Music
8 Ibiza secrets you can still discover this year
Secret #1: Now is the best time to go…
For a holiday destination famed for its sunsets, Ibiza sure doesn’t like to let the sun go down on summer. If you haven’t made it to the white island yet this year, you’ve timed it perfectly – the best stuff is happening right now. September is when the big clubs’ legendary closing parties happen, drawing back the big-name DJs, and party people in the know, for one last ride.
With temperatures still soaring, but crowds and costs cooling (flights, hotels and even club entry fees are cheaper) here are eight secrets for you smart hedonists.
Dancer at Black Coffee
© Press
Hï Ibiza is a neon temple bristling with slick dancers, state-of-the-art sound systems and one of the most impressive WCs in the world
1. Hit the world’s most epic toilet party at Hï Ibiza
Ibiza has tuned up the science of the superclub to the max, and this year’s newest venue is a prime example. Previously the location of the legendary Space, it’s metamorphosed into a neon temple bristling with slick dancers, state-of-the-art sound systems and one of the most impressive WCs in the world – a cavernous powder room with a dancefloor and DJ. If you can pull yourself away from the loo, the main room at Hï sports one of the best Saturday nights on the island hosted by South African super-selector Black Coffee.
2. Head to Club Tropicana
Pikes Hotel in the countryside is famous for some of the craziest parties the island has ever seen, including Freddie Mercury’s 41st birthday bash in 1987, which saw Boy George, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Bon Jovi and 700 other guests descend on this humble farmhouse for A-list debauchery and a fireworks display visible from Majorca. But it was immortalised in music history when George Michael chose it as the location for Wham’s eternally excellent Club Tropicana video. Sadly, drinks are not free, but, for Ibiza, they are reasonably priced.
3. Take off as soon as you land
Making good use of that cheap real estate under aeroplane flight paths, superclub DC10 sits in a converted airplane hangar a mere stone’s throw from the end of Ibiza Airport’s runway, and the sight and sound of planes roaring ridiculously close overhead adds an extra dimension to an already raucous night’s activities – which include regular Monday session Circoloco, and saw Disclosure hosting their first Friday residency, Wild Life, this summer.
4. Join the circus at Elrow
Wild Life at Ibiza's DC10
© Renata Subic
If there’s one night you mustn’t miss, it’s this Saturday session at Amnesia. To describe Elrow as a mere party is an understatement. It’s a full-blown carnival, a cross between Cirque de Soleil and Burning Man, with ceiling-swinging acrobats, stage performers and costumed circus parades. Hot tip: hit Ants at Ushuaia in the day and grab a discount wristband for Elrow on your way to the bus here. Speaking of which…
5. Dance to Ants in your pants (or swimwear)
Elrow's parties are always an extravaganza
© Pablo Dass
Because there aren’t enough hours in the night for clubbing, God invented day parties, and Ushuaia – effectively a stadium-grade stage with an open-air swimming pool – hosts arguably the most epic on the island. Incredibly, the set decor changes with each night’s events and Ants, on Saturdays, has probably the most spectacular – a pulsating, grotesque alien’s nest with laser beams, flame jets and some of the best acts, including Groove Armada and Timo Maas making an appearance on September 23, one week before the closing party.
6. Pop your cherry at Pacha
We’re talking about the iconic double-cherry logo of Ibiza’s first superclub – which still retains an air of chilled refinement while every venue around it seemingly explodes in glitter and foam. Soak yourself in that air of sophistication by hitting up some progressive tech-house by Miami maestro Maceo Plex at his Tuesday residency, Mosaic, where this year he’s teamed up with the equally ice-cool likes of Röyksopp and Modeselektor.
7. Watch the sun set with aliens and Atlanteans
Ravers getting loose at Pascha Mosaic
© Mario Pinta
The most famous place to soak up sundown is arguably Cafe Mambo in San Antonio – and they certainly soundtrack it well with good mojitos. But there are more spiritual locations. Sunset Ashram on the west coast is a slice of unspoilt natural coastline where you can almost swim past the bobbing superyachts to the dipping orange fireball. But for a super-secret spot, head to the coastline facing the small rocky island of Es Vedrà – rumoured to be the tip of the sunken city of Atlantis and a common site for UFO spotting.
8. Howl at the moon with the ancient ones
Craig David blesses the crowd at Cafe Mambo
© Press
As open-air parties go, WooMooN on Sundays blows the roof off. Set in Cova Santa – a venue carved out of an ancient cave – it feels less like a superclub and more like tribal festival with fortune tellers, bongo players and a never-ending pulse of hypnotic trance. And yes, that closing party is scheduled for Tuesday, September 5, to coincide with the last full moon of the summer.
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