Ibiza with your lifelong best friend sounds like a dream—and it was. But did you know that Ibiza has an off-season? We didn't quite appreciate that until after we booked our trip.
Tagging on to the tail end of my friend's business trip, we decided to have a girl's weekend, taking advantage of the fact that we were both in Europe at roughly the same time.
The brief hour-long flight from Barcelona was turbulent, as we landed in quite a rainstorm. The entire plane erupted in applause, and many people made the Sign of the Cross to celebrate our landing safely. This dramatic landing was undoubtedly an ominous way to start our visit to Ibiza!
After collecting our bags, a rare time I checked a bag, we made our way to the Eurostars Ibiza, a quaint and sufficient boutique hotel with ample room for both of us.
Despite the rain, we were eager to explore Dalt Vila, the island's fortified old town. We walked for about 15 minutes and arrived to discover incredibly quaint, narrow, cobblestone streets and beautiful terraces.
There was only one thing.
The owners shuttered all the terraces for the winter! It was a literal ghost town. It was easy to imagine how busy it must be during the on season, with patrons spilling out into the streets, tourists and locals alike enjoying a pitcher, or perhaps two, of Sangria and overindulging on Croquetas de Jamón Serrano, ham croquettes.
We were in this incredible location in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea.
Alone.
Was it fatigue from traveling or disappointment? We decided we were absolutely famished. We walked through what seemed to be the entire town and finally stumbled upon a cute pizzeria serving lunch. Truth be told, they could have been serving anything, and we would have loved it. We dined on pizza and Sangria and laughed until we cried. The best friend-think-tank booked a trip to a closed island!
After lunch, the rain started falling in sheets, and we decided to return to our hotel. Flying to Ibiza for a glimpse of its party reputation was definitely something we wanted to see, but walking through the rain and getting soaked to the skin, seeing many closed businesses and empty streets, was a disappointment, to say the least. It is an island of roughly 154,000 people, yet very few companies were open. Did we really fly all this way only to have the rain ruin our plans? Better yet, did we really fly all this way to a closed island? Certainly, there should be some life with a population of over 150,000!
Where was everyone?
After quick or not-so-quick power siestas, we decided to head back into town to find an open restaurant. The rain had subsided, and we walked towards the marina and were pleasantly surprised that there was more life than we had seen earlier in the day. Restaurants were open, and locals settled in and enjoyed Saturday night with family and friends. We grabbed one of the last open tables and had an authentic Spanish tapas meal. From the croquetas Jamón and patatas bravas to the fresh guacamole and queso idiazabal, we overindulged on scrumptious plates, which, of course, were washed down quite nicely with glasses of cava and Sangria!
Before we knew it, it was midnight. Realizing that the famous clubs of Ibiza opened at 11:30 PM, we decided to go check one out. Initially slightly self-conscious that we weren't 22, we decided that we didn't travel to the middle of the Mediterranean Sea to chicken out. A short walk later, we found our way to Lolas Disco Ibiza. It was relatively easy to find as we could feel the bass thumping from down the street. After paying the cover charge, we open the first door of a two-door entry. I quickly grab my phone and start videoing our entrance. Two lifelong best friends are entering an iconic Ibiza disco! Drennan opens the second door triumphantly as if to exaggerate our entrance and…
We are the ONLY people in the disco! Not a soul in the room!
Despite being so proud of 1) just being at a disco and 2) actually staying awake this long, midnight was evidently too early for the cool kid crowd.
We decided to order at least one drink. I ordered a glass of red wine, and Drennan ordered a cava. The bartender, a scantily clad vape chain-smoking woman, informed us that we could only purchase hard liquor. It is all they have!
We solved the mystery of why people get so smashed in Ibiza!
We decide to cut our losses and head back to the hotel to collapse.
The next day, however, the sun shone, the storm passed, and a new day was upon us. We rented bikes from Hasha Ibiza. The company delivered the bikes to our hotel, and we spent the next few hours biking around Ibiza from one beach bar to the next. Nothing is more magical than having such a unique and incredible experience with your best friend of over fifty years. We rode along the gorgeous coastline, sampled more Sangria and cava, and explored this beautiful destination!
Although we didn't experience the world-famous Ibiza nightlife, we experienced a stunning island with friendly locals enjoying their off-season before the summer commences! And for what it is worth, we enjoyed a girls' weekend experience for the ages!
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