Ibiza: What to Know Before You Go

Ibiza is small, about 40 km from end to end, so the real decision is not what to see but where to sleep and how to move. Pick one base that matches the trip you want, hire a car for the days you plan to chase coves, and book the two or three nights that matter (a club, a restaurant, a boat) before you fly. The rest of the island rewards a looser plan.

How the island is laid out

Ibiza Town (Eivissa) sits on the south-east coast, with Dalt Vila on its hill and the ferry port below. The airport is a short drive south-west, and the long sandy strip of Playa d'en Bossa runs between the two. Further south are the salt pans and dunes of Ses Salines. Sant Antoni de Portmany fills a wide bay on the west coast, close to the sunset coves, while the calm town of Santa Eulària des Riu looks east. The north, around Sant Joan, Sant Miquel and Portinatx, is greener, steeper and much quieter. Our area-by-area guide compares each base.

How many days

Three days cover Ibiza Town, a couple of beaches and one sunset. Five days let you add the north, an evening out and a day on Formentera without rushing. A week is ideal for anyone who wants to stay put on one beach for a whole afternoon, which is half the point of coming. The 5-day itinerary shows how to group the island by area.

Getting around

Buses link the main towns and the resort strips, and they cope well with a trip based in Ibiza Town or Sant Antoni. For scattered coves, inland villages and viewpoints, a car changes the trip. Cars rented on the island need no extra permit; the summer vehicle cap, from June to September, applies to cars brought over by ferry. Some coves now limit access when their car parks fill, so start beach days early.

Money, entry and practical things

Spain uses the euro, and cards work almost everywhere, though small beach kiosks may prefer cash. Ibiza is in the Schengen area: non-EU visitors are registered at the border by the EU's Entry/Exit System, and ETIAS, the online travel authorisation, isn't running yet and has no confirmed start date, so check the official EU website before you travel. Hotels and rentals add the Balearic sustainable tourism tax to your bill per adult per night; under-16s are exempt.

How to respect the island

The Posidonia seagrass meadows under the clear water are part of the island's UNESCO listing, and anchoring on them is banned, so if you charter a boat, make sure the skipper anchors on sand or uses a buoy. Take your rubbish home from small coves, which have no bins in many cases. In Sant Antoni's West End, shops cannot sell alcohol between 9.30pm and 8am, drinking in the street brings fines, and party boats may not pick up or drop off passengers in the restricted zone.