So, I know it's been a little quiet on the blogging front. But that's because every now and then we all deserve time to just switch off - a digital detox if you will. And I attempted to do that during our little summer break this year.
J and I normally choose far flung exotic destinations where we can cram in as much as possible in 1 week. But this year we decided to follow the numerous crowds and set our sights for somewhere a little closet - Ibiza.
Now if you haven't been or know someone who has been in the last 2 years, then you must seriously live under a rock. Ibiza is an infamous destination where flocks of stag do's, electro junkies and half of England travel to every year. And for the past 2 years my Facebook feed has been inundated by pictures and posts of my friends revelling in the White Isle.
So we decided to take the leap and join the crowd to see what all the fuss was about. What started off as a large group of friends taking on a villa, quickly dwindled down to just 3 of us - and although our experience may have differed slightly from what it would have been with a bigger crowd, we had an amazing time.
Access to Ibiza is very easy with almost daily flights from most European cities - and our journey started with an on time EasyJet flight on Saturday night, getting us into Playa D'en Bossa (PDB)close to midnight - when the party is just getting started. Although the car rental kiosks were still opened, we had decided to take a taxi to the apartment and check out what options at car rentals were available the next day. We rented out a lovely, modern 2 bedroom flat through HomeAway. We had great communication from the host prior and during our stay, and for this reason, when travelling to Ibiza I would recommend this over AirBnb (have heard there are a few scams so best avoid disappointment).
We had been warned by seasoned travellers to be weary of staying in PDB as this would be full of crowds, non stop partying and noise. We were surprised to see the complete opposite when we walked out for a quick recon around 1:30 to the closest shop that was open. Quiet night?
The next day we ventured out and walked over to Ibiza Super Cars which had been recommended by a friend of a friend. Martina and the guys here have a very sleek operation and had us heading out in a brand new state of the art Mini Sport at a very reasonable rate - probably one of the few things we considered to be "cheap" for Ibiza standards.
Once we picked up all our beach gear, we headed out exploring to Mr P's choice of beach - Cala D'Hort. Located on the western side of the island and about 25 minutes drive from PDB, just be warned that parking is up a steep hill from the beach and about a 10 minute walk down in the blistering sun. However, well worth it as its golden sand and crystal clear waters welcome you for the day. Sun beds and Parasols and 8 EUR each - if you can find a free one - so make sure to get there early. You also have incredible views over Es Vedra island from here (a spot I definitely want to visit next time).As there didn't seem to be many available when we arrived, we decided to grab some lunch in the meantime from 1 of the two options available: Restaurante El Carmen (best to make a booking) or Restaurante Cala D'Hort - also booking recommended, but they were able to squeeze us in. If you're interested in my foodie review, I'll be doing a separate post for these.
After soaking up the sun, and a few dips in the sea we had nearly spent 6 hours by the beach and decided it was time to head out to our next recommended spot: Benirras Beach to watch the sunset.
Benirras is on the northern side of the island, and about a 50 minute drive from Cala D'Hort or about 35 minutes from PDB. Although the western side of the island does get the best sunsets, you come to Benirras on a Sunday to take part in the hippie drumming, or some of the best people watching of your life. Anyone is welcome, so you have about 20-30 people playing out the day on drums. While the crowd gathers to hear them play, you will also notice some particular characters dancing to the beat (and that's not always the one from the drums, but the one in their heads). Once the sun sets, you can find shelter at Elements, with live DJ sets, cook to order food or take away pizzas. Also a great spot to hang out while you wait for the heard of people to make their way back to their cars.
Having spent almost all day at the beach, we decided to take it easy and have an early (midnight) night to recharge our batteries for what was to come...
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