BLACKBOOK ISLAND HOPPING islands – half a century later, 15.5 million. Over the same time period: a coastal landscape has been utterly transformed, fortunes have been made and a once rural society, now largely suburban, has left behind its historic demons – poverty and political irrelevance – forever. Economically speaking, the Balearics’ daily bread is summer package tourism from Europe, so more discerning visits require careful planning. Timing is crucial – if one desires peace and quiet, then avoid the islands during July and August. And one would do well to make for the inland fincas, or farmhouses. Choosing between four such powerful personalities is a formidable task. The decision will depend on factors such as family, mind-set and, above all, age. Twelve years after leaving Ibiza, I would be happy to recommend the island’s playful hedonism to a much younger person, while the discreet charm of Menorca, for example, is what I crave and value now more than ever. The great advantage of the Balearics is that such a choice exists at all. As David Stein, American owner of one of the islands’ more delicious country hotels, Mallorca’s Gran Hotel Son Net (rooms from €355; Calle Castillo Son Net, Puigpunyent; +34 971 147 000; sonnet. es), says, the Balearics can provide “just about any experience you could want in the Mediterranean – there’s just so much here”. IBIZA Longtime Ibiza fans say it’s gone to the dogs – but then they would. When I lived there, the island was a glamour-free tourist destination, albeit with a cult nightlife and New Age community. Since I left, big new money has just about squeezed out the hippies. The upside of the newly sophisticated Ibiza is that the island now has a number of high-end places to stay. The market for “status” villas and fincas to rent is big business: go to the likes of Cédric Reversade (cedric reversade.com) and one can expect to pay up to €109,070 a week. A wider range is available through Hip Holidays Ibiza (hipholidaysibiza.com), a rental agency run by a young Brit-Swedish couple with all the right connections. Ibiza’s newfound popularity with wealthy young Europeans has led to the rise of an island subspecies: the wellconnected fixer/caterer/rental agent, a prime example being Serena Cook, who runs DeliciouslySortedIbiza. com. Cook is an authority on local restaurants and recommends THE GETAWAY HIDDEN GEM Sequestered at the end of a sweeping drive, the majestic Casa del Valle is a private villa representing the epitome of Ibiza chic. Six lavishly styled bedrooms set the tone, while terracotta-tiled floors ensure ubiquitous cool on scorching summer days and vast green lawns and a heated pool offer opportunities for supreme relaxation. cedricreversade.com La Paloma ( Ctra Santa Gertrudis –Sant Lorenç; +34 971 325 543; palomaibiza.com) for dinner; Es Torrent (Playa Es Torrent, Sant Josep; +34 971 802 160; estorrent.net) or Es Xarcu (Cala Es Xarco, Sant Josep; +34 971 187 867) for fish; and Macao Café ( Calle Venda des Poblé 8; +34 971 197 835) in Santa Gertrudis village for a trattoria lunch. Ibiza’s fame as an international brand rests largely on its extraordinary discotecas. The Gran Hotel (rooms from €602; Paseo Juan Carlos I 17; +34 971 806 777; ibizagranhotel.com) is as good a conventional hotel as one might find anywhere in the midsummer mayhem of Ibiza Town in high season, when the whole place throbs to dance music. Just out of earshot, however, lies the radical contrast of the rural hinterland, which is where Ibiza’s true appeal can be discovered. Up in the hills around the villages of Sant Joan, Santa Agnès and San Miquel, the scene is laidback, with pristine coves like Pou d’es Lleó, Aigües Blanques and Benirràs good for lazing at simple beachside chiringuitos. As Chan tal Laren, coowner of Can Bikini (from €6,656 a week for up to 12 people; Poligono 13, Parcela 271; +44 7973 345 116; canbikini .com), a contemporary rustic property in Santa Agnès, puts it, “When I come up here from the south, it’s like driving away from all the madness.” The last decade has seen a miniature boom in rural accommodation, with the classic Ibiza casa pagesa, a whitewashed cuboid farmhouse, making for a great little bijou hotel. The best of the dozen-strong genre, Can Curreu (rooms from €263; Ctra. Sant Carles, km 12; +34 971 335 280; cancurreu. com), combines a real Mediterranean mood with a certain elegance. The Giri Residence ( rooms from €363; Calle Principal 3–5; +34 971 333 345; thegiri.com) in tiny Sant Joan is a hip rural hangout, as is Atzaró (rooms from €355; Ctra. Sant Joan, km 15; +34 971 338 838; atzaro.com), though the latter’s panethnic decor may limit its appeal. In picturesque Ibiza Town, check in to the townhouse Mirador de Dalt Vila (rooms from €371; Plaza de España 4; +34 971 303 045; hotelmiradoribiza.com), and while in the neighbourhood be sure to visit the newly reopened Museu d’Art Contemporani d’Eivissa ( Ronda Narcís Puget; +34 971 302 723). FORMENTERA If one ever needed to stop the world and get off, Formentera, the tiny island hanging off the southern tip of Ibiza, would be a fine place to do it. Mostly flat except for the high plateau of La Mola and smaller Berberia in the west, the 18km-long refuge confirms that in travel, less is often more. The minute capital, Sant Francesc, has the somnolent charm of a rural hamlet. MANUEL ZUBLENA 34 departures-international.com
