After 5 trips spanning over a fifteen month period, the Ibiza coastline trail is completed. I have reported extensively on many of the stages in my instagram, as well as in this blog.
Here, however, I’d like to drop a few lines to share some recommendations on the logistics of this section hike: planning, transport, gear and so on. I hope you find it useful!
When to go
Hiking in Ibiza is a year-round pleasure – with a possible exception of the peak Summer months. I have hiked in November, December, January, March and April, and have had great hiking weather all along. November is perhaps my favourite, as the sea water is still relatively warm and swimmable. In the Spring, on the contrary, water is cold but the days are longer.
On top of avoiding the Summer heat and crowds, the obvious perk of hiking in the off tourist season is lower travel and accommodation costs.
Planning your stages
The Ibiza coastline walk is not an established hiking trail the way, say, Menorca’s Camí de Cavalls may be. As a result, there are no guidebooks or recommended stages that you can use for your planning.
This means that you will need to plan your stages bearing in mind your fitness level and the availability of “civilized” start and end points. Whenever possible, I recommend that you finish at some village or town with an open cafeteria where you can stay warm as you wait for your taxi.
As a reference, I used Tony Bonet’s 9 stage route:
Most of his stages are 20-25 km long, and, while some are quite demanding, most are feasible in a longish day. I did quite a few of his stages, but also cut a few in half, either because K and I wanted to take it easy, or because I was doing out-and-backs.
Alternatively, I have seen gpx tracks by trail runners who did 40 and even 60 km stages. So it’s up to you to pick your own posion!
Transport
If you’re hiking out of peak season (October-May), you will definitely need your own wheels. The only stage that can be entirely supported by public transport would be Eivissa-Santa Eulária.
Even with your rental car or motorbike, you will need to call a taxi to drive you back to your vehicle. In low season, it is recommended that you check availability in the morning, or even the night before. Of course, you can always plan shorter hikes and gradually complete your walk by doing out-and-backs (I did a few of them).
In the peak tourist months, there are many more bus lines that can be used, so, technically, you could use public transport on a number of stages – basically those starting from or leaving from Eivissa, Sant Antoni, or Santa Eulària.
https://ibizabus.com/ibiza/lineas/
However, the heat, crowd and accommodation prices make this time of the year the worst to be hiking in.
Navigation
Given that the trail is only occasionally signposted or blazed, I would say that navigation can be the greatest challenge for novice hikers. That is why I strongly recommend anyone willing to do this hike to become familiar with following gps tracks on outdoor navigation maps such as wikiloc or oruxmaps. Having done so, my recommendations would be
- Download your maps for offline use, as you may lose phone data signal at times.
- Use a variety of maps: ign, opentopo, google maps…Being a non-official project, the route is always evolving due to construction, zoning, etc. and the gpx track you are following might have to be adapted.
And, definitely, be flexible and creative whenever there the track appears to be wrong.
Difficulty
Overall, I would grade this route as intermediate. Some full-stages can be tough because of steep climbs (never too long).
Gear
Nothing too special to report here. Bring your usual hiking gear – whatever you’re comfortable in. Having said that, I’d recommend trail runners, as some sections are steep and slippery. A hiking pole could be interesting, but is not allowed as carry on luggage, which is a limitation.
As to clothing, your usual layers, with some lightweight windbreaker and/or raincoat ready to hand. And swimming costume, why not, especially if you finish your stage on a beach as delightful as Cala San Vicente. And, most definitely, bring lots of water, unless you go through villages or resorts with open cafeterias or grocery stores.
B-Side Travels 