“You can’t buy happiness but you can go to Spain and that’s pretty much the same thing!” – Unknown
This is my favourite quote about Spain and it definitely applies to Palma de Mallorca, the largest of the four Balearic Islands, together with Menorca, Ibiza, and Formentera. The Balearic Islands are part of the Spanish archipelago, have a Mediterranean climate and offer idyllic landscapes, unforgetable sunsets, long sandy beaches to enjoy the sea and mountain cliffs to relish the views.
At the beginning of April '22, we decided to make a short gateway for some days to a warmer, sunny place, as in Vienna, it was still winter, with temperatures going below 0 in the night. We chose to travel to Palma de Mallorca, as it is pretty accesible and fast to get there and I am telling you, it was totally worth it!
We flew there on Thursday afternoon and returned back on Sunday evening.
We decided to book a hotel, not far from Palma de Mallorca, not too far from Airport and also somewhere at the beach. We therefore booked the Hotel Las Arenas from Can Pastilla.
Can Pastilla is just 3 km away from the Airport, 7 km away from Palma's city center and it has a beach. So it was perfect from us. From the airport, there are buses to all locations on the island. The standard ticket price is €5/trip. There are also taxis. The standard fee to Las Arenas hotel was €15 and it took us like 5 min to arrive from the airport at the hotel.
We were extremely satisfied with Hotel Las Arenas and we can only recommend it. The rooms are big, clean and the overall hotel design is very nice and stylish. The breakfast was between the best we had, being really fabulous, as the standard booking.com description. Moreover, the hotel has a small gym, and 2 pools, one on the rooftop, as well as a rooftop bar. The view from the rooftop is very nice, overlooking the small Can Pastilla port and the palm trees alley.
Day 1 - Portals Nous, Magaluf & Port d'Andratx
On our first day, we decided spontaneously to rent a car to visit Mallorca's south coast. We decided to rent with a local provider and not with a car renting broker, because local providers are usually more flexible. We rented from Wiber a Ford Kuga and payd for it € 80/day including the full car insurance. If you plan to rent a car in Mallorca, then it is strongly advised to make a full cover insurance, as in Mallorca, it is hard to find a car who has NOT scratches and without an insurance you will end up paying hundreds of euros for some small scratches.
In regard to parking, you can park anymore for free in the whole island IF there is a white line on the street. If there is a blue line, then you can still park there but you have to pay. We parked only where there was a white line, as we found easily within minutes a free space.
The map shows the entire path we drove, from Can Pastilla to Wiber's pick-up point, then through Palma city center, all the way to the coast, where we stopped and visited 5 locations: Portals Nous, Magaluf, Peguera, Cala Fornells and Port d'Antratx. All locations are pointed on the map. It is very easy to drive through the island, as we found the roads to be larger than normal island roads.
Portals Nous, is a luxurious location, very beautiful and with a royal scent in it. We took a walk on the beautiful promenade where we admired the yachts and then had a drink at Cappucino Grand Cafe. At Portals Nous, the beach is pretty small and not so beautiful as in other locations. The location and the port is nevertheless worth the visit. Same applies for Port d'Antratx, although we couldn't decide which of these 2 we loved more. In Port d'Antratx we also took a ride, up on the hill, through the streets full of beautiful Mallorcan villas and we were fascinated of their architectural style. Up on the hill, we also found some hidden gems, perfect for photos.
If you are interested in long, sunny beaches and why not crazy parties, then Magaluf is the place to visit. During the day, everything is pretty chill, but at night, the place comes to life. The main street in Magaluf is full of bars/pubs/clubs, with loud music until late hours, for all those party animals out there, because remember, A little party never killed nobody! If you love ice-cream and you go to Magaluf, then DO NOT miss this place: RIVA RENO GELATO. We are huge ice-cream fans, and in Mallorca, we officially declared this shop, to have the best the ice-cream we ever had!
If you are not a sand fun, but still love the sun and the sea then Calla Fornells is your place. The rocky cliffs and the blue water lagoons will be an enlightment for your eyes and soul.
Day 2 - Palma City
On our second day, we started the day by returning the car which we rented the previous day and decided to spent the rest of the day visiting Palma city. The city distinguish itself through its culture and architectural wonders, romantic narrow flagstone streets and mediterranean atmosphere. Palm trees can be sighted everywhere and beautiful promenade by the sea made us fall in love with this city. Palma's old town is marked by the La Seu Cathedral which dates back to 1229. After visiting the cathedral we took a walk on Paseo Maritimo and then we enyoyed getting lost through the old city's narrow alleys where we admired the architecture. Do not miss Carrer de Can Verí, if you love architecture and art. We then headed to the so called "Golden mile", an imposing avenue situated between Passeig del Born and Avinguda de Jaume III.
When it comes to restaurants, Calle Apuntadores, is probably the place where you will find the most restaurants and bars in Palma. The gastronomy includes the know Tapas Bars, Mallorcan Cuisine, Italian Cuisine and mostly Mediterranean restaurants. I am normally a person who is very picky with food, but i can honestly say, than the food was delicious, literally everywhere we ate (something which I state very rarely). So don't spend too much time searching for a tasty restaurant, as almost all are. Nevertheless, the restaurant we liked most and we would really like to recommend is La Tagliatella (and no, this is not paid marketing), an Italian restaurant which is not really in the touristic streets of Palma, but that is actually what we most liked about it.
Day 3 - Can Pastilla & surroundings
On our third and last day in Mallorca, we decided to stay near Can Pastilla. In the morning we sunbathed at the hotel's rooftop poll and in the afternoon we decided to rent bikes and visit the near-by locations of the coast. You can find rental shops, for normal bikes or e-bikes at every corner in Can Pastilla. Reservations in advance are usually not needed. We decided to go for normal bikes and payed 7€ for the whole day (We saw places who also rented for half of the day). We spend the rest of the days biking, walking and ocassionaly stopping for another Starwberry Daiquiry .
As an end note, we would like to end this article, by saying, <Mallorca - we loved you and we can't wait to come back!>
USEFUL TIPS FOR TRAVELLING TO MALLORCA:
If you plan to travel to Mallorca in winter or spring, do not get fooled by the season and think it won't be that hot. Palma City does not have a beach, it has narrow walking streets with shadows, so there might be cool. But if you choose a location at the beach like we did, expect to be able to sunbath and see people at pool's hotels and on the beach sometime all over the year, if the days are sunny. At the seaside the sun is burning very hard, so bring a suncream with at least SPF 30+. I personally, got the worse sunburn of my life here, on a cloudy weather of only 17 °C / 62 °F.
Bring your swimmingsuit with you, even if you are visiting in a winter month. You might just have the luck to catch a sunny day and we able to get some vitamin D.
Do not forget about the Spanish Siesta! There are several places (rental shops for eg or local markets) which will close between the siesta hours, tipically between 13 and 15 o'clock.
Driving through Mallorca's coast with a car is a wonderful experience. If you plan to make a car, then DO make a full car insurance. You will see why it is needed, once you get there and see the schratched cars all over the city.
If you will choose to drive through Mallorca's coast then we recommend not to follow only the main road, but also try to "get lost" on the smaller streets. You will this way we able to admire the island's beautiful architecture and even find some hidden gems of unmatched beauty.
If you are a water sports fan, then choose locations near Can Pastilla. The weather is more windy there, and you can do a lot of sea sports there like: If you are a beginner, there are also several schools there which offer courses for several different water sports like surf, kitesurf, kayac or water skate. More information about course, you can find at Bonaona School.
Because of the short time of our visit in Mallorca (only 3 days), we decided not to make too many activities beside sightseeing and relaxing, as we definitely plan to come back there soon and explore more the island. Nevertheless, notice that there are plenty of activities you can do in Mallorca. Between the most visited attractions are: The Drach Caves , The Pearl Factory , Castell de Bellver
For more fun activites, check Viator .
Safe travels, dear traveller!
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