Sun Sea Sex and Serotin Depletion (Ibiza)

Member Name: ry9n

Product:	Ibiza
Date:	11/07/04 (4772 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: laid back attitude, amazing weather, a host of famous DJs

Disadvantages: you won't want to go anywhere else, you need a good bit of money

Hello all, may I take this opportunity to introduce myself. I?m a new member here and I go by the name of ry9n. This is my first review and it?s on Ibiza in General, obviously.

If God would have gone anywhere on that lazy seventh day after all that creation business, I?d put money on that he would have gone to Ibiza. Ibiza is basically whatever you want it to be. I?m a 19 year old male with a penchant for dance music and alcohol, but a retired couple or a family can have just as much fun as me, although not in the same way I hope.

I?m sorry if there is anyone reading this and expecting to be a ?what-to-see? in Ibiza as regards tourist attractions. It?s not. I couldn?t write about that even if I wanted to because I was getting to my room at nine in the morning, getting up at eight at night and repeating that until it was time to go home. I didn?t even see the sun, let alone a museum. What I can talk about however is clubs, drugs and drink. It?s not everyone?s cup of char but that is a major part of what happens on the island, and it was the bit I was exposed to so I?m semi-qualified to write about it.

*The Clubs*

Ibiza undoubtedly has the best nightclubs in Europe, they consist of Pacha, Privilege, Eden, Es Paradise and Amnesia. I visited Privilege, Eden, Es Paradise and Amnesia, unfortunately I missed out on Pacha but I?m hopefully jetting back next month so I?ll tell you about it then. What you will find when you go to Ibiza is that the best club nights are midweek. With the exception of Judgement Sundays, the weekends are nothing compared to what happens Monday-Thursday. The reason being is that the big name DJ?s Eric Morillo, Carl Cox and Brandon Block etc all usually come back over to the UK to do their radio shows or UK club nights, leaving the islands resident DJ?s to play over the weekend. These guys are still really good but when you are paying around £20, you want to be able to say you?ve seen some pretty famous people. <
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Privilege, like all the clubs on the island opens at 12 midnight and closes at 7 am. It is roughly about 7 miles away from San Antonio (towards the airport) and usually costs about 14 euros in a taxi. That?s about £8, not bad at all. They host the ?Most Wanted? night on Fridays which costs 20 euros, or you can pay 50 euros and go on a classy booze cruise and get a free bus to the club. They also hold Manumission on every other Monday, this is 45 euros. Privilege was by far my favourite club in terms of décor, it blows you away when inside. There is a huge main room complete with state of the art lasers and swimming pool, although this is for dancers only and numerous bars and tables and chairs. Outside they have the finest chill out area I have ever come across. The room is upstairs from the main room and is pretty much on the roof of the club, it?s open air so you can stare at the stars and is wall to wall of cushions so you?re always comfortable. This was the only club I came across with security performing drug searches however they weren?t every good at it. They only managed to find my Chub-a-Chub lollypops. Expect to pay 8 euros for both a bottle of water and a bottle of Bud. Privilege can hold 14,000 people however weekends are usually dead.

Eden, for me was a bit of a let down. It felt scruffy, the DJ booth wasn?t nearly as impressive as those of Privilege and Amnesia, the lasers weren?t the best and the dancers were mainly men. It?s only saving grace was the fact it was in San Antonio and the drinks were the cheapest out of all the clubs. It was 5 euros for a bottle of water and 7 euros for a bottle of Bud / San Miguel. Eden hosts Ministry of Sound on a Thursday, home to Brandon Block amongst others and Judgement Sundays led by Judge Jules. It doesn?t really have a chill out area as such, just a room playing either Hip-Hop or funky house.

Es Paradise was the first club I visited and I would recommend a newcomer to do the same. It is
quite small compared to the others but it is really extravagant. The décor is outstanding but the drinks are still kept cheap. It is opposite Eden in San Antonio. Es Paradise hosts Mondays with DJ Sammy, a night I was very sceptical about visiting but I absolutely loved it. They also have a water party on Saturday nights but expect to get absolutely soaked. DJ Sammy is 25 euros, the water party is 33 euros.

I only went to Amnesia once for the Cream opening party and I was by far the best clubbing night I have ever experienced. The club is huge, holding around 10,000 people and unlike Privilege, there were 10,000 people here. Cream is held on a Thursday with resident DJ Tiesto opening and Paul van Dyk playing from 4am to close. Cream tends to play a even mix of commercial and not-so commercial dance, so it is very appealing. The security have a presence but only when something is happening which warrants their attention. A friend of mine asked the security if it would be ok if he took his t-shirt off to dance. The guy said, ?take your shirt off, take your pants off, just have fun.? Amnesia is just near to Privilege and will cost around 15 euros in a taxi from San Antonio.

*Drink and Drugs*

In what I?m going to write I?m not telling people to take drugs to have a good time, but if they are intending on getting drugs, they may find what I?m going to write helpful. I would say that well over 50% of the clubbers in Ibiza are on ecstasy so drugs are not hard to find. The island is full of English people working there so if you want to know where to get them, just ask. More often than not they?ll phone a friend or give you a number.

With regards the safety of drugs like ecstasy, nobody can be completely sure, that?s why I would always say buy from people of your nationality, not only are you not presented with a language barrier but you can get a name and a number for whenever you might need it. Also if you are going to take ecstasy you
?ll find it?s a lot stronger than here in the UK. Where here you may be able to take 4-5 pills 2-3 in Ibiza is more than enough. Expect to pay 5-6 euros per tablet.

With regards the law in Ibiza, the police are more than aware of drug presence on the island and aren?t really interested in persecuting the clubbers but the dealers themselves. If you get stopped with a small amount, expect just to have the drugs confiscated. Do not, and I mean do not give the police an excuse to be violent as they will be, and it will hurt.

If drinking is your thing then head to the West End in San Antonio, about 6 square miles of clubs and bars. There is everything from the rock / indie club to a hip hop / r n b club. These places shut at four and drink prices are around 4 euros per bottle. Beware though since the new mayor has come to office in Ibiza he is trying to make the island less appealing to holidays makers whose main interest is to come and just spend two weeks drinking. Drinking leads to fighting, fighting leads to arrests. Tour operators can now no longer provide pub crawls and 2 for 1 offers will soon be a thing of the past. Think carefully if this is what you were planning on doing.

*Miscellaneous*

If you want to save money, then buy beer and cigarettes from the local supermarkets. You can get six big cans of San Miguel for about £2. A packet of cigarettes is about £1.50 although I have to say ours taste much nicer.

I highly recommend watching the sunset at either Café Del Mar or Café Mambo. They have flaring waiters walking around along with jugglers and fire eaters. The tunes become strictly euphoric and definitely gets you in the mood for the night to come. If you want to save some money then get the party buses up to Amnesia and Privilege they only cost around 1.50 euros and the atmosphere is usually pretty good.

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