Cheap flights, gorgeous weather, warming seas, opening parties and room to throw some shapes on the dance floor. BOOM! It's May on Ibiza - an awesome time to visit!
Getting here early has many benefits. The sun is in full effect, letting your skin soak up the rays and clear out the winter cobwebs as you relax on the beach, kicking off your flip flops and pouring a jug of sangria into glasses for you and your friends.
The buzz on the island is fantastic: festivals and events for all tastes are getting ready to wow you and top international DJ talent swarms to the massive club openings. The smell of summer is in the air.
There are great deals on hotels and rental cars, the roads are not clogged and there's enough space to lay a few towels by the pool or on the sand. Book that flight and check out our insider tips below for a fantastic May weekend or week away on this magical island.
The month of May heats up
IMS Dalt Vila, a big party highlight in May 2018
This year changes are afoot for the super-clubs. As the big names pick up their entourage and decamp to new venues, the excitement of the season peppers the island and you can often catch the buzz. For the low-down about who's playing what and at which venue and to get tickets, our club calendar gives you day-by-day action.
The highlight for many is IMS Dalt Vila where the stage is perched atop this world heritage site, which this year features huge talent such as Sven Vath, Pete Tong and Dubfire. Keeping with tradition, the artists go back to back during their live sets and the streets of Ibiza Town are alive with music and people.
Jazz hands at the Formentera Jazz Festival
Restaurants sharpen their knives as they set the tables for the season ahead. You can grab a top table at Zela, where Asia and the Mediterranean are elegant partners, serving up whole red scorpion fish fantastically presented on the plate or do dinner in the walled citadel of Dalt Villa where the streets are coming alive for the summer season. One of our favourites is La Dispensa, part of a five-restaurant group on the island, serving up a traditional Italian four-course meal with fresh pasta or yummy meat dishes using locally-sourced produce.
You could even set sail for the beautiful island of Formentera, a dreamy backdrop for the Formentera Jazz Festival with many free forms of jazz taking place across this idyllic sister island - it is but a short ferry ride from Ibiza Port. Starting right at the end of May on the 31st, it runs to 3 June.
Ibiza Spotlight's top picks for May
Not that we've whetted your appetite, here's our pick of some of the best events next month in May.
Activities and festivals are all around too! You can have a great day out with Ibiza's Medieval Festival on May 10-13. Tipping its hat to the Moorish past of the island, the Festival is held again within Dalt Vila, on its ancient streets and allows you to imagine the past coming alive. With over 80 performances all over town each day, great food and drink on offer and traditional medieval costumes and crafts, it's a great place for families and kids and won't cost a king's ransom.
For the sports lover amongst you, it's all about sun, sand and scrums in May. Enter your team or just go watch the action whilst soaking up the sun on the beach with the Ibiza Beach Rugby Tournament on May 5. The tournament is open to teams who want to get involved and is a great place to check out this increasingly popular sport. With smaller teams and played on sand, Beach Rugby is fast paced and will take place in San Antonio this year, drawing players from all over the world.
You could rock with the gods at the Sueños de Libertad festival from May 17-19. This festival offers a huge group of Spanish and European talent and is presided over by the ‘godfather' of rock photography, Baron Wolman, famous for his covers of Rolling Stone magazine. The photos will be shown in Ibiza Town's Plaza del Parque and other venues and be sure to catch performances from artists like headliners The Original Wailers and popular Spanish rock favourites Loquillo and Flamenco fusion artist Juanito Makande.
And there's a relative newcomer to Ibiza, where you can get your tassels twirling at the second annual Ibiza Burlesque Festival on May 25-27. Tantalising international burlesque artists will be taking it all off this year at several venues around Ibiza, including the Tropicana Ibiza Suites and a show-stopping finale at Heart that marks the end of the festival and the opening of this club. You will want to see the fans fluttering around the pool or on the stage as girls and even a ‘boylesque' artist take the spotlight.
So why not get away this May to Ibiza? You may just discover this is one of your favourite times to be here too!
