Ibiza, Ibiza…. Mostly known for its clubs and nightlife, we were surprised to discover one of the most natural islands in the Mediterranean.
Hilly Ibiza
The Disney Magic docked at the cruise terminal, which, unlike the private yacht marina, is a bit further away from the city center. Disney had organized a private shuttle to take us to the marina throughout the day. And since we got to Ibiza at lunch time, there was no partying in our books! Oh… and we travel with 3 kiddos and might have promised them a beach day to end our eastbound transatlantic cruise.
Right outside of the marina, we found a couple of car rentals. We shopped two of them and settled on a Fiat Panda for less than 50 EUR for the day. The port authorities gave us a neat little map with over 50 beaches around the island, complete with a thumbnail picture of each and its location on the map.
We asked the young guy at the car rental place, to recommend non-touristy beaches. We like to find little gems, non-commercial, and natural beaches. Feeling like locals in our little car, we followed the recommendation to visit the north / north-east side of the island. We started driving straight up north and climbed up steep roads.
Cana Salada
We asked the kids to choose their favorite beach on the thumbnails from the map and they picked #31. I got to pick one as well, and wanted to visit #29 – Cana Salada. We started with my pick and saw 2 cars in front of us get turned around at the entrance of the road to the beach. Once the traffic guard saw the kids in our car, he said that with “bambini” on board, we were welcome to drive through! Those kids are paying off, after all ☺ ☺
We parked the car at the bottom of a steep hill in a sandy and improvised parking lot. A steep hike down awaited us and revealed an untouched beach. Wow!
Enclosed at the bottom of a natural amphitheater, with a little restaurant and some beach chairs, we found a little piece of heaven.
Along the side of the beach were old, yet still used, boat hangars, with concrete rails ending in the sea.
We enjoyed spending some time at Cana Salada, and regretfully left, wanting to see more of the island on our way to beach #31!
Driving across the island of Ibiza
On our way to Benirràs, we drove through many of the little villages making up the island. All named after Catholic Saints, we were surprised by how small each one truly was. We drove several kilometers between each little town, through a very dry and hilly landscape, often the only car driving down those curvy countryside roads.
We saw a sign to a point of view, not too far off our itinerary, we let our curiosity guide us. We found ourselves at the very end of a little road, ending at the top of a cliff with a 180 degree panorama of deep blue seas underneath us.
The coast in the north of the island is natural and unspoiled. Far away from the noise and parties, no hotel chains, no large nor tall buildings… This is nature at its best and we are so thankful to the locals for sharing a piece of their paradise with us.
Benirràs
We finally made it to beach #31, which the kids had picked earlier that day as their beach for the day. As we drove down from the top of the hills, we noticed cars parked on the side of the road quite far from the beach itself. It seemed like a popular beach and we found a little parking spot along the side of the road. When we got to the beach, we found a similar setup – a little restaurant serving authentic Spanish food and beach chairs – we did not have the impression of crowds as the packed street let us believe. We found ourselves a calm spot by the water and as the kids jumped in the water, I noticed stairs going up the cliff. I grabbed my camera and decided to go explore the nature around.
Just a few steps up, with the sun shining from the sea towards the beach, the waters took shades of turquoise and greens.
The view as I climbed higher was breathtaking. Private boats and larger sail boats were anchored in yet, another creek, while the path became sand and more adventurous.
Unstoppable, amazed at the beauty surrounding me, the path curved down towards the water and I noticed 2 hangars, carved into the stone. I walked down to one of them and used a moment of solitude and silence to breathe in everything that the island has to offer. Far, far away from the parties, the music and the noise.
Ibiza truly is beautiful, untouched, and unspoiled. What an incredible piece of paradise we found there.
Back to the ship
We grabbed the last shuttle to the ship at 5.30PM, after an amazing and relaxing day on Ibiza.
As we embarked the ship for the final leg of our transatlantic crossing, the Disney Magic stood in all of her splendor.
The captain backed her out and turned her around, we were showered with what we all had in mind when we saw Ibiza on the itinerary. Right by the fort, the lights of a stage above the water were flashing and loud club music was beating as a send-off to our beautiful ship.
Ibiza, we will not forget your beauty! Thank you for showing off all of your splendor!
Have you visited Ibiza? Which beach do you recommend?
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