Sunset Strip: Café del Mar, Café Mambo, Savannah Beach Club

San Antonio, Ibiza –

Popularly known as the Sunset Strip, this collection of western facing waterside cafés is Ibiza’s undisputed center of sunset-watching. And firmly planted in the middle of it all is Café del Mar, the establishment that started the tradition.

Now comprised of two different structures, the original space is a shiny little café resplendent with white tiles and mirrors, while the newer space is a hulking wooden building just next door, complete with decks, sails, and oversized windows.

The café also shares with its neighbors – Café Mambo and Savannah Beach Club – a kilometer-long deck suspended over the rocks.

As the sunset hour approaches, everyone from jet-setters to hippies arrives in droves to fill the deck and find a good seat from which to watch what is touted as the best sunset on the island, if not on the planet.

A generally younger and more casual crowd gathers on the rocks below to enjoy the spectacle over a beer or bottle of wine, which also puts them in the best seats for watching the nightly pyrotechnic performances that include fire eaters, fire dancers, and fire jugglers.

The performances and the majestic sunsets, combined with the chilled-out atmosphere, mark the perfect ending to the day before the Ibizan party cycle begins all over again.