Salines Beach - Leave the car keys behind and unwind to the beat!
Salines is a favourite of mine. Chilled, with a musical background that lasts all day. It's also probably the most accessible beach from Ibiza Town other than Talamanca (see below). A bus ride away for €2 and you're there in 25 minutes flat. Newish air conditioned bus mean the journeys actually pleasant and there 'shirts-on' policy means you won't be rubbing against some sweaty torso. Catch the bus (Number 11) from Av de Isidoro Macabich in Ibiza Town and it will drop you off about 150 metres from the beach. There a little shop next to the drop off stop which serves fresh Iberian sandwiches to order so you can stock up with food and drink when you get there.
The beach is long and sandy. Many people spend the day walking up and down the beach, feet in the warm waters just people watching. Most clubs send out promoters to the beach in the afternoon, parading up and down adverting their nights.
From the sublime to the ridiculous, you’ll see it all if you visit this beach often!! Impromptu parties, costumes and music. On this beach, sometimes the freaks come-out at mid-day rather than mid-night!! If you're intending to go clubbing in the evening, watch out for these promoters. It doesn't cost anything to take a wrist band which will get you in to the club at a discounted price.So you've got there and you now want to choose a good spot on the beach. Where do you go? Human nature is to stick in groups and you certainly see this on Salines. As you walk out on to the beach, you'll find groups in the following order from right to left. Far right to middle (possibly the nicest part of the beach regarding sands) you'll find a younger crowd with sporadic families. The young crowd being lazier in style won't walk further than they have to and this proves to be the most popular and crowded part of Salines. The Jockey Club set their musical background with laid-back house playing through the day. This is the end that the party boats also tend to moor.
Just past the Jockey Club, a little further to the left and you enter the nudist section. Full nudity is allowed in this section but not essential. A little further away from the Jockey Club and the house music mellows in to the background. If you're comfortable with your surroundings, this is where you can guarantee yourself a little bit extra beach space per person!
Finally, you have the beach area to the left of the nudist section and beyond. This is the area to head to in my opinion! It has its own Iberian chilled vibe throughout the day courtesy of La Trix, a beautiful set bar and restaurant with a DJ all day long (and often a saxophonist or bongo player playing along) and masseuse. The beach quality deteriorates quite a lot outside La Trix due to seaweed and rock so situate yourself on the edge of the nudist section in order to benefit still from sandy beaches with the La Trix soundtrack in your ears. Save your beach walk for once you've chilled out a bit and get to this spot a lot quicker by walking parallel to the beach all the way through the car park. Count the beach entrance paths until you get to the 4th or 5th. Enter here and you're almost there!
Beyond the bar, Salines turns in to a dirt track and rises in height away from the beach. Many people never wander past this point but if you're early and you do, you can find your own little private beach for the day, dotted along this coast and easily accessible by path or boat. Bring your own music and you've got the perfect spot with views out to Formentera.
Formentera - A different experience all together.
Like a holiday in a holiday, a day trip to Formentera is a get-away in itself and quite an adventure. This little island off the coast of Ibiza has yet to be fully explored by myself. With hippy markets, little villages and a town, it's very different from Ibiza in that it has none of the glam Ibiza is dressed in. But it’s cool, chilled and getting cooler as more and more people visit year on year and restaurants with great sunset spots start to pop up.
Ferries to Formentera can differ greatly in price, and in speed. The large Balearia car ferries are the most expensive at around 40€ return for a day trip. But they are also the fastest with a crossing taking approximately 30 mins. The smaller ferries although cheaper could have you bobbing around on the sea for up to an hour. That’s something my tummy just wouldn't enjoy.This tip is about a very special beach on Formentera. Special as it gives you two beaches in one and also leads to a hidden walkway in the sea which if you're brave enough leads to yet a smaller island with exclusive beach. Upon disembarking from your ferry, rent out a bike (or scooter) for the day and make a bee-line back in the direction that your ferry has just arrived in. As you face the port, you want to start peddling right and stick to the coast. Up a ramp about 150m meters from the far end of the port, you'll find yourself on an elevated path than runs along the coast. The scenery is Mediterranean here with great views of the moored up millionaire yachts beyond the nature reserve. Just keep cycling, past the salt lakes always sticking to the right at any major junction until you get to a bar which marks the point at which you can't cycle beyond (because its sand!). The beach seems busy here and it’s a popular spot for water-sports. Chill-out for a while at this point. Have a drink and prepare for the next instalment!!
Bikes locked up, it’s time to make the rest of the journey on foot. Beyond the bar and over the hill, you'll see a long sand bank stretching out in front of you which over the course of about 1km will narrow, in some places becoming no wider that 30 metres, two beaches in one! Caribbean in style, this low sandbank stretches out in to the distance and many a visitor will settle for any of the spots along here, not-crowded and beautiful views.
All along this stretch, you'll come across miniature spiritual cities built from stones, rocks and distressed wood washed up by the sea. These monuments, build by the hands of hippies and revellers at full moon parties are amazing in quantity and design (see picture).
Eventually, you will reach the end of the sandbank. A little beach with a lifeguard station denotes this point. This in itself is nothing special and depending on the time of year or day will not look anything other than where beach meets sea whilst in the distance, about 200 metres away you'll see another island, tantalisingly close but looking out of reach. Think again!
Like so many things in nature, there is a hidden secret under the warm calm waters before your eyes.
The rocks on your left denote the start of a hidden walkway. A sand shelf that stretches to the island in front of you and provides a passage to the beach, frequented by the rich in boats or the brave on foot! How you want to be part of the in-crowd now! The sight at busy times is a spectacle. A human chain of refugees, holding their belongings above head as they make the journey to a better future, well at least for a couple of hours! The experience isn't one for the weak, short or faint-hearted!! As you make the journey over, anyone around 5'7" can expect the sea level to reach about neck level towards the middle before dropping to knee level for the rest of the trek. I found the journey manageable going out with the sea giving me a little helping hand along the way. The experience coming back in the deeper water was more challenging. The helping hand from Mother Nature was now more a force for evil and as I lost a little strength battling against my challenge, I did start to worry. But the deep part up to neck high is very short and even I were able to swim out of trouble. If you're cautious of the experience, the sight is still worth the trek for entertainment alone!!
Talamanca - not worth it!
Maybe the most accessible beach from Ibiza Town is Talamanca. Beyond the Marina, past Pacha and very close to Ocean Drive, Talamanca is known as the locals beach. Its a little bay, looked down upon by villa's and apartments in the softly sloping hills. The sand is grainier here, and other than a café/shop has little in the way of facilities or coolness. It is the beach that the locals 'pop out' to and not a destination beach.
........................................
Next post tomorrow is the last in this short series focusing on Ibiza and covers 3 top tips for the rest of the island.
No comments:
Post a Comment