bar with an exceptional view if you just want to have a drink in this exceptional location. If you’re looking for a warm, designer hotel, go for the Petunia Ibiza. 💕
This hotel is located further to the north-east of Ibiza, making it easier to visit this side of the island. It’s a large hotel complex, less charming than the other hotels presented above, but very comfortable and affordable. The rooms are large and the bedding top-notch! Big plus point: the buffet breakfast is just incredible, one of the best we’ve done. 😋 The location facing the sea is great and very soothing.
Since writing this article, we’ve put together a top of the best hotels in Ibiza and if you’re still looking for accommodation for your vacation on the island we recommend you take a look.
What to do in Ibiza? Follow all our must-do’s to visit the south of the island! This is our favorite part of the island, where we spent 3 days on our Ibiza road trip. We loved its turquoise waters and pretty coves.
This pretty beach with fine sand and turquoise waters is located in the southwest of the island, close to the town of Sant Joseph de sa Talaia. One of Ibiza’s best-known beaches, it is 600 meters long and divides into two coves.
We advise you to visit it either early in the morning, as it is very touristy during the day, or at sunset. The setting offers an incredible spectacle with the colors of the sunset.
Cala Tarida beach is quite large (around 260 meters), you’ll find a few restaurant terraces and hotels. It seems to be quite family-friendly, but there are few shady spots. We loved strolling along its heights and discovering its little fishermen’s cottages, which you can discover in our photos just below.
We came to this very spot for the famous viewpoint over Es Vedra. Even though this viewpoint is quite touristy, in our opinion it’s a must-see. Find out more about this mysterious rock right after!
What to do in Ibiza? It’s impossible to miss Es Vedra during your visit! This rock, which you can admire from many places on the island of Ibiza, is quite fascinating. It is said to be the 3rd most magnetic point on the planet. Legend has it that its magnetic field can unhinge clocks and disturb visitors. Others go even further, suggesting that its high energy could attract extraterrestrials. Whatever the case, it’s a place worth discovering! 😂
We suggest you plan to go at sunset, and bring a picnic or aperitif with you. To get to the place shown in our photos, park in the dedicated parking lot and walk for about 15 minutes. You won’t get lost, as you’ll be well surrounded by locals and tourists alike, who come here to enjoy the sunset and the music. We really liked the festive ambience and atmosphere of the place. To help you out, we’ve also added the GPS coordinates of our sunset spot.
Dalt Vila is the name given to the upper part of Ibiza town. It has been a Unesco World Heritage Site since 1999. We loved this little town of cobbled, flower-filled streets, white facades and pretty, colorful terraces. Don’t forget to bring flat shoes, as the streets can be quite hilly. It takes around two hours to complete the tour, with a coffee (or sangria? 😂) break on one of the small terraces.
This magical spot is made up of a fine sandy beach, orange stone cliffs and surrounded by numerous pine trees. We found this place very charming, and the contrast of colors seduced us. You can settle down on the beach or head off to explore the heights of the cliffs. This is where you’ll find a passageway to an ultra-photogenic underground cave. 🧡
During your Ibiza vacation, take time to discover the north of the island, which is wilder than the south. Discover the Cala Xarraca beach and the Las Dalias hippie market.
This pretty beach, wilder than the others mentioned above, is well worth a visit. It’s not the ideal place to swim or spend a day at the beach, as the ground is made up of seaweed and stones. We found the place superb all the same, so we’d recommend it more for a short stroll. ✨
Ibiza’s hippy market offers all kinds of souvenirs to bring back: clothing, home decor, wicker baskets, accessories…. The atmosphere is very relaxed and the visit is accompanied by music. We really liked the atmosphere of the place, and there are also several restaurants and terraces. 🌞
The market is open from May 1 to October 31 every year, on Saturdays only. If you’re coming by car, park in the dedicated parking lot, which will cost you €2 per vehicle.
For the name of this restaurant, understand “Les amoureux”, that alone makes you want to! 😍 We loved this address for its incredible sea views and relaxed atmosphere. We recommend going at sunset time for magical colors! We ordered local white wine and tapas to share, everything was delicious and quite hearty. As with all Ibizan restaurants, prices are high, but we found the balance between quality and price to be just right. We’ll definitely be back on our next trip to the island!
In the heart of the ultra-design Paradiso hotel, you have the option of breakfast or lunch, whether you’re staying at the hotel or not. The cuisine is quite trendy but remains affordable, you’ll find Smoothies, burgers, avocado toast… à la carte. Une good address for a musical lunch, with a DJ Set in the background. 💕
❤️ In the heart of an exceptional hotel, you’ll feel alone in the world for this refined lunch. Prices are higher than at our other addresses, at around €80/90 for 2 people, but the food is refined, colorful, seasonal and local.
Every starter and main course was tempting, but we had to choose. 😂 We opted for a homemade gazpacho, a melon & feta salad, followed by pasta with zucchini, yoghurt & mint sauce and fish.
The other great thing about this place is its breathtaking view of the Es Vedra rock. The staff are adorable, which makes the moment even more precious. In short, go for it, even if it means eating a picnic the next day to balance the budget (which we often do 😋).
This address had been recommended to us many times, so we went to try it out, at sunset as it should be! In all honesty, we found the prices really high and the place packed… We preferred to just have a glass of local wine and admire the sunset. It’s undoubtedly a good address for lunch or dinner depending on your budget, the decor and location are hot.
If you’re staying at this hotel, don’t hesitate to go for lunch on site and choose from the more “snacky” offering of fresh wraps, club sandwiches and smoothies. We found it delicious, a good compromise for a relaxing day around the pool. ✨
If you have time on your Ibiza road trip, take a ferry and spend a day on Formentera. This little island next to Ibiza is definitely worth a visit. We loved spending a day there, between beaches and coves and scooter rides.
We advise you to book your return boat trip with the Ferry Méditerranéa Pituita company in advance. The crossing takes between 30 and 40 minutes.
We chose the offer that allows you to hire a scooter directly in addition to the ferry crossing, which costs between €70 and €80 for both. It’s well worth having a scooter for the day, if you want to see as much of the island and its most beautiful beaches as possible. You’ll find all our tips and must-see addresses in Formentera in our dedicated article available below! 💙
To find the best mode of transport to your destination, we recommend you always look on the OMIO comparator. This will give you an overview of all available modes of transport, making it easy to compare prices.
To travel with peace of mind, it’s important to choose the right insurance. We recommend Heymondo, which offers a selection of tailor-made insurances with excellent value for money.
If you’re looking to rent a car during your trip, we recommend you take a look at the RentalCars website. This will enable you to find the best prices and conditions for your rental.
We rented our car for the whole trip from Centauro. We were really pleased with the service and rates offered, and found it to be a good alternative to the better-known but often more expensive car rental companies. The rental company is located about 15 minutes’ walk from the airport, but provides a free shuttle bus that makes the round trip in 5 minutes. We recommend it! Don’t hesitate to check out their Instagram account or their website, they often put on promotions (between 10 and 25%), it might be worth it to reduce your vacation budget a bit!
In order to find the best hotels and benefit from the best conditions (security, cancellation…) we go almost exclusively through Booking.com for our trips. We recommend that you take a look at the available hotels before you leave. You can filter them according to their ratings. There are plenty of recent customer reviews, so there are no unpleasant surprises when you’re traveling!
If you want to get ideas for activities to do on your vacation and want to book in advance, we’d also recommend taking a look at the GetYourGuide site. This will give you an overview of the activities on offer in your destination, so you don’t have to wait until you get there to book your places.
As you’ve probably gathered from this account on our travel blog, we loved the island of Ibiza. It made us want to visit other Balearic islands, like Minorca, which we also loved. The climate is incredible, even having been there in October we were able to swim and enjoy ideal temperatures. The island has a wild side that we hadn’t imagined, and that won us over;
We really liked the fact that we could find designer and authentic restaurant addresses, which we had missed on our trips to the Canaries, as in Tenerife for example. The island is undoubtedly much more pleasant to visit out of season, summer Ibiza is known to be very touristy. But if you’re looking for a spring or autumn vacation destination, go for Ibiza! 💙
We hope the tips and good addresses on our travel blog will help you know what to do in Ibiza!
You can also follow our daily adventures on Instagram 🙂
Clem & Alex
Your vacations are fast approaching and you’d like to visit Mallorca in the Balearic Islands? Discover our complete guide on our travel blog!
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