Discover hidden beaches on Ibiza’s answer to Big Sur
As the summer crowds disperse, now is the time to explore the island’s farthest reaches. In the northernmost province of San Juan, a twisting road with a distinctly Californian feel winds between pine forest and cliffs, linking a clutch of unspoilt beaches. With wild scenery, laidback chiringuitos and rugged red cliffs, this is Ibiza for adventurers.
Close to the iconic striped lighthouse of Portinatx, this hard-to-find little beach is worth the wait. Driving down the rough, unpaved camino, you’ll pass the hulking shell of a brutalist hotel abandoned in the 1960s. Park here and continue on foot down to the water’s edge, where a silver shingly beach and gin-clear waters are overlooked by a deep green forest of pine. Swim slowly out from the beach, past a cluster of twinkling satellite coves and a clutch of sun-bleached fisherman’s huts. The water here is cool, deep and inviting. In high summer, a small chiringuito cooks simple waterside lunches.
A forever favourite of Ibiza’s northern locals, Cala Xuclar has become famous in recent years for its impossibly atmospheric little beach restaurant. Little more than a container and shack with creamy director’s chairs perched in the sand, it’s the place to come for the freshest fish in the north. The beach here is horseshoes shaped and tiny with zero facilities, so arrive early and come prepared.
A postcard-pretty cove (down a super-steep path), S’Illot maintains all the charm of a bygone era. The water here is impossible clear and the aquatic life is some of the best on the island, so bring snorkels and head out around the teeny offshore island (S’Illot). The old-school restaurant above the beach is a time warp of the 1980s and does a mean guisat de peix (local rockfish and potato stew).
This deep and wide cove is dramatic and beautiful, with waves in windy weather and a blissful suntrap in the cooler months. The water is deep with a stony seafloor that keeps it impossibly clear. A fabulous wraparound finca hugs the cliff above and has perhaps the finest sea views on the island. It’s just become part of the design driven Fincadelica empire, so watch this space.
If you know, you know. Moon Beach is the insider’s cove on this stretch of coast, a beach so hip that Charlotte Tilbury (who grew up nearby) named one of her iconic blush sticks after it. The peculiar name comes from the cove’s oddly lunar landscape, where deep fissures in limestone give a cracked, otherworldly feel. It’s not easy to find and there are no facilities whatsoever, but for a romantic hideout that feels like the end of the world, Moon Beach can’t be beaten.
