Mention Ibiza and people immediately picture nightclubs. Santa Eulària des Riu ignores all of that. The town takes its name from the only river on the island. It stays completely dry from May until late November. Now it acts as a long green park cutting right through the residential blocks where local teenagers ride electric scooters after school past the old men reading newspapers on the benches. You come here for the Mediterranean sun and actual quiet. I saw a local woman walking home with three baguettes through the dusty riverbed at 8 AM.
Climbing Puig de Missa
Puig de Missa sits on the hill above town. They built this fortified church in 1568 so the local population had somewhere to hide when the pirate raids started, dragging their valuables up the steep dirt trails. Walk up the winding path to the top. The view stretches over the flat white rooftops and straight out to the Mediterranean. You will sweat through your shirt if you do this climb in August. But the thick stone walls keep the church interior incredibly cold. Down at the bottom of the hill you will find the Museu Etnològic. It occupies an old farmhouse called Can Ros. The rooms hold heavy iron farming tools and traditional payesa clothing from the decades before mass tourism arrived. The entrance fee is exactly 3 euros. The display cases smell faintly of damp wood.
The Town Promenade
German tourists established this area decades ago. Now you see young families and long-term European residents eating on the terraces. The seafront promenade runs wide and completely flat. Pushing a stroller over these paving stones is very easy. Dozens of restaurants line the main walkway where waiters try to flag you down for a table as you pass by looking for a place to eat. We spent our evenings having slow dinners instead of looking for party tickets. Getting a front-row table at Restaurante Royalty costs 38 euros a head if you order wine. So you sit and watch the water. The street lamps turn on around 8:45 PM in the summer.
Hippy Markets at Es Canar and Las Dalias
You’re right next door to the famous hippy markets. Take the L18A bus up to Es Canar for the Punta Arabí market on Wednesdays. It sprawls across a massive pine forest area. Vendors sell handmade jewelry and brightly dyed fabrics from hundreds of folding tables. Drummers play near the food stalls. Inland at Sant Carles de Peralta you will find Las Dalias running all day on Saturdays. Finding parking there around 11 AM is an absolute nightmare. Do not bother circling the narrow residential roads looking for a free spot. Just pay the 4.50 euros for the official dirt lot behind the main road. You usually end up walking out with a heavy leather belt or a silver ring you had absolutely no intention of buying when you woke up that morning.
Beaches and Back Streets
The central beach has pale sand and completely flat water. It works perfectly for paddleboarding. But walk two blocks away from the water and you hit the older streets like Carrer de Sant Vicent. That is where the actual town lives. You pass traditional tapas bars and tiny grocery stores selling big bags of local oranges. Order the bullit de peix if you spot it on a chalk menu outside. Fish stew cooked with potatoes. Or walk the riverbed path under the peeling eucalyptus trees. Dogs chase old tennis balls through the red dust there all afternoon.
Getting Around
The L24 bus connects Santa Eulària directly to the airport. Renting a car makes a lot of sense if you plan to hunt for empty swimming spots up on the northern coast. The local rental offices near the marina usually run completely out of automatic transmission cars by mid-July. I highly recommend learning to drive a manual before you arrive. September brings much better weather and the massive summer crowds finally disappear. The sea stays warm. You get actual space to put your towel down on the sand.
Kolforn (Kolforn) |
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