Is Ibiza in Spain?

Ibiza is an island that never ceases to amaze us. It’s fascinating, beautiful, and incredibly diverse. It has something for everyone: yep, even if you’re not into clubbing.

Lots of people visit our website to find tickets and events for Ibiza’s world famous nightlife. But we also get a lot of questions from “Ibiza Virgins”, whose knowledge of the island is very low.

So, we’ve put together a few of these “must know” questions and answers together. Whether you’re thinking of a trip to The White Isle, or just can’t wait to get here, we hope you’ll learn something from some of these frequently asked questions about the island of Ibiza.

Ibiza is an island located in the west of the Mediterranean Sea. It is the smallest of the 3 main Balearic Islands, the others being Mallorca and Menorca.

Ibiza is the most southern of the main Balearic islands, and also the closest to the Spanish mainland. The closest city on the Spanish mainland is Valencia, which is approximately 97 miles away from Ibiza.

You may also see Ibiza referred to as being located in the Balearic Sea. This is the part of the Mediterranean Sea which separates the Balearics Islands and the Spanish mainland.

Ibiza is part of the Balearic Islands, which are a Spanish archipelago.

The Balearic Islands are an autonomous community, or province, of Spain.

You might compare the governance of the Balearics similar to a State in the United States of America, or a Province in Canada.

Ibiza is often referred to as the “White Isle“.

Believe it or not, the name can be traced back over 100 years.

Spanish artist Santiago Rusiñol visited the Balearic islands in 1912, naming Mallorca the “island of calm”, and Ibiza “the white isle”.

It’s likely he was inspired to give the island this name due to the island’s many country houses (fincas) and churches being awashed with white paint.

It’s a slogan which has stuck until this day. So when you hear someone mention the White Isle – they’re probably referring to Ibiza!

So, all of this information leads us to a question we get asked a lot – “Is Ibiza in Spain?”.

Yes, Ibiza is in Spain. It is one of the Spanish islands that make up the Balearics Islands: an autonomous province of Spain.

The two main languages in Ibiza are Spanish and Catalan.

Castillan is the official language of the Spanish government, and is normally referred to as Spanish.

The Catalan language is closely related to Castilian, but derives from the Catalonia region in the East of Spain. Due to its proximity to Catalonia, Catalan is the language you can most associate with the locals of Ibiza.

However, in truth, locals in Ibiza have their own dialect of Catalan named Ibicenco.

At the end of the day, whether you speak Ibicenco, Catalan, or Castilian, you’ll be understood by locals in Ibiza.

And these days, due to the importance of tourism on the island, English is very widely understood and spoken. French, Italian, and German are often spoken in the busier tourist resorts too.

So don’t panic! We’re sure there’s a language you already know that will help you get by in Ibiza 😉

This brings us nicely onto our last question in the article: “Is Eivissa the same as Ibiza”.

Eivissa is simply the Catalan spelling of Ibiza.

Since both languages are spoken and recognised in the Balearic Islands, you’ll always see the Spanish and Catalan versions side by side. A great example is at Ibiza’s airport!