Ibiza is 45 kilometres long and it holds two entirely separate reputations. The southern end, around Playa d'en Bossa and San Antonio, has the superclubs, the beach clubs and the arrivals that made the island famous from the late 1980s. The northern half, above a line roughly from Santa Eulalia to San Antonio, has almost none of it.
The north is hills, pine forest, red earth, small coves reached down dirt tracks, and villages with a church and a bar. Much of it is protected. The clubbing economy has not reached it and there is no particular sign that it will.
Both halves are Ibiza and the mistake is booking one while expecting the other.
Where the line falls
Playa d'en Bossa, south of Ibiza Town, is the club strip: the big venues, the beach clubs and the hotels built for them.
Ibiza Town has Dalt Vila, the walled sixteenth-century upper town that is a UNESCO site, the marina and the best restaurants.
Santa Eulalia, on the east coast, is the family end: calmer, a promenade, a marina and a fraction of the noise.
The north, above Sant Joan and around Portinatx, San Miguel and Santa Agnès, is the quiet half: coves, agroturismos and the almond blossom in February.
San Antonio, west, has the sunset strip and a reputation that varies enormously depending on which part of it you are in.
The season is short and absolute: May to October, with July and August at capacity. Most of the island closes from November to April, including many of the hotels below.
The fourteen below are grouped by half.
The north
The quiet half. Coves, forest and villages.
Six Senses Ibiza occupies a bay on the north coast with a spa, several pools, a beach club on the rocks and a farm. It is the best hotel on the island and it is a forty-minute drive from the clubs.
Six Senses Ibiza
Cala Xarraca, north · 5★ · $$$$
A northern bay with a farm and a beach club on the rocks
Check availabilityHacienda Na Xamena, Ibiza sits on a clifftop above Benirràs with terraced buildings, a spa cut into the rock and a set of cascading pools on the cliff face. The position is the most dramatic in the Balearics.
Hacienda Na Xamena, Ibiza
Above Benirràs, north · 5★ · $$$$
Cascading pools on a cliff face over the sea
Check availabilityAgroturismo Atzaró occupies a restored farm near Santa Eulalia with orange groves, two pools, a spa and a restaurant. It is the original Ibiza agroturismo and the one everything else copied.
Agroturismo Atzaró
Near Santa Eulalia · 5★ · $$$$
The original Ibiza agroturismo, in orange groves
Check availabilityCan Carlos Ibiza sits on a rural estate near San Carlos with a pool, horses and a small room count in restored farm buildings.
Can Carlos Ibiza
San Carlos, north · 4★ · $$$
A rural estate with horses and restored farm buildings
Check availabilityLa Granja Ibiza occupies a hillside near Sant Llorenç with a members' club feel, a farm and a deliberately unbranded operation.
Santa Eulalia and the east
The calmer coast, with families and marinas.
Nobu Hotel Ibiza Bay occupies a beachfront position at Talamanca with a garden, two pools, a good restaurant and an art programme. It is the most polished hotel near the town.
Nobu Hotel Ibiza Bay
Talamanca · 5★ · $$$$
Beachfront gardens and an art programme near the town
Check availabilityAguas de Ibiza by NCalma Hotels sits in Santa Eulalia with a rooftop pool, a large spa and a design-led interior.
Aguas de Ibiza by NCalma Hotels
Santa Eulalia · 5★ · $$$
Rooftop pool and a large spa on the calm coast
Check availabilityME Ibiza - The Leading Hotels of the World occupies a beachfront site with a beach club, several pools and a lively but not clubbing tone.
ME Ibiza - The Leading Hotels of the World
S'Argamassa, Santa Eulalia · 5★ · $$$
Beach club and pools without the club strip
Check availabilityIbiza Town and Dalt Vila
The walled town, the marina and the restaurants.
Montesol Experimental Ibiza occupies a 1933 building on the harbour, restored, with a rooftop pool looking up at Dalt Vila. It is the historic hotel of the island.
Montesol Experimental Ibiza
Ibiza Town harbour · 5★ · $$$
A restored 1933 landmark below Dalt Vila
Check availabilitySir Joan Hotel sits by the marina with a rooftop pool, a Japanese restaurant and the most contemporary rooms in town.
Ocean Drive Talamanca occupies a position near the port with a rooftop, a good bar and rates below the marina hotels.
Ocean Drive Talamanca
Near Ibiza Town port · 4★ · $$$
Rooftop and a good bar below marina rates
Check availabilityMikasa Ibiza Boutique Hotel ADULTS ONLY sits above the town with a small room count, a pool and views over the harbour.
Mikasa Ibiza Boutique Hotel ADULTS ONLY
Above Ibiza Town · 4★ · $$$
Small property with a pool over the harbour
Check availabilityThe southwest and the club strip
Playa d'en Bossa and the western coves.
Seven Pines Resort Ibiza occupies a pine-covered clifftop at Cala Codolar on the west coast with suites, a spa and sunsets over Es Vedrà. It is the quiet property on the busy half.
Bless Hotel Ibiza sits on Playa d'en Bossa with several pools, a beach club and a design-led interior, in the middle of the club strip.
What we have left off
The villa rentals across the island are excluded, and in Ibiza they are an enormous industry, particularly in the north and for groups in August. They are houses rather than hotels.
What to do
Walk Dalt Vila, the walled upper town, in the early evening, up through the gates to the cathedral and the ramparts.
Go to the north for a day whatever half you are staying in: Benirràs for the drumming at sunset on Sundays, Cala Xarraca and Cala d'en Serra for the coves, and the almond valleys around Santa Agnès.
Take a boat to Formentera, half an hour south, which has the best beaches in the Mediterranean and no airport, which is why it stays as it is.
See Es Vedrà, the limestone islet off the southwest coast, from the cliffs at Cala d'Hort at sunset.
Eat properly. The island has a serious restaurant scene now, from beach shacks doing bullit de peix to the harbour restaurants in Ibiza Town.
Practical notes
Ibiza's airport is fifteen minutes from Ibiza Town and forty from the north, with very heavy European traffic in season.
May, June, September and October are the best months: warm sea, open restaurants and manageable rates. July and August are at capacity with rates several times higher. November to April, most of the island closes.
A car is essential in the north and a liability in the south in August.
Explore 4 & 5 Star Ibiza Hotels
Questions people actually ask
Can you avoid the clubs entirely?
Yes, easily. The northern half has essentially none of it and it is a forty-minute drive from the strip.
When is the season?
May to October. Much of the island, including many hotels, closes from November to April.
Ibiza or Formentera?
Formentera has the better beaches and no airport. It is a half-hour ferry and a very good day out or a few nights.
How many nights?
Six. Four in one half and a couple of days seeing the other.