10 things to do in Majorca

If you are only interested in Majorca’s nightlife – don’t waste your time reading further J Mallorca is a beautiful place, just stay away from the busy summer periods. And be careful of car hires, their policy is to return the fuel tank back empty (‘cause that’s possible) and since you can’t drive away from the car hire without fuel, they ‘very helpfully’ fill the tank up for you, whether you like it or not, for about 3 times the actual fuel price. But don’t let that dampen your spirits, you’ll enjoy Mallorca despite its quirks.
 

# 1. Paella at Santuari de Sant Salvador monastery. It was heavenly! So much so that on the last day we drove 1.5 hr or so each way from our hotel just so that we could have it again for our lunch. And I would happily get on the plane now, 3 years later, to taste some more of that delicious paella. Highly recommendable!
 

# 2. Lluc Monastery. Majorca’s’ monasteries are beautiful and worth a visit even for the non-religious. They are usually located in the most stunning natural areas surrounded by astounding scenery. This one also had a very nice café which offered delicious lunch after we took a walk round the monastery (which is now a hotel) and one of the many spectacular walking trails leading from it. Try to get there early in the morning, when it’s so peaceful and serene, before all the tourist crowds arrive in their masses.


 

 

# 3.  Sa Calobra. Were after a VERY hair-raising, but absolutely stunning, 30 km long, serpentine no-through road, with drops up to 900m high, you reach the turquoise sea surrounded by high cliffs and relax by the beach or walk along the Torrent de Pareis (Twin river) canyon. Warning: the whole hike through the canyon is only for the experienced and fit. Do be careful whilst driving/cycling the road as it isn’t very wide and is extremely popular and full with cyclists, cars and big coaches.
 

#4. Driving the length of Serra de Tramuntana (Majorca’s mountains) in the west part of the island, stopping at Lluc monastery and Sa Calobra, as well as town of Soller where we had delicious tapas at the Nautilus restaurant high up on the cliffs with floor-to-ceiling-windows and therefore fabulous views of the coast.
 

# 5. Formentor – island’s northernmost point. It’s biggest attraction, in my opinion, was the road leading there: high up above the cliffs, beautiful vistas over the Port de Pollenca, cliffs, mountains and sea. Although it’s another road where drivers should take a lot of caution, due to the twisty, bendy, narrow road with blind bends and very high drops at the sides.
 

# 6. Pollenca. We really loved it, it’s so beautiful. We enjoyed wandering around the market, were we bought a load of local oranges (I haven’t tasted sweeter, juicer oranges before or since); having tapas in a café overlooking the market; and walking the Via Crucis - 300 steps to Puig de Pollenca church with great views of the town and surrounding area (alright I didn’t enjoy the walk up those steps as much as endured it, nevertheless it was worth it).
 

# 7. Countless little towns where the time seems to have stopped, like Caimari, Selva, Mancor de la Vall, Orient, Deia. Stay there for a coffee or the whole day and wonder around the pretty streets listening to locals chatter. We didn’t find any tourists here.
 

 

# 8. Palma de Mallorca. If you’re in Majorca you just have to see its capital. We didn’t unfortunately spend too much time there, but we really enjoyed the walk around the old city wall, the impressive and stunning cathedral and the views over the whole capital from Bellver Castle.

 

 

# 9. Coves del Drac (Dragon Caves) – not the most beautiful or impressive caves in the world, but definitely well worth a visit. Especially, if you combine it with other attractions that the east coast has to offer, like the gorgeous Castell de Capdepera bastion and my favourite paella at Santuari de Sant Salvador monastery. P.s. I don’t know if anything has changed now, but we were not allowed to take photos or videos inside the caves which was a real shame.
 

# 10. Port de Pollenca. As resorts go, this is a good one. Nestled in against high mountains, it has lovely beach for families, many cafés and restaurants along it, it’s almost completely deserted in the morning (our 9 month old daughter made sure we were up bright and early, that’s how we got to all the attractions before anyone else did), and a road leading to Formentor.