Good evening

“The sun is shining, the air bright and warm, the sky a salted Balearic blue. And crowds still gather, here and there.”

But not the party crowds that see locals outnumbered by 20 to one. Because this is Ibiza in the springtime, when the island hums to a more laidback beat. A time when residents reclaim their island and rediscover its unique qualities.

Ibiza in the off-season is a very different place to the summer stereotype, as writer Stephen Phelan discovers when he talks to long-time residents such as Jean-Michel Fueter, an elder statesman of the island’s creative community, who has called Ibiza home since the 1970s. Fueter tripped over to the island on the first acid wave, but says: “I later realised that what I loved about the place was not just the people and culture, it was the energy of the land itself. It’s magical, peaceful…”

Swiss-born former CEO of luxury fashion brands, Manuel Ehrensperger now leads “holistic” hikes in the wildest parts of the island. “People say I changed my life, but this is luxury too,” he says.

And Lucas Prats, owner of an agriturismo that looks out to sea from a hillside of orchards and olive groves, is keen to share a side of the island that draws visitors away from coastal hotels to converted farmsteads, from mega clubs to quiet tavernas and from summertime to winter and spring.

Elsewhere, we offer 10 reasons to visit Spain in 2025 - from villas in Galicia and walks in La Gomera, to a new parador near Madrid and a horse fair in Jerez - and showcase this year’s best new young Spanish chefs.

¡Buen viaje!