How far would you go for a big night out? How about ABROAD? Stuck for a plan on how to spend my birthday, I had the bright idea to head out clubbing in Ibiza for the night, skipping the £300+++ a night hotel rooms in favour of the dancefloor at Hï. Well, I am a girl on a budget, after all. So, a 24 hour solo party trip to Ibiza with no place to sleep, shower or change my clothes. Could I even survive that? Only one way to find out…
Hatching a flight plan
Ibiza is my happy place and, as this was my twelfth visit, I was pretty sure I had the knowledge to make a speedy plan for my last-minute trip. My flights were not as cheap as they could have been as I only booked ten days out. However, I still researched the best deal I could, going out on Tui from Gatwick and returning to Heathrow via a three-hour layover in Stuttgart (on no sleep – yay!) on Eurowings.
A note on flights and airports: I have no problem flying Easyjet or, in a pinch, Ryan Air. Last minute, however, their prices were relatively high and departing from airports like Luton or Stanstead can sometimes cost as much as the flight. I always factor the costs of transfers into my flight budgets as they can have a massive impact on affordability.
To make the most of my day, I booked the 06:40 outbound, arriving at 10:05 (well, that was the plan…) with an 11:25 return the following day. However, factoring in the layover, I wouldn’t get into Heathrow until 18:00. The things I do to save a few quid. Hopefully I could sleep on the plane?!
Spending 24 hours in Ibiza
The rough plan for my 24 hours in Ibiza would be to spend the day lounging at a beach club or resort. The Blue Marlin in Cala Jondal or a place by the pool at Pikes are my ‘usuals’ for good cocktails and great DJs, but I booked a day pass at Pacha’s Destino resort to try somewhere new. Post-pool scene, I’d identified a few new bars in Ibiza Town to pregame at before heading to Playa d’en Bossa to see South African DJ Black Coffee headline at Hï. After kicking out time at 06:30, I figured coffee, breakfast in Bossa or Ibiza Town, before heading to the airport. I have 4 x complimentary lounge passes with Priority Pass courtesy of my AMEX card so, if all else failed, a recovery session in the Cap des Falco lounge would be welcome.
Foolproof, right?
What about your friends?
A word on friends – I do have them. I just chose to travel solo as it was so last minute and I didn’t want anyone to feel obligated to go with me just because it was my birthday. Out of twelve visits, this was my third solo trip to Ibiza so I really had no anxiety about it.
To prepare, I did my usual – I checked my list of Ibiza travel FB groups and joined the current Whatsapp groups (I was reading posts on the solo travel group a week before and found a discussion about links – I just posted a request to join). I always seek these out, see who will be around (solo or otherwise) and if anyone is getting together a group for a drink or to head to the club that I am already planning to go to. 100% I love having the choice of who I want to hang with, that there was community if I wanted it, that I had the freedom to opt-in or opt-out and the fact that nobody was going to judge me if I was just not feeling it. I had been going back and forth on chat and messenger with some peeps who ultimately decided to head to Cova Santa, so I just stuck with my original plan.
Just understand that if you are nervous about going to a bar, club or restaurant alone – or a just concerned about solo travel in general – pop in your keywords and do a search on FB groups. Nothing came of it for me this time around, but my Bali solo travel group was popping when I travelled there and I met a ton of good people. Thinking about it, my very first solo trip to Brazil I was meeting up with people via Couchsurfing and Gumtree. I was an early adopter!
03:20 West Hampstead Thameslink
What kind of psychopath leaves the house at 3am on their birthday to catch a flight? The same one that’s putting all this effort in to spend just 24 hours in Ibiza. I walked down the hill to catch the Thameslink to Gatwick, only to be greeted by the dreaded ‘delayed’ notification by my flight when I arrived at the airport. If I’d have known that I was going to get stuck killing time by walking laps of the south terminal, I would’ve stayed in bed!
13:28 Destino Resort
We eventually landed in Ibiza at 12:18, two and a quarter hours late. I did a superhero change in the loos, emerging in a beach cover-up over my bikini with all gear stuffed in my beach bag. Ta-dah!
I had planned to stick to a budget by spending just a couple of Euros on the bus to Ibiza Town and changing for the bus to Cap Martinet. But as I was running late, I ended up dropping €21 on a taxi instead. I had booked an individual sunbed via the Destino website – they take a deposit of 30€ and there is a minimum spend of 70€pp. Just to note it was a Saturday in early September and not one of their special events (they host parties like Marco Carola’s Music On Daytime and Solomun +1 on selected days) and it wasn’t particularly busy.
I think hotel guests get the prime beds, but I was allocated what I thought was a pretty decent spot. The bed was pretty wide for a single and I had an umbrella, a couple of towels, a side table and indirect sea views. All only steps from the pool.
The resort itself is gorgeous. You enter through the minimalist hotel reception into an expansive pool area. The shape of the pool mimics the Pacha cherries motif and it is big, surrounded by a mix of Balinese day beds and individual loungers. They also have my new fave, ‘leaf’ loungers IN the pool that you can snag to cool off when you are too lazy to swim. They do waiter service to your bed but there is a sit down restaurant poolside if you prefer. The whole resort (there are 168 rooms for those spending more than 24 hours) is set on an idyllic clifftop overlooking the bluest of blue, blue sea. Add in a soundtrack of mellow house vibes from a roster of live DJs and a decent menu of signature cocktails…heaven. Happy birthday to me.
I lazed around until just before sunset, the calm before the storm. My minimum spend bought me an Ibiza Spicy (Mezcal 400 Conejos, Cointreau, passion fruit purée, jalapeño), a frozen margarita, a San Miguel, some chips and a couple of bottles of water which I felt wasn’t bad for a hideously overpriced island. I paid up, tipped and headed down the street to grab a bus back into town.
21:22 Ibiza Town
I didn’t get lost, but I definitely missed my stop. The unexpected long walk back meant I had to skip my usual stroll through Dalt Vila, the fortified old town and UNESCO World Heritage site. Also missed my Chilli Coconut Mojito at S’Escalinata, hidden away in its back streets. I did, however, make time for a double scoop of birthday ice cream at my fave Vivi’s Creamery. Now I’m ready to go out-out.
21:40 Montesol Experimental Hotel
First stop of the evening was a new old favourite, sort of? I stayed at the Montesol a few years ago for one night when it was a bit of a crappy, cheap hotel. Not so now. It has had a glow-up thanks to its takeover by the Experimental Group. I’ve stayed at The Henrietta in Covent Garden, had drinks at a few of their international bars and LOVE the maple bacon scones at their Frenchie restaurant brand. Already a fan, I was keen to check out their rooftop.
And what a rooftop. It’s mad that I don’t remember this from my stay as it must have been a selling point for the hotel in every incarnation. It has an aspect towards Dalt Vila, looking all incredible lit up for the evening. Obviously all the ringside seats were booked by couples being romantic for the ‘gram, but I still got a decent table and great service. I really liked the cocktail menu, but I finally chose an Oxmal (Mezcal, lime, chili and achiote syrup, mandarin shrub). Very on-brand for me, and delicious with that view.
22:06 UP at The Standard
A short hop down Passeig de Vara de Rey for another rooftop bar: UP at The Standard Hotel. Again, I thought there’d be a line or a list, but no, I was escorted straight to the lift and then to a table. Different vibe here ‘quiet but clubby’ if that makes sense. The DJ was a little more dominant, there were more groups than couples so the chat was a little louder, the crowd was a little bit sexier. The real star of the show, however, was the gorgeous rooftop pool, competing for attention with the view.
I sipped my very lovely UP Margarita (lemongrass and ginger infused tequila, lime, agave) and thought how I’d probably enjoy this one a bit more if I was with my girls, before moving on.
23:00 Chidas Bar + Cantina
Off the strip, in the backstreets – spot of the night. Chidas Bar + Cantina was on a hidden square that I couldn’t believe I hadn’t crossed before and was just buzzing with locals. I’d heard raves about their innovative Mexican street food-inspired menu, but I was there for the booze.
I grabbed a table outside and hit the drinks list, which was heavy on the tequila, mezcal and micheladas to complement the food. Definitely no complaints from me. I followed up a Tommy and Eve (reposado tequila, purple passion fruit, chicha de jora) with a frozen slu-shie (sweet watermelon, tequila blanco, aperitivo). I loved them both – the prices too (€12 a pop v €16+ on the main drag). Loved the vibe here, really mellow and friendly. And the staff were great too, recommending cocktails and offering to charge my phone – when you’re on a 24 trip with no hotel, even with a powerbank, this is the equivalent of offering your first born or giving away your house. Absolute legends.
Left reluctantly, will be back definitely.
00:30 Playa d’en Bossa
Had to run to catch the last boat from the port across to Bossa. My reasoning was the last bus left a little too early and I didn’t want to spring for another cab, so this would make for a less rushed evening – and who doesn’t love a nice relaxing boat ride? Nice though it was, I didn’t realise it would drop me off on completely the wrong side of town, leaving me with a 20 minute walk to Hï – probably would’ve been quicker to walk the whole way (it wouldn’t, but you get what I mean). I stopped along the way to pre-buy my club ticket (avoids the queue on the door) and then do my second superhero outfit change at Drop & Enjoy baggage storage, where I also left my stuff. Really handy as Hï doesn’t allow bags bigger than handbag size and it was just across the street.
Party time…
01:30 Hï Ibiza
Hï was HEAVING. This is obviously where everyone was! It was too hard to walk about so I ended up hanging out at the bar near the VIP area for a while, chatting with a few people – including my birthday twin! We had a shot of Hierbas with the barstaff to celebrate.
I was really there to see Black Coffee, so I caught most of his epic headline set in the theatre before ducking into the Wild Corner (the club in the toilets!) for a dance. DJ Paul Reynolds was going off! When he dropped Duke’s So In Love With You – OMG! Stayed until the bitter end of his set before heading back to the main room to catch the end of Black Coffee back-to-back with Marco Carola and Ms Mada.
Verdict on solo clubbing? Meh. I had fun, but this is definitely a group activity, especially in Ibiza where I have so many incredible memories on the dancefloor with mates. The lights went up and I headed out.
07:00 Disco Bus
Why did I book my flight for 11am???!!!
Club kicked out around 06:30, so I headed straight to collect my bag and change back into ‘travelling clothes’. There were places open, but not anywhere I could really sit down with a coffee. Spotted the Disco Bus – the late-night line that connects the main resorts and clubs that I haven’t travelled on in YEARS – and figured it was a way to sit down and kill time until the airport lounge opened. €5 to San Antonio! Pricey – but cheaper than a cab, and they also had usb chargers. Went to the bus station, then jumped immediately on a bus back to the airport that was conveniently there waiting. Time efficiently wasted.
19:30 Home Sweet Home
Next time, I’ll just pay the extra money for the earlier direct flight home. Got to IBZ around 09:00 and had breakfast at Paul rather than burn a pass in the lounge. Had a sleep on the Eurowings flight to Stuttgart before my three – three! – hour layover. Treated myself to a beer and a pretzel (didn’t want to blow a ton of cash on nothing to negate the savings I’d made on my flights), charged my phone, worked on my trip plan for my round-the-world epic. EW 2464 landed at LHR just before 18:00. I jumped on the Lizzie Line home, got into bed, passed out. 24 hours in Ibiza: done.
My 24-hour solo party trip to Ibiza
The verdict? I had an amazing time. did I make all the right choices? Hell no. If I ever did this again (and I might…) I would plan further in advance and get the best deal on flights so I wouldn’t feel pressure to have such a long journey home. Leaving the club at the end, or even before, I’d want to head straight to the airport and home. Looking ahead to 2024 (just in case…) there isn’t a lot scheduled yet leaving before noon – and the one way BA flight at 11am on the same date is already an outrageous £217 (I am used to paying <£150 return). I’d probably have to do a good bit of research to make it financially viable.
I’d definitely do a beach club and bars again. But club-wise I’d probably follow the crowd to Cova Santa or wherever because, even though you can definitely dance alone, for me, at least, it is more fun with a crew.
So same time next year? I already have big plans I am budgeting for so we’ll see, but I might be keeping an eye on the FaceBook groups just in case…
