1st time in Ibiza August 2014

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We are a family of four with 2 teenage girls aged 15 and 17; reasonably well travelled,we have been to Japan, several place in the states, toured the islands of Thailand as well as may places in Europe too. We decided that we didn't want to do long haul but after the previous holiday to California we weren't sure what could live up to that amazing holiday.

After weeks of research as to where to go in Europe we finally decided on Ibiza. But to which resort?? We wanted to avoid any resort that the package tours used. We always book independently as we like to mix with the locals. Finally we decided on Talamanca: it offers a pretty beach, is within walking distance of Ibiza and has a pretty cool marina nearby too. We were hoping Ibiza would have a mix of fab beaches, great tapas and more importantly nice vibes.

We certainly weren't disappointed! We had booked an apartment just down the road from Pacha and only 5 minutes walk away from Talamanca beach and Marina Botafoch. It was a great location and we knew we had definitely chosen the right resort for us. Obviously going in August it was going to be really busy but Talamanca beach still had plenty of sand left for us to put our towel down onto.

We hadn't booked a hire car so decided to see the island (as much as we could) by bus. We'd heard that Las Salinas beach had a great atmosphere on a Sunday so we decided to head down there. We took the bus down from Ibiza town and weren't disappointed when we arrived there. The beach stretches for 1.5 kms, the sand is really soft and the sea warm and clear. There are several cool beach bars omitting very nice tunes, which get progressively louder as the afternoon goes on. Would recommend a visit to this beach.

Another beach that is well worth a visit is Calla Vadella. This was another day-trip-on-the-bus, the journey became a little windy in parts making my daughter travel sick but again, it was worth the trip. Cala Vadella is a tiny resort with a lovely sandy beach with crystal clear water. It was packed as it was the height of the season and there isn't a lot of parking which might be worth bearing in mind.

We found Santa Eulalia a little bit too 'package tour' for us. There was nothing wrong with the beach but it wasn't really our cup of tea.

A day trip to Formentera is highly recommended! We'd seen the photos of it via the web and were hoping it wouldn't disappoint. It certainly didn't! The beaches and the sea are absolutely beautiful. Once arriving at the port there are busses that go to various beaches. We plumped for the extremely popular Playa Illetes; arriving there near to midday proved very difficult to find anywhere to put a towel down. We did eventually find somewhere right at the far end. If you want something quieter though if you are willing to walk the short distance to Playa Levant there is plenty of space even in the height of season. We took the cheaper boat trip trip to visit this island which unfortunately left around 6.30pm. We would have liked to leave a little later and when we visit again we'll take the fast ferry which has much more choice of crossing times.

Another cove that we visited was S,Estanyol. We had to take the taxi here and we knew it was only a short distance away therefore wouldn't be expensive to get there. Unfortunately the taxi got lost and the cove proved hard to find.... luckily we got there eventually and although initially disappointed with the amount of seaweed washed up and the beach, we had a pretty chilled day here. Again cool vibes from the bar created the atmosphere. Thinking we'd be able to book a taxi home we asked someone from the bar to book us one. For some reason this seemed an impossible task and we found ourselves with no choice but to begin a 2/3 kilometre trek back to the apartment. Loaded up with beach brollies, cool bags and towels we headed up the steep hill away from the cove sharing a coulee of bottles of water between us. Apart from being extremely warm we quite enjoyed the walk though and even our teenage daughters admitted to to doing so too!

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Photos

Formentera
The beautiful beach of Playa Illetes