A phrase that’s been said many times but what’s the reality?
A good friend of mine nearing his 60th birthday has just departed after a busy 1 week holiday and here are his thoughts on the matter…
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They say that age is just a number but that number can affect people in different ways. When visiting Ibiza age doesn’t matter if you’re spending time with friends and family by the pool, at the beach and in the restaurants but that’s not what attracted you to the White Isle in the 1st place as a spotty faced youngster!
No, it was the West End bars of San Antionio and the lure of the Super Clubs and boat parties, if it was good enough for George Michael and Freddie Mercury…
As you move through the years these places become a long lost memory rather than relevant to you. As you gather your own money progress is made to rent your own villa in the hills, dinner at Pikes, book a VIP table at Hï or Pacha or a daytime bed at a swanky beach club like Destino, all of which have sprung up as you have made it to your later years.
Everything was fine as you cruised through your 30’s and early 40’s but you now avoid the strip of Playa den Bossa and West End of San Antonio as it’s full of ‘kids’ and you start to venture to other parts of the island like Blue Marlin, Ushuaia, Pacha and more recently Lio.
Then the big 50 comes and goes and you’ve now lost at least 50% of your original group of friends so you try to find some younger mates to hang out with so you can still raise your hands in the air and sway from side to side in a hot sweaty super club (VIP of course for anyone over 35).
You’ve been coming for so many years that you eventually find a mate with a boat; not because you like him, or he’s funny, witty or engaging. It’s just so you can impress anyone you meet with the opening line ‘at our age we really only come over to meet up with our friends that live here…. only to drop into the conversation later .. oh yes he’s got a speedboat if you fancy coming out with us for the day’.
So, when are you too old to party like you did when you were 21?
If you were back in the UK then similar cool bars wouldn’t even let you in if you looked remotely over 30 let alone staring 60 in the face!
So what? Give up coming at 50?
If you attempt to go anywhere near a dance floor approaching 60 you will look like a rabid ‘dad dancer’ on ketamine but somehow you can still turn up at certain places in Ibiza and be welcomed with open arms as there is a tolerance of people of any age, creed or sexuality which just doesn’t happen in most other countries ‘party places’.
So if you choose your ‘itinerary’ carefully, you can still enjoy the party at any age. You maybe conscious of being on the outside looking in but the really great thing about Ibiza (and why us old farts keep coming back) is that no one else will care except you…
RP (a 59 year old Ibiza hipster)
"MAN IN SAN AN" by Martin Makepeace 
Age is in the mind, as long as your body can keep up. I recently celebrated my 70th with an all-nighter, and as DJ Daddy Blatt I spun vinyl and CDs comprising iconic singles from the 50s & 60s, and Classic Rock from the 60s & 70s. My wife & I have been living in Ibiza since 2011, and we’ve often invite nephews and nieces to come and visit, but most say, ‘we’re too old for Ibiza’! The image of Ibiza has been distorted by programmes such as Ibiza Weekender, yet whatever you’re in to Ibiza can satisfy, irrespective of age. with over 50 beaches, chill out areas as well as 24 hour party people, everyone can find their perfect home/holiday on the White Isle.
Thanks to our youngest daughter being involved with Defected Records/Glitterbox, we can often be seen at Hi on a Sunday night. We get some incredulous looks from some of the ‘kids’, only what they don’t know is that we go for a siesta in the afternoon so as to recharge the batteries.
Age is not a barrier in Ibiza, but money is. The super clubs are ridiculously expensive, not only entry but the price of drinks, etc.. yet as Zero Mostel said in Mel Brook’s The Producers, “If you got it – flaunt it”.
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Age is in the mind, some of my friends who are in their 70’s are the youngest people I know. Viva la Vida
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I feel your never to old for anything ! But in saying that , people do grow out of things.
I myself grew out of Ibiza, wasn’t for me as I got older.
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Everyone has their own thoughts of course, but I will never stop coming to Ibiza.
I first visited when I was 17, first ever holiday abroad & without the parents.
Flew over by myself to meet my 18yo friends already out there, landed at dusk, the little windmills at the bottom of the runway showing up in silhouette.
The aircraft door opened, the aromatic scent of the air wafted into the plane, the July heat hit me like a wave and boom!! – love at first sight.
That is buried deep in my psyche and Ibiza will always exert a siren call to me. I just do different things and go different places than before!
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