The sneaky tricks Brits are pulling to get around Ibiza's 'ridiculous' drink prices
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Drinks prices at many of Ibiza's famous clubs, including the likes of Ushuaïa, Amnesia, Pacha and Club Chinois, can be famously eye-watering, with a gin and tonic likely to set you back £20 - and even a bottle of water burning a £13 hole in your holiday budget.
Once famous for its idyllic hidden coves and laid-back boho vibes, the party spot has become increasingly boujee - and its nightclubs, thanks to big name residencies by DJs such as David Guetta and Calvin Harris, can now charge a premium on both alcoholic and soft drinks.
However, canny British clubbers, determined to enjoy liquid refreshments that don't cost the earth, have been sharing their secret hacks for smuggling booze into the Balearic Island's nightclubs.
In one reel posted on Instagram, a partygoer is seen having a bottle of Malibu secured into the neckline straps of her dress - before covering it with her long, flowing hair.
Elsewhere, another clubber shared on TikTok how she decanted vodka and orange into test tubes in order to enjoy cut-price beverages all night.
In a post entitled 'save your money girls', @alanaskycooperx is seen carefully pouring the drink and mixer into the scientific tubes - before then putting them into empty tampon wrappers.
To re-seal the wrapper and make it look like an authentic sanitary product, there's a spritz of hair product applied to the end of it before it's sealed with a pair of hair straitening irons.
Spirit smuggling: A reel shared on Instagram showed how clubbers determined not to pay inflated prices in Ibiza's famous nightclubs had employed sneaky tactics to get their own drinks in
Now you see it, now you don't: After securing a bottle of Malibu in the straps of her dress, the clubber then covers the contraband with her flowing hair
Others have other strategies to swerve queue inspections and bag checks, including TikToker @thatgirl5 who followed a trick to allow drinks to be taken into Pacha unnoticed.
The advice reads: 'Pacha Ibiza hack. Book a table at the Pacha restaurant - €80 min spend, but you get free club entry and they don't search your bag.
'So yes, you can enjoy dinner, sip cocktails, and smuggle in your "dessert drinks" without a single side-eye.'
They add: 'The savings practically pay for the meal. Boujee on a budget, baby'.
Things don't always go to plan though, with one party-loving TikToker admitting in footage how she'd come unstuck after trying to sneak 'two tiny alcohol bottles' in via her bra as she entered the Hi Ibiza club.
The reveller is seen appearing to have just been told she can't enter with the contraband, telling her friend she'd told security: 'I actually forgot I had that in my t*t'.
After apologising, she admits to her followers on the social media platform she won't be trying the trick again.
The current star of the Ibiza club scene, Ushuaïa, an outdoor poolside venue with a glitzy hotel attached, is among the nightspots where revellers are reporting some of the highest prices on drinks this summer.
On TikTok, another wily partygoer shared how they get around the drinks prices - by sneaking in alcohol-filled test tubes disguised as tampons
A vodka and orange that looks like a tampon; the sanitary product's wrapper is re-sealed using hair straighteners in the clip
Party in Pacha...one clubber shared a sneaky tip for enjoying a boozy night at the Ibiza institution - by booking a restaurant table
Lateral thinking: Cheeky clubbers have shared the ways they've tried to avoid high drinks costs at the most popular clubs, including smuggling alcohol into bras and booking dinner to dodge bag checks
The club, which has big name resident DJs this summer - David Guetta is currently playing on Mondays - currently charges €25 (around £21.50) for a vodka and coke, with teetotallers facing a €16 (around £13.50) charge for a 500ml bottle of water.
And that's after you've paid for tickets to actually get in the venue.
At Amnesia, in the party hub of San Antonio, one clubbed reported paying €34 (around £29) for 'a G&T and beer' at the club's opening night back in May.
In 2024, British writer Rebecca Barnes, who has had a flat on the island for many years, told the Daily Mail that a 'VIP culture' in Ibiza has existed for 'at least a decade'.
However it has intensified thanks to influencers.
Barnes said: 'Ibiza is increasingly seen as a playground for the rich, which has a knock on effect in the clubs, restaurants and bars.
'It has never been the cheapest of destinations - when you consider that back in the 2000s you would be paying about 16 euros for a vodka lemonade and 8 euros for a bottle of water in some of the big nightclubs, you can see that the prices are only going to go one way.'
She says the downside of such popularity is locals not being able to afford to live there:
'Rental property prices have skyrocketed, and even residents are being priced out due to sky high rents, especially during the summer season.
Ibiza has gone from budget to boujee in recent decades, with the once down-to-earth Balearic Isle now boasting outposts of five-star brands such as Nobu and The Standard
The world's swankiest brands - including Nobu - have landed in recent years, cementing the island's status as one of Europe's most discerning party places - with prices to match
'It's a huge problem, and is causing many long term residents and even people born on the island, to relocate.'
Can you still enjoy the island without burning a hole in your wallet?
'Cafe Mambo? Those in the know take their shop-bought drinks onto the rocks and enjoy the experience for free!
'There are still places on the island that are great value, you just need to step away from the tourist trail.'
Daily Mail
