A Saturday market under the pines.

What the market is

The market began as a bar beside the road at Sant Carles de Peralta in the 1950s, when the north of Ibiza was farmland, fig trees and small villages. Travellers stopped for a drink, then traders began to set out cloth, leather and jewellery on the ground, and the stalls multiplied around them. The bar is still the centre of the site, with shaded courtyards and trees between the rows of stands. Nothing about it is formal.

What is sold is mostly work made by hand or in small workshops: silver and beads, leather belts and bags, linen and cotton clothes, ceramics, baskets, oils and soaps. Some stalls are run by people who live on the island all year; others follow the summer circuit of markets around the Mediterranean. Prices sit above a town shop, and bargaining is not the habit here. Buy what you will use, not what will sit in a drawer.

Getting to Sant Carles

Sant Carles de Peralta sits in the north-east of the island, in the municipality of Sant Joan de Labritja, a short drive from the coast at Es Canar and a little further from Cala Llonga. By road it is reached from the lane that leaves the main Santa Eulària to Portinatx road, signed for the village. The site has parking, and it fills quickly on Saturday afternoons and evenings in high summer. Arriving early is the simplest fix.

Public transport is thin in this part of the island. Buses connect the north-east with Santa Eulària and with Eivissa, with more services in summer and few outside it, so check the island bus operator for current times before you rely on the last one back. A bicycle will cover the distance if you are staying nearby, though the main road carries summer traffic and needs lights after dusk. Returning late is easier with a plan made in advance.

• By busServices are seasonal and thin; check the island bus operator before relying on the last one back.
• By carFollow the signs for Sant Carles; parking on site is limited and goes early on Saturdays.
• By bikeThe lanes are quiet but the main road carries summer traffic; lights are needed after dusk.
• On footOnly practical if you are staying in Sant Carles or a nearby village.

The best time

The market runs on Saturdays, and in high summer it opens in the morning and continues into the night, with food and sometimes live music in the garden. Spring and autumn Saturdays are quieter, and the light is better for looking closely at cloth, ceramics and silver. Mornings are the calmest hours; the crowd thickens through the afternoon and stays late in July and August. If you want to talk to makers, go before noon.

Days and hours are not fixed for ever. The market has changed its schedule over the years, added evening sessions and shifted around festivals, so confirm before you build a day around it, using the market's own information or listings from the Consell d'Eivissa. Outside the season, from roughly November to April, there is little or nothing to see, and the north settles into village life. A Saturday in May is not the same as a Saturday in August.

How to do it

Walk the whole site once before buying anything. The rows nearest the entrance carry the most visible stalls and the fastest turnover; the better pottery and textiles are often further back, in the shade of the trees. Talk to the people running a stall, because many will explain how a piece was made and some take commissions in a size or colour that is not on the table. Ask first if you want to photograph a stall closely.

Eat late rather than early. The food side of the market builds through the afternoon, and by evening there is music, sometimes live, in the garden. Keep to one or two purchases rather than a bag of small things that will be forgotten, and carry a cloth bag so that you do not collect plastic at every stand. Leave before the car park becomes a queue. The evening is a different market from the morning.

In the morning it is a market of makers; after dark it is a market of music.

Doing it lightly

The north of Ibiza is dry, and the ground at Sant Carles drains into small valleys and eventually to the coast. Anything dropped, a bottle top, a cigarette end, a plastic bag, ends up in a cove or in the sea. Take your rubbish away with you rather than leaving it beside a bin that may already be full, and keep to the paths between the trees. The site is a garden as much as a market.

Water is the other thing to think about. The island's supply is limited and summer demand is high, so carry a refillable bottle and ask for a refill rather than buying sealed ones; stallholders selling drinks are used to it. Choose stalls whose materials you can trace, buy fewer and better things, and let what you buy last longer than the flight home. A market is also a set of choices about what you carry away.

What to bring

The site is outdoors, on earth and gravel, with trees for shade and not much else. A hat, water and a light layer for the evening are enough. In August the ground holds the heat well into the night, and in May or October the shade turns cold once the sun drops behind the trees. There is little shelter if it rains. Dress for dust rather than for a shop.

Cash is still useful, because not every stall takes a card and the signal can be poor when the site is busy. Bring a bag for what you buy, sun protection for the middle of the day, and shoes you do not mind getting dusty. If you plan to stay for the evening, a light jumper or a shirt makes the difference after sunset. A small torch helps at the end of the night.

• CashNot every stall takes a card, and card signals are unreliable when the site is busy.
• A cloth bagBring your own so that purchases do not arrive wrapped in plastic.
• WaterA refillable bottle, filled before you arrive, saves buying sealed ones all afternoon.
• A light layerEvenings cool quickly in May, June and October once the sun is down.
• ShoesThe ground is earth and gravel; sandals are fine, heels are not.

What is nearby

Sant Carles de Peralta has a small white church and a few lanes, and the coast is a short drive east at Es Canar, where the Wednesday market at Punta Arabí runs in season. Cala Llonga and the beaches around Santa Eulària are within easy reach for a swim before or after the stalls. All of it is close enough to combine in one day. The village itself is quiet, and stays quiet.

The north-east coast here is rockier and greener than the south, with small coves reached by lanes and footpaths. Cala Sant Vicent and Portinatx are a longer drive north but pair well with an evening at the market. For a swim before the stalls open, head for the sand at Es Canar and go early, before the car parks fill and the day heats up. A morning swim and an evening market make a good Saturday.

• Es CanarA short drive east; the Wednesday market at Punta Arabí runs here in season.
• Cala LlongaSandy and easy to reach, good for a swim before the market opens.
• Santa EulàriaThe nearest town with year-round life, a promenade and buses onward.
• Sant Carles churchThe white village church sits a few minutes away, among the lanes.

Practical notes

Everything here changes with the season. The market operates in the warmer months, roughly from spring to autumn, and much of the tourism business in the north closes from about November to April. The villages stay inhabited, but do not count on stalls, food or evening music in winter. Check the current days before travelling, and keep a plan for a wet or windy Saturday. The main towns remain open all year if you are here out of season.

Entry has generally been free, though evening sessions and concerts can carry a fee; check the current arrangements rather than assuming. Rates, timetables and the Balearic sustainable tourism tax all change and are set elsewhere. For the tax, check the Govern de les Illes Balears; for everything else, ask at your accommodation or the Consell d'Eivissa. Ask, and plan for alternatives.