San Carlos (Sant Carles de Peralta), off season, reveals its true face: a calm, bright, deeply local village. Here, the rhythm slows down naturally. Early in the morning, the golden streets are still quiet, cats cross in front of white houses, artisans gently lift their shutters, and the air carries that cold orange blossom scent typical of the north of the island.

The beating heart of the village is Bar Anita. You step inside as if entering a place untouched by time: old mailboxes, worn wooden chairs, Ibiza herbs displayed behind the counter, and low-key conversations where you never quite know who is local, who is an artist, or who is simply a regular. Everything crosses paths here: early-morning travellers, neighbours collecting their mail, elders playing cards, newcomers trying to adapt to the village rhythm. A sincere, unpolished place that tells the story of Ibiza far better than any guidebook.

What also makes San Carlos unique is its geographical location. From the village, it only takes a few minutes to reach some of the island’s most beautiful calas: Pou des Lleó, Cala Nova, Cala Mastella, and the entire north-east coastline, still preserved, still real.

Here, human density remains low: this is agricultural Ibiza, quiet and weathered. Dry-stone walls draw perfect lines across the fields, century-old trees shelter small farms, and everything breathes a rare authenticity.

The north also holds something the rest of Ibiza has almost lost: winding, beautiful roads, almost mountainous, where every bend reveals a new landscape. Cala San Vicente is just a few kilometres away.

San Carlos in winter is not a backdrop. It is a bubble of simple, grounded, soothing life. A place where each morning can begin gently.