There are places you visit, and then there are places that stay with you.

For our latest Aqua Morada escape, that place was Ibiza. Four days of hidden coves, winding coastal roads, incredible food, music-filled nights, and sunsets that seemed to make everything slow down for a while.

We landed ready to explore, picked up a rental car right at the airport, easily one of the best decisions we made, and headed toward Santa Eulària des Riu.

Our home for the next few days was W Ibiza, where we dropped our bags, unpacked our Aqua Morada suits, and officially settled into island mode.

And just like that, our Mediterranean diary began.

Day 1 — Paella & Our First Ibiza Night

We started our first evening the way a trip to Spain probably should begin: with paella.

Good food, a relaxed dinner, and nowhere we needed to rush to, at least not yet.

Later that night, we traded the quieter side of Ibiza for one of the things the island is famous for: Pacha.

 

Solomun was playing, and between the music, the crowd, and the energy of the room, it was quite an introduction to Ibiza after dark.

Our first day gave us both sides of the island almost immediately:  relaxed Mediterranean living, followed by a night that definitely wasn’t ready to end early.

Day 2 — Coastal Roads, Cala Carbó & Sunset Drums

The next morning, having our own car really started to pay off.

We drove through Sant Josep de sa Talaia, following roads that twisted between hills, cliffs, salt flats, and glimpses of impossibly blue water.

One of our favorite things about Ibiza quickly became the drive itself. There always seemed to be another turn, another view, or another little place that made us want to stop.

Eventually, we found our way to Cala Carbó.

It’s a small cove tucked between rocky hills, with clear Mediterranean water and a quieter feel than some of Ibiza’s better-known beaches... exactly what we wanted that afternoon.

We spent time in the water, relaxed by the beach, and stayed for lunch.

And then there were the calamares.

My husband still insists they were the best he’s ever had, which means Cala Carbó may now be permanently associated with calamari in our family.

We stayed a little longer than planned, enjoying the beach, the food, and that wonderful feeling of having nowhere else we needed to be.

From the Suitcase to the Mediterranean

This was also one of those days that reminded us why we love bringing Aqua Morada along when we travel.

A swimsuit isn’t something we want to wear once for a photograph and forget about.

It comes in the suitcase. It goes to the beach. It gets wet. It dries in the Mediterranean sun. And somewhere along the way, it becomes part of the memories we bring home.

That’s exactly how we want Aqua Morada to be lived in.

That evening brought one of the moments we’ll remember most from the entire trip.

We went to Sunset Ashram for dinner and watched the sky slowly change as the sun disappeared over the Mediterranean.

A musician was playing live drums nearby, the light was turning golden, and for a little while everyone seemed to be watching the same thing.

 

Nothing complicated. Just Ibiza doing what Ibiza does.

Day 3 — Little Towns, Hidden Coves & Dinner in a Chapel

We started the morning exploring Santa Eulària des Riu before setting out again, driving through Sant Josep, Sant Agustí, and the western side of the island.

This was probably the day that made us appreciate having a car the most.

Windows down, sea air coming in, Aqua Morada packed for whatever beach we found next, and no real need to follow a strict schedule.

We stopped at Cala Vedella, another beautiful cove surrounded by hills, with calm, clear water and an easygoing atmosphere that kept us there.

We spent some time at the beach and stayed for a relaxed lunch right by the shore.

It was becoming a familiar rhythm.

Drive. Discover somewhere beautiful. Swim. Eat. Stay longer than planned.

By evening, Ibiza gave us something completely different.

Dinner in a Chapel

Dinner that night was at Sa Capella, tucked into the rural hills inside a converted 16th-century stone chapel.

The restaurant has been part of Ibiza’s dining scene since the late 1970s, but stepping inside feels like entering somewhere that belongs to another time.

Bare stone walls. Vaulted ceilings. Wrought-iron details. Candlelit tables tucked into the old chapel. An open-air terrace beneath the night sky.

Over the decades, Sa Capella has become part of Ibiza lore, welcoming artists, celebrities, and royalty. But sitting there that night, none of that was really what made it memorable.

It was the atmosphere.

The candlelight against centuries-old stone. The warmth of the room. And the smell of dinner cooking over the fire.

The kitchen centers much of its cooking around open flames, embers, and charcoal. We ordered the grilled chicken and lamb — smoky, flavorful, beautifully cooked, and exactly right for the setting.

Only a few hours earlier, we had been swimming in clear Mediterranean water.

Now we were having dinner inside a centuries-old chapel in the hills.

That contrast became one of our favorite things about Ibiza.

Beach in the afternoon. A centuries-old chapel by night.

Day 4 — Benirràs & One Last Swim

By our last day, we weren’t looking for another itinerary.

     

We just wanted a few more hours of Ibiza.

We spent the morning at Benirràs Beach, taking things slowly ovet a relaxed lunch and drinks,  one last stretch of Mediterranean water before heading back toward Santa Eulària.

No rushing from one place to another. No checklist.

Just one final beach and the inevitable realization that there weren’t many swims left before it was time to go home.

So we stayed in the water a little longer.

Eventually, we returned to Santa Eulària for a simple dinner and started packing.

The Aqua Morada suits went back into the suitcase, this time with a little Mediterranean saltwater and a few more stories attached to them.

More Than a Destination

This trip wasn’t about creating a perfect highlight reel.

Some of our favorite memories were the ones we never could have planned: a quiet cove, an unexpectedly amazing lunch, music at sunset, or simply staying in the water longer because there was nowhere else we needed to be.

Those are usually the moments that stay with us.

And somewhere between the beaches, dinners, drives, sunsets, and late nights, Aqua Morada became part of the journey too.

Not simply something we brought to photograph, but something we actually wore and lived in while making the memories we came home talking about.

Because Aqua Morada has always been about more than what you wear in the water.

It’s about everything that happens around it.

The places you discover.
The moments you don’t plan.
And the stories you bring home.

The Aqua Morada Journal

Ibiza felt like the right place to begin something new.

This is the first entry in The Aqua Morada Journal, a place for the destinations we discover, the beaches we love, the places worth remembering, and the Aqua Morada pieces that come along with us.

Some escapes will take us far away. Others may be much closer to home. 

But wherever we go next, we’ll bring you along.

Ibiza was an unforgettable place to begin.

Until the next escape.     

Aqua Morada