T
Thiago from Brazil
Guest
Hello cyberfriends,
I read lots of your reviews before setting off to the island and just imagined what it would be like when it was my turn to write about my experiences. And my time has come. I just put some brand new CDs I bought in the island to help me travel back in time....
First I´ll answer that brief questionnaire that seems to work fine and give a brief notion of what I did. Then I´ll write a proper diary reporting my experiences, feelings etc. Hope you enjoy reading as much as I did writing !
Dates I was there:
Arrived on Sep 1st and left on Sep 12th, to Madrid, and then on Sep 15th back home in Brazil.
Where I stayed:
At a very cool little hostel in the heart of Ibiza Town. It´s my hidden treasure and costed only 30 euros per day (I traveled alone and it would be too expensive to pay for a single bedroom in a hotel). It´s called Casa de Huespedes Vara de Rey.
Club nights visited:
1/9 Sundays @ Space
2/9 Roger Sanchez @ Pacha
3/9 Renaissance @ Amnesia + Perfecto @ Pacha
4/9 La Troya @ Amnesia
5/9 Carl Cox @ Space + Cream @ Amnesia
7/9 Danny Tenaglia @ Privilege
8/9 Sundays @ Space
9/9 Dave Seaman @ El Divino
10/9 Digweed´s no show @ Amnesia
11/9 Subliminal @ Pacha
Best night:
The first half of Sasha´s set at Space´s terrace on his birthday on Sep 1st was the most magical piece of music ever, but Tenaglia´s show at Privilege was indeed the best night of them all. A night to remember.
Worst night:
Digweed´s no-show at Renaissance. The substitute DJ was crap and there were very few people in a smost of them just turned back and left when they were told the DJ wouldn´t play. Oh, and Paul Oakenfold at Pacha too. I know that many will hate me for it, and I don´t mean to offend anybody (so please don´t offend me), but he definitely sucks. He played such cheesy-FM-trance craps and thousands of trance kids in polo shirts from M&S were adoring him as if he was God... and he was acting as if he was God too... what a shame, really...
Best bar:
Sugarsea at the Sunset Strip. Much cooler, much more intimate, much better service... a real atmosphere (even though you have to check Cafe Del Mar once too).
Best place to eat:
Eating is not a very remarkable experience in Ibiza, IMHO. You have to pay 30 euros for a proper meal in a good restaurant. So all that´s left is pizza, sandwiches etc. But I would point a tiny pasta place called Osteria which was in a little street in the beginning of Calle de la Virgen. Nice pasta for 10 euros. Among quick snacks, Pizza Loco at Ibiza Harbour serves good pizza a taglio for 3 euros and it´s handy when you´re late for the club. Oh, and Haagen Dazs too - it was across the square from my hostel and had some ice-cream flavours we don´t get in Brazil.
Money spent:
I carried 1800 euros for the whole journey, 1460 if you discount the hostel expenses. So it was an average of 100 euros/day.
Biggest regret:
I keep on repeating that I did my best at the time and should let it be, but there were still many regrets...
- Going to Space only in the evenings and not attending any of the after parties in the morning.
- Not trying Circo Loco (OK, I was sleeping the first Monday and sunbathing the second) and missing Tenaglia´s surprise appearance.
- Watching the best sunset of my life in Cala Salada without a mosquito repelent.
- Giving up the second part of Coxy´s set at the discoteca to go to Cream@Amnesia, which was packed to bursting and full of trance kids (no prejudice here, just not up my street).
- Being afraid of rejection and not talking to many new people as I would have liked to (OK, people were not as "magical", "loved-up" and "superfriendly" as I thought, but part of it was my fault too).
- Missing Formentera because I clubbed too much and there was no time left in the end.
- AND THE BIGGEST: Trying to do many things and many places at the same time and not enjoying each thing to its fullest. Lesson learned for a second time.
Going back ?
Yeah. I hope so. But next time, not by myself, but with a nice group of friends to share moments with, and perhaps not for so long, because I won´t be able to afford it again !
Top tip:
A few ones, from my point of view:
- Clubs are awesome, but the island is wonderful too. Don´t fly back home without having gone to the beach, strolled around Dalt Villa and watched some sunsets. Save at least one day for proper tourism too.
- Come with friends. You will meet new people anyway, but normally it´s all very ephemeral, just for a couple of moments, no tomorrow, so it´s important to have close buddies to share things with. Even because it´s not necessarily every day that you´ll come across some fab mates.
- Watch many sunsets, and not only from the Sunset Strip. There are lots of beaches (Cala d´Hort, Benirràs etc.) that will give you beautiful sunsets without the hordes of tourists, making for a more intimate and meaningful experience. My personal favourite is Cala Salada, which is only 8 euros away from San An harbour by taxi.
- Choose Ibiza Town to stay. It really makes a difference. It´s not that expensive if you do some previous research. You´re close to the Old Town, which is definitely worth seeing, and all clubs are quite handy. And it´s by far the best atmosphere, from the stores to the restaurants to the bars. All that bad talk about San An has a little prejudice on it but on the other hand they´re right too. It´s really full of drunken kids, looky looky guys and weird karaoke bars, and the food options are "cheap" in a bad sense. D´En Bossa is handy for Space and Bora Bora but it doesn´t feel like "Ibiza" at all, it´s a freak version of Venice Beach-Calif. My opinion...
- Please allow yourself to fully enjoy what you´re doing instead of already thinking about what you will do next. Even if it means going to less beaches and parties, you´ll have better memories...
I read lots of your reviews before setting off to the island and just imagined what it would be like when it was my turn to write about my experiences. And my time has come. I just put some brand new CDs I bought in the island to help me travel back in time....
First I´ll answer that brief questionnaire that seems to work fine and give a brief notion of what I did. Then I´ll write a proper diary reporting my experiences, feelings etc. Hope you enjoy reading as much as I did writing !
Dates I was there:
Arrived on Sep 1st and left on Sep 12th, to Madrid, and then on Sep 15th back home in Brazil.
Where I stayed:
At a very cool little hostel in the heart of Ibiza Town. It´s my hidden treasure and costed only 30 euros per day (I traveled alone and it would be too expensive to pay for a single bedroom in a hotel). It´s called Casa de Huespedes Vara de Rey.
Club nights visited:
1/9 Sundays @ Space
2/9 Roger Sanchez @ Pacha
3/9 Renaissance @ Amnesia + Perfecto @ Pacha
4/9 La Troya @ Amnesia
5/9 Carl Cox @ Space + Cream @ Amnesia
7/9 Danny Tenaglia @ Privilege
8/9 Sundays @ Space
9/9 Dave Seaman @ El Divino
10/9 Digweed´s no show @ Amnesia
11/9 Subliminal @ Pacha
Best night:
The first half of Sasha´s set at Space´s terrace on his birthday on Sep 1st was the most magical piece of music ever, but Tenaglia´s show at Privilege was indeed the best night of them all. A night to remember.
Worst night:
Digweed´s no-show at Renaissance. The substitute DJ was crap and there were very few people in a smost of them just turned back and left when they were told the DJ wouldn´t play. Oh, and Paul Oakenfold at Pacha too. I know that many will hate me for it, and I don´t mean to offend anybody (so please don´t offend me), but he definitely sucks. He played such cheesy-FM-trance craps and thousands of trance kids in polo shirts from M&S were adoring him as if he was God... and he was acting as if he was God too... what a shame, really...
Best bar:
Sugarsea at the Sunset Strip. Much cooler, much more intimate, much better service... a real atmosphere (even though you have to check Cafe Del Mar once too).
Best place to eat:
Eating is not a very remarkable experience in Ibiza, IMHO. You have to pay 30 euros for a proper meal in a good restaurant. So all that´s left is pizza, sandwiches etc. But I would point a tiny pasta place called Osteria which was in a little street in the beginning of Calle de la Virgen. Nice pasta for 10 euros. Among quick snacks, Pizza Loco at Ibiza Harbour serves good pizza a taglio for 3 euros and it´s handy when you´re late for the club. Oh, and Haagen Dazs too - it was across the square from my hostel and had some ice-cream flavours we don´t get in Brazil.
Money spent:
I carried 1800 euros for the whole journey, 1460 if you discount the hostel expenses. So it was an average of 100 euros/day.
Biggest regret:
I keep on repeating that I did my best at the time and should let it be, but there were still many regrets...
- Going to Space only in the evenings and not attending any of the after parties in the morning.
- Not trying Circo Loco (OK, I was sleeping the first Monday and sunbathing the second) and missing Tenaglia´s surprise appearance.
- Watching the best sunset of my life in Cala Salada without a mosquito repelent.
- Giving up the second part of Coxy´s set at the discoteca to go to Cream@Amnesia, which was packed to bursting and full of trance kids (no prejudice here, just not up my street).
- Being afraid of rejection and not talking to many new people as I would have liked to (OK, people were not as "magical", "loved-up" and "superfriendly" as I thought, but part of it was my fault too).
- Missing Formentera because I clubbed too much and there was no time left in the end.
- AND THE BIGGEST: Trying to do many things and many places at the same time and not enjoying each thing to its fullest. Lesson learned for a second time.
Going back ?
Yeah. I hope so. But next time, not by myself, but with a nice group of friends to share moments with, and perhaps not for so long, because I won´t be able to afford it again !
Top tip:
A few ones, from my point of view:
- Clubs are awesome, but the island is wonderful too. Don´t fly back home without having gone to the beach, strolled around Dalt Villa and watched some sunsets. Save at least one day for proper tourism too.
- Come with friends. You will meet new people anyway, but normally it´s all very ephemeral, just for a couple of moments, no tomorrow, so it´s important to have close buddies to share things with. Even because it´s not necessarily every day that you´ll come across some fab mates.
- Watch many sunsets, and not only from the Sunset Strip. There are lots of beaches (Cala d´Hort, Benirràs etc.) that will give you beautiful sunsets without the hordes of tourists, making for a more intimate and meaningful experience. My personal favourite is Cala Salada, which is only 8 euros away from San An harbour by taxi.
- Choose Ibiza Town to stay. It really makes a difference. It´s not that expensive if you do some previous research. You´re close to the Old Town, which is definitely worth seeing, and all clubs are quite handy. And it´s by far the best atmosphere, from the stores to the restaurants to the bars. All that bad talk about San An has a little prejudice on it but on the other hand they´re right too. It´s really full of drunken kids, looky looky guys and weird karaoke bars, and the food options are "cheap" in a bad sense. D´En Bossa is handy for Space and Bora Bora but it doesn´t feel like "Ibiza" at all, it´s a freak version of Venice Beach-Calif. My opinion...
- Please allow yourself to fully enjoy what you´re doing instead of already thinking about what you will do next. Even if it means going to less beaches and parties, you´ll have better memories...
