Ibiza, Spain: Just Got Back

Ibiza, Spain

We were up and off the ship by 8:30 am. Today's goal was to explore Ibiza Old Town (aka Dalt Vila), an UNESCO World Heritage site. The Old Town is encircled by colossal 16th Century protective walls reaching over 82-feet in height and include seven bastions (each providing picture worthy views).

Dalt Vila plays host to Ibiza Castle, also known as Eivissa Castle. As you would expect, it sits atop the hill overlooking the port. The town is a joy to explore. Most of the pleasure is in the walk and seeing what's around the next corner. You cannot go in the castle, but if you are determined to in something, there are museums, old villas, churches and a necropolis.

Transportation from the ship will take you to Terminal Formentera on edge of town. There are fours ways to Terminal Formentera from our dock at Estación Marítima Ibiza-Botafoc:

• Take the ship's shuttle for €10 roundtrip.
  
• Ignore the overpriced ship shuttle and simply ride the blue "Ibiza Port Bus" which leaves every 30 minutes (at approximately '15 and '45 after the hour) from the same parking lot. Costs €2,50 one way or €4,50 roundtrip.
  
• Take a taxi
  
• Walk 1.7 miles (35 minutes) on relatively flat terrain to the bus drop-off point at Terminal Formentera. I recommend you map this out ahead of time. If you make a wrong turn the walk will get a lot longer.
  

Upon arrival at Terminal Formentera building, walk about a half block towards town and stop in at the small air conditioned Ibiza Travel information booth (it's easy to miss) for a great map entitled "Ibiza: Routes Through Dalt Vila". It's similar to this map except it actually shows three suggested routes with detailed information about the sites.

With map in hand, we continued straight up the road and made a left at Carrer d'Annibal (just a block before the street deadends into the old fortress wall). Two blocks later on your right you'll see the ramp that will take you over a small drawbridge and into the Portal de Ses Taules entrance to Old Town. This entrance, flanked by a pair of statues, was featured in an episode of Game of Thrones. There are other ways in. This is the most dramatic. And it's only a 10-minute walk from Terminal Formentera. We arrived here about 9:15 am.

You'll find yourself in a beautiful cobblestone courtyard with a huge stone fireplace and several support arches. Pull out your map and start following your route of choice. We primarily took the red Classic Route but quickly adopted the blue route at times to explore the Bastions, starting with the Santa Llucia Bastion which offers the best pictures of the ships in port, and when you turn around you'll be able to capture iconic pictures of Dalt Vila.

We had the town pretty much to ourselves for the first hour then we began to encounter pockets of tour groups around 10:15 am. We spent about 2.25 hours exploring the Old Town before heading into New Town and working our way back to ship via the Ibiza Port Bus at Terminal Formentera.

Terminal Formentera is also host to 4 different ferry companies that do a booming business taking passengers to, well, Formentera, a 32 square mile island about 12 miles of the coast of Ibiza that can easily be seen from Old Town. Known for its bright green lizards, clear waters, snorkeling, caves, and long stretches of beach, Formentera is a very popular day-trip destination.

The closest beach to the ship is Playa de Talamanca. It's a nice big sandy beach with full service and clear water, just a 3/4-mile (15-minute) walk to the northeast.

The port terminal situation here is rather annoying. On the way in, they make you walk a long way out of your way to force you through the terminal building for the benefit of a couple of shops. On the way back to the ship you also have to take this circuitous route but Ibiza also throws a really poorly executed security checkpoint in there too. I'm guessing they either charge ships for this pretend service or its simply an employment gimmick.

Complete detailed review of Celebrity Reflection and 8 Western Mediterranean Ports

http://www.lavasurfer.com/info/western-mediterranean.html

Secrets of the Mediterranean: details, hints, and tips for over 20 Mediterranean Cities

http://www.lavasurfer.com/info/mediterranean-secrets.html

How far is it from the port to Ibiza town?

It's 10-15 minutes by shuttle or port bus, or about 35-45 minutes of walking, to the terminal on the edge of Ibiza New Town. Add 10-15 minute walk to get inside the old town walls --- all the while you're walking through new town. If you plan on hoofing it, I recommend you google it first. Use Terminal Formentera as your destination and Estación Marítima Ibiza-Botafoc as your dock. The walk didn't look inviting but it shouldn't be hard. It's the sun and heat that'll get you.

Thank you!! We will be in Ibiza in a few weeks, and this is extremely helpful!