So we might have missed the boat on Mallorca … We were there in early June for a long weekend (it’s only a 45-minute flight from Valencia) but we ended up staying in a Home Exchange on the southern coast of the island near the small town of Sa Rapita, which wasn’t super scenic in terms of the surrounding beaches and coastline. The southern coast seemed to be more marshlands and flat and wide beaches that had a lot more ocean debris than expected (though the island had recently contended with some unexpected storms). We were hoping to avoid the summer crowds, but as a result in early June it also didn’t prove to be as warm as desired for swimming in a non-heated pool and in the ocean.
We were a little surprised, as we had a harder time finding the gorgeous, tucked-away coves (calas) and romantic, sunset views, which seemed to be more concentrated along the island’s north and northeastern coasts (and likely a lot more touristy as a result). Although friends advised us to visit these areas, they proved a lot harder to access from where we were staying. We made it up there one day, driving to and around the village of Deia, but it was so trafficky and difficult to find parking that we just gave up and headed back down south. (Note that many of the northern roads into and around the mountains are small, only two lanes, and very twisty-turvy and treacherous, so driving requires a lot of care and attention – not always what you want to be doing on vacation.)
The closest “scenic cove” we found was Cala Figuera on the eastern coast of the island, which was rather charming and had a number of good restaurants. We were very glad to spend an evening exploring this area.
Besides beach time, we did a self-guided walking tour of Palma’s highlights, including the scenic cathedral.
On a future trip to Mallorca, we’d probably choose to stay closer to Formentor and explore more of the northern and northeastern parts of the island.
