Travel guide – san antonio
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Overview
Situated on the west coast, ten miles (16km) from the airport and the capital Ibiza, San Antonio is the largest and liveliest tourist resort on the island. Known as ‘San An’ to the thousands of British clubbers who descend here each summer, the resort’s proper name is Sant Antoni de Portmany. Its long, wide bay is lined with bars, restaurants and apartment blocks catering mainly for young British tourists. There are a few small sandy beaches in the resort, and the spectacular beaches of Cala Conta, Cala Bassa and Cala Tarida are a short ferry ride away. July and August are the best months to visit for those looking for buzzing nightlife, while the months of May and June, and September and October are most popular with families, couples and elder visitors.
Shopping
There is a selection of shops in and around San Antonio catering for tourists, from the inevitable bucket and spade stores to designer boutiques. Good buys include the local porcelain and leather goods. The local supermarkets are good and stock all the well-known brands; alcohol and cigarettes are particularly cheap. Ibiza Town is the best place to find the latest fashion accessories; the shops don't close until well after midnight during the high season and in the evenings the port area takes on the ambience of a hippy market with street vendors and stalls selling everything from jewellery to cheap CDs.
Restaurants
San Antonio has two areas: ‘The West End’, which is packed with lots of small bars, fast food restaurants and pavement cafes, and the more upmarket ‘Sunset Strip’, in San Antonio Bay, where the better restaurants are found. Some restaurants offer good local Spanish fare and excellent locally-caught seafood but the majority cater for more British tastes – Chinese, Indian and Italian food, hamburgers and chips and the staple full English breakfasts and Sunday roasts.
Nightlife
Ibiza is synonymous with clubbing and the nightclubs in and around San Antonio attract the best DJs from around the world such as Tim Westwood, Fat Boy Slim and Paul Van Dyke. A great place to start off the evening is in one of the bars along the Sunset Strip such as Mambo, Savannah and the exceptionally smooth (but expensive) Café del Mar where crowds gather every night to watch to sun go down. The clubs in San An include Eden and El Paradis, famous for its water party. Amnesia and Privilage (the world’s largest club) are both located on the long straight road to the Ibiza Town, where Space, Pacha and El Divino are all located.
Activities
The safe, shallow waters of San Antonia bay are great for swimming but the best beaches are 20 minutes away by public transport or ferry. Water sports and scuba diving can be organised at the seafront and on land everything from golf and tennis to quad biking, karting and horse riding can be arranged making Ibiza a great destination for sports enthusiasts. The interior of the island and much of the coastline is surprisingly unspoilt and can be easily explored, and Ibiza’s historic Old Town is well worth a visit for a bit of culture.
Climate
Ibiza has an ideal climate for holidaymakers with little rain and average temperatures kept below 86ºF (30ºC) even in mid-summer. Temperatures remain nice in the spring and autumn and even in winter rarely drop below 50ºF (10ºC), though rain is more likely at this time of year. Water temperatures range from 64ºF1 (8ºC) in May to 79ºF (26ºC) in August making Ibiza ideal for watersports.
Health
There are no health risks associated with travel to Spain, and no vaccination certificates are required for entry. Spain has a reciprocal health agreement with most EU countries, including the UK, providing free emergency health care at State run hospitals. UK travellers should take a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC). Note that private clinics are not covered, and the scheme gives no entitlement to medical repatriation costs, nor does it cover ongoing illnesses of a non-urgent nature, so comprehensive travel insurance is advised.
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