The flipside of Ibiza

Go Ibiza:The people who partied their way through holidays in Ibiza in the past have now grown up and are returning to the island to see what else it has to offer. Gary Quinntries out some sporting adventures

IT’S 20 YEARS since the Ibiza clubbing craze went global and this small Spanish island in the Mediterranean carved out its own very particular niche.

Now, all grown up, those same clubbers are coming back but with their families in tow and, while they still like their highs, they prefer them to be legal. Without attempting to diminish the clubbing culture (it still brings in huge revenues) tourist chiefs on the island are setting out to reinvent Ibiza as a location for adventure sport, including cycling, diving, kayaking and horse riding.

But can an island that is still attracting so many night-time revellers really co-exist with the demands of the adventure tourist? There’s only one way to find out.

I like my sports and I like my food so signing up for a package of cycling, diving, and kayaking while enjoying the best of Ibiza’s restaurants isn’t too difficult. I’d never been to the island before but I’ve heard the stories and had a one-dimensional image in my mind. I was wrong.

Despite being spooked by a group of young Irish women on a hen party who were so drunk on landing that they literally couldn’t stand up, and had to support each other to show their passports at the airport, I didn’t see much evidence of the hedonism I had heard of.

The first reason for this is the choice of accommodation. Ibiza has a huge range of hotels and apartments on offer and the best are those tailored for families. Most of the people on the packed flight from Dublin seemed to be in this bracket and they were all heading to family type accommodation away from the main centres of the island. I checked in to the four-star Sirenis Seaview Country Club, a large resort hotel with incredibly friendly staff and in a great location.

The second reason is the timetable you keep when on an adventure holiday. While I was out exploring the island by day the clubbing set were sleeping off the night before and by the time they were up and about again I was already in a restaurant or bar building myself up for the following day and, although I had promised myself a night in the clubs, I was too exhausted to take them in. A good night’s sleep promised more kilometres covered the following day.

And you do need your sleep. I packed loads into my few days in Ibiza and discovered an island I simply didn’t know. The landscape is outstanding, the food was some of the best I’ve ever had and the friendly welcome I got everywhere was incredibly refreshing. I charged through it all with abandon and even got time to lie by the pool. Ibiza has built a new string to its bow and with luck the adventure has only just begun.

Diving

I’ve never dived before. I love the water but the idea of staying beneath it for more than one lungful of air makes me a little nervous. I could have taken the easy way out and just gone snorkelling but I was there for new experiences so swallowed my fears and strapped on my wetsuit and oxygen tank for an introduction course with Arenal Diving.

Sensing my fears, Siobhan, my diving instructor, decided my first lesson should be in a pool. But weather permitting (and it usually does) you can safely take your first lesson in the sea. It really is hard to describe the feeling that diving creates and it is immediate. As soon as I dropped beneath the surface and took my first breath underwater my fears fell away. And this first step really is the hardest.

Telling your brain to start breathing is most difficult and most liberating part. It really is another world.

The instructors at Arenal are naturally passionate about Ibiza. Their eyes light up when you ask them about the water, the sea life or the coastline. They talk about the caves and coves that lie beneath the surface the way others talk about their children.

The walls of their offices are covered in incredible photographs of sea life from the waters around Ibiza and they can give you a camera and teach you how to capture them too.

Photography is particularly popular here because of the tremendous visibility in the water, with an average of 30-40 metres or more on a good day.

A diving event worth planning for: free-diving underwater photography festival, September 12th.

Where I ate to recover: El Olivio is in the heart Ibiza town near the old walls of the city. It is the place to be and its terrace was thronged with the bold and the beautiful all night long. People queued for tables – a great sign given that there were plenty of quieter restaurants nearby.

On my menu: Sardines marinated in ginger and grated parmesan cheese; Tuna steak with roast vegetables and potatoes; Nougat ice cream

• Arenal Diving, arenaldiving.com

Kayaking

Kayaking is my sport. I love it and will talk about it with anyone who lets me. There is simply no more satisfying feeling than driving a kayak across the sea, into caves, through coves and into the unknown.

I’m a big wave, strong wind, winter weather kind of guy – at least in my head. So to simply turn all that off and push out into a calm sea, in warm waters and under a sun that is never going to get lost behind a blanket of cloud, is a terrific change.

The coast of Ibiza is highly serrated, creating lots of rock gardens and inlets for the kayaker to explore. There are plenty of caves and smaller islands dotted around and the sea almost invites you to capsize. My tour guide Domingo took us on a short paddle from Es Canar to Cala Nova beach to give us a taste of what the island could offer.

His company Ibiza Mundo Activo offers guided tours, all levels of training and expeditions.

For Irish kayakers looking for an alternative to the Atlantic or the Irish Sea this really is the place to go. It’s a perfect winter training ground and a fantastic place to warm those weary muscles in preparation for taking on the Atlantic all over again. And for those who would like to give the sport a try there can be no safer or more enjoyable place to start: no wetsuits, no winds, no fear of the cold – just pure unadulterated pleasure.

A kayaking event worth planning for: around Ibiza by kayak – an international sea kayak festival from October 4th to 10th circumnavigating the island.

Where I ate to recover: I've been to beachside restaurants before but none of them prepared me for the elegance and minimalist beauty of the Zen Sea restaurant – or for the food. Overlooking the Cala Nova beach, it is a destination in itself and an easy way to lose half a day in the best of food and drink.

On my menu: salmon and salmon eggs, goats cheese salad with asparagus; marinated chicken; seafood paella

• Kayaking, see ibizamundoactivo.com

Cycling

Ibiza has made cycling a priority in its tourism drive. There can be no better way to truly see what the island has to offer and to take a break from the coastline.

A new series of cycling routes have been developed and are organised on the same principle as ski runs: green for easy, black for very difficult and other levels in between.

I was taken on a moderate/easy route of about 8kms along the coast. It comprised a combination of rocky mountain bike trails, rough paths and roadway.

We were led in a group by Bartolo Planells Saez, who works with Ibiza Sport, a company that offers guided tours of the island, bike hire and an all-in cycle tour of Ibiza (organising your accommodation in a different place each day and delivering your luggage there while you take a more leisurely route by bike). Ibiza is a hilly island with a great diversity of terrain and is really well suited to all sorts of cyclists. The easiest green routes all take in the coastline and aim to finish on a beach. Route 12 is a black one called Ibiza Extreme. It takes you along a 58km route touching the tops of the highest points on the island, some of which are nearly 400m high and with steep drops on either side. According to some, going up is hard but coming down can be terrifying.

Inland, the rural landscape is great to see and for those not suited to off-road mountain biking terrain the recently re-laid major roads are much better than any in Ireland, and much safer for cycling too. It’s also a great way to see the real rural life of Ibiza up close.

A cycling event worth planning for: the 7th Sant Josep Xtrem bike marathon, June 5th-6th, esvedra.org

Where I ate to recover: Can Cires restaurant is a rural farmhouse surrounded by almond and olive trees.

Built upon the fusion created by the Ibizian wife (Victoria) and French husband (Francis) who run it, the couple only prepare food which is in season and they are are undoubtedly in love with the land it comes from, as well as very obviously with each other. From the moment we sat down to the moment we left we were treated like old friends and will certainly return.

On the menu: olives and garlic paste; roast peppers and anchovies; octopus, vegetables and fried potatoes; prawns in garlic; chocolate con churros

• Cycling, Ibiza Sport, ibizasport.com

The magic of the Med

The sea surrounding Ibiza really is as crystal clear as photographs suggest and it’s created by nature. In 1996 one of the largest living organisms, an 8sq km plant called Posidonia Oceanica, was discovered. A sea grass that grows in meadows on the sea bed, it filters impurities from the water and creates the conditions that give divers and swimmers around the island 40-plus metres of visibility under water.

It also acts like a natural reef because it can grow to 4 metres high and become what some people call a tropical forest, protecting the coastline from heavy storms and high seas. It is also suspected to be over 100,000 years old, prompting the question of why it took so long for the scientific world to find it. Now part of the World Heritage Sites on Ibiza it is, like most natural resources, under threat from development and pollution. But meanwhile it continues to pump oxygen into the sea and filters impurities from it, helping to create the crystal clear waters that we all crave.

Where to stay,eat and find out more

Places to stay

Sirenis Seaview Country Club, Port d'es Torrent, 07820, San Jose, +34 971 345256, sirenishotels.com

The four star Sirenis Seaview Country Club() is in Port d'es Torrent and offers excellent facilities for families as well as a small picturesque beach and fantastic views overlooking the sea.

Packages at Sirenis Seaview can be booked through Direct Holidays and Budget Travel and includes flights and transfers.

Where to eat

Zen Sea, San Lorenzo, 12, Edificio Parot, 07840 – Santa Eulària, zenseaibiza.com

Can Cires, Sant Mateau, +34629668972, cancires.com

El Olivo, Plaza de Vilea, 9-07800, +34 971 300680, elolivoibiza.org

Tourist informationSee ibiza.travel

For a guided tour in Ibiza, see guiasibiza.com

Go there

Aer Lingus has three weekly flights from Dublin to Ibiza on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday (from May 1st to September 30th 2010 inclusive). For more information on fares and schedules and to book visit aerlingus.com