CINEMA ON THE BEACH • CALA LLONGA

On some summer evenings in Cala Llonga, the beach becomes a cinema beneath the stars.

Throughout July and August, the Ajuntament de Santa Eulària des Riu hosts free family cinema nights on Cala Llonga beach in partnership with Cinema Paradiso. The films change each summer, but the ritual stays much the same. Families arrive as the heat begins to soften, carrying towels, blankets and little beach chairs down onto the sand, while the kids carry their favourite snacks.

Dinner is usually part of the plan. Pizzas collected from La Vela, snacks and cold drinks from the little Spar beside the beach, then a spot on the sand before it begins to fill. There’s an old-fashioned popcorn machine too, which the kids inevitably make a beeline for. Cala Llonga is already a favourite with families, with its wide sandy beach, shallow water and playground, but on cinema nights there’s something particularly lovely about watching the beach slowly change as daylight disappears.

By the time the film begins, the screen is glowing against the darkness and everyone has settled into their own little patch of sand. Kids move between friends and blankets, pizza boxes are passed around and the sea sits quietly beside it all. Nobody particularly minds if little ones wriggle around or wander back and forth, and as the night gets later, there are usually a few who give in completely and fall asleep beneath a towel.

It’s wonderfully simple. A film, pizza and popcorn, sand beneath your feet and an abundance of stars in the darkness overhead. The bars and restaurants behind the beach stay open, and parking is usually fairly easy along the surrounding streets or in the dusty car park a couple of minutes away. It’s worth arriving early enough to find a good spot though, as these evenings are loved by locals and visitors alike.

Of all the things to do in Ibiza with kids, cinema on Cala Llonga beach is one of those little summer rituals that asks for very little and somehow gives them a night they’ll remember. A tradition that has simply become part of growing up in Ibiza.