Ibiza: The North Is a Different Island

The south-west — Es Cubells, Cala Jondal, Porroig — is the address most people mean when they say Ibiza: cliffside estates, Formentera on the horizon, and a fifteen-minute drive to the airport. It is also the most expensive land on the island.

Santa Gertrudis and the centre trade the sea view for privacy, olive groves and the best restaurants outside town. The north, around San Juan and Benirras, is quieter again, greener, and materially cheaper for the same square metres — with a forty-five minute drive to anywhere fashionable.

July and August are a market of their own here. Minimum stays run to a week, rates double, and the houses that matter are gone by February. June and September deliver the same sea, the same light and a calmer island at two-thirds of the price.

Staffing follows the same pattern as the rest of the Balearics: housekeeping and pool care inside the rate, chef and driver alongside it. On the cliff roads, a driver is not a luxury.

If it is your first summer here, look at the last week of June. The water has warmed, the beach clubs have opened, and nothing has yet reached its August pitch.