Guide to Mallorca

From dreamy rose toned villages to bustling beach towns full of laughter, Mallorca is a Spanish getaway worth waiting for. Our stay began in Valldemossa, a sleepy village on a hill about half an hour away from the Mallorca airport. Valldemossa is the home of Saint Catalina and is a beautiful base to explore the western part of the island. Halfway through the trip, we migrated over to the eastern part of the island to Santanyi where we concluded our trip swimming and relaxing by the seaside. I’d highly recommend renting a car to fully explore the depth of all the island has to offer. Read on for a casual guide to Mallorca.

Alcudia, Pollenca, Mirador Es Colomer

The first day began with a trip to Alcudia to explore the town where small shops line the boardwalk on the way to a shallow beach. The main highlight of the town is the medieval wall that’s free to access via stone staircases along the wall. We explored the streets through late morning.

After a bit of exploring we went to Sa Portassa for lunch, a favorite of the trip. We initially had planned on the restaurant across the street but since it was full, we settled into Sa Portassa for a leisurely lunch of shared tapas in the garden. Make sure to make reservations for all restaurants during the summer season, especially if you’re traveling with a group.

After we were properly satiated, we drove to Pollenca to shop and explore. We arrived during siesta when many shops were closed. During this interim, it’s the perfect time to climb the 365 steps in the village.

We had plans for an early dinner at Q11 before driving to Mirador Es Colomer for the sunset so we didn’t have a chance to climb all the way to the top but we did enjoy walking up partway and browsing the shops along the way.

Mirador Es Colomer is in the northwest of Mallorca and is an impressive viewpoint to watch the sunset. Arrive early to stake out your spot because this area can become quite crowded. In addition, parallel parking skills are a must if you don’t arrive early.

We arrived in time to settle in to see the golden orb of the sun descend down and took a few breaths post-sunset to bask in the soft light with views of the mountains and cliff in the horizon. This was one of the highlights of the trip.

This is a spectacular place to watch the sunset in Mallorca and I’d highly recommend it. The drive back to Valldemossa was about an hour and we tucked in for the night, ready for the next day.

Valldemossa

Our second day was more relaxed. We spent the day in Valldemossa shopping, visiting the different churches and Saint Catalina’s birthplace. Catherine of Palma is considered the patron saint of Mallorca. The weekend we were in Valldemossa (July 26-July 30), there was a celebration and parade in her honor. It is considered one of the most important and popular celebrations of the island and we were lucky it happened to coincide with our stay.

To conclude the day, we had an informative olive oil tour and tasting at Son Moragues. It was beautiful walking through the olive groves with trees thousands of years old, trunks full of history.

The tour concluded with an olive oil tasting and light picnic of bread, cheese, olives and of course, featuring the Son Moragues olive oil. More information here.

We had a light dinner at Es Taller, a beautifully curated space. Ceviche and broccolini featured below.

Deia & Santanyi

We left Valldemossa on Saturday for Santanyi. Before we left, we drove to the nearby Cala Deia where the famous restaurant kidnapping scene from The Night Manager was filmed at Ca’s Patro March. This rocky beach has limited parking so arrive early and stake out a small rocky alcove for your group. We spent the morning treading water and conversing through the waves. Due to limited shade and waves, I’d recommend coming here for a few hours before heading on your way. It’s a beautiful scenic spot for lunch but a little difficult for those with walking restrictions. Pack your Tevas or water shoes if you have them.

The town of Deia is said to be the getaway of the beautifully musical but we didn’t get a chance to explore the town for long. It’s a magical little coastal town known for its literary and musical residents such as Andrew Lloyd Webber, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, and David Bowie.

We had lunch at Frederic Hotel Restaurant before driving an hour across the island to Cala Santanyi. The grounds of the hotel were well manicured and maintained. The tiramisu featured below was a nice afternoon sweet paired with a strong cappuccino.

Cala Santanyi is a beautiful family friendly sandy beach lined with cafes. We stayed right along the edge of the beach and spent the rest of the day swimming before having dinner at the Hostal Playa Cala Santanyi Restaurant right along the edge of the beach. Make reservations earlier if you want a table closer to the water.

This was our view from the hotel. We had a direct path from our ground floor hotel to the walkway down to the beach. It was calming waking up to this view and finding a spot for early morning meditation and practice. Occasionally, we’d find the hotel cat curled up taking a morning siesta.

Drach Caves & Palma

Sunday, our fifth day, began with another highlight of the trip: Drach Caves. We picked up coffee at Maxime before our tour and this area would be great to check out if you are a golf enthusiast. The Drach Caves are located on the east coast of Mallorca in Porto Cristo. The caves reach a maximum depth of 25 metres below ground and is home to Lake Martel, one of the biggest underground lakes in the world. The highlight of the experience was the concert at the heart of the tour. Instead of going into depth, I’ll let you experience this yourself. The walk along the caves can be crowded but the concert is really the highlight. The stalagmite and stalactites formations piercing through to the underground lake are breathtaking and unique as well. Stalagmite formations grow from the ground up and stalactites grow from the ceiling down. Entry is via timed ticket — buy your tickets online to save time. Ticket information here.

After our tour, we drove to Palma for the afternoon. We had lunch at Enoteca 1918 which was delicious and highly recommended. We had all meals tapas style so we could experience and taste different dishes together. View the menu here and make reservations here. A few menu items are marked with “outstanding,” don’t miss these.

In Palma, we explored the Cathedral known for its rose window and Arab Baths before shopping through the streets.

It was a particularly hot and humid day and we decided to seek shade and sea after our afternoon in Palma. There is much to explore in Palma and if you have more time I’d recommend seeing a few more sites, especially the various glass museums such as Gordiola and Lafiore. Lastly, keep in mind many shops are closed on Sunday so exploratory options are limited.

Cala del Moro, Cala s’Almunia, Cala Figuera

The start of the week began with a deceptively simple but delicious pretzel roll at Backstube Santanyi. The bakery has German roots and you’ll see a picture of the pretzel roll on the window — order to their strengths. The plum cake was also delicious and we packed this for takeaway to eat on the beach later in the day.

On this beach day, we visited the breathtaking Cala del Moro and Cala s’Almunia before lunch. Cala del Moro is a bit of a walk so I’d recommend not wearing flip flops. If you Google directions to Cala del Moro, it can seem quite daunting but if you don’t get lost, you’ll be fine. There are regular crowds of people pouring to both beaches so it’s difficult to get properly lost. Once you reach the sign go straight for Cala del Moro and turn right, otherwise the more easily reachable Cala s’Almunia is on your right. They are walking distance within one another so you can visit both in one day. There is no parking directly at the beach but there is a parking lot after the roundabout on the main street. The parking lot gets very full throughout the day so make sure you arrive early to get a proper spot for your car and yourself on the beach.

We got lucky and spread out in the cave at the top of the beach where there was ample shade and space. When you come down the stairs, look up and see if there is a spot — not many people ventured up here. If you remember, pack lunch so you can spend the day here. When rounding the corner, the beach looks unreal with sparkling blue water and sheer cliff heights hugging the water. If you like to cliff jump, there are multiple spots along the edge for this but exercise caution.

After a morning of swimming, we headed back to Santanyi for lunch at Bar Es Pontas. We got the cozy back room where we spent time eating delicious food and recuperating from the sun. Service was kind and the food was excellent, highly recommend. See restaurant here.

After lunch, we lounged around at Cala Santanyi. Before evening, we headed to Cala Figuera a quaint fishing village on the southeast coast.

We wandered along the water before settling in for dinner at Restaurant L’Arcada Cala Figuera. I bought one of my now favorite sunglasses for only 7 euro at a little gift shop here. There are many restaurants along the promenade to choose from with view of the water but make sure to make reservations ahead of time to secure an outdoor table with a view. The day concluded with laughter around the dinner table.

Cala Llombards & Cala s’Almunia

Tuesday was similar to Monday since we had such a great day exploring the day prior. Backstube was regrettably closed so we grabbed breakfast at Forn s’Aljumb and had breakfast at Cala Llombards, a spacious and sandy beach. We made camp under the shade, had a little picnic and went for a swim.

The afternoon was spent leisurely with a nap before order lunch at the restaurant at the beach. Unlike certain places, beach food in Mallorca is delicious and high quality. Since it was our last day in the area, we headed back to Cala s’Almunia for a swim before concluding the day at Voramar Restaurant.

Cala s’Alumnia is on the other side of Cala del Moro and is a rocky beach with mossy seats nestled in the water. It was a nice spot to splash around in for the remaining afternoon.

We added an extra day and a half in Mallorca and spent it at Sant Jordi, a great beach for swimming. This area is less busy with mostly hotels along the road.

The sunset from our balcony was one of the most beautiful we had seen on our trip. Our trip in Mallorca concluded as we packed up and got ready for part two of our summer adventure: Portugal.

In summary, towns to explore in Mallorca include: Valldemossa, Alcudia, Pollenca, Deia, Cala Figuera, Santanyi, and Palma. The highlights of the trip were watching the sunset in Mirador Es Colomer, exploring the Drach Caves and swimming at Cala del Moro. My favorite restaurants were Sa Portassa in Pollenca and Enoteca 1918 in Palma with an honorary mention for Backstube bakery in Santanyi.

I am grateful for sun streaming into open windows, days wandering cobblestone streets, sweaty walks to cool crystal clear seas, light and deep conversations over shared tapas, long drives through the island, mossy rocks to sit on in the sea and slow meals through the setting sun.

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