“I’m growing old disgracefully” - Stockton man travels to Ibiza for 24 hours with nothing but spare clothes

A party-animal dad spent £25 jetting to Ibiza for 24 hours of raving - with nothing but a change of clothes in a carrier bag.

Andy Armstrong, 63, had recently returned from a holiday to the Spanish island when he was egged on by his workmates to go back for a night out without paying for a hotel.

Andy - who frequents the holiday isle four times a year - accepted the challenge and bagged a Ryanair flight from Newcastle Airport to Eivissa Airport, Ibiza, for just £25, on August 21, at 5pm.

Armed with nothing but a spare change of clothes in an Asda carrier bag, he set off - touching down at 9pm.

The raver made his way straight to San Antonio - famous for its lively nightlife - for a pint, before heading to famous nightclub Pacha at midnight to party the night away.

He eventually left the club at 6am and decided to soak up the early morning sun while walking three miles to fancy hotel, Ushuaia, in Playa den Bossa.

After a quick one-hour kip on the sunbeds on the beach, Andy splashed out £50 on a slap-up hotel breakfast including - salmon, caviar, a chicken kebab and fresh fruit - washed down with fresh orange juice, champagne, and “lots of coffee”.

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It was then time for Andy to head back to the airport for his 13:30 Jet2 return flight - which cost him £130 - and he arrived back in the UK 24 hours after he left.

Andy, a steelworker on North Sea oil rigs, from Yarm-on-Tees, Stockton-on-Tees, North Yorkshire, said: “I had just returned from a week’s holiday to Ibiza and was telling my workmates all about it, and just happened to say that I could go for a night out there without using a hotel.

“They disputed it, and the challenge was on.

“I was familiar with Pacha as I had been the previous month to see one of my favourite acts - Fatboy Slim.

“I got changed and threw my travelling clothes in a bin in my trusty Asda carrier bag and went into Pacha and had a brilliant night.

“There was great music and great atmosphere - with a bit of a show from the different eras.

“Had a few beers at £13-a-bottle and a £23 gin and tonic, ouch.

“I got chatting to some people from Germany who were younger than me, although there was a cross section of different ages in the club.

“One thing about Ibiza, you never feel old or alone.

“When I got to Ushuaia, I treated myself to The Unexpected Breakfast, as it is called.

“I got a taxi at 11am to the airport and got the obligatory photo taken at Ibiza’s iconic last stop - Burger King.

“Then I boarded my Jet2 flight back to Newcastle.

“The whole trip cost me around £300.

“It started off as a bit of banter with workmates, but I had an absolutely brilliant time, with a story that I will be able to tell for many years to come.”

Andy fell in love with the party island back in 1981 whilst on a lad’s holiday when he was 21.

He said: “I loved it, I returned a few times later, when married, with my wife and daughters.”

But after the tragic loss of his wife five years ago, Andy was unsure whether he’d ever return to Ibiza again.

He said: “My eldest daughter, Tiffany, 32, persuaded me to go back with her in July 2018.

“I was unsure, as I had the impression that it would be full of youth, but how wrong I was.

“There was lots of people of a similar age to me, who like me, had a love of music and for the island.

“That first time back, we stayed at Ushuaia, and went to see David Guetta.”

Andy then went back to Ibiza again with his second daughter, Ellie, 24, in September 2018.

He said: “I returned a few months later with my other daughter, Ellie, doing the same holiday again - got to treat them equally.

“And that is how my love affair with Ibiza started, returning many times alone or with friends.”

Andy - whose daughters have always “encouraged and supported” him - has visited the island four times this year.

He said: “So far this year I’ve seen Calvin Harris, Fatboy Slim, Claptone, Swedish House Mafia, David Guetta, Timmy Trumpet, Steve Aoki, Flower Power, and Children of the Eighties with The Venga Boys.

“My daughters think it is hilarious and Ellie made a great TikTok video of my adventure, which I believe has done rather well.

“They both encourage, support and help me in anything I do, including a solo trip I did around the world last year.

“We often all go out together, when circumstances allow, and to be honest, I think that they think they have a rather cool old man.

“I’m 63 and growing old disgracefully.”

Andy’s daughter, Ellie, a social media manager, said: “To be honest there is no-one like my dad - he’s such a character.

“When he first told us the idea we didn’t believe it but we found it hilarious - it was so funny that he went with an Asda carrier bag

“We told him to be careful but he really wanted to do it for a Facebook status.

“He’s legend - he’s so funny.

“We try and go pretty much every year to Ibiza.

“We went on family holidays - I’ve been with my dad, my sister and my boyfriend proposed to me there - it’s such a nice island.

“I told him I had to make a TikTok of it as I thought it’d do well and he’s always asking about it.

“He’s definitely down with the kids.”

Timeline breakdown of Andy’s trip:

• Train from home to Newcastle Airport for 5pm departure
• Arrive in Ibiza at 9pm
• Taxi to San Antonio to meet friends who were on holiday for a drink and a bite to eat
• Around midnight, disco bus from San Antonio to Pacha in Ibiza town for Flower Power, a 60s, 70s and 80s night
• Leave Pacha at 6am and walk three miles to Ushuaia in Playa den Bossa
• Sleep on the sunbeds before breakfast at 8.30am
• Taxi to airport at 11am
• Flight back to Newcastle at 1.30pm
• Landing back in Newcastle at 3.30pm
• Train home