First enjoyed in the 60's and 70's as a hippie hide-away hot spot, Ibiza has over the last 10 years become a world's center for house and trance music. The final destination for 2 million party pilgrims a year, the wild island's club scene is synonymous with late nights, drugs, sex and dancing way past dawn.

First settled 3000 years ago by the Carthaginians, Ibiza (properly pronounced "Ibeetha") has always been a mystical Island. The 15th century French astrologer and physician, Nostradamus predicted that Ibiza would one day be "Earth's final refuge". It was not until, 1958, however, when the airport was constructed that tourism became prevalent on the island. Many of these first tourists came to the island to evade the draft adopting the free love and piece lifestyle, characterized by casual sex and psychedelic drug use.

Into the 80's Ibiza remained a holiday spot for nature lovers and ex hippies, however, a small buzz was beginning to circulate bringing international jet setters and relaxation-seekers to the island as well. This was about the time that the local music scene began to take form. DJ's on the island began a new kind of audio experimentation mingling the likes of pop, new-wave and 80's house.

As legend has it, the true birth of the Ibiza power music scene began in 1987 when four Brits headed down to their favorite vacation beach town off the coast of Spain for their friend Paul Oakenfold's birthday party. It has been said that after a birthday go at the turntables, dance music was never quite the same again. . . Nor was Ibiza.

Today the island is one of the world's main centers for dance music. Techno, trance, house, garage and ambient tunes set the rhythm for this party vacation spot where the world's greatest DJ's including Roger Sanchez, Fatboy Slim, Paul Oakenfold, and Erik Morillo, take the stage night after night, above dance floors of thousands upon thousands of ecstasy-inspired music-hungry tourists and home-growns.

By day the Ibiza tourist has an infinite number of sun and sea entertainment options. One may choose to take Mediterranean boat ride, relax on the beach or explore a remote cove. By 2pm, however, the club promoters have already taken the beach talking up this night's must-not-miss parties. Most of these flyer distributors arrived in Ibiza on a weekend getaway from their native Italy, England, Scotland, Germany, France, Holland or United States, and after one week in the Balearic air, made Ibiza their home.

For the club connoisseur, Ibiza is just about the wettest dream imaginable. Beyond housing the globe's choicest DJ's, many of these super-clubs turn their 12,000 person dance-floors into circus tents providing such entertainment as street performers, dancers in fetish costumes, fire-breathers, stilt-walkers, jugglers, acrobats, and additional oddities. Other nightspots are more remote and romantic nestled in the hills or overlooking the sea, with more individual and exotic décor and unforgettable views. The music and crowd ranges from venue to venue, from the ultra-chic ambient loungers, to the crazy house-hopping club-kids. Ibiza's most renowned nightspots include El Divino, Pacha, Privelege, Eden, Amnesia, El Paradis, Summum, Space, KM5, DC10, and Konga.

The Ibiza vacation is just about as wild as it gets. Sun, sea, and an unmatchable nightlife scene, make it the ultimate party and music destination. Those who actually make it back claim the Ibiza experience to be "Pure Ecstasy".

by Jodi Lin Wiener