Mallorca is the largest island of the Balearic Island and it is one of those holiday destinations that I didn’t think I would visit as soon. I saw this island as an extremely touristy one, full of hotels, where you can't enjoy the Spanish culture and authenticity. In some places, that's exactly this, there are resorts only with hotels, but there are also places that are waiting to be discovered.
DETAILS ABOUT PLANNING THE TRIP:
Our accommodation was in the north of the island, booked through Booking, at Hostal Blanca. The hotel is located quite close to the sea, has got air conditioning and refrigerator, these last two aspects being the reason why I booked there.
To explore the island, I rented a car through Ryanair, at Recordgo, directly from the airport. In the following link you will find a guide about renting a car (tips on how to reserve a car with a debit card and without a deposit).
Compared to the rest of Spain, the prices are a bit higher for accommodation, car rental or food. Parking is mostly free, the only places where it wasn't, were Palma de Mallorca, Port de Soller and Torrent de Pareis (from what I visited).
PLACES TO VISIT IN MALLORCA
1. Palma de Mallorca, the capital and also the largest city on the island, with very clean streets and neat buildings, absolutely beautiful.
What you can visit in Palma de Mallorca:
1.1 St. Mary's Cathedral, or La Seu, is the most famous tourist attraction in Palma, being the emblem of the city. Although built in the 14th century, it was adjusted by the famous architect Antoni Gaudi, who also designed the construction of the cathedral in Barcelona.
1.2 A walk through the streets of the old center, which is absolutely gorgeous. Most of the buildings in Palma have this architectural style, specific to Gaudi. A walk on these streets will surely delight your eyes. The most beautiful buildings and streets are Can Forteza Rey, Placa Major, Passeig des Born, Caixa Forum.
1.3 Try the best ice cream on the island of Mallorca, you can find it at the Giovanni L gelateria.
Other locations: Bellver Castle, El Balluart Museum of Contemporary Art, La Almudaina Royal Palace, Paseo Maritimo.
Activities: convertible bus tour, buggy tour;
2. Sa Colobra road is a winding road, which crosses the Tramontana mountains and has as final destination Sa Colobra and Torrent de Pareis. The scenery is spectacular and I recommend you get there as early as possible in the morning to enjoy the scenery, without worrying that you are blocking other cars on the road and you can stop without bothering if you want to do so. Here you can also admire black goats, there are lots and you will certainly not miss them.
3. Torrent de Pareis is a pebble beach, located between high rock walls. There are restaurants in the area, where you can dine. There are showers and toilets, and parking, which, unlike other places on the island, it is not free. The entrance to the water is not very smooth and the access area to the sea is very narrow.
4. Ecovinyassa is an organic farm, open to the public, where you can admire the orchards of lemon, orange and other fruit trees. In the entrance price, of 12 euros, you have included a small snack.
5. Pollenca, is located in the northern part of the island and is a small and quiet town, with stone buildings, specific to the island of Majorca. An hour or two spent here is more than enough to see what is most important in this place. Relatively close to the city, it is also the Port of Pollenca, which is worth visiting.
6.Soller;
I did not stay very long in this city, it is quite small and extremely crowded. I liked the cathedral in the center and the tram, specific to the respective area, and that's about it. It is quite small and if you don't choose to relax on one of the terraces in the center, an hour is more than enough to explore it.
7. Port de Soller is a village on the northwest coast of the island of Majorca, which has access to the sea. It is very popular with tourists, both for the beauty of the place and for the tram specific to the area, which starts in the town of Soller.
8. Deia, the village at the foot of the mountains, is quite small, but very picturesque, part of the World Heritage Sites. Here, as well, are stone houses, with green window shutters and pink flowers that grow everywhere on the island.
9. Valdemossa, in my opinion, is the most beautiful town on the island, the most neat and in which all the houses look identical, built of stone and with specific green window shutters. If you arrive on the island of Majorca, do not miss this place, it is one of the most special on the island. Here you can fully enjoy the Spanish authenticity, although it is full of tourists, the city is very authentic.
10. Cala Varquez;
Getting to Cala Varquez is a real adventure. Besides the fact that the road to get there involves passing through someone's property and there are no sign of to get there, is absolutely nothing arranged on the beach. However, I chose to include this place, because it is beautiful, the water has an unreal beautiful colour and can be easily accessed on the water, either by boat, paddle or kayak.
11. Mirador es Colomer is a lookout point in the north of the island, being the perfect place to enjoy the sunset or even sunrise. The road to get there is also very beautiful and can admire, from above, the port of Pollenca.
12. Calo des Moro is the most famous beach on the island, both for the landscape and for the colour of the water. Unfortunately, the area where you can sit and sunbathe is quite small, and the chances of finding a place are limited, because it is very crowded at any time, even very early in the morning. In fact, the beach is not set up for tourists, and to get there you have to go on a fairly rugged path, I recommend wearing hiking shoes for walking there.
13. El Arenal Beach
We chose this beach to enjoy a spectacular sunset. It is located in the south of the island, quite close to Palma de Mallorca. The resort is very animated and full of terraces, hotels, bars and clubs of all kinds. Although some areas do not seem very safe and we wanted to leave since we'd arrived, we still chose to give it a chance and explore the beach area. In the end, we really liked it.
14. Cala Pi, the beach with fine sand, located between high rock walls. To get to the beach you have to go down 147 steps. The photo below is taken before going down to the beach, and the viewpoint is located on the left side.
The water is clear and has a greenish tint. In the area there are restaurants and terraces, even a supermarket. I recommend getting here as early as possible in the morning because parking spaces are limited and it can be quite crowded, especially on weekends.
15. Cuevas del Drach is one of the most spectacular caves I have visited. It hosts one of the largest underground lakes in the world, in which the magnificent stalactites are reflected. At the end of the visit, tourists are invited to take a seat in the natural hall of the cave, to admire a show. The price of the ticket for the visit is 15 euros, if you book online. It is more expensive at ticket office.
If you chose to not rent a car, you can purchase a trip to these caves, departing from the hotel where you are staying, tickets here.
16. Cala Agulla, a beach with fine sand, but also rocky areas, where you can snorkel. The underwater landscape and wildlife are not very rich, but it is one of the few places where you can actually see something underwater.
17. Cala Torta is a beach with fine sand, located in a small bay. The access road is not paved, but it will be easier to drive, after passing the section full of potholes, from where the asphalt ends.
18. Camp de Mar, one of my favorites. Find good areas for snorkeling next to the rocks on the left side of the beach, I was lucky to see a huge octopus. The entrance to the water is smooth and the sand is fine. There are restaurants and supermarkets in the area.
19. Cala Mesquida, it is a large, very long beach with fine sand. I had big waves when I was there and I couldn't enter the water because of this. From what I understand, there are waves all the time, but not so strong that you cannot enter the water. On this beach, there are both towel areas and areas equipped with sunbeds and umbrellas. On the coast, near the beach, there is a path where you can take a short hike.
20. Santanyi Beach, is a beach with smooth entrance to the water, equipped with sunbeds, umbrellas and small lockers for money and phone. There is also a kayac and paddle renting area.
At one of the restaurants of the beach, we had the best sangria, I recommend the one with white wine.
Also, a cruise around the island can be put on the "to do list". We booked it directly from the hotel and having accommodation in the northern part of the island, we started from there. The trip took about five hours from which, about two were stops for swimming. For more information about boat trips, the best areas and offers, I have written a entire article, here.
ACTIVITIES YOU CAN DO ON THE ISLAND OF MALLORCA:
- visit at Hams Cave;
- tour in the north of the island by boat in Alcudia;
- arabian bath entrance, with optional massage;
- a ride with historical tram in Traumontana;
ACCOMODATION OPTIONS IN MALLORCA:
- El Llorenc Parc de la Mar - Adults Only (+16) - a 5 star hotel with swimming pool, spa and wi-fi;
- Hotel Can Cera - a 5 star hotel in Palma de Mallorca with Spa and no swimming pool;
- Sos Ferres D'en Morey - a 4 star hotel, with spacious rooms and swimming pool;
CONCLUSION ABOUT OUR HOLIDAY IN MALLORCA:
Mallorca is the place that offers a little of each, for everyone: variety of beaches of any kind (with fine sand, rocky, with smooth entry into the water, with steep entry into the water, etc.), authentic villages, hiking spots, roads with spectacular views, great party places, etc. By the way, the best party place in Mallorca, is Magaluf. If you want to explore as much as possible, I recommend that you have at least 5 days.
My only regret is that it is not an island where you can snorkel, the sea is very poor in marine life, or at least I was not lucky enough to find good areas for this activity. What I would change in organizing a vacation on this island: I would split the accommodation in two. The first part of the holiday I would take accommodation in the north, and in the second part in the south. It seemed to me that we spent quite a lot of time in the car moving from one location to another.
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Read also about the most beautiful places in Tenerife, another island that belongs to Spain, and about one of the most interesting places in Spain, Ronda.
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