Outside Ciudad Ibiza Travel Guide

The lovely, relaxed beach town of Santa Eulalia del Rio lies about half an hour up the east coast of Ibiza, on the estuary of the only river in the Balearics. It’s easily reached from Ciudad de Ibiza if you don’t have a car, with hourly buses (3€ one-way) leaving from Avenida D’Isidor Macabich, and seven boats a day (trip time 45 min.; call 616-496-606 for information). The principal monument in Santa Eulalia is a 16th-century fortress church standing on a hilltop, or puig, with an ornate Gothic altar screen inside. Santa Eulalia’s tourist office (Marià Riquer Wallis, 4; tel. 97-133-07-28), opens in summer Sunday to Friday 9:30am‒1:30pm and 5‒7:30pm, Saturday 10am‒1pm; the rest of the year it’s open Monday to Friday 9am‒2pm.

From Santa Eulalia, you can reach the area’s prime beaches by bus or boat, departing from the harbor near the boat basin. There are four buses a day to Aigües Blanques, one of the best beaches, 10km (6 1/4 miles) north. (It’s legal to go nude here.) The long, sandy cove of Cala Llonga, 5km (3 miles) south, is served by 12 buses a day. Cala Llonga fronts a bevy of package-tour hotels, so it’s often crowded. Boats depart Santa Eulalia for Cala Llonga every 30 minutes, 9am‒6pm. Es Canar, a white-sand beach 5km (3 miles) north of town, is accessed by boats and buses that leave every 30 minutes, 8am‒9pm. Four buses a day depart for Cala Lleñya and Cala Nova, further north of town.

As you head up and around Ibiza’s northern tip, there’s less tourist activity, and you’ll see some of the island’s prettiest countryside, with fields of olive, almond, and carob trees and the occasional finca raising melons or grapes. Heading north from Santa Eulalia, just before the town of Sant Carles (San Carlos), on Saturdays you might find a flea market (open 10am until 8 or 9pm) offering vintage and new clothing, crafts, and the usual odds and ends. A beautiful drive leads along the coast to Cala Sant Vicent (San Vicente), then around the island’s northern tip to Portinatx, which has a series of beaches and bays marred by a string of shops and haphazardly built hotels.

For a taste of the northern coast’s rugged beauty, go east from Portinatx to the jagged shore along the open sea. Just north of Port de Sant Miquel (Puerto de San Miguel), an unpaved but passable road leads out to the small, pretty cove of Playa Benirras, where lounge chairs are available and pedal boats are for rent. You’ll find snack bars and restaurants on the beach. The beach is known for stunning sunsets and you might encounter groups drumming as the sun goes down.

Off the main road leading into Port de Sant Miquel, you’ll find Cova de Can Marçà  (pictured above; tel. 97-133-47-76). After a stunning descent down the stairs clinging to the cliff’s face, you enter a cave that’s more than 100,000 years old and forms its stalactites and stalagmites at the rate of about .6cm (1/4 in.) per 100 years. Once a favored hiding place for smugglers and their goods, it’s now a smartly orchestrated surrealistic experience—including a sound-and-light display. The 30-minute tour, offered 10:30am‒7:30pm, is conducted in several languages for groups of up to 70. The cave is open all year, closed 5:30pm Nov–Apr; admission is 14€ for adults and 8.50€ for children.