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Latest update: 14 July 2023
As the sand literally gets too hot under my feet on Ibiza, I’m up for something active on the water. Stand Up Paddling (SUP) sounds perfect to me: chilling on a SUP board and getting tanned while I’m at it.
What is SUP?
Forget about chilling on that board! There is nothing relaxing about it. Stand Up Paddling is hard work. You can think of it as regular wave surfing, but with a much larger surfboard and paddle. You can paddle on big waves, small waves, and on flat water. The board is about 2.5 to 4.5 meters long and is very stable. With some skills and determination, you can even practice yoga on it. I actually had that relaxed image of flat water in mind: paddling a bit, looking around a bit. But on the ocean, it is a different story.
Balance exercises are for wimps, right?
I’m going Stand Up Paddling with a group of friends with Anfibios. We have already made a kayak trip with the Dutch owner before, and we really liked it. We are warmly welcomed and receive a short explanation on the beach about how we should actually paddle. The guide asks if we want to do balance exercises first. We look at each other questioningly, should we? We have no idea, and the other option is to go straight into the water. Let’s do that because the sand burns our feet. Wrong choice. All attempts to get up on the board go horribly wrong – for the guys, that is. Miraculously, I manage to get up and stand for a while. I’m pretty proud of that, to be honest.
Tip! Check out all the fun Ibiza to-dos
Drifting off and getting nowhere
In the end, everyone manages to stand up for a while. Stand Up Paddling in the ocean of Ibiza is a balancing exercise first and only then a strength exercise. We make plodding progress because even the tiny waves are hard to handle for us. We keep drifting towards the beach, and I regularly get stuck with buoys that mark the swimming area. Taking decent photos also proves to be an impossible task.
With the kayak, we got to some sights last time. Were we supposed to get somewhere today too? Have we failed? We don’t dare to ask the guide – afraid to bruise our egos.
Get tanned, and work out
It’s so much fun to be active on the water. The sun is shining bright, so I use every break to put on an extra layer of sustainable sunscreen. The guide has some snacks and drinks to share, so we easily spend two hours on the water. And while we tan, we also train every muscle in our body. So that’s how all those people on Ibiza stay so slim!
Where else can you paddleboard in Ibiza?
If Anfibios has no availability, please check out these other tours:
More Ibiza inspiration?
Useful links for your upcoming Ibiza trip
- Accommodation. All-time favorite: Booking.com. Rather stay in a hostel? Try HostelWorld.
- Activities. You book the best tours and activities with GetYourGuide and Viator. WithLocals also has good options. And Freetour.com and GuruWalk offer ‘free’ walking tours. Try Baja Bikes for bike tours.
- Boat. Get to Ibiza by boat from Barcelona or other places from the Spanish mainland. You can also travel between Formentera, Menorca, and Mallorca. Please check Omio for options.
- Car rental. Compare prices at Rentalcars and Discover Cars.
- Clubbing. Buy your club tickets here.
- Flights. Compare your options. Be sure to check Skyscanner and Kiwi.
- Guidebooks. Although I love the practical guidebooks from Lonely Planet, for my Ibiza holiday I choose inspirational books. Check out Amazon‘s offer.
- Package deals. Rather go on a catered trip? Expedia and CheapOair have offers.
- SIM card. Beware of unexpectedly high calling and internet costs. Buy a local SIM card when you arrive, or arrange one online via Airalo.
- Yoga retreat. Or, treat yourself to a lovely yoga retreat in Ibiza.
Some of the links on this site are affiliate links. If you buy something through these links, I might receive a small commission.
We received a discount at Anfibios. But what I wrote about the experience was entirely up to me.
