Ibiza is one of the Balearic Islands off the western coast of Spain. The island is notorious for its lively nightlife – I’m talking parties that go all night with famous DJs like Calvin Harris and Tiesto. What draws the most visitors to the island of Ibiza is the plethora of white sand and clear water beaches. These beaches are the backdrops of many Instagram posts. Many celebrities vacation there, including Leo Messi, Chiara Ferragni, and Leonardo Dicaprio, to name a few.
This August, my sister and I were searching for a good place to vacation and we decided to see if Ibiza lived up to its social media hype. We had very high expectations for this island that looked like paradise on Earth. The day we landed in Ibiza, the sky was grey… nothing like the clear, sunny skies displayed on our Instagram feeds. The passage through the airport was quick and easy. We walked out and hailed a cab that would take us to our Airbnb.
We rented a house in Sant Josep de Sa Talaia, which is a municipality in Ibiza. It is made up of mainly fishing villages and resorts. Our Airbnb was in between two of the best beaches in Ibiza – Cala Vadella and Cala D’Hort. By the time we got to our Airbnb, the skies cleared and the sun had come out and it was finally starting to look like Ibiza. We decided to go to Cala Vadella on our first day there.
A thing we quickly learned (the hard way) was that Uber was nonexistent on this little island, so we decided to walk to the beach. We felt that it would be a nice way to explore the island. Well, the streets in Sant Josep are not well transited; you’ll see a car maybe every 10 minutes and a couple of houses scattered here and there. After walking for what felt like hours under the hot Spanish sun, we made it to Cala Vadella.
Cala Vadella was breathtaking! The beach was enclosed on either side by cliffs and the water was a beautiful turquoise color. Ships littered the water and families and couples were lounging on the beach. This was what I was expecting of Ibiza. The water was somewhat cold when we went in, but it felt nice after a little while. The water was so clear that I could see little fish swimming all around me. Restaurants and ice cream shops can be found on the cliffs. We tried the authentic Spanish paella which was delicious, a definite must-have if you ever find yourself in Spain.
After spending the day swimming and trying to achieve the perfect summer tan, my sister and I decided to watch the sun go down.
We then decided it was time to go home, but the question was how were we going to get back. The walk back was long and the streets were not well-lit. My sister and I felt like that was not the safest decision.
We then decided to call a cab because in Ibiza you cannot hail a cab unless you are at the airport; you have to order them by phone. We called the cab company and the phone call was very interesting. We asked for a cab to one of the restaurants on the beach and the lady on the line just hung up. We were left wondering whether the cab was actually going to come or not. So, we called back and the woman yelled at us for wanting a confirmation. She said that if you call the cab company and even though they do not explicitly say a cab is coming, you should assume a cab is on its way. Well, the night could only get better from there. Wrong!
We waited for the cab for 30 minutes and there was no sign of it anywhere. Then 15 more minutes went by, and still no cab. After an hour of waiting, we called back and they said the cab would be there any minute. Unsurprisingly, this turned out to be a major lie. It became an hour and 30 minutes and still no cab. I started to panic, what were we going to do? This was a situation I had never been in before. It was just my sister and me fending for ourselves. It is scary being in a new place, not to mention that it was already around 11 p.m. and the beach was almost empty. My biggest fear was that everyone was going to leave and we were still going to be stuck there. Who else were we going to call to get us out of this mess? At the two hour mark, my sister had enough and called back. The rude lady from before answered and my sister gave her a piece of her mind. 10 minutes later a cab showed up and we were finally on our way – good thing, because my sister was ready to ask a stranger for a ride. That night was very stressful, to say the least. Pro-tip: if you plan on going to Ibiza make sure you rent a car. You do not want to be stranded on the beach for hours.
All in all, Ibiza is beautiful and this stressful situation did not take away from the beauty of the island. If you are looking for breathtaking scenery and a good place to kick back than Ibiza is the place for you.
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