Mallorca, Spain: A DIY Travel Review (From 2018!)
Just unearthed this note from my 2018 trip that I never shared! With summer approaching, someone might find it useful. 😉
Accommodation Tips: Where to Stay in Mallorca
- First-timer's experience: On our first visit, we chose to stay in Palma, the capital. But honestly, the city center is quite small. You can explore it on foot in half a day. Staying closer to the coast is definitely more beautiful!
- Family with kids? Palmanova, Cala Major, or Magaluf are fantastic! Right on the beach, plenty of restaurants and amenities, lots of playgrounds for children, and close to the airport (less travel time!). Just be aware it gets very crowded in peak season (August).
- Cala Millor: The beach is more stunning here, with a long stretch of white sand and bigger waves. Also lots of entertainment for kids, but it's a bit further from the airport.
Getting Around: Transportation on the Island
Being an island, public transport is infrequent and waiting in the heat can be a pain! 🥵 To explore the different beautiful beaches, renting a car is your best bet. Uber didn't seem to work for me (maybe no signal?). Taxis are okay, not too expensive – about 20-30€ from the airport to the center, and 5-7€ per ride within the city center.
We initially planned to walk around the city on day one and take an island tour on day two, so we didn't rent a car immediately at the airport. Plus, car rentals in the city seemed slightly cheaper from private companies compared to the big European rental agencies. But it was a bit of a mistake! Instead of renting at the airport, we ended up paying for taxis to and from the airport twice! 🤦♀️
Basically, two options:
- For explorers: Rent a car at the airport and return it there on your departure day. Car rentals are around 40-50€ per day for an economy car (you pay for gas). Gas is cheaper than in France, so you can roam freely!
- For relaxed families: Book a beachfront hotel with plenty of entertainment, eat, sleep, and relax until it's time to go home. Only need two taxi rides to the airport.
Food, Glorious Food! 🍔🍕🍦
We were so busy sightseeing that we didn't get to explore the local cuisine as much as we wanted! After a long day, we just ordered room service. We ate a big breakfast at the hotel to fuel up for the day. If you plan on traveling around like we did, stock up on drinks, snacks, and fruit at the supermarket.
Two seafood restaurants stood out:
- Chiliss no3 (Palma): Located right on the harbor front, beautiful setting with a sea breeze. Most reasonably priced restaurant in that area (which is generally pricey). Dishes around 9-15€. MUST try the Sangria (red or white wine mixed with fruit)!
- La Paradadelmar (near Cala Major beach): Fresh seafood that you pick yourself and they cook it for you! Price is okay, around 50-80€ for two people.
Fun & Activities: What to Do in Mallorca 🤩
- Island Tour: We took a 3-hour dolphin-watching tour that was a total rip-off! 😡 Cost 100€ for two people, barely saw any dolphins (two jumped up and disappeared!), and the service was poor. They took us out to the middle of the bay to swim, but only gave us 15 minutes before pulling up the anchor. A total waste of money, nothing like the island tours in Phuket or Nha Trang... Plus, the waves were so big that we all felt seasick. The tour was supposed to be 3 hours, but we were back on shore after 2 hours and 30 minutes. Don't bother!
- Marineland: Worth every penny if you have kids! The dolphin and sea lion shows are better than any I've seen in Singapore or the Philippines. There's also a parrot show, and you can see other sea creatures. Tickets are 25€ per adult (cheaper online at 22€). Kids under 90cm are free, over that height they're 18€ (I think!).
- There are also many water parks, zoos, movie theaters... but we didn't explore those because we spent all our time at the beach! One week isn't enough to see everything.
Beaches, Beaches, Beaches! 🏖️
The island has over 260 beaches – impossible to visit them all! We only explored a few nice ones on the west coast near where we stayed.
A must-visit: Cala Llombards! Truly magical, beautiful and unspoiled. Great for strong swimmers, there are cliffs to jump off of. Swimming near the shore isn't as clean because the beach is surrounded by high cliffs and lots of algae near the shore. It's quite deep, but the water is crystal clear and you can see fish swimming around!
The beaches near Palmanova, Cala Major, and Magaluf (mentioned in the accommodation section) are also beautiful, clean, and have clear blue water. Even if you can't swim, you'll enjoy soaking in the water for hours! The water is refreshing, not too cold and not too hot. A perfect beach experience! 🌊
```