Ibiza is the nearest to the mainland, 100 kilometres off the Costa Blanca coast. It's just 45 kilometres long and 15 kilometres wide at its central point but this is the party capital of Europe. It has some of the biggest and best nightclubs in the world, attracting big name DJs, a celebrity clientele and hordes of Britain's most hardened partygoers. The wild antics of Ibiza's clubbers have attracted plenty of media attention - notably in 1988 when the British vice-consul resigned in disgust over the "degenerate" behaviour of the lager lout element from his homeland.
But travel a short distance from the two club land areas of Ibiza town and San Antonio and you'll find the other, lesser-known Ibiza - an island of traditional Spanish villages amid the orange and lemon groves, stunning mountains, cliffs and delightful hidden coves. There are colourful street markets, local fiestas and Spanish tapas bars where the locals gather but foreigners rarely tread.
The island is just over two hours flying time from London and can also be reached by ferry from the Spanish ports of Denia, Valencia, Alicante and Barcelona. If you take a trip over to Formentera (an hour by ferry from Ibiza town) you'll discover one of the Mediterranean's best-kept secrets - an island paradise of dunes, cliffs and coves with some of the cleanest unspoilt beaches and clearest waters in the Mediterranean.