Ibiza Itinerary: How to Plan 2, 3 or 7 Days on the Island

Where to base yourself for a short trip

Ibiza Town is the strongest base for a two- or three-day visit: the walled old town, the port and the cathedral sit together, and you can walk to dinner rather than queue for a taxi. It also puts you on the right side of the island for the airport and for the ferry to Formentera, which leaves from the town's port.

Playa d'en Bossa suits anyone who wants beach clubs and late nights without driving, and it is the closest resort to the airport. The trade-off is that it is a commercial strip of bars, restaurants and hotels rather than a village, so you get convenience instead of atmosphere.

San Antonio works if sunsets and boat trips are your priorities: the Sunset Strip is lively between May and September, and boat departures for the west coast leave from the town. Santa Eulària des Riu, further east, is quieter and better suited to a first trip that mixes beach time with an evening promenade walk.

If your dates are already fixed, the month decides as much as the map: July and August bring the fullest beaches and the longest queues, while June and September keep the atmosphere with fewer people. Check what your chosen resort is like in your travel month before you book.

2-day Ibiza itinerary: Dalt Vila, a southern beach and dinner in town

Day one belongs to Ibiza Town. Start early at Dalt Vila, the walled UNESCO-listed old town, walking the cobbled streets up to the Catedral de Santa Maria and the castle walls for views over the port; going early avoids both the heat and the crowds.

Spend the afternoon on the south coast at Ses Salines or Es Cavallet, both fine sand and clear water with beach bars behind them. For lunch by the sea, Jockey Club at Ses Salines and Chiringay at Es Cavallet are the two easy options.

Eat dinner at the port, where the restaurants face the water and you can walk back to a hotel in town. If you want one big night, Pacha is close to Ibiza Town, which saves a taxi fare across the island; clubs fill after midnight, so arriving at eleven leaves you in an empty room.

Day two heads west. Cala Salada and Cala Saladeta have turquoise water and pine-covered slopes, but parking fills fast in high season, so either arrive early or take the ferry from San Antonio instead of driving.

Continue to Cala Conta, also called Platges de Comte, for a swim and a drink at Sunset Ashram before turning back towards San Antonio. It is a lot of coast for one day, and the sensible trade-off is to pick two coves rather than trying to tick off four.

Finish with sunset at Café del Mar or Café Mambo on the San Antonio strip, or drive a little further out for something calmer. Dinner afterwards runs late by British standards, so book your table for around nine rather than turning up at seven.

3-day Ibiza itinerary: add the north and a hippy market

With a third day, use it for the north instead of squeezing in another southern beach. San Carlos, once the centre of the island's hippy scene, has an old white-painted church and quiet lanes leading to restaurants, and the beaches nearby include Cala Nova and, further north, Cala Xarraca, where a snorkel is worth packing.

Pair San Carlos with Las Dalias, the hippy market, which usually runs on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Confirm the market day for your dates before building the day around it, because it is the one element of this plan that can shift.

The alternative third day is Formentera. The ferry from Ibiza Town takes about 35 minutes, and hiring a bike or scooter on arrival gets you to Ses Illetes or Cala Saona without depending on buses.

Whichever you choose, keep the evening loose. A market morning plus a beach afternoon plus a late dinner is a realistic day; adding a club on top usually means dropping something else.

7-day Ibiza itinerary: the slow version

A week lets you split the island properly: two days in and around Ibiza Town, two on the west coast, one in the north and one on Formentera, with a buffer day for weather or a late night. Give Formentera its own full day rather than bolting it onto a beach morning.

One version of the Formentera day is a chartered boat with a skipper, sailing out around lunchtime and returning to Ibiza Town near sunset, with a restaurant booking on the island arranged in advance. It is the expensive option, and the regular ferry plus a rented bike covers the same beaches for far less.

Keep one day for a beach club and nothing else. Aiyanna and Atzaró Beach on Cala Nova, or Amante on Cala Sol d'en Serra a short drive away, are lunch-and-swim stops rather than all-day commitments, and they suit a slower pace after a late night.

On the west side, add Benirrás for its sunset, arriving an hour early to find a spot on the beach; Can Currune nearby is a stop for food before or after. For a quieter evening, Kumharas near Cala de Bou or Hostal La Torre at Cap Negret do the same job without the crowd.

Punta Arabi, near Cala Nova, is the other market worth planning around, with a Wednesday daytime market described as running from ten in the morning until four in the afternoon. Treat those hours as a guide only and confirm before you set out.

Day-by-day at a glance

Day one: Dalt Vila in the morning, Ses Salines or Es Cavallet in the afternoon, dinner at the port, then Pacha if you have the energy. Day two: Cala Salada and Cala Saladeta early, Cala Conta after lunch, sunset at Café del Mar or Café Mambo, dinner in San Antonio.

Day three: San Carlos and Cala Nova, with Las Dalias if it is a market day, or a full day on Formentera by ferry. Days four to seven: a boat day, a beach-club day, Benirrás for sunset and one unplanned day that absorbs whatever ran late.

Mornings are for the places that get crowded, afternoons for the beach, and evenings for a late dinner followed by whatever the night brings. Trying to put a club night before a coves morning is the single most common way a short Ibiza trip falls apart. The same pacing logic drives a good ronda itinerary, where cliff-top sights come early and long lunches follow.

Where to eat on each day, from beach clubs to wood-fired pizza

In San Antonio, Tapas Ibiza has a restaurant and garden that make it a comfortable dinner stop after a sunset on the strip. In Playa d'en Bossa, Beachouse Ibiza covers refined dining while Zazú Ibiza leans on typical Spanish dishes; Dunes Ibiza is the quicker option for drinks and shared finger food in a central spot.

Beach clubs often close early, by around eight in the evening, which makes them an early-dinner option rather than a late one. If you want to eat at nine or later, plan on a town restaurant instead and save the beach club for a long lunch.

For something simple, Es Tancó makes pizza in a traditional wood-burning oven, with branches in Sant Jordi and San Rafael plus takeaway and delivery in Ibiza Town. That makes it a useful fallback on an arrival night or after a late beach day when nobody wants a long meal.

Lunch on the coast is the meal to book ahead in high season, whether that is the beach bars behind Ses Salines and Es Cavallet or a table on Cala Nova. Prices vary by venue and season, so check the menu at the door or on the restaurant's own site before committing to a long lunch.

Sunset spots: the San Antonio strip versus quieter options

The San Antonio Sunset Strip is the loudest and easiest option, busy from May through September, with Café del Mar and Café Mambo as the established names. You get a guaranteed crowd and a short walk to dinner, but you also get crowds, queues and higher drink prices than elsewhere.

For something calmer, Kumharas near Cala de Bou and Hostal La Torre at Cap Negret, slightly north of San Antonio, both face the sunset without the strip's noise. They suit a slower evening, and you can eat at either rather than driving back into town afterwards.

Further north, Benirrás draws a crowd for its sunset, with drummers on the beach and a busy shoreline in the hour before. Arrive early, and consider eating at Can Currune beforehand so you are not hunting for a table at dusk.

Getting around: car hire, taxis, buses and the Discobus

A hire car is the practical choice for a west-coast or northern day, and Moto Luis in San Antonio is one option if you are based there. Driving on unfamiliar roads at night is the trade-off, so decide before you book whether anyone in the group will stay sober.

Taxis run island-wide, and the ride-hailing app Uber also operates on Ibiza, with the bus network and Discobus routes covering most places day and night. On a 48-hour trip, waiting at bus stops is time you will not get back, so use buses for planned point-to-point journeys and taxis when you are chasing a booking.

Boats are a transport option as well as a day out: the ferry from Ibiza Town to Formentera takes about 35 minutes, and a ferry also links San Antonio with Cala Salada when the car park is full. Star Boats in San Antonio rents small craft that need no licence if you would rather explore the west coast under your own steam.

Timing your days around Spanish meal times and late nights

Lunch is the main meal in the Spanish pattern, roughly between half past one and four, and dinner starts around nine to ten in the evening. A beach club lunch at two and a restaurant dinner at nine keeps you in step with the kitchens rather than arriving when they are closing.

Clubs fill after midnight, and one account from 2022 describes arriving at eleven and finding the room empty. Treat late starts as the norm, keep the following morning light, and do not book an early boat the day after a big night.

A midday siesta is not a cliché here: shops close in the afternoon and the evening runs late, so build a pool or beach break into the middle of the day instead of pushing through. That rhythm is what makes a three-day plan feel longer than it is.

When to go: high season versus June and September

May to September is high season, with the liveliest atmosphere and the warmest temperatures, and June and September are less crowded than July and August. For a short trip built around coves and sunsets, those shoulder months give you the same coastline with more room at the car parks.

July and August bring the fullest beaches and the slowest roads, so a two-day plan in those months should stay closer to your base. Even in high summer, the northern beaches around Cala Nova can still be quiet enough to find space of your own.

If you are travelling later in the season, read up on what stays open before locking in an itinerary built around beach clubs and boat trips.

Common planning mistakes that wreck a short Ibiza trip

The biggest mistake is crossing the island twice in one day, for example a northern beach in the morning and a southern sunset the same evening. Pick a side and stay on it, and you will fit in more without feeling rushed.

The second is treating clubs as an early-evening activity: arrive before midnight and you will be standing in an empty room. The third is assuming you can park at the popular coves at midday in August; arrive early or take the ferry instead.

Finally, leave one slot free. Weather, a long lunch or a late night will eat into a tightly packed plan, and the day you enjoyed most is usually the one you did not schedule to the minute.

Plan Your Visit

Two days gives you Dalt Vila, one southern beach and a San Antonio sunset if you move early; three adds the north or Formentera; seven lets you do all of it with a boat day and a beach-club day in between. Pick your base to match your evenings, group each day by area, and book the meals that matter.

Confirm market days, ferry times and restaurant opening days for your exact dates before you travel, since those are the details most likely to change between seasons.