Moto Luis Tips: guide to driving in Ibiza

Our guide to driving in Ibiza has been especially designed for those travellers who are not from Spain and that are visiting our country or the White Island for the first time. Moto Luis is a local company with over 60 years of experience renting cars in Ibiza, and our multilingual staff is willing to help our clients throughout the whole rental process, from when the booking is first placed until the return of the vehicle. Do you have any questions about driving in Ibiza? Keep reading this post and make the most of your holiday on the island.

Guide to driving in Ibiza in 3 steps

Speed limits

Ibiza follows Spanish rules that mark maximum speeds of 50 km/h in the town centre, 90 on national highways and 120 on the motorway. Nevertheless, you must always lookout for all the signs as in Ibiza it is frequent to have speed limits which are more strict. A good example of this is the road from Ibiza to San Antonio, where you must be aware of the speed limit changes and the speed camera that sits on it.

Documents

To drive in Ibiza and rent a car you will need to be at least 21 years old and to have held a full driving license for at least 2 years. If your driving license is not from a country in the EU nor from Iceland, Liechtenstein or Norway, you will have to apply for an International Driving License at your country of origin and carry it with you during your stay on the island. Find out more information about this type of document by reading our post Do I need an International Driving License to drive a car in Ibiza?

Penalties

When driving in Ibiza you must be aware of mandatory regulations. Keep in mind that:

-You are not allowed to handle a mobile phone with your hands nor can you use headphones while driving.

-All occupants inside the vehicle must wear a seat belt securely fastened and children must travel in a car seat suitable for their age and weight.

-When driving a scooter, both the driver and the passenger have to wear a helmet that is correctly fastened.

-The maximum blood-alcohol level is 0.50 mg/l. or 0.25 mg/l. in exhaled air and it is forbidden to refuse to take a test when requested by a policy officer. They also run drug tests.

–Traffic fines for exceeding maximum speed limits will also be sent overseas to travellers who do not live in Spain, so we recommend you are just as careful as you would be at home. In Ibiza there are fixed speed cameras scattered around the island, especially in areas where drivers tend to speed.

Roundabouts: how to take them correctly in Spain

Depending on which is your country of origin, roundabouts might not be very common to regulate traffic, they might not have various lanes or you might have to take them from the left hand side, like in the United Kingdom. Even if you are Spanish, it’s possible that you make one of the most frequent mistakes among drivers in our country: exiting a roundabout from the inner lane without having gone first to the outer lane. If you want to avoid a collision against another vehicle during your holiday in Ibiza, please keep in mind that:

• Roundabouts in Spain work anticlockwise.
• Vehicles that are already inside the roundabout always have right of way.
• You must always use the outer lane, unless you are making a U turn, you are heading left or there is heavy traffic, in which cases you can choose to use either lane.
• You must always exit the roundabout from the outer lane, never from the inner lane.
• You must always use your indicators when changing lanes and also when exiting the roundabout.
• If you are unable to get onto the outer lane in time due to traffic, you must give way to vehicles already on the outer lane and go round the roundabout again if necessary. Exiting a roundabout incorrectly increases the risk of accidents.

Petrol stations in Ibiza

Our guide to driving in Ibiza had to include a reference to them, and it’s very useful information to know when renting a car on the island. Most petrol stations on the island have a pre-pay system, so you will have to make payment inside before you fill the tank. (If you want to return a full tank of fuel, as guessing how much it will cost is very complicated, please speak to the petrol station staff about this, give them a document such as your passport as a guarantee of payment so you can fill the tank before you pay and once you have filled the tank and make payment they will return your document to you). On the island there are a total of 18 service stations and the nearest petrol station to the airport is located on the outskirts of Sant Jordi, in the industrial area near the Sa Canal roundabout.

More information

If after reading this post you have any questions, please make sure to enquire via e-mail, Facebook, Whatsapp (+34 672 077 500) or by calling our office directly (+34 971 340 521 y +34 971 340 765).

Foto principal: (c) Alberto Paredes / Moto Luis