Day 6 & 7: Mallorca to Ibiza

Day 6: Last Day in Palma

I didn’t blog much our last day in Palma. Stelios and I were both exhausted and the daytime weather called for rain. We were supposed to go on an off road ATV tour but the tour operator called and had to cancel due to the trails being closed. We took this as a sign and had a lazy last day in Palma. We lounged by the pool until the rain came, had lunch at the hotel which unfortunately was not very good, and then hung out in the room and on our balcony since it was covered.

The main highlight of our last day was our final dinner at Vandal. The vibe, service, and food of this place was outstanding. The manager, waitress, and bartender all remembered us from the night before. We told them the cocktails were so good and the food looked delicious that we had to come back for a full dinner! Their motto is “food with atttitude” and all of the plates have quotes on them which are funny and adds to the rebel vibe. Their menu is interesting as it tells you the origin country of each dish and the recommended drink to pair it with. If you’re in Palma for even a night this is the restaurant to go to! Our favorites were the red tuna belly, pulled pork in a fried grilled banana, celeriac stuffed with cheese & almonds with a squid béchamel sauce. After dinner we walked back to our hotel and went to bed since tomorrow was a travel day and we had an early start.

Day 7: Ready for Ibiza!

My alarm went off at 7am Sunday morning and by 7:45am we were off to the airport. Our first week in Mallorca flew by, and below are some of our final thoughts on our first destination knowing what we know now:

• Mallorca is part of Spain but a very diverse island depending which region you’re in. It’s mostly German and British tourists but is slowly becoming more popular with Americans. 
• We would’ve traded one day/night in Palma for one more day at the Jumeriah in Port Soller or 1 night in Northern Mallorca. Palma was fun and cool to explore but it’s a small city and can be seen in 1-2 days. 
• The town of Soller was the most authentic town we visited
• Seek out more tapas restaurants rather than fancy dinners/tasting menus, the tapas spots have the best food! 
• Our best meals were at Ca’an Pintxo in Soller and Vandal in Palma 
• The coffee here is very good, and I recommend ordering cafe con leche instead of lattes 
• If I were to come back I’d stay 1-2 nights in the North part of Mallorca to explore Pollenca, Alcudia and do the Sa Calobra road

I took a siesta on the plane and after a quick 40 minute flight we landed in Ibiza. By the time we exited the plane and got to baggage claim our bags were already there waiting for us – how convenient! We exited the airport and there was a line of taxis waiting. We grabbed one, hopped in, and my Spanish came in handy because our taxi driver only spoke Spanish. 

After a quick 10 minute drive we arrived at Hotel MiM, a boutique hotel in Playa de en Bossa. Also fun fact for all of the soccer fans out there, Lionel Messi bought this hotel in 2019 and there was a gold soccer ball on display in the lobby. 

Our room wasn’t ready yet so we changed, stored our luggage, and walked 5 minutes to a cafe nearby for coffee and morning bites. We ordered an empanada and papa relleno to share. Sitting at the cafe we noticed there were CBD vending machines across the street which I thought was funny and very on brand for Ibiza. After lunch we walked to Sky Rent to get a motorbike. A lot of the moto rental places nearby had bad reviews online, but I found this one that had all good reviews and it was a 2 minute walk from our hotel. However, the woman working there barely spoke English so I did my best to communicate in Spanish and we got the details we needed and rented the bike for our full stay in Ibiza. They only had 125cc Piaggio bikes (less powerful than the 300cc Vespas we had in Mallorca but the woman assured us they were powerful enough to get all around the island. The woman’s demeanor and style reminded us both of my mom’s friend Iris. I’m glad we found this rental spot because she told us we could park the bike right in front of the moto rental store in their reserved spots for free which was super convenient because there wasn’t much street parking available elsewhere near the hotel. 

Once we finished up at the bike shop, we walked along the water towards Ibiza Town. The energy of this island is so much different than Mallorca, and Stelios and I are LOVING it. There is music playing everywhere you go and the island itself is just such a beautiful destination. I realized we were near the Dalt Vila, one of the main UNESCO World Heritage sites in Ibiza so we decided to walk up it and explore. However I did not realize how steep the walk up would be and I wish I had my sneakers or Reef sandals on instead of my casual dress sandals. Regardless we made it to the top and took in the views of Ibiza around us. After climbing up the steep stone pathways of Dalt Vila, we had worked up an appetite and grabbed a seat at S’Escalinata – a cute restaurant with bean bag chairs outside on the steps. We ordered 2 detox smoothies and a bocadillo (small sandwich) to share. The smoothies were very refreshing but the bocadillo blew us away. It had Serrano ham, sun dried tomato, lettuce, cream cheese and olive oil. Wow what a delicious combination! 

After lunch we walked 30 minutes back to our hotel to relax and freshen up for our first night out in Ibiza. We had reservations for the Sunset Ritual at Cone Club which was a 35 minute drive from our hotel. All dressed up for a night out on the town we hopped on our bike and off we went! 

The Cone Club was a part of the 7Pines Resort in Ibiza and the property was huge and immaculate. The hotel rooms seemed to be condo style, all painted white giving the community a polished and refined feel. We checked in at the hostess stand and were brought to a front row table where we could order cocktails, listen to the chill DJ beats playing, and enjoy a fabulous sunset. I was finally experience my “Ibiza sunset vibes”Spotify playlist in real life. Our first Ibiza sunset was absolutely beautiful, and rivals Santorini, if not beats it. The afterglow was a warm orange, different from the pinks and yellows that filled the sky in Mallorca. The photos simply cannot compare to what it looks like in real life. Stelios and I both agree, the Jumeriah sunset is now bumped to 3rd place. 

Once the sun went down it got quite chilly even with my leather jacket on. We asked if we could move inside for our dinner (which was really still outside and had Panoramic views of the ocean, but was set further back from the cliffs and a bit warmer). We ordered the eel Gildas skewers, goat cheese rolls, and seared ahi tuna for appetizers. The goat cheese roll was our favorite and more filling than expected. We decided to share the lamb shoulder for our entree which was so tender, and for dessert we had the brioche ice cream. Overall a 10/10 for both the food and experience for our first dinner in Ibiza. 

After dinner we hopped back on our bike and rode to Playa Soleil. It was only a 6 minute drive from our hotel making it an easy way back once we got tired, plus The Martinez Brothers were playing there and tickets were only €25. There was a decent line to get in but it moved fairly quickly and we were in by 11pm. We ordered 2 tequila sprites and went off to the dancefloor. It was PACKED. I found a spot near the stairs where other people were standing but after a few minutes the security guard told us to get down. I tapped his shoulder to see if we could go up the stairs even though it appeared to be roped off for VIP – I’m not sure if he just liked my dress or didn’t understand what I said but he let us go up and we had a front row balcony spot to dance and watch the rest of the show. WINNING! 

We bopped and danced for awhile but the crowd seemed to be there more to rave and fist bump, and naturally Stelios and I wanted to dance. After awhile we walked back downstairs and went into a different room where the crowd was more actual dance vibes. Neither of us cared if we could see the DJ all night or not we just wanted to dance! The back room was full of people all ages, something that I love about partying in Europe – age really is just a number here and dancing is part of their lifestyle, unlike the states where a lot of places are young to mid 20s or 30s and under. We stayed out until 1am which is early for most in Ibiza but we’d been up since 7am and it was a long day. I also didn’t want to stay out too late our first night and be tired for tomorrow since that was our planned VIP table night out. Overall an incredible first day on the island of Ibiza.