When I was young and fun and in Ibiza…

Six years ago my girlfriend (now my wife) and I went on a tour of Spain organised by Australian tour group the Fanatics. As hard as it is for me to believe now, as a 30 year old man who’d prefer a quiet night drinking some craft beer with a few mates, Ibiza was one of the highlights of that trip.

This is a short blog post I wrote at the time for only my friends and family back home…

Partying in Ibiza with our tour group

With that infectious Venga Boys track playing in my head we flew into Ibiza, prepared to party in the Mediterranean Sea.

We took up so many seats on the small plane from the Spanish mainland that they could have rebranded it “Fanatics Airways”. And as it turned out, going to Ibiza as part of a tour-group was a good choice. I had 50-odd ready and willing accomplices – most of them Australians, but also a few Kiwis and other nationalities thrown in to keep things interesting.

And what a party it turned out to be. As much a playground for the young and hip as Las Vegas is for people with more disposable income and a proclivity for gambling, Ibiza is as debauched as you want it to be and twice as boisterous as you imagine.

Our first night was relatively low-key – for Ibiza that is – as we downed a few drinks on our hotel balcony over-looking San Antonio Beach and then went into the township to a few of the minor clubs (that is to say they were smaller clubs, not full of young people).

It was the calm before the storm, the eye of the hurricane or whatever other weather-related cliché you like. Embracing all that is Ibiza, our second night on the island was huge. HUGE.

Getting up around midday – an early morning in Ibiza – we spent the day on the beach and in the hotel pool, before heading to one of the island’s largest clubs: Space.

Fifty-euro door charge and 10-euro beers be damned; we were determined to make it count. Spread out over five rooms with room for up to 10,000 people, Space is so monstrous that if you get separated from your friends you could walk around all night without bumping into them again.

Space, which is located in Playa d-en Bossa, was named the “Best Global Club” at the International Dance Music Awards in 2005, 2006, 2012 and in 2013, so you don’t need to just take my word for it when I say that it’s an amazing club.

With my ears ringing and body crying out for sleep, I stumbled back into the hotel around 7am. Too tired to be hungry or thirsty, I fell into a deep sleep only to wake up in time for one final night out.

After watching a beautiful sunset at Cafe del Mar, and then drinking some sangria and watching fireworks from the hotel balcony (I imagine fireworks are a regular occurrence in Ibiza), we tracked down some club representatives who were giving out armbands that promised free entry to some of Ibiza’s middle-tier nightclubs.

Honestly, the night is a bit of a blur – but I’m pretty sure Es Paradis was one of the clubs we visited. We were back at the hotel by 5am and then Valencia-bound on a nine-hour ferry just four short hours later.

We were tired and sore, but happy. We had made our three nights in Ibiza count.

Ibiza dos and don’ts

Some quick travel tips if you’re considering travelling to Ibiza…

• Don’t do drugs, m’kay. I saw people kicked out of the clubs or not even allowed in if they had drugs on their person.
• Do visit Ibiza with a bunch of mates or as part of a tour group, as we did. To this day we’re still friends with some of the people we met on that tour.
• Don’t buy too many drinks at the big night clubs – because you’ll just about need to take out a mortgage. I bought a 300ml bottle of Budweiser beer at Space that must have cost around €10.
• Do always drink water from bottles. You don’t want to get sick, plus there was rumour in Ibiza that all the tap water in the bathrooms at the big Ibiza clubs was salty.
• Don’t just party all night and sleep throughout the day. Parts of Ibiza are absolutely lovely. Go for a swim in the ocean, go snorkelling or diving, or charter a boat.
• Do visit Ibiza during clubbing season, which starts at the end of May and runs though until early October. I was in Ibiza in August, and the island was packed. Suffice it to say, you’d best book your accommodation early.
• Do visit Ibiza when you’re young. We had a brilliant time back then, but I’m not sure I’d be as up for it these days!

While you’re here, check out these top 5 reasons to visit Barcelona.