Ohhhhh, Majorca. (Also knows as: Mallorca). Either way, can I just go back now?
This Balearic island is special — one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever traveled. The best way for me to describe it is: “if the wine country of Italy and the Greek Islands had a baby” – Ha!
Majorca has everything you would want when traveling to a Spanish island — yet there’s this rustic component that reminds you of Tuscany. A combination you do not want to miss!
My friend, Deborah, and I spent 2 days here after spending 2 days in Barcelona. Our (very inexpensive) 45-minute flight from Barcelona landed by 8 AM — and we didn’t waste anytime jumping into our rental car!
That being said — renting a car here is a must. Although Majorca is the largest of the Balearic islands, it’s still very small. Spanning 100 km (62 m) East to West and just 75 km (46 m) North to South — you could cover the entire island by car in just a few hours.
Majorca’s airport is located in it’s biggest city, Palma, which is on the southwestern side of the island. Without a rental car — you would most likely not leave the capital of Palma — which wouldn’t give you an authentic Majorca experience. And this makes me sad.
Unfortunately, Deborah and I weren’t able to see the entire island in our short trip but we definitely got to experience two very different coastlines.
(We never even stopped in Palma … and have no regrets!)
Day 1:
From the Palma Airport, we headed west to our first (of many) beaches: Cala Llamp. Cala Llamp is small yet stunning. Oh, and there’s no sand — just large rocks! Sadly, we did not swim here, as we assumed there would be bigger and better later in the day. But by the end of the day, we regretted not spending more time here.
After being in awe of our first Majorca beach, we drove to a small city close by: Andratx. Andratx had a quaint local market with food, beach attire, and other homemade goodies. We wandered and shopped a bit, before having a delicious lunch at Mari-posa.
After lunch, we made our way to beach #2: Cala Estellencs. This beach was more difficult to get to so we were disappointed when we arrived to find that the tide was very high and the water was way too strong to get in. Had the water been lower and calmer, it would have been a wonderful place to spend a couple hours!
Disappointed, we got back in our car and continued on our road trip along MA-10 to Deia. This drive is STUNNING. One of the most scenic drives I’ve ever experienced — following the beautiful coastline through the mountains.
By late afternoon, we made it to our third and final beach of the day: Cala Deia. This beach was MUCH busier than the first two — (which might have been because it also had restaurants on it). If you haven’t noticed by now, all of these beach on the western side are very rocky!
If you’re beached out, the actual town of Deia is super rustic and adorable. Walking around there would be a treat!
After spending some time in the water, we finally made it to our Bed & Breakfast in Valldemossa. We had a beautiful scenic view from our 2nd story room — with locals enjoying ice cream while children kicked soccer balls just below!
Honestly, I could have spent weeks in Valldemossa alone. It was far less touristy than we had heard and had SO much charm.
Before the sunset we drove (read: panicked all the way down the TINY switchbacks) to Port Valldemossa. Not going to lie… this drive was rough (BUT worth it). Deborah was such a champ as she safely got us down and back up a road that shouldn’t even be legal.
It was moments like this where all we could do was laugh in order to not have full blown panic attacks. **But we also discussed that Majorca probably wouldn’t be the best destination for a “stress free” trip such a honeymoon. Let’s just say this island is much more ‘rustic‘ than our trip to Santorini — which was definitely honeymoon worthy.**
We ate a lovely seafood paella dinner at Es Port and then enjoyed a spectacular sunset, before making the somewhat easier drive back up 🙂
Day 2:
Sadly, we only got to spend 1 night in Valledemossa — but we were certainly sent off well! Our wonderful Bed & Breakfast host, Juan, made us a delicious spread of yogurt with fruit, croissants, coca de patata (a roll made from potatoes – local to Valldemossa), ensaïmadas (pastries popular all over Majorca), and fresh squeeze carrot and apple juice 🙂
Juan has lived in Majorca his entire life and never plans on leaving. He explained that many people think you would get bored if you lived on a small island your entire life but the way he sees it is: “There are many Majorcas in Majorca“. And he was absolutely right…
With full bellies, we made the 1 hour drive from the west coast to the east. Driving through the midland of Majorca makes you feel like you are in an abandoned region of Arizona. It’s desert as far as you can see, with almost no places to stop.
Our first stop (4th beach) on the southeastern part of the island was Es Trenc. This beach was probably the biggest let down of them all. Although the water was crystal clear, the white sandy (yay!) beach was extremely crowded and covered in liter and cigarettes (and it cost 8€ to park).
I would recommend skipping Es Trenc and heading straight to Cala Santanyi!
We spent the rest of the day/night (looking over Cala Santanyi) at Hotel Pinos Playa. Hotel Pinos is a bit older (and lacks AC) but it offered an amazing view and perfect beach/cliff/hiking access. For the price, I would definitely stay here again.
This location was the best ending to an amazing 5 days in Spain with a sweet friend. We completely exhausted ourselves by spending hours swimming and jumping off cliffs — before grabbing delicious pizza (@ Es Vinyet) and gelato in the Santanyi square.
Everyone needs a friend like Deb to travel through Spain with! Especially when she wants to go to amazing places like Majorca! I can’t wait to see she talks me into next… 😉
—> Click Here <— to see how our trip started off in Barcelona!
life as Fine 
I loved your opening line, ‘Can I go back right now?’ So hilarious, and so true! Majorca indeed is a great holiday destination, and has something to offer to every kind of traveller. We loved our stay there!
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I am so happy you love Mallorca. I am Mallorcan 😉
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