There is a moment every August when the south of the island tips over into full-volume chaos and the north simply carries on as it always has. Drive twenty minutes inland from the coast road and the traffic thins, the pine smell arrives through the open window, and you find yourself behind a van doing 40 because there is nowhere in particular to be. This is the week to do exactly that. North Ibiza is having one of its best runs of the summer: a village that lets its devils loose, a smugglers' cave open to the public, and a night market that has been running since the sixties. Almost none of it costs anything.
Here is what is worth pointing the car at between Tuesday 18 and Monday 25 August 2026.
Sant Joan de Labritja Lets Its Devils Out (20–24 August)
The village of Sant Joan de Labritja celebrates its patron saint at the end of August, and the programme is the real thing — not a show staged for visitors, but the same sequence of events the village has run for generations.
It opens on Thursday 20 August with the penjada de banderes i repic de campanes: flags go up across the square and the church bells are rung to announce that the fiestas have begun. The same day brings the pregó, the formal opening address, and the first sounding of the flabiols — the small three-holed island flute, played one-handed while the other hand works a drum. If you have never heard it, it is a thin, insistent, slightly eerie sound, and it is the oldest music on Ibiza.
Then the dimonis come out. The primera sortida dels dimonis is the first outing of the village devils, and it is loud, smoky and gleefully chaotic. On Friday 21 August the children get their own version, the Dimoniada Infantil, a cercavila parade through the village designed for smaller legs and shorter attention spans. The same day the casteller team Al·lots de Llevant build human towers in the square — genuinely astonishing to watch up close, and a Catalan tradition that has taken root here properly. There is also a concert by the Coral de l'Associació de Persones Majors, the senior citizens' choir, and a Gimcana Bruta — a messy night-time gymkhana that ends with a lot of people covered in things.
Everything is free. Times shift year to year and get finalised close to the date, so check the village programme at ajsantjoan.net before you set off. Park on the edge of the village and walk in; the centre fills up fast.
Underground at Cova de Can Marçà
Ten minutes from Port de Sant Miquel, in the cliffs above the water, sits a cave system that spent a good part of its history as a smugglers' store. Goods came in by boat, went up through the rock, and stayed hidden. Today Cova de Can Marçà runs guided tours through chambers of stalactites and stalagmites, lit and staged with an artificial waterfall at the end that is unashamedly theatrical and completely charming.
Tours run daily from 10:30, tickets are €9–15, and it takes about 40 minutes. It is one of the few genuinely reliable wet-weather options on the island, and one of the best things you can do in north Ibiza with children who have had enough sand. The walk down to the entrance is along a cliff path with a serious view — arrive fifteen minutes early and just stand there for a bit.
The Slow Way Around: North Ibiza by 4x4
If you would rather someone else drove, two operators are running north-coast tours every morning this week. The Jeep Safari North Tour (from €99, departs 09:30) works its way through Sant Llorenç's whitewashed streets, drops into Benirràs — the cove where the drumming happens at sunset, and where the rock stack in the water is known locally as the finger of God — and takes in Sant Miquel. The 4x4 Safari by Into the Island (from €95, also 09:30) heads for the wilder edges: hidden beaches, viewpoints, swim stops well away from the resorts.
Both are full mornings. Both go places a hire car will complain about. If you are only in Ibiza for a few days and want the north in one bite, this is the efficient version.
Las Dalias After Dark, Sant Carles
The Las Dalias night market in Sant Carles runs on Tuesday and Saturday evenings through the summer, and it is a completely different animal from the Saturday daytime market. After dark the stalls glow, the music comes up, the crowd shifts older and more local, and the whole place feels less like shopping and more like a party that happens to have things for sale. Entry is free if you make your own way there. Organised transfers from Ibiza Town or San Antonio run from €17.50 and give you about four and a half hours on site — worth it if you would rather not drive the Sant Carles road at midnight.
Go for the food stalls as much as the jewellery. Then stay for the band.
Heading Back South? Three Free Nights Worth the Drive
The north is quiet by design, but the rest of the island is putting on some of its best free programming of the summer this week.
Saturday 22 August brings the 12th Nits de Tanit cultural festival to the Recinto Ferial in Ibiza Town, with the Mallorcan duo L'Arannà performing Turmarí from 22:00 — an intimate show that sits somewhere between folk tradition and contemporary composition. Free entry. The same night, the Sol Post a s'Oli Fest takes over the outdoor space at the Auditori Caló de s'Oli in Sant Josep from 20:00, with Balearic rock bands, a bar and food trucks.
Sunday 23 August is the closing night of Nits Amples d'Estiu, in the square behind Sant Antoni's church at 21:30. The Ibicenco cello quartet QuatreCelli play a set that runs from classical into rock covers, and it is a lovely, slightly surreal way to end a summer cycle. Down in Es Cubells, Nits al Tancó continues at 21:00, free, with a bar run by the neighbourhood association. And on the beach at s'Arenal, the X Sunset Swing Festival throws its Hula Party from 20:00.
Practical Notes for the North
A few things worth knowing before you go.
The roads are narrow, unlit after dark, and shared with cyclists and the occasional goat. Do not rush them — the drive is part of the point. Parking in the villages is limited during fiestas, so arrive early or park on the approach road and walk. Fiesta events in Sant Joan typically get going later than published start times suggest; if the programme says 21:00, the square will fill around 21:30.
Bring cash. Village bars, market stalls and fiesta food stands frequently do not take cards, and the nearest cash machine may be a village away. Bus service to the north is real but sparse, with the last returns earlier than you would like — if you are going to a night event, plan the way back before you plan the way there.
And one last thing: the north rewards not having a schedule. Some of the best afternoons out here start with a wrong turn and end at a bar in a square you cannot find on a map. Leave a gap in the day for it.
Find the full week's listings, times and ticket links on the Ibiza Calendar events guide — updated daily, all season long.
