3 Days in Ibiza: Pre-Season

Yes, I went to Ibiza and no, I did not take any pills. Do you know how long I’ve been waiting to make that reference? Since 2015. Ibiza!!! Ibiza, Ibiza, Ibiza. I FINALLY had the opportunity to visit Ibiza. Before my trip I was torn. I wanted to go in the summer, but my my May puente needed a quick, hassle-free, and moderately priced trip, so I said fuck it and booked Ibiza for three days– May 2 to the 5. Let it be known, it was not as popping as everyone made it out to be, but that’s solely because it was pre-season and still slightly cold, and the main parties are not until June. Despite how much I party, I’m discovering that I’m really not a huge club person, maybe once or twice a month. But the great thing about Ibiza, you can find your perfect turn-up spot anywhere on the island if you do some exploring, even during slow season, and as long as you start drinking at 2 PM you’ll be good!

Sant Antoni de Portmany

I based myself in Sant Antoni de Portmany, a port town west of the island. Sant Antoni de Portmany is known for being the party headquarters of not only Ibiza, but the entire Balearic Islands. With roots as a humble fishing village, the town eventually grew to be the face of Ibiza’s club scene.

Getting There

Starting from the airport, you must take the ALSA-L10 bus to the Eivissa Ciutat -Av. Isidor Macabich bus stop. From there, you will take the L_3 bus that brings you straight to Sant Antoni de Portmany. The whole journey from the airport is around 2 hours. The buses start running at around 7 AM (Spanish time, of course), so if you have an early flight you will need to catch a taxi. Luckily a taxi from Sant Antoni de Portmany to the airport costs only 35 euros.

What I Did

I didn’t eat or sleep for three days and I’m still exhausted. I intended on going on a boat party, but the only ones available docking from San Antoni de Portmany were Float Your Boat, Lost In Ibiza, Pukka Up, and Noah’s Arc– all which would not start until late May to early June. If you walk along the boardwalk there are many companies offering regular boat tours, but I didn’t feel like spending 50 euros on a basic two hour boat ride.

Besides partying, I spent my afternoons wandering the town hungover in search of cute instagrammable aesthetics. I had to seriously budget this trip, so I barely ate out besides the 5 AM drunken kebobs, but the boardwalk has a ton of nice restaurants. I did order calamari at this place called The Lounge, which was super pricey. Ibiza doesn’t have to be expensive if you don’t want it to be, so because of that I cooked most of my food in the hostel.

Beaches

I’ll admit, the beach that I stumbled upon, at least the one towards the West End, is not the prettiest, although apparently there are nicer ones elsewhere that I unfortunately did not get to see. While I would stay in Sant Antoni de Portmany again for the nightlife and my cool hostel alone, I would need to research more of the nearby beaches if I wanted a more tropical-vibe like vacation.

Weather

I expected the weather to be a bit chilly, but for the majority of my trip it was sunny and near-cloudless, though still too cold to get in the water. Temperatures were around 65 to 70 degrees fahrenheit depending on the day. Don’t let my sleeveless photos fool you, a light jacket was needed during the day.

My Hostel

I stayed at Amistat Island Hostel, and I loved it so much! The staff was superb and the atmosphere was the perfect size to interact with other guests. I booked this hostel solely for its lime green swimming pool, but its location to the beach and the main city center made it the perfect spot to base yourself in Sant Antoni de Portmany.

Nightlife

Sant Antoni de Portmany

The West End was surprisingly very lively despite it being pre-season. Taking up only a couple of streets, there are a ton of bars and lounges to visit, and prices were actually normally-priced. After pre-gaming at the hostel and starting my first night out at Faces, I don’t exactly remember the places I ended up afterwards, but it was a good night. Walking towards the beach you’ll find the Sunset Strip, where you’ll find even more bars and clubs. Luckily the walk from the West End to the Sunset Strip is less than ten minutes depending on where you’re going. Although it wasn’t super wild since it was only May, I saw a lot of ratchetness over here so I know it’ll get even crazier in the next couple of weeks. 

Platja dén Bossa and Talamanca

This first club we went to in Platja dén Bossa was a blur because we walked forty minutes all of the way from Ibiza Town a bit fucked up. It was a medium-sized venue, the kind of place that will be super fun if you’re already drunk. We stayed for about an hour, and then left. Definitely not a place to party at the entire night, but it was free for us to get in so it was cool. I’m so sorry, I really don’t remember the name, but there were a bunch of other clubs nearby.

Afterwards we went to Pacha, one of Ibiza’s most famous clubs.  I can’t tell you the price because some creepy old guys from Canada paid for us to get in, but I CAN tell you that it was turnt!!! While I still thought it was cute and sizable, I personally felt that I’ve experienced the same kind of club, the same kind of party, in Madrid. But this of course this was sans famous international DJs, so it is unfair of me to judge. As far as I remember, there were three parts of the club, raggeton, techno, and who else knows what. It was big enough to explore, but not obnoxiously big.

This whole area of the island was super lit and made me realize I was actually in Ibiza because everyone was on some extra shit– it felt exactly like my hometown, Las Vegas! Getting back to Sant Antoni de Portmany was a bitch because like I said, the buses run at 7 am so if you go out you have to stay out. I didn’t make it back to Sant Antoni de Portmany until damn near 9 AM and I was dead. Actually I really don’t know how I managed to not eat, not sleep, and not lose my phone or wallet… you don’t understand how proud I am of myself because this whole time I was expecting something to go terribly wrong like it always fucking does.

Consider Ibiza in the Spring!

Weather aside, l I can say that I’m kind of glad that I visited Ibiza during pre-season because A.) it was less expensive, B.) less crowded, and C.) less pretentious. I was expecting the nightlife scene to be way more bougie, and the only way to get into some of these venues would be wearing some tight ass dress with minimum 100 euros in my wallet to prepare for the 30 euro cocktails, but I did none of that. I plan on returning to Ibiza during high season and hopefully camping, but the atmosphere of the island and seeing care-free, happy people rollerskating with their dogs along the beach and drunk 55 year-old men doing cartwheels on the boardwalk at 2 AM made it a trip worth visiting! Maybe next time I’ll take pills.