When looking for ‘cool’ holiday locations to keep our discerning teenagers happy, we decided to give the White Island of Ibiza a try – famed for its beautiful scenery, spirituality and draw for hippies over the years. Although you don’t have to have teenagers with you to follow a hippy itinerary, if you do they will love this element of visiting Ibiza. There seemed to be several elements to Hippy Ibiza to explore, including mythical sites, drumming circles and hippy markets. Here’s how we got on…
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What is Ibiza’s relationship with the Hippy movement?
Artists and liberals fled to Ibiza to escape the oppressive Franco regime after the Spanish Civil War ended in 1939. They found cheap accommodation on farms (fincas) where they could live in communes together, largely untroubled by the constraints of life elsewhere.
The term hippy emerged from America in the 1960s and 70s (the American spelling is usually hippie, plural or singular), relating to those associated with the counter-culture movement of the times. San Francisco was the host of the infamous Summer of Love in 1969, an enormous gathering of free thinkers in the Haight-Ashbury area of the city.
Like the San Francisco hippies, those seeking refuge on Ibiza generally enjoyed a more hedonistic lifestyle which resulted in the setting up of dance gatherings on the island. Amnesia emerged as hedonistic dance party in the late 70s, and along with Pacha and Es Paradis, were the precursors to the super clubs of today in Ibiza.
Experience mystical Es Vedre and search for Atlantis
On the south of Ibiza, stands an impressive rock just off the shoreline called Es Vedre which is viewed as the spiritual home of the island.
Es Vedre is said to radiate a special energy and magic thus attracting the hippy population over the years. The area has had numerous sightings of celestial beings and UFOs in the area. In fact, Es Vedre is shrouded in mystery and myths including the suggestion that it is:
- the tip of the lost city of Atlantis.
- the island on which Homer’s mythical sirens sang sailors to shipwrecks.
- the 3rd most magnetic point in the world (after North Pole and Bermuda Triangle).
Es Vedre is out of bounds to humans to protect wildlife.
For our first stop in search of Hippy Ibiza therefore, we drove to the south of the island and found the car park for Es Vedre, near the pretty cove town of Cala d’Hort. We walked to the Es Vedre viewpoint (see cover photo) to admire the 400-meter-high rock and tried to soak up its magic!
If you look upwards on the headland you can see the Torres des Savinar, a watch tower from the 1750s built to protect the island from pirates, overlooking the sea and Es Vedre. I’m not sure how we missed the path but somehow, we tried and failed to climb up to the tower which apparently was only a 10-minute walk!
When we visited a couple of years ago, we picked up the path down to ‘the tip of Atlantis’ at the bottom of the cliff, marked by stone circles at the entrance to the path (see photo).
UPDATE – As from February 2025, you can no longer undertake the following walk as the site has been closed to the public in order to protect the nature reserve in which Atlantis sits.
You can however undertake the Ibiza: Speedboat trip to Atlantis & Es Vedre to see the site from the water instead with Get Your Guide.
The path itself was narrow and steep, leading down the hillside to the water. At the bottom we reached Atlantis, the fictitious name given to Sa Pedrera, a small cove on the Cala d’Hort nature reserve. We spotted rock carvings made in the 1960s by hippies who claimed the place as a meeting point.
The area was historically a stone quarry used in the 16th century to extract stone for the construction of Dalt Vila, the old walls and cathedral in Ibiza Town. The places where rock slabs were removed has created pools which fill with sea water and provide a place for a safe swim or float in the water. It was so hot when we visited, that the only thing to do was take a dip in the water to try and cool off.
The advantage of visiting Atlantis on a boat trip is that you don’t have a long climb back to the top of the hill – it took us 30 minutes to get down the hill and over an hour to get back up to the top again. It was a very tough, steep walk which took a lot of determination to complete in the midday heat.
Lunch – from the Es Vedre viewpoint, head to Es Boldado, a restaurant in nearby Cala d’Hort offering lovely seafood dishes and great view of Es Vedre across the bay. They take reservations over the phone.
Visit an iconic Hippy Market
The second stop on our search for Hippy Ibiza was to a hippy market. The hippies on Ibiza would often seek winter sunshine in Goa (India) or Bali (Indonesia), bringing garments and trinkets back to Ibiza to sell at flea markets on the island. There are many flea markets on the island, but two recommendations are:
Hippy Market Punta Arabí, Es Caná
The Hippy Market Punta Arabí is the oldest (opened in 1973) and largest one on the island. It operates on Wednesdays during the Summer months (May to October) from 10.00am until 19.00pm. I would advise going just before opening as it does get extremely busy.
There are over 400 stalls set out over a large site under pine trees , so you can pick up everything from jewellery, leather goods, candles, clothes, musical instruments, and many other crafts. In-between the stalls, there are street performers and live music, so there is a lot to see. My highlight was giving a Buddha one euro to receive a manta in return!
The teens in our group enjoyed browsing all that was on offer, and making several purchases whilst we were there. To be honest, it seemed to be very similar stuff in the markets so you only really need to visit a couple, perhaps a day market and a night market as they offer different vibes.
Lunch – for lunch, you can walk 10 minutes from the market to Playa Cala Martina to pick up lunch at the Chirincana Beach Bar. It’s a boho beach shack which doesn’t look particularly special from the outside but has a good view over the beach and offers a delicious Chicken Shawarma pitta and falafels. It is open during the same months as the Hippy Market Punta Arabí.
Las Dalias Night Market, Sant Carles de Peralta
For a different type of hippy market experience, head to the Las Dalias Night Market on one of its evening sessions (20.00pm – 01.30am, on Sundays, Mondays, and Tuesdays), which is a much more relaxed affair than the daytime ones. However Las Dalias also runs on Saturdays if you want the daytime experience. Sant Carles de Peralta is about 5km north of Santa Eulària or 12km northeast of Ibiza Town.
There’s a nice photo display on the outer walls of the market detailing the market’s history. Originally Las Dalias was a famous road bar, set up in 1954 by a farmer and carpenter who wanted a rural gathering place. It later drew the hippies who used the gardens for celebrating festivals, and then celebrities (Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, and Bob Marley) who came for the weekly jam sessions and laid-back vibe.
In 1985 the market only had 5 stalls when it officially started in its current format – it now hosts over 200 stands, with the opportunity to have massages, or buy antiques, records and books. There are several options for food and drinks including cocktails, tapas and pizza on-site.
This was our favourite hippy market experience on our visit to Ibiza. We arrived shortly before opening time and enjoyed the stalls largely to ourselves for half an hour before the market quickly filled up. We could have spent a fortune at Las Dalias on jewellery, leather goods, crocheted dream catchers, wicker baskets, linen clothes (completely unsuitable for UK weather back home!) and wooden phone cases.
Having checked out the stands spread out through the gardens, we then enjoyed some food and drink in the central bar area, listening to the DJ playing laid-back tunes – a nice way to spend the evening as the sunset over the market stall canopies. This felt more like Hippy Ibiza!
Drum down the sunset at Cala Benirras
The next stop on our search for Hippy Ibiza sounded like it would be the real deal – the opportunity to join a hippy drumming circle as the sunsets over one of the pretty coves. The sunset drumming usually takes place on Sundays from the first weekend in June until first weekend in October.
Cala Benirras is a small beach cove hidden between cliffs and surrounded by pine trees on the northwest coast of Ibiza. It only has a small number of car parking spaces, and the road gets closed each Sunday from 15.30 to 22.30 because of the many people that descend to the beach to see the drumming.
As a result, most people use the Park and Ride at Sa Plana. There is a bus every 30 minutes between 17.30pm and 23.30pm every 30 minutes to get to the beach. We drove 30 minutes from Santa Eulària des Riu to the Park and Ride and then enjoyed the lively chatter of groups of Spanish youngsters on the bus as we made the 6km journey to the beach, which was all easy enough.
Once you arrive at Cala Benirras you’ll find a lively strip of beach restaurants and bars between the car park and beach, all pumping out Ibiza beats. If you haven’t already picked up enough souvenirs from the hippy markets in Ibiza, then you’re in luck as there’s a small market behind the beach, the Benirras Beach Market. More bracelets and earrings anyone?
We picked up takeaway pizzas to eat on the beach but were not allowed to eat them on the sunloungers (note for future reference!). Tip – get your drinks early so that you don’t miss the sunset whilst you are in the queue! It is popular so no doubt will be busy.
Note – you can’t hear the drumming from the whole beach so you have to go and look for the hippies with drums, no doubt surrounded by a crowd of on-lookers.
Cala Benirras was very busy, but there was a convivial vibe, and everyone stood around the seashore to watch the sunset, clapping when the sun fell beneath the skyline which was a lovely, shared experience. The experience was rather touristy, whilst also being memorable.
Hippy legacy in Ibiza Town
The search for Hippy Ibiza even extends into the main towns. Ibiza Town (Eivissa in Catalan) features a bronze statue by Catalan artist Ció Abellí of a hippy and his daughter walking on a world map. It was revealed to the town in 2016 to honour the island’s hippy heritage.
There are a few bars in Ibiza Town which claim to have hippy links, such as La Gomidas Bar which was a hippy hub in 1970s. If you’re travelling with your teenagers, then you probably won’t be bar hopping but at least you can make a note of it from the outside.
For other ideas about what to see in Ibiza Town, check out my blog What to see on a visit to Ibiza Town in Ibiza, Spain.
Day trip to Formentera from Ibiza Town
Finally, you could take a ferry from Ibiza Town to the nearby island of Formentera (only a 30-minute ferry ride) which was also popular with hippies back in the day. Apparently Bob Dylan lived her in a windmill in the 1960s, and Jimi Hendrix, Bob Marley and Pink Floyd once played in the Blue Bar on the island. And yes, they have their own hippy market, Mercadillo de la Mola!
Look out for the decorated VW Camper Van with a Formentera sign on its roof parked near the Chezz Gerdi restaurant. A ferry also runs to Formentera from Santa Eulalia if you are staying there.
Final thoughts on finding Hippy Ibiza...
Today there aren’t many true hippies left in general, and many of the Ibiza hippies have been priced out of the island as it has increased in popularity as a tourist destination over recent decades. As a result, you’re left with a hippy legacy on the island of Ibiza rather than the hippies themselves.
In general, we tend to have a romanticised view of hippies, often relating to the fashions and music of the day – long flowing dresses, sandals, flowers in the hair, tie-dyed t-shirts, psychedelic colours, and designs. There is plenty of that on offer in the flea markets on the island which your teens will love, so that will get the thumbs up.
Overall, I’m sure much of the spirituality associated with the island comes from its raw natural beauty of the island and the golden light which casts its magic on those who visit. You can easily understand why the island was a draw for hippy communities, and why people are reluctant to leave.
Hippies or no hippies, we shall return!
For other ideas about How To Plan A Week In Ibiza With Teenagers check out my blog.
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