Es Cubells is a white church on a cliff edge with a village of a few dozen buildings behind it, on the south coast in the municipality of San Jose. From the terrace beside the church the ground drops straight to the sea, and on a clear day the view runs across to Formentera.
There is no beach in the village and very little to do in it, which is why the people who know the island like it. Most of those who live here are in the fincas scattered around the outskirts rather than in the village itself.
The church
It was founded in 1864 by the Carmelite monk Francisco Palau, who had been living as a hermit on Es Vedra. The building was destroyed in the Civil War and rebuilt in the 1950s by the Majorcan architect Rafael Llabrés, finished in 1958.
It stands on the cliff edge with the Carmelite convent beside it, and the terrace in front is the reason to come: a straight drop, open sea, and Formentera on the horizon.
What else is there
A shop, a couple of bars and a short run of restaurants, and that is the village. A path down to the water at Es Torrent leaves from below it, and the cove at the bottom has a fish restaurant on the shore.
Cala Llentia is a few minutes west, and the field above it holds Time and Space, the ring of thirteen stone columns by the Australian artist Andrew Rogers, standing on open ground with the sea behind. Cala d'Hort and the Es Vedra view are ten minutes further on.
Good to know before you book
There is nothing here in the evening. A handful of tables, and then the village is dark. That is the appeal, and it is worth knowing before a week of it.
The roads are narrow and unlit. The drive in from the San Jose road is straightforward in daylight and slower after dark.
It is twenty-five minutes to the airport and twenty to Ibiza Town, so it is less remote than it feels.
Quick answers
Is there a beach at Es Cubells? No, the village sits on a cliff. Es Torrent is the nearest cove, down a path, and Cala d'Hort is ten minutes by car.
What is there to see? The church, the clifftop view and Time and Space at Cala Llentia.
How big is the village? Very small: a church, a convent, a shop and a few places to eat.
How far is Ibiza Town? About twenty minutes.
Is it good with children? Not especially. No beach, no pavements and a cliff.
Is it open in winter? Barely. This is a quiet village in August and an empty one in January.
Who it suits
Es Cubells suits people who want quiet and a view and are content to drive for everything else. It is one of the few addresses on the island where the sea is straight in front of you with no development in the way.