[Espresso]

Alright, time to drop my first datasheet. Since we don't really have a solid Ibiza sheet, here goes.

About me: White, about 6 foot, average build, quite good looking.
Date of trip: Summer 2012
Language: Catalan. Spanish. English is spoken well enough. You’ll be mostly hitting on tourists anyway.
Weather: perfect
Nightlife hours: early evening till after 6am. Daytime options also available.
Season: May-Sept (inclusive)
Ratio: In general lots of dudes, but a lot of them are just getting hammered, and are not really competition.

OK so first off, let’s get this popular myth out of the way: “Ibiza is expensive”.
No. It is only expensive in the megaclubs. In which case, yes, the prices are higher than a giraffe’s pussy. Here’s an example:
Club cover: 50 euro ($70)
Small bottle of water: 8 euro ($11)
Bottle of beer: 12 euro ($17)
Rum and coke: 15 euro ($21). You won’t get much rum or coke for your money either, and you shall receive it in a sad-looking plastic cup.

I would split the island into 4 main nightlife scenes:
1)Megaclubs
2)Ibiza town (Eivissa)
3)San Antonio West End
4)Playa d'en bossa



Accommodation: Book an apartment, either in San Antonio, or close to playa d'en bossa, depending on which you decide to go out most in. You can also get a room at the Ushuaia hotel on playa d’en bossa (pricey but good logistics and I think you get free entry to Ushuaia). You can't easily get from Ibiza town/playa d’en bossa to San Antonio in the North. It’s fairly long taxi ride away, so plan accordingly.

I'll now break down each of the 4 scenes.

1) Megaclubs

The megaclubs (i.e. the big clubs) are not located in one spot. In fact, they are all over Ibiza, including in the middle of the island away from everything else. Personally, I don’t like these megaclubs.
Good for:
-Electronic music (They would have the best DJs in the world (or at least most famous), including Tiesto, David Guetta, etc. Some of them have summer residency there at a specific club)
-Drugs

Bad for:
-Drinking
-Pick-up
-Having a good time (unless you’re really into the music/drug scene)

Here are the main spots:

Pacha: saw Tiesto there. A lot of people on drugs not surprisingly, some wearing sunglasses. Very loud, packed, not a social environment. Line up for the vastly overpriced alcohol. Would be hard to have a good time there unless I guess you're doing mdma and that. Oh and it was a massive cockfest.


Privilege: biggest club in the world with a 10,000 people capacity. Haven’t been.

Ushuaia: Open air club. Gets going early while it’s still daytime and starts to empty out early too (before 2am or so). Recommended.


Blue Marlin: not really a megaclub as it's not particularly big. Includes large outdoor area, and is right next to a beach with seats to sit/lie down on where you can isolate. Problem is: it's in the middle of nowhere. Would need a taxi to get there, and there's nothing else around. And then line up to wait for a taxi to take you back (unless you are willing to pay extra for an unofficial one). Cool spot.


Other megaclubs: Amnesia, Space, DC10, Eden, El Paradis.

Not every megaclub is open every night, but at least one will be. Up to date club info can be found here: http://www.ibiza-spotlight.com/night/clu..._may_i.htm
One thing of special interest might be: opening and closing parties. The clubs have their grand opening early May, and their grand closing party at the end of Sept, when they'll close till next party season.

2)Ibiza town (Eivissa)

Much quieter in general since it's a town and there's no big party scene, but there are lots of smaller bars where the locals tend to go, some of which are kinda hidden. So if you want to meet some local hotties, this is your best bet. And the locals are pretty hot!

3)Playa d'en bossa (Platja d'en Bossa)

My favourite scene (along with San Antonio West End)
It's the name of the beach and also the road alongside it. Lots of pubs and small bars here along the road. Can hop from one to another, usually no cover charge. Drink beers, hit on girls, have fun. Examples: Murphy’s Irish pub, Top21 disco pub. They have dance floors too.

People: tourists from Europe (Germany, UK, etc)
Cost: Not expensive. Beer is a few euros.
Space and Ushuaia are also located here. Along with Bora Bora daytime beach club. On the off chance you are awake during the day, check it out. It's like alcohol-fueled daygame on the beach.


4)San Antonio (Sant Antoni)

My favourite along with Playa d'en Bossa. Scene: Lot of small pubs and bars. There is a street where most of the bars are at, side by side. You'll find it easily by following the music once you arrive in San Antonio West end. Ideal for bar hopping.


People: British central. Lots of young Brits on holiday.
Super cheap. I remember at one place got 2 pints and 2 complimentary shots for a total of 5 euro.

There are also two of the megaclubs in this area: Eden and El Paradis. Apart from these and the bar strip there's also Café del Mar – beachfront bar. Go there to watch the sunset, listen to some chillout, meet girls to go bar hopping with you.


General notes:
-Be ready for super long nights. Usually ended night around 9am with a breakfast before bed. Was there with a buddy and what we’d sometimes do is split the night into two halves. We'd take a relaxed dinner break from around midnight to 1am at some restaurant away from the action. Drink copious amounts of red bull.
-Don't expect to magically get laid though. You have to do a lot more than just show up.
-Don't do the trip solo. Ibiza is not the place for that. Find a buddy, or a group of cool guys. Ibiza would just be way better if not alone.
-You'll find aggressive promoters beasting on you. As well as aggressive hookers beasting on you. Like they'd follow you and shit and keep talking at you. A fun thing to do is to try to sell them a wristband you already have. Tell them you’ll give them a good deal. Try to meet a local promoter who can then hook you up with cheap/reduced entry to the megaclubs.
-Things to do to recover from drinking: can take a ferry to Formentera, which is a quiet island to the south of Ibiza. Meditate. Watch the sunset. Then head back to Ibiza for more partying after sundown. Can pre-drink on the ferry back if you feel like you've fallen behind with all your pansy sunset-watching and meditating, you fairy.

In conclusion, to paraphrase something I read:
“Ibiza is a played out, over populated shithole full of thousands of dirty nasty sluts. So, basically, yep – it's fucking great.”

[Mango444]

It seems we like the same places, +1 from me too, thank you very much for this data sheet, starting a new job there hopefully in 3 weeks time so will be there for the summer working for one of the craziest companies around so ought to be good.

I have been there on holiday but it was about 12 years ago so your info is nice and up to date.

Only thing I can say is I am planning on smashing it with women this year but probably not very well in the super clubs. As well as all of them there is also the parties that the tour operators such as cosmos, TUI, Thomas cook, Escapades, Club 18-30 run like full moon parties, low key boat parties, paint parties, end of the world and zoo fari parties.

These are more for girls who just want to have a good time rather than see a big act so hopefully this is where Im going to do more damage..and they are held before the main events so if your in san antonio maybe check out the full moon party for one.

[shotgun]

Solid sheet. Matches my experience there.

(04-14-2014 08:40 AM)Espresso Wrote:  

OK so first off, let’s get this popular myth out of the way: “Ibiza is expensive”.
No. It is only expensive in the megaclubs. In which case, yes, the prices are higher than a giraffe’s pussy. Here’s an example:
Club cover: 50 euro ($70)
Small bottle of water: 8 euro ($11)
Bottle of beer: 12 euro ($17)
Rum and coke: 15 euro ($21). You won’t get much rum or coke for your money either, and you shall receive it in a sad-looking plastic cup.

I've found accomodation to be insanely expensive too. During peak months you can easily find yourself paying over 100 EUR a night for a 15 square-meter room in Ibiza City.

Quote:

Other megaclubs: Amnesia, Space, DC10, Eden, El Paradis.

I didn't like Amnesia. Music is so loud it turns approaching on the dance floor into an impossible mission. The hack spot is the smoking lounge, outside. I managed to pick up a couple of smoking girls there (even though I'm not a smoker myself).

Quote:

-Be ready for super long nights. Usually ended night around 9am with a breakfast before bed. Was there with a buddy and what we’d sometimes do is split the night into two halves. We'd take a relaxed dinner break from around midnight to 1am at some restaurant away from the action. Drink copious amounts of red bull.

True. This also f*cks up your logistics sometimes. For example, you hook a girl in Ushuaia and want to take her home but she and her friends want to go see Armin van Buuren at Privilege at midnight.

Quote:

-Don't expect to magically get laid though. You have to do a lot more than just show up.

Namely, having high energy, money and tight logistics.

Quote:

-Don't do the trip solo. Ibiza is not the place for that. Find a buddy, or a group of cool guys. Ibiza would just be way better if not alone.

I went there solo and I agree with you. While I did have my fun and don't regret the experience, I'm pretty sure it would have been exponentially better going with some friends. Actually, this applies to most if not all summer destinations. Hvar Island, Saint Tropez... Whereas big cities like Barcelona are much better for the solo traveller.

[Espresso]

By the way, Dex and Fab from Dexpedition (fun travel show) did an episode on Ibiza where you can see some cool stuff that is mentioned in this thread. Worth watching, Dex is a fun guy.

[POASTER]

Great Datasheet! I can vouch for all you wrote.

But unfortunately R.I.P. Ibiza as of 2014.

I went in the same summer as you (2012) and had a blast. I'm sure it was even better during its heyday several years ago, but it was still really fun and unique. The atmosphere, the energy, the music, all the hot girls - it was the experience of a lifetime. But even then I noticed the signs of decline - Burger King, Subway, and KFC. I thought to myself, "It's only a matter of time. I better enjoy this while I can."

The next summer, 2013, I heard a lot of American friends mentioning Ibiza. It's like they just found out about it.

This past summer, 2014, the death blow was dealt. Hard Rock built a hotel on the island. On the news all summer I saw stories of Justin Bieber, Kim Kardashian, Kanye West, Puff Daddy, Leo DiCaprio, Paris Hilton, and tons of other American celebrities partying on "the new (!) hotspot."

Now it has entered the American mainstream's consciousness. I hope I am wrong but we may see tons of McDonalds and Starbucks and pudgey American girls on the island very soon. I wouldn't be surprised if it becomes a spring break destination, or a vacation spot for 35 year old American career women to love/eat/pray.

Ibiza - you were good to us. I hope you don't get ruined by the American onslaught.

[Cocoonero]

I have been to Ibiza four times 2007 , 2008, 2009 and 2011, good memories there, hope these days come back ?
Unfortunately, every year it is getting worse and wayyyyyy cheesier.
I have been to most of places Espresso mentioned, I miss the White Island in its old days (07/08) !
During Closings (September) is better in my opinion because clubs are less packed with people than August!
If you want to have good prices for accomodation , you have to book as early as possible around February /March after some of the clubs lineup is issued through Ibizaspotlight forum mentioned in this thread , Jet apartments in D'en Bossa is quite good logistics!
PS: I am into electronic music , hence my username Cocoonero from Cocoon In Amnesia ?
Apologise for my bad english and my monotonic writing skills ?

[zatara]

BK, Subway etc have been in Ibiza forever. The San Antonio side of the island has been full of the lowest class of chavvy Brits for the last 2 decades - I don't know how you can think this has changed at all. The Ibiza Town side of the island pulls a classier sort mostly (older, more European) and has also always been a haven for celebs doing the VIP thing, nothing new about that either. Still plenty of chavs there too, though. I don't think its ever going to become too popular with Americans, given the massive distance and prices involved for them. I don't think I've ever met a single one across my many trips to the island actually, as opposed to the hordes of Aussies (and the majority Brits/Irish/Spanish/Italian).

The only thing that has changed in the last few years is the "EDM" sub-genre has grown in popularity significantly. For the oldschool minimalist-techno-is-god music snobs this is regarded as some sort of travesty, as the island is becoming more 'mainstream'. It isn't really though, its just the island responding to changing tastes in dance music.

The older classic club nights are still going strong (Cream @ Amnesia, We Love @ Space etc) and lots of very cool new places have opened in the time since I started going. Zoo Project in 2007 (for its general vibe) and Ushuaia more recently (for its phenomenal sound system and light show) are two notable examples.

[Rod]

Ibiza is done . Get over it .

If you want a cock fest blue pill holiday full of all the idiots you would see on any night out in a city in England and want to pay 5 times the price for the pleasure .. Go to Ibiza.

If you 're 'raver' and love drugs go there and sell out with 10000 other people pretending to have an 'amazing experience '

Take a generic sunset picture and make sure it doesnt include the sunburnt people throwing up on the beach and the million other people going there to ' relax and find themselves after a heavy night '

Go there and find hot chicks that spend all year getting ready to go there only to prick tease everyone and try to fuck the djs.

Bitter ? No just honest .

America ---> cancun

England ----> Ibiza

Go there and see how homo the guys are posing around in aviators and 8 packs .

Listen to the girls when they come back after a week in San Antonio and are already booking the next 'amazing holiday ' and upload all their bullshit photos onto Facebook

Want sun ? Sea and sex ? Find a other place that is less commercial , expensive and ultimately blue pill .. Or win the lottery and rock up to Ibiza in a private jet and buy your own club, sit back and drown in pussy

[Rod]

Ibiza is done . Get over it .

If you want a cock fest blue pill holiday full of all the idiots you would see on any night out in a city in England and want to pay 5 times the price for the pleasure .. Go to Ibiza.

If you 're 'raver' and love drugs go there and sell out with 10000 other people pretending to have an 'amazing experience '

Take a generic sunset picture and make sure it doesnt include the sunburnt people throwing up on the beach and the million other people going there to ' relax and find themselves after a heavy night '

Go there and find hot chicks that spend all year getting ready to go there only to prick tease everyone and try to fuck the djs.

Bitter ? No just honest .

America ---> cancun

England ----> Ibiza

Go there and see how homo the guys are posing around in aviators and 8 packs .

Listen to the girls when they come back after a week in San Antonio and are already booking the next 'amazing holiday ' and upload all their bullshit photos onto Facebook

Want sun ? Sea and sex ? Find a other place that is less commercial , expensive and ultimately blue pill .. Or win the lottery and rock up to Ibiza in a private jet and buy your own club, sit back and drown in pussy

[Espresso]

VICE just did a piece on Ibiza. I watched it, it's alright - obviously the presenter has access that a regular guy wouldn't have.

At 7:25 what he says about the usefulness of knowing the right people is spot on I think if you want to upgrade your experience. Might not be easy to get into VIP parties especially on a short trip but can definitely avoid club cover and such if you know a promoter etc. For example, me and my buddy got into Ushuaia for free - would have been 35 euro ($50) each otherwise.

Overall though I think the episode is made 'for tv' (or the equivalent online), it's a bit sensationalist/exaggerated with little practical info for the average guy. But for a general perspective on Ibiza, it's worth a look if you're interested.

[nmmoooreland20]

May be a dumb question... but is scoring party drugs straight forward on the island without connections (from service staff, street peddlers, etc)? From what I understand, possession for personal consumption is legal (though dealing is not), so wouldn’t have to worry about ramifications there.

[explorer]

For those who say Ibiza is over

Which summer party place, perhaps island would you go around Europe? What's new and hip?

On a separate note, I'm rather interested in the places where the German/Swedish (female) population goes, not so much the Brits. Or even the Eastern Europeans, if thy can afford it.

[Laser]

Hey guys. I'm headed to Ibiza for a week of partying this summer. What kind of shoes should I bring to wear to the clubs? I normally wear boots or dress shoes to the club at home, but will this be overkill in Ibiza, especially given the heat? Are smart tennis shoes acceptable?

[Kmitch]

I was there in May and I wore nicer boots for the west end the clubs I went to I did everything I could to stand out and it worked well for me but I was also the only guy not coked out of my mind and was still able to function which worked for me

[goncalo999]

Undertakering this thread --> Does anybody know how are the policies in the all-inclusive hotels regarding pulling girls in?

I'm planning to play the "my hotel bracelet is broken, please give me another one" card since I would never pay for the girl's extra charge.

[Lance Blastoff]

Depending on the hotel, they may allow a girl to come in for a defined period of time. (Ushuaia allows a girl until 6am, Hard Rock for
2.5 hours, I assume the other resorts have similar policies.)
They’ll require her to provide identification and check out.
I’d assume that this would be a real cockblock.

[Lance Blastoff]

Sorry but gotta rant. I love the music and the chill atmosphere of Ibiza, but it’s hard to enjoy.

Ibiza truly is done. Came here with my wife and other couples. Just too many thirsty dudes everywhere.

We’ve been in Ibiza for about a week, staying there for another week and it will likely be my last trip. I was here for five days two years ago and I’ve seen a significant change. Last time, I came with my then-girlfriend and 2 of her girlfriends, so I wasn’t surprised when I found us getting a lot of attention in the clubs. Both of the girls were single and I’m sure were amenable to meeting guys, but the problem was that they were so aggressive, in such large groups and (apparently) so high that they ended up feeling so uncomfortable that ANY guy pretty much couldn’t approach. (The only time guys made any traction was when we met some solid newly discharged marines - and we hung out as a group for a night. [Sadly these guys were a little too uptight to really enjoy themselves either.])

First night we got here and, at first thought it was a gay night at Pacha with all of the dudes dancing with each other. The ratio is still 70/30, bit when you eliminate the British land whales, trolls, and the cougars, it’s more like 90/10.

I was somewhat prepared for the vibe of thirstiness that pervades the clubs. But it’s gotten worse and the crowd less western. It’s become hard to enjoy yourself here, as any girl who ran a comb through her hair will be just straight out stared at by the armies of thirsty Mohammeds, even if she’s with a guy. Unless I was in direct physical contact with my girl on the dance floor, there would be some brown dude trying to grind on her within a second or two. She let go of my hand for a literally a second as we walked across the bar area in the back of Ushuaia and two different guys raced towards her and started trying to grind.

What’s really different now is that it’s everywhere. A couple of times I was out alone and could observe the atmosphere. Previously you could go to a bar or walk down the street as a girl and not have to turn down guy after guy. This year, it’s not just in the clubs. It’s spilled out on to the streets and during the day time. The sidewalk cafes are full of bearded dudes who just straight out stare at every girl with a BMI below 23 who walks past. There are just so many groups of thirsty groups of shirtless, jacked dudes desperately looking for action.

Competition is brutal here as well. A group of good looking, jacked German guys I met at the pool at my hotel basically begged us to come visit their Ushuaia stage view suite pre-party. When we got there, they were popping bottles of dim perignon, but had managed to only get one get only one Newcastle girl that two or three of the guys were desperately trying to out-AMOG each other. In Miami, they wouldn’t have had any trouble. In Bali, the girls would be lining up. In Bangkok they would be worshipped as gods.

I understand Mykonos is pretty great these days. Anyone heard?

[sync]

I heard mykonos is the new ibiza but cheaper. But i am sure the mohammed dudes know this this yet.

[TruePro]

Ibiza it's a good place, just avoid August.

[Giacomo Casanova]

Ibiza is great if you go off season, June or September looks like the best time to avoid hordes of dick heads.

[scorza]

Me and 2 of my friends (we are from Malaysia) plan on stopping by Ibiza for 2 to 3 days on our final leg of our Euro summer tour 2019 (June/July) Our Spain leg includes 2 days in Barcelona before heading to Ibiza. From what I have read on the forum and articles online, Ibiza is done for and not worth going to anymore. Is it not worth going to or its still ok to go for a day to at least just to experience Ibiza? Its really disappointing to hear the bad reviews after finally having the means to travel over there. Really appreciate all feedback. Thanks folks!

[goncalo999]

(01-27-2019 07:48 AM)scorza Wrote:  

Me and 2 of my friends (we are from Malaysia) plan on stopping by Ibiza for 2 to 3 days on our final leg of our Euro summer tour 2019 (June/July) Our Spain leg includes 2 days in Barcelona before heading to Ibiza. From what I have read on the forum and articles online, Ibiza is done for and not worth going to anymore. Is it not worth going to or its still ok to go for a day to at least just to experience Ibiza? Its really disappointing to hear the bad reviews after finally having the means to travel over there. Really appreciate all feedback. Thanks folks!

Don't agree, been there last summer and the vibe was there