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S'Arenal de San Antonio Beach Review

San Antonio's city beach with plenty of entertainment

featured in Beach reviews Author Anita Gait, Ibiza Reporter Updated

San Antonio’s main beach Playa de S’Arenal, is as close to the main town as you could wish to be. It is a long way from being one of Ibiza’s top beaches but it is central, accessible, youthful and has every amenity you could wish for; lifeguards to lounges, bouncy castles to burger king, S’Arenal has got you covered.

It’s a long sandy beach, which is wide enough that people can spread out a little – until peak season at least. The water is clear and blue and has a sandy seabed along most of the water line, getting a little weedy out deeper, but mostly sandy and with a gradual incline all the way out.

Wooden walkways and slopes lead down onto the beach where the sand is firm enough to be able to wheel buggies and wheelchairs along. The long beach has two life guard stations which are manned 11am – 7pm June through to September, showers and toilets as well as disabled facilities are available at regular intervals along the beach.

Sun loungers and parasols are available for rent as well as enough kayaks, paddleboards, and pedal boats to keep you occupied all day long, and the sea is clearly marked into swimming and boating zones to avoid incidents. At the far end of the beach there are shelves of rock leading down to the sea, here you can find a few rock pools and a good snorkelling zone.

This is a good beach for a family day out because there is a whole lot to keep you entertained, if the kids tire of the beach there are several playgrounds located along the promenade bordering the beach and if they fancy something a little more extreme they can check out Ocean Mania the water wipe-out zone. This inflatable obstacle course floating out in the sea is as exhausting as it is hilarious, adults and children alike should definitely give a go. It costs €15 for 45 minutes or €30 for a whole day pass and is open 11am-7pm every day with its own dedicated lifeguard on duty.

Restaurants and bars line this beach from end to end as well as small supermarkets and shops enabling you to break up your beach day with some souvenir shopping, a beach picnic, lunch or cocktails in one of the many bars. You’ll find anything from KFC to Brit pub fry-ups to classy beach lounges and hippy venues take your pick as you wander along the waterfront.

This close proximity to town life is one of the main negatives of this beach; you will not be able to forget how close you are to town due to the busy promenade and the view that is of the port and the hotels of San Antonio rather than open sea. You will be approached by vendors and ticket sellers and you’ll almost certainly come across rubbish left by San An’s late night revellers, despite the towns best efforts to keep the beach clean and patrolled over night.

The other downside to this beach is the sand quality, far from being soft white tropical sand this beach has dark yellow sand which is crusty in texture due to being churned up over night and left squashed into tyre tracks by the clean up crew, necessary though it may be it doesn’t make for the most beautiful of beach environments. Needless to say this beach will also be packed come peak season.

That being said this beach is not without its charms and it really comes to life as the day comes to an end; as sunset arrives a whole new cast of characters come out to play and the beach side promenade becomes a great spot for people watching. Watch fisherman setting up, see a man practice his high wire walking between two palm trees, spot hula-hoopers, skateboarders, roller skaters and dancers practising and playing on the beach and walkway. You can spy on revellers starting their early evening partying and watch as the sun goes down over the boats and the lights of the fairground spring to life. Camp out on the beach or grab a seat at a cocktail bar to watch it all happen.

Head to Playa S’Arenal if you need to catch some rays and don’t have time to get out of town, if you have a family that needs constant amusement or if you don’t want to stray from civilisation. Avoid if you want white sand beaches and hidden getaways.

Location

Map of the surrounding area