How to have the perfect 24 hours in Ibiza

Ever fancied swimming alongside the notoriously erratic bottlenose penguin ape, native to Balearic waters? Well, unfortunately you can’t. Like many exotic European species, the BPA died out at the same time as the puff bellied warbler, sometime towards the end of the last century. Nevertheless, aquatic life is still bountiful in Ibizan waters.If you don’t believe us, book a time slot with a professional dive school and explore the paradise scenes off Es Vedrá. Otherwise, snap up one of those great snorkel masks from Decathlon for a measly 30€ and start befriending the marine life at Cala Bassa.

Surely 3pm is a little early in the day to be stomping around to deep house and techno, right? Wrong. ANTS at Ushuaïa is one of the few big parties in Ibiza that truly demands your attention as soon as the doors open. For the first three or four hours, when the sun is still beating down, the party takes place at the back of the venue under layers of camouflage netting, a dynamic which fosters a wonderfully intimate underground atmosphere on the poolside dancefloor. When the show relocates to the main stage later in the evening, the DJs start dropping their big hits and inevitably some of the buzz is lost.

Back in 2013, Australian DJ Liv Nervo chipped a tooth and injured the vertebrae in her back whilst cliff jumping with EDM superhero Steve Aoki in a remote part of Ibiza. If you fancy jumping off some of the best 10 metre peaks the White Isle has to offer, you might consider tagging along with a professional cliff jumping crew. Not only do they know the safest spots on the island, they also carry the right equipment with them should anything go wrong.

Did you have a big one last night? Feeling a tad jittery today? What to do? You could bunker down in your hotel, jack up the air-con, watch old movies all day and pray the maid outside your room finally trolleys off to another floor. That’s what most people do. But wait… why not blast away the cobwebs on San Antonio’s premiere inflatable assault course, Ocean Mania, which you’ll find moored outside Ocean Beach on the S’Arenal Promenade? While your anxiety-ridden buddies sweat it out back at Hostel Come Down, you’ll be bouncing around on the inflatable trampolines and zipping down the colourful slides into the cobalt blue water. Heroic stuff, indeed.

Big waves are a rare commodity in the Balearics. Is it any wonder then that the recently opened Surf Lounge in San Antonio has become so popular? A 1-hour surf session riding the Flowrider artificial wave machine costs around 40€. There’s also a bar, restaurant and pool area laden with cabana beds for those of you who have lost your balance.

A bit like fish and chips symbolises the high watermark of English cuisine, paella is lauded as the local signature dish here in Ibiza. Special rice, spices of garlic and ginger, vegetables and a variety of seafood are all tossed together in a big black pan. For some reason, it’s a recipe that always tastes better when consumed within 20 metres of the sea. Of all the beach restaurants we’ve sampled, the authentic looking outhouses at Cala Gracio, Cala Gracioneta, Cala D’Hort and Cala Jondal offer some of the tastiest fare.

Johnny Lee is Mixmag's Ibiza correspondent