Advice for brits driving in ibiza??

[MiniMarc]

If you visit Cala D'Hort within the first few days of driving the car DON'T drive to the bottom of the hill! Park as far up the hill as you can, it's virtually impossible to escape from the bottom of the hill....

Also, some petrol stations require pre payment with a card, I didn't realise this and instructions had worn off the pump, stood waiting for an attendant to reset the pump for a few minutes before the penny dropped

Just hooked the most remarkable Ibiza bargain ever, 4 days car hire £45 all inclusive, checked all the small print, no extras to add. Only a small Citroen, but easy to park

yeah i know that hill , drove to the bottom to of course find no spaces , got back up ok but was abit hairy. parked on the side of the road and walked down in the end

 

[kimajy]

theres a car park / concrete area that we have got in illegal cabs from (sorry!). its almost opposite bora bora i think possibly part of the funfair type thing. We parked by the Tivoli when we stayed there with no problems and didnt register the car or anything.
Any parking tips for free places to park would be good too

Isn't that just the Bora Bora parking (signposted off the road) ? I park there or Space car park every time I'm in PDB .. unless there's an obvious free space somewhere. Never has a problem.

Ha - this is a response to the thread hijack line so I'm taking the liberty

 

[vodka jon]

ditto! very easy to burn out the clutch waiting for cars coming down whilst you wait to park against the steep side

 

[kimajy]

Are you having a slow day Marc? If you take it out full and bring it back full, you won't be buying any of them!

Some local companies charge you for a full tank of fuel whether you bring it back full or emply if the hire is over 3 days. I hate that.

All the big ones at the airport operate on a full-to-full basis. It can be madness tho' .. this morning I went to Cepsa off the dual carriageway & the computers were down so no fuel. Drove to St Josep - same story. Ended up back in San An ffs to fill the car up & all the way back to the airport. Still much cheaper than paying a refuelling charge but what a waste of time and diesel

This has happened to me before in the mornings after 9am. Fillup the night before you leave if you can .. getting caught like this after a heavy night on your way to the plane is just tiresome !!

 

[kimajy]

Kimajy your not allowed to give advice as you seem to right off cars every time you go

Errr ... my probs all key related which is not really the same to be fair. Except this last trip. F***ing tyre blew out as I was hairing home along the Ronda at 7am. Not my fault just bad luck. Tyre completely shredded to pieces as I had to carry on & pull off somewhere safe.

Bumper took a scratch and a plastic cover popped off a front headlight but no other major damage - I thought I did really well actually Jacking it up and changing tyre in some random car park not fun tho'... f***ing hire company charged me over £500 for it to boot. How about checking the flipping tyres before you rent it out eh ?

 

[OllieNotts]

Errr ... my probs all key related which is not really the same to be fair. Except this last trip. F***ing tyre blew out as I was hairing home along the Ronda at 7am. Not my fault just bad luck. Tyre completely shredded to pieces as I had to carry on & pull off somewhere safe.

Bumper took a scratch and a plastic cover popped off a front headlight but no other major damage - I thought I did really well actually Jacking it up and changing tyre in some random car park not fun tho'... f***ing hire company charged me over £500 for it to boot. How about checking the flipping tyres before you rent it out eh ?

Or YOU as the driver should of checked your tyres when you hired it
£500 is a lot for a blown tyre though, I take it the place you hired from has glass doors?

 

[kimajy]

Or YOU as the driver should of checked your tyres when you hired it
£500 is a lot for a blown tyre though, I take it the place you hired from has glass doors?

- easier said than done checking tyres in a multistorey car park in the middle of the night .. you can barely even see whether there are any scratches and the cars are parked cheek by jowel. They just say if there are any problems tell us tomorrow in the daylight !!!

Just seen they actually charged me 760Euros including tax and a 59Euro "Damage administration fee" - most of it was for a "scratch" repair i.e. where the bumper dropped down when the trye went. Anyway - it's up to the insurance company, just a pain I have to pay it and wait to recover the money.. and that I lost a whole lot of time dealing with it all.

 

[OllieNotts]

I know if it is me even borrowing a car I check tyres oil and water but I'm a lorry driver so I do it daily anyway I know most people don't bother. Sometimes they just go 'bang' anyway you might not of even seen anything dodgy. I'm glad you aren't a pilot

 

[stephen]

when the car in front of you is turning left, you should give the left signal also. this alerts the person behind you that you are slowing down for a reason so they shouldn't overtake.

never use your rear view mirror, it's scary

when pulling up outside your mates house, always sound your horn rather than use the door bell, this alerts everyone in the street to your presence

parking. never park on the zebra crossing which leads to every bread/cake shop in ibiza. this is reserved for the guardia civil and local police on a sandwich run

when riding in a topless jeep, always carry a mother teresa style tea towel to protect against the relentless sun or a deluge of rain

i'm sure i have hundreds more gems, in fact probably about the same amount as dints in my car, which reminds me.......

never park next to some unfeasibly large jeep with oversize roo bars

 

[kimajy]

when the car in front of you is turning left, you should give the left signal also. this alerts the person behind you that you are slowing down for a reason so they shouldn't overtake.

never use your rear view mirror, it's scary

when pulling up outside your mates house, always sound your horn rather than use the door bell, this alerts everyone in the street to your presence

parking. never park on the zebra crossing which leads to every bread/cake shop in ibiza. this is reserved for the guardia civil and local police on a sandwich run

when riding in a topless jeep, always carry a mother teresa style tea towel to protect against the relentless sun or a deluge of rain

i'm sure i have hundreds more gems, in fact probably about the same amount as dints in my car, which reminds me.......

never park next to some unfeasibly large jeep with oversize roo bars

- the picture being painted is just too apt for words ..

add in always slow down when being overtaken on a hairpin bend by an underpowered moped .. more chance they'll get round you before being taken out by something coming in the other direction

 

[ClubbinYankee]

Well, coming from America, the traffic signs all look alien to me. I just made sure to stomp down on the gas pedal at each intersection to decrease my chance of being sideswiped...

If someone tries to overtake you, this is a direct challenge to you manhood/womanhood. You must accelerate and either overtake them, or ram them until they spin off the road.

Always use your rear view mirror. In fact it is encouraged on the island to ONLY use your rear view mirror. I addition to driving on a different side of the road, it is traditional to also drive backwards. I highly encourage you to try this locally before attempting on the island just to be safe.

 

[Morbyd]

If you have to ask, get the insurance!

 

[Hally]

changing tyre in some random car park not fun tho'... f***ing hire company charged me over £500 for it to boot. How about checking the flipping tyres before you rent it out eh ?

£500 for a tyre? My whole car cost £450

 

[Hally]

I was planning on renting a car next year until I read this thread.

 

[WeLuvIbiza]

I was planning on renting a car next year until I read this thread.

Hiring a car is the best thing you will ever do in Ibiza. We have never had a problem over many years, this year we had a car four days for approx £45. That is probably cheaper than the return taxi fare from the airport!

 

[djjaycool]

Car rental is no problem in Ibiza, plus you get to drive on the correct side of the road if your from the UK.

 

[MiniMarc]

I actually really enjoyed the extra challenge of changing gear with the WRONG hand and driving on the WRONG side of the road.

 

[Hally]

I have decided to brave it and will be hiring a car for my quieter trip next year. I will be putting up a request for suggestions of places to visit closer to the time.

 

[kimajy]

I have decided to brave it and will be hiring a car for my quieter trip next year. I will be putting up a request for suggestions of places to visit closer to the time.

Good for you. The worst of the driving happens in August to be fair. Just make sure you get comprehensive excess reimbursement insurance if the exposure is significant and especially if it's your first time driving there. That way if there is damage or you lose keys any costs will be covered.

 

[Hally]

It is the last week of June when we will be there so hopefully before it get's to manic. The plan now is to base ourselves at Sunset Point and explore the island from there. It will certainly be a different experience.

I will be as insured as I possible can be