Playa d’en Bossa

Playa d’en Bossa is the long strip of sand immediately south of Ibiza Town, between the town and the airport. The beach is wide, flat and sandy, and its full length is built up with hotels, beach bars and clubs. This is the area where the party starts in the afternoon rather than at night.

History

Until well into the twentieth century this was open coastal land: dunes, salt flats and fields behind the beach, in the municipality of Sant Josep de sa Talaia. The Ses Salines salt pans lie just to the south and were for centuries the island’s main source of income. The build-up of Bossa belongs to the first wave of large-scale tourism on Ibiza and grew until it met the town, which makes it one of the few places on the island with no old core at all. At its southern end stands the Torre de ses Portes, one of the watchtowers built to guard the coast against attack from the sea.

What to do here

• Walk the beach end to end, from the town side down to the salt flats — the atmosphere changes completely along the way.
• Pick your stretch deliberately: the northern end is calmer, the middle is where the music is.
• Do water sports in the morning; the sea is flatter and there is less boat traffic.
• Carry on to the Ses Salines nature park at the southern end, on foot or by bike.
• Look at the Torre de ses Portes watchtower on the far southern point, facing Formentera.
• Walk or take the bus into Ibiza Town for dinner — the old town is close.

Facts

• Bossa lies in the municipality of Sant Josep de sa Talaia, not in the municipality of Ibiza Town.
• The beach borders the Ses Salines nature park to the south, where salt is still harvested.
• The Torre de ses Portes at the southern point is one of the island’s historic coastal watchtowers.
• The airport approach path runs directly alongside this area.

Good for

People who want daytime music, water sports and a wide sand beach, with the town around the corner.