In reverse order :-

San Miguel, I think would be a little too quiet for your family, but not having stopped there - only visited for the day - thats the impression I would get.

Cala LLonga. Very good family resort. Excellent beach. Not too "rowdy" a few bars and restaurants plus Hotels for entertainment.

Es Cana. Very much a resort geared up for families. Again a good beach, but with more choice in the way of bars, restaurants etc.
Closer proximity to Santa Eulalia for wider choice of shopping and eating.

Driving, I have found is no problem. By far the best way of getting round to see the Island, and to get off the beaten track away from the more touristy parts. Just take your time if it is the first time on the "wrong side" of the road. Being in a left hand drive car anyway makes you think about what you are doing. (just don't try to wind the window down instead of changing gear )

Hope you find somewhere suitable.

Lol Scoop with the driving advice. Going by the reviews here I'm looking at Es Cana or maybe Playa des Bosa or Santa Euladais.

Hiya, I thought i would just give you a little friendly advice!!!

I love ibiza, i worked in Portinatx, Santa Eulalia, Sargammassa, Playa den Bossa and Es Cana!

Seriously as a rep i have to know the island back to front to advise holidaymakers everyday to make the most out of their holiday!!!

Playa den Bossa - Excellent choice, home to the waterpark, activity park and also for entertainment of an evening you have your hotel and also the wide range of bars and restaurants!!!! Only 15 mins away from airport so no long travelling for the little one! Only 5-10 mins bus ride into Ibiza town!!!!

Es Cana - Maybe, depending on your needs as a parent for your children this could either be a holiday of a lifetime if you prefer to stay in the hotel for entertainment! (Ereso Hotel- look at reviews) However, one down point, one of the beaches has a slight undercurrent which is always flagged however is unpredictable as to where it goes so depending on how far out in the sea you go the more dangerous!!!! With children a definite NO NO for me!!! (Personal opinion)

Portinatx - I worked here the longest so i could probably give you so much information on this resort!!!! Hotel Presidente - spectacular 4t (Thomson Superfamily) accomodation, full time entertainment for both children and adults!!! You have the creche for the 2yr old (if turns three before holiday can choose between the creche and the kids club) Kids club for the 5 yr old and relaxation for yourselves!!!! Set in a cove, portinatx is a fairly small resort, however it has 3 beaches and 2 of which are golden sand! There is also another beach Cala Sara, however this is a good hour walk! there are a few restaurants and a couple of bars, one of which delboys is a english bar with your normal kareoke and quiz nights, but you will love the enetertainment up at the hotel! Wide excurs with thomson and also there are local buses which take you to ibiza town at a cost of about 2.50e per adult!!! Bargain!!!!

I hope this might have give you a little more information and if you do have any questions which i may be able to help you with, let me know!!!!

vicky x

Wow cheers Vicky!. My brother inlaw worked in Ibiza for three years as a set designer at Space!!. Anyway he had some good advice and we've opted to go for Santa Eulalia. Playa d'en Bossa was nice but hey from Edinburgh they wanted £1,600 for a week!!!. Kids get the pool and the beach and the water park, mum gets that and to go shopping and dad well maybe a chance to do abit of fishing and have a look at some Roman relics in the museum.. Honest the price we have to pay to fly from Scotland is out of order, I could get a cheaper holiday flying from Glasgow but the check in time is 4.30 am!!!!. Least we can fly from Edinburgh at lunch time. Thanks folks , really looking forward to the hol now, the kids think we're going next week, they can't grasp, the fact that is actually September we're going!
Is there any point in hiring a car as we intend using the boat taxi or bus service to go to the markets etc. WE learned last year that it is best to avoid the Rep organised trips for this reason. A trip to the water park in Menorca with MYTRAVEL was 90 Euros, they took you in a bus got you in and picked you up. We went on the local bus, took 15 minutes an cost 3 Euros for all of us, entry to the park cost 40 Euros bus back 3 so we spent 46Euros... eh sorry but a 44 Euro mark up is well out of order.

where in Santa Eulalia are you staying?
I am going with the wife and 2 kids (6 & 4) on June 1st. We are also taking the inlaws (mid 50s), staying at the Sirenis Club Siesta....
Will write up a report on our return.

Mark

Hiya again,

Im pleased to hear that you have made your decision on where your staying. I kow i put a bit of a downer on Santa Eulalia but thats probably because I lived there for quite some time and so things got a bit similar to the ordinary...like at home!

In regards to car hire be very careful who you hire from as there are alot of car companies in ibiza which have reasonably low prices however dont cover you for a lot of things. As a rep we used Europcar which are known in ibiza as Betacar and they are situated 10 mins walk from santa eulalia to es cana!!! Betacar cover you for everything you need and also offer an excess which is normally around 6e per day...its a good thing to take out, saves a hefty 400e bill if anyone hits you!!!! BUT...only hire a car if you are going to go offbeaten tracks to secluded beaches and more residential areas otherwise stick to local transport! Buses are very cheap...approx 2.50e to ibiza town per adult and taxis are very reasonably priced too!!!!

As mentioned previously the waterpark is based in playa den bossa..if you are travelling with Thomson or Portland or Skytours (all the same company) you can buy what is known as a ticket only which is the same price if not a euro or so cheaper to get in the waterpark!!!

Santa Eulalia is very close to sargamassa and escana...there is nothing to see in sargamassa but es cana is the home of the biggest hippy market and if i remember rightly is on on a wednesday! BE CAREFUL IN ES CANA....pickpockets are everywhere....muggings are very known!!!! Im not trying to put you off just make you aware!!!!

I think for the family you are taking you have picked a very good place in ibiza to go to! What hotel or accomodation are you staying in? Might be able to give you a little background or things to look out for?

I hope you have a really excellent holiday and let me know how your holiday goes!!!

Vicky x

Thanks Vicky and Mark as well. We're staying at Atlas Apartments, self catering. They look quite good, two bedrooms, although we'll never use them. Last I ended up on the sofa bed and the kids in with mum in the bedroom. Looks like I've made a good choice!!

Some useful info I found in this thread, so hope its OK to BUMP this topic up a bit after a few years!

santa eulalia - orqudea aparthotel, i can't tell you how much we enjoyed it really it's the place to go, stayed there 3 times and enjoyed everyone, kev will give you all the entertainment you need, i'm going to es cana on wednesday....only because it was to expensive to stay in sta eu, would be goin there if i could afford it. have a great time on this beautiful island

m