Wooaahhh we're going to Ibiza, woah we're gonna have a party! Not in our sense we didn't as we aren't ones for drinking so much. I bet your reading this like, why did she go to Ibiza if she doesn't really party or drink? Well, this is where I'm going to take you through why Ibiza isn't just for all the party animals, when if you know me personally, you will know I like to own the dance floor on a night out...So let's move on to this guide to Ibiza and how we got it on a budget, where to go, eat and just explore, not to mention a few good party places of course.
Mambo Cafe Ibiza
Mambo was somewhere I thought I always wanted to visit when in Ibiza, especially to see the sunset, but it was over priced, the venue is tiny and it's where all the 'cool' people go. But we went to see what it was about and also experienced the closing party, which in all honesty wasn't what we expected, in saying that, it was just weird. Better if your drunk of course.
San Antonio Bay
We stayed in the Playa Bella Apartments which we booked self catering with Jet 2 Holidays. I filmed a video on how we got the holiday for the two of us under £500 for us both here, which you will find lots of other travelling on a budget tips that I talk about in the video. We stayed in San Antonio Bay and walked a lot around the area, especially the area we stayed in but also ventured all the way around the area as much as we could. We explored San Antonio Bay the most, with all the different restaurants and shops over there it was brilliant! Not to mention the Insta worthy hotels over that side. You can read about all the most instagrammable hotels in Ibiza in this blog post here. It's definitely worth exploring all around the area as there's so much to see and do over that side, not to mention all the different bars. I loved all the little cafes and souvenir shops as that's my favourite thing to buy abroad is souvenirs.
I vlogged the whole holiday so you can see not only the photos here, you can see what we physically got up to in the vlog too here. The best way to travel to San Antonio Bay from wherever you are on the Ibiza island is definitely by boat, weather depending then definitely try getting a bus as they are super cheap! We went against taxi's over there as they were SO pricey! The bus from San Antonio to Ibiza Old Town only cost us around 2.50 euros each, and the water taxi wasn't much more being around 2-3 euros each to go from our hotel to San Antonio Bay. There's so many ways of not spending so much money whilst in Ibiza, you just have to find the ways to do it, but of course that is what this guide is for! If you want to see my outfits during my time in Ibiza click here to read my blog post.
For different places to go, we found some new and old places to visit whilst looking on the maps one day.
Aquarium
We found this on the maps and thought it would be a different and fun thing to go and see. It's an aquarium not far from San Antonio Bay, also right by Hotel Cubanito and Wiki-Woo Hotel which of course is good to stop by for those Insta shots on the way. Once we got to the Aquarium, we were greeted by a small cute cafe and bar before you enter the Aquarium. The entrance fee was 5 euros each, now this seems okay, but for the size of the aquarium once you enter, it seems a little bit more pricey. The inside is based in a cave but is rather small, but of course this is something different to do so we didn't mind paying for this. A plus side is it was so nice and cool inside so that cooled us down a bit, baring in mind we went in October and it was still so warm!
Ibiza Old Town
Of course the classic place to go whilst in Ibiza, but when I went around 3 years ago, as much as I explored, I definitely did not explore enough whilst I went at that time. To see where I visited 3 years ago click here, bearing in mind this was me 3 years ago lol. It was so nice to explore every little inch of this lovely city and we spent the entire day there, well, a good 4/5 hours a least, exploring the old town itself, all the shops and the castle, from what I remember it was a castle but don't hold me to that. But it was one hell of a steep trek up to the top, but such a beautiful view at the very top where you can see the whole town and the beautiful landscape around it. See the photo below to see what I'm trying to explain to you.
Moving on to food and the places we tried out.
The Skinny Kitchen
OMG this had to be THE best place for a healthy lunch. We order a chicken satay style bowl filled with all the goods, rice, salad and veg covered in a jerk chicken sauce. It was reasonably priced but the most expensive meal we had during our trip, but definitely had to be the best one we ate which was healthy. We just wish there was one close to us in the UK as there is 2 in London but that is so far for us in the midlands. I ordered an apple juice which was I'm sure a pressed apple juice but SO good! Adam had the same sort of bowl but with different sauce which from what I remember had peanut butter in it, you wouldn't think it was nice but Adam certainly loved it! We wanted to go back again another day for brunch but sadly the day we went it had closed for the season. Which was sad but we were so glad we got to try the place out and I'd recommend the place to anyone, the staff were lovely and it's so insta worthy!
I don't remember what this place was but it was a kebab shop that was SO cheap! We got the above two meals for around 10-11 euros with a drink. I had chicken and chips whilst Adam had a chicken kebab salad bowl. It was perfect for lunch as we looked at all the different restaurants and they were SO pricey! So this kebab shop was right on the harbour as you come out from where all the restaurants are and it's such a cute spot for lunch. Adam caught me off guard when he took this photo but it's the only decent photo we had of this food haha.
The Curry Palace
OMG THIS WAS THE BEST CURRY I HAVE EVER EATEN! And this is honestly no exaggeration. We came across this Indian restaurant on our walk back to the hotel, it's based right by the beach but about a 5-10 minute walk from Ocean Beach Ibiza. There weren't many people in there but there should of been more for how incredible this meal was! Me and Adam ordered 2 chicken pathias (as this is our favourite dish), with boiled rice, a bowl of chips and a garlic and coriander naan bread. Absolutely demolished the entire lot! And I rarely finish a whole curry but this tasted that good I couldn't even leave a rice grain. Price wise it was pretty good too, the bill came to I'm sure around 27 euros for the two of us, but we didn't order drinks as we not long had one from a shop. Definitely try this place out if your in the area and love curry.
Self Catering
Most people go all inclusive when they are on holiday so it's easier, but I find that so boring and restricting as you've already paid for your food, but there's so many places to eat like cafes, restaurants and of course eating like the locals. We did a shop every few days with essentials to have at the hotel as we had a studio that had a kitchen to cook in. The only down side is we had no oven, but we made do with the stove and microwave. We had a lot of pasta bolognese as we just needed the hob for this. We had weetabix or porridge for breakfast with almond milk, and we ate a few omelette's mixed with salami, chorizo and cheese which was so nice. We also bought a few. yoghurt's, fruit, cheese, chicken slices, ham slices etc. We also brought little snacks like dairy free chocolate and noodles in my suitcase. Not to mention we tried out some donuts and cakes with custard for pudding too. It was so cheap to do self catering and so much better to experience as we got to try more food and live like the locals do and we loved it! We wouldn't do a holiday any different now we've gone self catering as we love to cook and try new foods!
Of course there are so many places to go out in Ibiza like all the major clubs such as Pacha, Amnesia, Mambo etc. But we found some different places to go whilst we were there.
El Kiosko
The cutest Spanish style cocktail bar down the road from our hotel was such a cute and lovely place to go. Filled with the locals and they even cater for us non alcoholic drinkers. I had the San Francisco cocktail which was filled with all the good fruit juices which was lovely. Reasonably priced on drinks also, as I'm sure it was around 6-7 euros for a soft drink and non alcoholic cocktail.
Ibiza Rocks Bar
We had a coffee and juice in this bar in the evening. It had a really nice vibe and we got chatting to one of the bar staff which was nice. As we went to Ibiza out of season when most places were closed or closing, it was of course a lot quieter than you would expect, but during the busier months Ibiza Rocks Bar would definitely be a good starting point to a night out in Ibiza or even for food as they serve food there too which was priced okay for where you were right on the beach.
Sol House Ibiza
I'm sure this place was called 9, as you can see by the above photo. In the peak months of Ibiza this place would be brilliant to go to with the rooftop bar, pool and how brilliant the view is. Drink in hand in the sun, definitely a nice place for those wanting the party vibe of Ibiza, also a good place for photos.
Tulp
Tulp was a really cool funky place with such hippy vibes, with weird and wonder seating, unusual decor that was actually rather. interesting. We enjoyed the atmosphere as it had a few people in with some chilled music on right by the beach, so the vibe of this place was pretty nice. This is also located right on the beach front not far from Ibiza Rocks Bar.
So there you have it, my guide to Ibiza on a budget. We did so much in the space of a week and explored so much of the island, mainly on the San Antonio Bay side, as when I went 3 years prior I was mainly on the Ibiza Old Town side of the island, so it was nice to explore more of the place this time around.
Have you been to Ibiza before? What places have you found interesting whilst being there?
If you've never been before would you go to Ibiza?
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