Plan Your Ibiza Trip

Almost everything that goes wrong with an Ibiza trip is a planning problem, not an island problem. People book the two weeks either side of 10 August, choose a hotel before choosing an area, and try to see the whole island in four days. Start with our where to stay guide, then use the decisions below to make the base work.

When to go

Eighty-nine per cent of the island's arrivals land between May and October, and within that the peak is brutally concentrated: the last fortnight of July and the first three weeks of August. If you have any flexibility at all, avoid that window.

Late May and June is the best combination on offer — everything open, sea around 22°C by mid-June, long days, accommodation 40% below August. The second half of September is its equal, with warmer water (24°C) and the harvest fiestas. October is the quiet swimmer's month: 23°C sea, cool air, empty coast paths, some closures from mid-month. November to March is genuinely lovely and genuinely limited — almond blossom in February, €70 hotel rooms, and a real risk that the restaurant you wanted is shut until Easter.

How long to stay

Five to seven days. Three works for a disciplined long weekend. Ten is a lot unless you are genuinely settling in, in which case it is wonderful. The mistake is four days with a list of twelve things on it.

Getting here

Flying is how almost everyone arrives; the airport (IBZ) sits seven kilometres south-west of Ibiza Town and handled about 8.2 million passengers in 2024. Direct summer flights run from most of northern Europe. Between November and March, service thins drastically and you will often route via Palma, Barcelona or Madrid.

Ferries are the alternative and are better than their reputation. From Dénia the crossing is two to four hours depending on vessel; from Barcelona it is eight to nine, usually overnight; from Valencia, six. Taking a car across costs less than a week of hire in August and removes the queue at the rental desk.

From the airport: bus line 10 to Ibiza Town is €3.50 and takes twenty minutes; a metered taxi is roughly €19–22 to Ibiza Town and €33–38 to Sant Antoni, per car rather than per person, and the rank can queue badly at midday in August. Pre-booked transfers make sense for four or more people with luggage. The published tariff, the licensed-cab checks and the €600 fine for using an unlicensed one are all in our taxi and late-night safety guide.

Getting around

The bus network between the towns and the main beaches is cheap (€2.20–3.50), frequent in summer and much better than visitors expect. The Discobus runs all night in season for €4 flat. What the buses do not do is the north coast and the interior villages.

Our standing recommendation is to hire a car for two or three days of a week rather than the whole stay. Rates run €35–90 a day in season; book by March for August or the good rates vanish. Scooters are cheaper and much more dangerous on these roads — the coast roads are narrow, gravel-strewn and full of drivers looking at the view.

What it costs

The often-quoted average of around €369 per trip per visitor is a real figure and a useful corrective to the island's reputation — most people here are not spending €2,000 on a table. A realistic week in shoulder season, excluding flights, is €700–1,100 per person; in August, €1,300–2,000.

The three biggest levers, in order: the week you choose (worth 40–55% on accommodation), where you eat (a village menú del día versus a beach club is a €60 daily difference), and how many club nights you plan (each one is €150–250).

Move your trip three weeks either side of the August peak. You will pay half as much, the sea will be warmer, and you will actually be able to park.

Itineraries

We keep two, both written to avoid backtracking. The three-day itinerary is a tight long weekend: Dalt Vila and dinner in town, a west-coast beach day ending at Cala Comte for sunset, and a boat day. The seven-day itinerary adds the north coast, the interior villages, Formentera and one club night, arranged so that no day involves crossing the island twice.

Practical details

• Currency — euro. Cards accepted almost everywhere; carry €40 in cash for beach parking, the north-coast fish shacks and market stalls.
• Tourist tax — €1.20–4.00 per person per night, paid at your accommodation on arrival, not included in your booking.
• Water — tap water is safe but heavily desalinated and tastes of it. Most people drink bottled. Take short showers; the aquifers are genuinely stressed.
• Health — Can Misses hospital in Ibiza Town, plus clinics in the main towns. EHIC/GHIC covers EU and UK visitors for state care; take travel insurance anyway, particularly if you intend to ride a scooter.
• Sun — the UV index hits 9–10 in July. The shade on most calas is nil between noon and four.
• Plugs and time — European two-pin, 230V; CET, same as mainland Spain.

Five common mistakes

1. Booking August by default. The most expensive, hottest and most crowded three weeks of the year, and the ones people book first.
2. Basing yourself without deciding about a car. A finca in the interior with no vehicle is a very quiet week indeed.
3. Planning four club nights. Two is plenty, one is often better, and the money is better spent on a boat.
4. Arriving at a famous beach at midday. The 10:00-or-17:00 rule is the single highest-value piece of advice on this site.
5. Never leaving the coast. The interior villages are where the island's food, architecture and daily life actually are, and they are fifteen minutes from anywhere.