My first experience of Ibiza....

[joethelion]

I have been following the posts to this Forum for weeks and getting more and more more excited about my firs visit to Ibiza.

I would really, really, REALLY like to say I had had the best time - but I can't. The whole experience was spoiled for me by the attitude of the locals and (to a lesser extent) the other holiday-makers (particularly Italians....). I've been to many,many parts of the world - and many parts of Spain, but never have I come across such sullen, unfriendly, rude people. Never have I felt so unwelcome in a country - it's like the locals really weren't interested in making visitors feel at all welcome (they'd no qualms about taking the money though The public transport is a joke - one bus an hour - if you're lucky and (often) 95-100 people pushing you out the way to get on it. We had to walk back twice from Amnesia to Ibiza town - no fun in the state we were in!! In the clubs, said Italians preferred method of getting passed was two hands in the back and a good shove. I'm British - I don't expect such rudeness! (Am I being naive here??).
In the local press there, people were complaining about the lack of tourists and wondering why - I can tell them! 30 quid to get in, 6 quid for a small bottle of water, then you can't get home......
Anyroad, a beautiful island, spoilt by the rudeness I encountered almost every day - if a shopkeeper or barperson smiled, I thought I'd won the lotto!!

 

[str8 from Canada baby!!]

The whole experience was spoiled for me by the attitude of the locals and (to a lesser extent) the other holiday-makers (particularly Italians....).

I had no problems with this at all!!!!!!!!! Maybe it was becuz i went during the first week of july and the season was just kickin off. Hmm...the only suggestions i can offer u r the following: a.) either u were rude to the locals or somehow just rubbed them the wrong way b.) they were sick and tired of putting up with dumb drunken clubberz and decided to take it out on u. As for the italians...i didnt meet too many of them to be honest with u. But im very sorry u had a bad time. Perhaps Ibiza (in particular the ppl) r not the same in august as in july or early season. Again, sorry u had a bad time...maybe u could give Ibiza a second chance and go at the beginning of the season next yr to see if u can see a difference???

laehciM

 

[Elrobbie]

It seems that everyone has a different experience when it comes to this.

I've never had a problem myself but the only people I've ever found rude in Ibiza are the bar staff in clubs, but I certainly wouldn't let that spoil my holiday. I just think what I would feel like working all night in a rammed club full of people who are off their heads. I know some will say they shouldn't be there if that is their attitude, but my answer to them is, don't let them get to you, what's the point, it's their problem, just smile at them, its the best way.

I've met some very friendly Italians in Ibiza, and think that its just the odd one or two who think they are great. You've got to remember though, that 'in general' Italians, Spanish and French have different attitudes to us, they are not as polite.

I think a lot of the bad attitude towards British is because we are, whether we like it or not, bad tourists, they see the average Brit as someone who go's down the West End and causes fights, its a shame, but that's how we are portrayed. Again though, if they think like that then that's their problem, your the one who should laugh on the other side of their face because you haven't got a bad attitude like that. It's the majority who are spoiling it for the minority though. If they closed the West End there probably wouldn't be the problems.

As far as getting a taxi goes, in my 6 times in Ibiza I've never had to walk home from a club so I can't really comment on that. I do know that they prefer runs to San Antonio though cause they make more money.

 

[SeriousDanger]

by the sound of this topic it seems like brits are exactly the same as american tourists!! lol

*looks around to check if i've offended the english!*

p.s i'm Canadian!

 

[james]

That's a great shame, as the island shouldn't be like that. I think the problem has 6 letters and begins with A.

August is simply not a good month to travel to Ibiza. I know it's a bit late saying that now

The public transport is a nightmare. I too have walked back from Amnesia to Ibiza Town and from Pacha to Sant Jordi as well - both because it was middle of August and no taxis or busses anywhere.

It's simply too full, everywhere.

Best times to come are mid-June to end of July and September. Hopefully you might come again in one of these months to find out what all at the forums are really talking about!

 

[mattech]

August is simply not a good month to travel to Ibiza. I know it's a bit late saying that now

Arg! Don't tell me that now, I am leaving on Thursday.

Oh well! I am sure that we will have a good time anyway. Can't wait!

 

[lizzie]

sorry to hear you had a bad time in ibiza.......
i will be returning the the island on the 2nd sept, i was there between the 29th july-5th aug also in which time I had the time of my life!!

I have been to the island 3 times and have learnt a lesson each time, maybe my advice will help you have a great holiday in ibiza as I do hope you return there!

1. stay in san antonio bay, the beaches are lovely, the hotels are excellent, you'll get a good night sleep if thats what you want and your only a stone throw away from the town...... I catch the water taxis to the town run every 1/2 hour 1.80 euro till midnight

2. stay away from the westend its an embarassment!!! get ya self over o club savannah, mambo & coastline cafe, bar M...............

3. do the smaller clubs.............. el davino, eden (retro), & try the es paradis cafe ( next the es paradis enterance)

4.brits can be just as rude and there no excuse 4 it!!...... don't let it get to you!!

5 book for the end of july or the month of september!

hope you return to have a true ibiza experience!

p.s GLOWSTICKS NOT ALLOWED!!!

 

[joethelion]

Thank you all for your replies!! Perhaps those of you who blamed August have a point - everywhere really was packed out. We were staying in Ibiza Town and it was impossible to move at any time day or night!!

I'm not normally a complainer (honest!!) and I didn't mean to be disrespectful to Italians (or any other nationality), but it really was difficult to be positive about the experience. I'll never forget trying (along with at least 200 others - and I exagerate, not!!) to get onto one single decked bus from Esavallet beach - nightmare!! And it did seem that the Italians were by far the most pushy....

Maybe I will give it another go next year - early in the season!!

 

[gonz]

I know Exactly what you mean

I went last year for the first time and had the best holiday ever. Almost life changing (this was in no way drug induced!). To me it was a really beautiful and even spiritual place (I visited the whole island, its remotest parts and all). People were friendly and warm...And the clubbing kicked butt. So naturally without question I was going back in 2002. Unfortunately I went a bit later this time and was there the first 2 weeks of August...

Honestly, it was like I had landed somewhere else! Maybe it was the time of year, or the Outrageous inflation caused by the abuse of the new currency? I know Brits have a bad rep in that place, but it is usually easy to avoid the lager louts of the West End....But even they weren't that dominant this time- seems to me the new Tourists From Hell are the Italians! Never seen such rude behaviour, Posing, and selfish attitude towards others and the island in general... And hey Im not generalising obviously it is those people I'm talking about not Italians at large.
I'm not giving up on Ibiza just yet - I still had a good time, by changing the focus of my holiday to staying away from the clubs with tossers and checking out the hidden gems.... But I'm never going in August again that's for sure.

One last thing if the Clubs don't start easing up on them prices (they were high enough in the past!) they are going to kill that scene and what it is about....

 

[babycin]

I think you should give Ibiza another try..I was there during the busiest week of August and I had no problems...thoroughly enjoyed myself....no discrimination watsoever (which surprises me coz I'm chinese) (not all chinese are from China though!!)...I know the thing abt the buses..really bad..but walk out to the main road away from Amnesia and skip the line for cabs....(opps!)......consider staying in San Antonio....i really think it is a much nicer place...stayed in this hotel Es Pla...juz 3 min walk from Es Paradis and Eden...nice and cosy..3 meals provided a day..saved me loads and trouble...the italians and locals were really friendly..maybe coz i was friendly to them...or maybe coz i've got tits and you dun..hah..anyway..i hope you enjoy on your next trip yeah!...

 

[CanadaKid]

Very sorry you had a bad time, but I went through that as well. I really enjoyed the British crowd there and not so much the locals. Manumission Monday and Cream were particularly bad for the locals. But for Godskitchen and the Essential Mix and the Radio 1 party, it was great because it was a mainly British crowd.

 

[Thiago from Brazil]

It´s a pity you had so much annoyance on your trip. When we set off on holiday we gotta have our spirits prepared to tolerate, but everything has a limit. Learn from your experience (and the posts here) and give it a second try if you wish, in July or September.
About the Italian issue... I´m descendent of Italians from both sides (mother and father) and have to agree you´re absolutely... right. My trip to Italy was at the same time deceiving and revealing. They have to be the rudest people of all Europe. And don´t feel bad for what you got in Ibiza, because in Italy you would have just the same or worse. Perhaps they´re fed up with the hordes of tourists that flood Firenze and Rome... but they treat you like s***. The taxi drivers and clerks are the worse. It seems everyone´s working for free, no salary, and you´re the one to blame. A real shame, because here in Brazil Italians have a stigma to be the friendliest and that´s just not true. Of course I´m not generalizing, when I studied in Cambridge I had an Italian girl in the house and she was sweet.
Guess you have to defend yourself and not let people spoil your experience... specially if it´s Ibiza. But generally, you get what you give - be sweet and peace-loving and you´ll get the best back !!!

 

[wfusteve]

My last 2 times to the island were in July. I HIGHLY reccommend this month, since there are less people. This makes all the difference in the world. Yes, you must give up some of the bigger nights and closing parties, but there are still some great ones!!!! Less people means:

Fewer people on the beach
Shorter taxi/bus lines
Shorter club entrance lines
Easier parking (for car rentals)
No restaurant waits
More room to dance in the clubs

 

[WashingtonDCgirl]

I'm American, traveling in Ibiza although I speak fluent spanish because I was born in Puerto Rico, however, the only rudeness i encountered was at the hotel and maybe one restaurant. The hotel, I understand because there was madness of people trying to check in so the man behind the counter was very irritated, and the restaurant was only one incident which we quickly ignored. You'd bed surprised what an extra pitcher of sangria will help you tolerate. The next thing we knew, the rude waiter was our best friend and we had him taking shots of vodka with us. I think if they are not smiling, and then you are not smiling immediately maybe they think we are being rude. We learned to quickly be jokesters and happy and immediately the mood changed for the better. We actually gave one bartender a hard time telling her, "smile!!! laugh and be happy you're in Ibiza". She actually laughed at that and was very pleasant to us for the rest of the night. For the most part everyone was super nice and fun and we met people from all walks of life. The English people I met were by far the friendliest and we had a blast with them every single time. Never hesitant to smile or yell something absolutely hilarious which put every body in great spirits. The Italians I met were also nice, not as approachable but super friendly, humble and so sweet. I met some pretty cool Americans there too from New York if you can imagine that. just kidding! A New Yorker has never disappointed me when it comes to having a good time, so I expected nothing less than fun times and friendliness from them. As a matter of fact, a group of people we met in Ibiza will be visiting me late September. I can't wait to show them around DC!!!! I also can't wait for next year, Ibiza 2003! Since I lived the busy July time, next year I'm going for the closing parties in September. Yeah!!!!!

 

[Drew]

Its not just the West End drinkers, its english people in general that piss off the Spanish (I am English by the way).

We stayed in Playa Den Bossa and our apartments were full of scummy english who just sat in bar watching football, wearing the football tops, getting hammered and letting their kids run riot.

We english are tacky lets face it!. I always wonder where the nice english people stay??

Not being a snob but when I get to Ibiza, we get off the plane and jump in a cab cos I just want rid of them football shirts and gobby attitude. I wouldnt mix with these people back home so I dont want to mix with them abroad either.

Its us (well our fellow englishmen - and women) that need to change their attitudes and maybe the Spanish will treat us a little friendlier.

One tip I would advise is try and go to places to eat etc maybe 2 or 3 times, be your usual polite self and they will soon seem different.

We went in July last year, OK it was quieter but the weather was unpredictable. I wouldnt say anyone was nicer or more polite. We thoroughly enjoyed this year in August.

I also think the trick is to basically just blend in, try not to look a newbie because when you go around going wow this wow that they will spot it and think yeah, yeah more first timer's and just treat you with minimum effort.

I may be wrong, but after five years I think we've tried to iron out the little flaws and we'll be back next year (and maybe on 20th for Space closing on Sunday )

 

[Clara]

Which apartments did you stay in? As I'm off to Playa D'en Bossa tomorrow!

 

[Drew]

Sal Rossa, right on the beach opposite Pago Pago

Extremely decent apartments, appart from the families which played a little havoc with our nocturnal sleeping habits.

Might be less kids now though.

P.S. Say hi to Ibiza

 

[torrente]

Well, I'm Spanish, and in my opinion, we use to be kind and friendly with foreign people, but the problem start when you came here thinking you are in your country and you can do what you want. Ibiza needs British, Italians, Germans... but in a correct way, that means, everybody enjoys the island, doing what they want, but whithout disturb the rest of people. Ahh, could somebody tell me prices for Cream closing party??? an for the foam&La troya?? thank you, and sorry because of the mistakes.

 

[WeLuvIbiza]

Perception - it's so strange!!

Hi all,

Just got back this morning, and am trying to keep off those post Ibiza blues by reading about everyones happy experience's.

This was our 2nd (definately not last) time, stayed in same area (Figueratas), and found everyone (except the drunken British) friendly.

Some staff in the supermarkets were a bit fiery, but a big smile usually got the the same returned.

On the Wednesday we went to Mambo for the Sunset, and afterwards had to see the infamous "West End". Walked into only 1 bar as talked up in Mixmag (Sgt Peppers). The place stunk of sick, we didn't stay, and returned to Savannah.

On the way for a taxi we flagged down a cab with his light off (obviosuly like London they decide who to pick up). The experience was unusual and was like this;

The driver spoke good English, and said "I need to check on something, I won't charge for this part of the journey" He then drove down a street near the centre and there was an ambulance, and a large group of people, he jumped out and was gone for several minutes, when he returned my misus asked what had happened. "I was driving past and someone fell from the 2nd floor up there, I stopped and called an ambulance, but had to get away as everyone was very drunk". For the rest of the journey, he was telling of the 40-50 people he sees asleep in the streets every night, and how the majority of the anti social drunken behaviour was caused by British people, who show no respect for the island of which he was very proud. I tried to explain there was a big difference between the drunken behaviour which he witnessed every night, and true clubbers, he admitted that the locals knew of this, but it was stll difficult for them to forgive the drunken behaviour. The journey cost 17 e, I gave him 20, and asked him to try and think of the drunken yobs as not really British, but I don't think he was convinced!!

Perhaps for me having a misus who is the most bubbly fun person ever helps, as she will speak to absolutely anyone, her smiles are truly infectous. We met so many great people of all nationalities. As for the Italians, we met some really great Guys working in the bars around the town who got us the cheapest tickets etc.

I suppose I was on a high for the whole week, and never stopped smiling and being happy.

Please give the great place another try, perhaps in September.

 

[james]

nice post