Driving & Parking in Ibiza
Driving on Ibiza is actually quite calm and relaxed - in the winter! As the summer season approaches and the tourists begin to arrive and being on the road becomes a little more hectic. For those of you who might not know, we drive on the right in Spain, although on the older roads and dirt tracks, you are left with no choice but to drive in the middle and play chicken with a tractor or two! The speed limit on the main roads here is 80 Kmh (50 mph) but you will rarely see a sign, so common sense is recommended. There are one or two photo radar machines which are sign posted but easily missed, so be careful.
Drink driving is an issue on the island and extra forces are sent over in the summer season to help control it. There could be random police checks usually at the roundabouts or rondas. Here you will be breathalysed. The limit is 0.25 and anything over that is penalized accordingly with either a fine or the night in prison depending on how much over the limit you are and whether or not your manners fail you. The taxi service here is quite efficient, as is the disco bus and drink driving should be avoided at all times. Also beware of pirate taxis outside the clubs.
Parking on Ibiza - If you have brought your own car to the island, I´m afraid you have no choice but to get used to the way in which Ibiza drivers think they are in a bumper car while parking. When reversing into a space, the correct time to stop seems to be when you actually hit the car behind you, and then forwards until you also make contact with the one in front of you.
The large dirt car parks are generally free to park in. You will often find some "helpful" person trying to guide you into a space and then "politely" ask you for a donation, but you are under no obligation to pay. Parking on the streets however is a different story. Wherever there are blue lines and areas with green dotted lines, paying is essential. There are blue ticket machines within eyesight, they are quite straightforward and clearly state the paying timetable on them. It varies from town to town and from winter to summer so check the machines in each different town you visit before leaving your car. The ticket from the machine must be displayed on your dashboard. The maximum pay at one time is more or less €2 and generally allows for about 2hrs parking. Tourists need not worry about the dotted green lines as these are just for residents of the street they are on but are used like a blue zone.
Fines - If you get sidetracked and find a fine on your windscreen when you return, it can be cancelled within the first hour. All you have to do is put another €3 in the machine and press the green button. An annulment ticket will come out which must be placed in the envelope provided and put into a slot in the machine with the fine. Tear the ticket at the dotted line and keep one of the two parts as proof of payment. If there is a pharmacy on the street you are parking on, do not try and get a ticket out of the also blue condom machine outside. We won´t mention any names, but it has been tried before, and apparently condoms do not validate your parking!
Parking is free where there are no lines on the street. Sundays and Fiesta days (holidays) are also free and so is the siesta time (generally from 2pm - 4pm) but again check the machine to be sure.
