The beat drops and I’m jostled towards the middle of the dance floor. It’s 1am in Ibiza Town and I am in Chinois nightclub dancing with no one, but also everyone at the same time. The island might be synonymous with hedonistic group holidays, but I’m visiting solo – and making a night of it.
A rooftop cocktail bar called Cafe Montesol is recommended to me for its sunset views, so that’s where I begin. As darkness descends over the Unesco-listed upper town with its fortress and white-washed houses, the atmosphere picks up. While sipping a rum cocktail, I get chatting to Julie, a French woman who has lived on the island for 16 years and is enjoying a night out with friends. She tells me that, in the last couple of years, she’s noticed more women visiting Ibiza alone.
Before arriving, I had been following the discussion on a Facebook group called “Ibiza Solo Travel”, which has around 56,000 members. Meanwhile, online tour operator Thomas Cook has seen a 74 per cent year-on-year increase in single-person bookings for its Balearic Island packages.
Ibiza may have a spiritual pull – once as an ancient sanctuary and later as a 1960s bohemian haven – but, as the Facebook chatter suggested, solo visitors aren’t all heading for yoga or meditation retreats.On the dance floor of Chinois, groups mix and mingle, so it doesn’t really matter who you arrived with. A superclub such as Ushuaïa (capacity 8,000) might feel intimidating, but this venue is cosier with a maximum of 1,000 punters. I find myself being adopted by groups of women, but feel free to leave when I fancy.
