The Balearics are a group of sun-kissed islands located close to the Spanish mainland in the Mediterranean Sea. With a great climate, beaches and easy-going nature, the islands are known around the globe for their most famous member, Ibiza.
This is a clubber’s paradise and nowhere else compares. If you want to party in the hottest and most happening destination, then book a trip to Ibiza with Busabout. The typical Ibiza tourist season runs from the beginning of May until the end of October. During this time all of the bars and restaurants are open, but the only club open for the duration is Pacha.
The Clubs
The clubbing season starts at the beginning of June and continues until the end of September. The clubs close one by one until at the end of September or the beginning of October, when Space and Dc10 close and it’s back to just Pacha again.
Es Paradis is the first of the other clubs to open, usually in the last week of May; after that is Space, on the first Sunday in June, a week after that, Amnesia, and so on. The popular nights like Cream and Cocoon don’t start until the third or fourth week of June. The closing parties start at the beginning of September and continue until the end of September.
Pacha and El Divino are in Ibiza Town, near the harbour. Space is in Playa d’en Bossa. Es Paradis and Eden are in San Antonio. Amnesia and Privilege are situated on the main road between Ibiza Town and San Antonio, near San Rafael.
Entrance tickets
You can buy your entrance tickets online but your guide will know more about this and will give you the best advice when you get there.
Dress codes
Within reason, the clubs will not refuse patrons with tickets. The hip, less hip and the sloppy are allowed to mingle without fear of contamination between status of sophistication. None of the VIP lounges allow entry with shorts – so make sure you dress up for those.
Avoiding the queue
All clubs open at midnight (Space sometimes opens earlier) and continue through until 6am (officially). As you can imagine, no one wants to be the first to arrive, but everyone wants to be there at the very latest by 3am. This means there are usually massive queues to get into the club between 1.30am and 3am, especially in August. It is still recommended to get to the club soon after it opens. Sometimes this cannot be helped – there are certain parties which are so popular that queuing is inevitable. Just come prepared.
Which queues are the longest?
All queues in August will be long so make sure you’re prepared to wait. The opening of Space, Amnesia and Privilege are also very busy nights. Popular nights at Eden and Es Paradis are busy as these two discos are in the middle of San Antonio and are a favourite with the many clubbers staying there. Pacha is very, very popular in the high season; so are We Love Space and Cocoon and Cream, so get there early. Any special parties will also be hugely popular so plan ahead for these events if you happen to be there around this time.
Club entry prices
The Spanish currency is the euro and everything is priced accordingly. Tickets for the big, famous parties (Cream, Cocoon, We Love Space etcetera.) range from 30 to 60 euro (R880) per person, depending on who’s playing and how big the party is; although the smaller clubs and discos in the town centres cost considerably less.
But then again, this is Ibiza, and you would pay as much at home for a concert ticket: and we promise you, these are nights that you will never forget. Put into perspective, it doesn’t seem that expensive after all.
The technical side: drinking
The legal age limit to buy alcohol is now 18. Officially you have to be 18 to get into the clubs. They will check ID so make sure you carry this with you and make copies of your passport and driver’s licence if you intend to use either of those as a form of ID. It is illegal to drink alcohol while walking in the streets. It is also illegal to sleep on the beach. The police patrol regularly and do not look kindly upon backpackers kipping on the sand…
A beer or water will cost you in the region of n12 in a club and n6 to n8 elsewhere. As you can see it quickly adds up – so think through your budget carefully.
Drinks are pricey, so if you want to have a few drinks before going out to save some cash, many bars have happy-hours where drinks are a lot cheaper.
There are two ways to go. The retox to detox route goes via Ibiza, Mallorca and Menorca, while the detox to retox does these islands in reverse. You can go crazy in the world’s hottest clubbing scene of Ibiza and then laze away the days on the beaches of Mallorca and Menorca. Alternatively, start chilled in Menorca and build up to some of your biggest nights ever.
l Busabout is offering eight days on these three spectacular islands from R9 540 a person sharing (students only pay R9 260pp). This includes guide, ferry tickets and transfers, seven nights’ accommodation with breakfast daily, orientation walks on each island, organised nights out and exclusive discounts to Ibiza club tickets which your guide can arrange. Departures from June to September. Contact your local travel agent or www.busabout.com.
Saturday Star