Best time to visit Ibiza: the water, the price of a night and how much of the island is open each month

Ibiza comes in two sizes. In August the islands of Ibiza and Formentera have 65,019 hotel beds open; in January, 2,374. The switch is sharp: from April to May the number of beds grows 4.2 times, and from October to November it shrinks 15.5 times. So the question of when to go has two halves here: when it is warm, and when the island is open. The water, the price of a night and the count of open beds answer both.

Short answers

• The water stays at or above the 20 °C swimming line from June to October. In May it is still 19 °C; in November already 19.8 °C.
• August costs the most: €286 per room per day. February costs the least: €66, 4.3 times less.
• September is cheaper than June, and its water is 3 °C warmer. That held in both years of the series.
• October costs 36% less than June, with warmer water. But October's normal rain is 58 mm against 11 mm, and fewer hotels are open.
• In February and March, guests from Spain spend more nights in the hotels than guests from abroad.
• In winter Formentera keeps a smaller share of its businesses open than any of Ibiza's four municipalities.

Ibiza month by month

The water is off Ibiza town: 2015–2024 averages from NOAA satellites; at our other places it differs by no more than 0.2 °C. «Day» is the average daytime high and «rain days» a monthly count; both are the AEMETAEMETSpain's state meteorological agency. It runs the weather stations and publishes the climate norms.Why it matters. Our sunshine hours and winter temperatures come from observations, not from resort marketing. The gap between the two can be several degrees. normal for 1981–2010 at Ibiza airport, 6 m above sea level. The hotel columns are INEINESpain's National Statistics Institute. It keeps the padrón — the official register of residents of every municipality.Why it matters. The only primary source of population for the whole country. A figure 'per INE' can be checked against a table; a figure 'from the internet' cannot. series for Ibiza and Formentera together, September 2025 to August 2026. «Hotel night» is takings per room sold per day; «occupied» is the share of beds taken. INE did not publish occupancy or open beds for December, and we do not fill them in. NOAA OISST, AEMET, room price, occupancy and beds.

When the island opens and closes

The hotel season starts in May. April has 13,909 beds open, May already 58,692: 90% of August's. From there to the end of September the number barely moves. In October about a third closes, leaving 45,729 beds, and November is down to 2,948. The year before ran the same way: in May 2025, 93% of August's beds were open. INE published even less for that winter: November, December and January are blank.

Hotel jobs move the same way: 15,059 people in August, and between 547 and 771 from November to March. This is not about weather but about what you will find when you arrive. In winter the island is quiet, and the figures show it. Nights, beds and staff.

Winter belongs to guests from Spain

In summer Ibiza is an island of foreigners: in August, guests living in Spain spent 12% of all hotel nights. In autumn foreigners leave first. In November they spent 16,414 nights, 2% of October's. In February and March guests from Spain spend more nights in the hotels: 29,292 against 10,754 in February, and 57,008 against 24,592 in March. January is nearly level: 11,652 nights by guests from Spain and 12,474 by guests from abroad.

Winter trips are shorter. In August a guest from abroad stays 4.4 nights on average and a guest from Spain 3.5. In February both figures are under three: 2.2 and 2.5. INE does not ask why people travel, so we do not guess.

Price: summer grew dearer, February cheaper

The gap between summer and winter here is 4.3 times: €286 a room in August against €66 in February. Over the year it widened at both ends. July rose by 14% and August by 7%. February fell by 34%: a year earlier it cost €100. Summer hotels were as full as the year before: 82% against 83% in July, 86% against 87% in August. The price went up; the share of beds taken did not.

Four pairs of months

September against June. The water is 25.6 °C in September and 22.6 °C in June. A hotel night is cheaper in September: €195 against €213, 8% less. The year before it was the same. The trade-off is rain: the September normal is 57 mm, June's 11 mm.

October against June. October's water is 23.2 °C, still warmer than June's. A night costs €137, 36% less. But by the normal October is the airport's wettest month, 58 mm, and 45,729 hotel beds are open against 63,724 in June.

May against September. In May nearly all hotels are already open and the air reaches 22.7 °C by day, but the water is 19 °C, below the swimming line. In September the air is 27.7 °C and the water 25.6 °C. A night cost €155 in May and €195 in September.

April against October. They cost the same: €136 and €137 a night. That is where the likeness ends. The water is 16.3 °C in April and 23.2 °C in October. Hotel beds open: 13,909 against 45,729. On the other hand April's normal rain is 31 mm, half of October's. April is for walking, October for the sea.

Weather at the airport

August is hottest: 30.3 °C by day. July has the most sun, 334 hours in the month, and a normal of 5 mm of rain. The island's rain gathers in autumn: September to December bring 53% of the yearly 413 mm. January is 15.7 °C by day and 8.1 °C at night. Summer nights are warm: 22.2 °C in August. Fully clear days peak in July at 15.9 by the normal; from October to January there are 4 to 6 a month. In November and December the water is warmer than the daytime air: 19.8 °C against 19.6 °C in November.

What stays open in winter: five municipalities

The count uses Social Security's monthly figures for 2025: how many cafés, hotels and shops are registered open in January against the best month. In Ibiza town 63% stay open in winter; in Sant Josep de sa Talaia, Sant Antoni de Portmany and Santa Eulària des Riu, between 55% and 58%. On Formentera, 30%. Hotel staff in January are down several times over everywhere, not by a few per cent. Social Security series.

The summer line-up of cafés and restaurants, at least nine tenths of the peak, holds from May to September in all five municipalities. In Ibiza town it is in place earlier, from April. In winter the gap shows most on Formentera: in January 23% of its summer number of cafés and restaurants are working, 41 of 180. Outside summer, fewer than a quarter of its summer cafés are working.

Further

The water at every beach on the island: Ibiza beaches. The neighbouring island month by month: best time to visit Mallorca; the two islands side by side: Mallorca or Ibiza. Living costs in the Balearics: cost of living in the Balearics. Our places are on the Ibiza and Formentera page.

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