There's always something to do on Ibiza. With more direct flights and regular flights from mainland Spain you can easily spend a great 48 hours during winter and it's an ideal time to come – it's quieter and the roads are less choked, there are more chances to see the beautiful nature and buzzing nightlife is always on hand. Try and get an early flight to make the most of your limited time and check out our sample itinerary. Have fun!
Day 1
Lazy morning
Depending on what's left of your morning, we suggest you head out for breakfast in a local café and ask for pan con tomate (bread rubbed with tomato and drizzled with olive oil) or some scrambled eggs with a good strong coffee. Royalty in Santa Eulalia and Croissant Show in Ibiza Town are both great breakfast venues and will get you out of your accommodation and moving.
Get on your feet
After a fortifying late breakfast, you'll be ready to use some energy up. During February the Almond trees with their light-pinkish hue and fragrant scent is a sight to behold. There are walks all over the island and two new books have just come out covering the north and the south respectively and boast lots of fun walks. If that's too much, simply take a drive, stop and wander around. Be sure to mark where you are on a map and especially note the place where you left your car.
Stop at a white village
Wherever you are on the island, there's a pretty village nearby with pretty old churches, graceful squares and bags of charm. They vary in size – all though have at least a couple of small cafés to stop for refreshments. In the north there's San Miguel, San Carlos and Santa Ines, in the west San Agustin and Es Cubells, whilst in the centre there's the lovely and stylish Santa Gertrudis with its wide selection of restaurants and cafes if you fancy a quick bite.
A nice fat dinner
There are a great number of great restaurants on this island and after your long day, you'll fancy something substantial, especially if you haven't had much since your late breakfast. Have a cocktail to start off with and let the evening take you. You could try the well-regarded Nepalese Kathmandu restaurants in Santa Eulalia and Ibiza Town or head to Sa Brisa in Ibiza for some modern tapas. Can Pilot in San Rafael is great for grilled meats as is Chimichurri near San Agustin. Then it's a relatively early night for you to take advantage of the next day.
Day 2
Get into history or nature
Ibiza has history in abundance, so after your early night in bed you can take in some sights. Dalt Vila is great to wander around all the way up to the Cathedral on top or you could stop by one of its museums like the Puget for photography or modernism in the Contemporary Art Museum. If you want natural beauty, head to one of the mostly deserted beaches. Las Salinas Nature Park is beautiful to drive though and you can walk along its long white-sanded beach. A hike to the pirate tower from Cala Conta would be equally refreshing.
Lazy lunch
If you didn't get much dinner last night, it's now time for a lazy lunch maybe taking advantage of a menu del día fixed price menu that won't break the bank. These cost anything between €10-18 for three courses. You just need to wander around and see which places do them or get our recommendations here. Many restaurants are doing themed set menus from around the world in Ibiza Town's restaurant festival for €18 and these menus are even available at night. Ca n'Alfredo is a good lunch time selections in Ibiza Town and The Olive Tree in Cala de Bou (open from February) does a great weekend roast dinner.
Window shopping or markets
Even in winter, there's shops aplenty open. Ibiza Town has its chain stores like Zara and Desigual, though it has retained lots of independent shops and there are many small clothing boutiques between Vara de Rey and Avenida Bartolemé Roselló that open during winter, as do the boutiques of Santa Gertrudis. Santa Eulalia has lots of shops in which to browse or if you are here on a Saturday, Las Dalias hippie market has jewellery, clothing and hand made cosmetics.
A light and tasty bite
At this point you will have probably eaten quite a bit and as you are out tonight, then just have a light bite. Tapas are perfect for this and most bars will do a small selection which you can have with a couple of beers. In Ibiza Town there's the growing pintxo trail (tasty bites on cocktail sticks) with places like Can Terra or Pintxos where you can try out these Basque beauties.
Into the night
There is a wealth of bars that open late in Ibiza Town. Plaza del Parque has many hostelries and walking around you will see more. Teatro Pereyra is the place to grab some live music - get your drinks in before the performance starts, else you'll pay about double. For late nightlife you have Pacha always open on a Friday and Saturday plus the odd Sunday in winter and even Sankey's has been doing extra winter nights. Sushipoint in Marina Botafoch is party central during this period and Calle de la Virgen on Saturday's has many bars open and is gay friendly too. Around the island, San Antonio and Santa Eulalia have late-opening bars, but we think you should head to the capital for the most late night fun.
There you have it: a bite size selection of things to do in winter in just two days, which will hopefully leave you exhilarated, refreshed and wanting more.
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WORDS | Julian Heathcote
