About Ibiza

Ibiza is a small island in a group of five, called the Balearic Islands, in the Mediterranean Sea about 90 kilometers from the mainland of Spain. However, despite its size, Ibiza has attained a global reputation as one of the world's most popular tourist destinations.

To understand exactly why Ibiza has acquired such a reputation would require a visit, or better still a few years actually living here. But since that is impractical for a high proportion of the world's population, we hope that this site proves to be the next best alternative to showing you around personally.

In the meantime let's try and pinpoint the factors that have made Ibiza so special:-

It would be hard not to start with the obvious - this has to be one of the most beautiful islands on the planet. With over eighty beaches within half an hour's drive and almost guaranteed sunshine every morning when you open your curtains, the climate is user friendly.

For this reason the local population are friendly too. Everybody smiles from dawn to dusk and greets every passing stranger in the street. This is probably historical, since they have been ruled by every local trading civilization from the Phoenicians and Carthaginians to the Moors, via the Greek and Roman dynasties. But it's still nice and brings a smile to your own face.

However, the invaders weren't just here for the friendly locals and the beaches. They were particularly fond of the salt that the islands produce. Being very much a crossroads for the route from either east to west, or north to south, in the eastern Mediterranean, it was a good place to break your journey and stock up on salt (this was before they invented refrigerators). There was in fact a time when salt was of more value than gold...

Some time later Ibiza was re-discovered, if you like, by northern European artists and other slightly dodgy people who fancied a change from rainy places like England and Vietnam. It became part of the hippy trail that ran from the West coast of America through the Mediterranean and certain Greek islands across India to Bali and eventually nirvana...

Regrettably; along that route a drug called ecstasy arrived and, via Ibiza, found its way to England, kicking off the dance music movement that switched the emphasis from live music to DJs. The audience weren't interested in standing watching bands and clapping in between songs anymore - they were all 'loved up' and part of a revolution that invented raves and provoked a ban on 'repetitive music' from the authorities.

That's all history now, but the 'dance music' ripple that spread around the world is still bringing thousands of dance music enthusiasts to the island, on their annual pilgrimage to the 'mecca' called Ibiza and its dance temples with silly names like Pacha, Amnesia and Space.

Ibiza tomorrow is the hardest to pin down. We now have motorways for the two months in the year when the island's stock of hire cars all hit the road at once, at the same time as the taxi fleet, and parking spots become as rare as polar bears at the height of summer.

The island is still beautiful, the people are still friendly, and there's no better place to have a good time (and believe me we've looked...).