Mallorca suggestions
Hello, my friends! We are travelling to visit my in-laws in Scotland this summer. While there, as we usually do, we also take some time to go to somewhere else in Europe. This year, we're heading to Mallorca. I'd love to get some advice from my friends here.
It will be me, my wife, and my 15 year old son (typical teenager). We'd rather be on or very near the sea, not on the interior. We'd like to have nice places to eat and drink, but not be in a raving party place. We don't want to stay in a big city like Palma. We'd like something a little less built up. We'd like self catering accommodations.
I've been looking at Port de Soller, Port de Polencia, and Port D'Alcudia. Have any of you been to Mallorca? Are these good places to stay? Any other places you'd recommend?
Many thanks for any suggestions or help. 
5 Answers
Mallorca is lovely! But it is busy and very international. However I've had several great holidays there, bood beaches! Good food of all sorts. You're never far from the sea, the islands are very small, we had a holiday on Menorca once and it's tiny!
Avoid renting a car where you have to pay for a full tank because you won't use atank up!
But rent a car or bicycles
The calas, little beaches, on the north coast are fantastic! Cala Figuera, or Cala Formentor, I think in the picture.
The first time I went we stayed in one of the rowdy hotels on the ' beer' coast but it was out of season and actually very quiet.
The people incidentally speak Mallorcan, which is Catalán, really but there are lots of mainland Spanish working there for the holiday season.
It is over a decade since I last visited Majorca staying on that occasion in a place called Sa Coma. That was quite a nice little resort that may be worth taking a look at although after such a long time it has probably changed significantly.
The one don't miss recommendation that I would make however is to go visit the Drach Caves at Porto Cristo. It is a wonderful experience.
Hi Winkfish
I don't want to put a dampener on things, but our local press [UK] are reporting Mallorca saying it is full. Many Brits and Northern Europeans who would have gone to other countries bordering the Med [no need to name them here] have switched to Spain. It could of course just be the tourist board drumming up business.
As for suggestions, I cannot help a lot. I visited Mallorca a few years ago in the November for a short break. Obviously it was not busy because of the time of the year.. I stayed in Palma and thought it was lovely though a bit hilly. It is not a big city and does have some beach front.
On the Sunday I caught the train to Soller then got the tram to the port returning in the evening. I had read in a guide book that the seats in the front carriage were leather so that is what I headed for and had a great journey chatting to the Spanish people at the front of the carriage. They were all locals. It is looked at as a tourist trip but is definitely worth doing. However, it may be you need to prebook in the summer.
The scenery in Mallorca is stunning.
The Spanish are fond of Northern Spain in the summer.
My wife and I went to Spain and Mallorca for our honeymoon two years ago in mid-july. We split our week-long honeymoon between Mallorca and Barcelona. When we were in Mallorca we did an excursion that included stopping at a pearl factory, seeing a glass blowing workshop and we also went to the Drach Caves at Porto Cristo. In the caves, a couple of musicians played live classical music on a boat on a small lake inside of the cave. It was excellent. We had a great time.
While we were in Mallorca, we stayed in Santa Ponça at the hotel SENTIDO Punta del Mar (adults only), and while the views and facilities were excellent, the service was horrible and there were other issues. I would not stay there again. We did like the general location, though. It was on the coast with views of the sea, and not too close to Palma. The whole area near Playa Santa Ponça was fun, There were a lot of other tourists there too. We observed that most of the travelers, from what we could tell, were German. Apparently it is a wildly popular vacation destination for Germans. Most people there, fellow tourists and natives alike, seemed friendly enough for the most part. While it was busy there, it didn't seem like a heavy party scene or anything.
All in all, my wife and I agreed that while we really enjoyed Mallorca, we wished we would've spent more time in Barcelona. Our experience there was amazing, and our stay at the Hotel Europark was wonderful and affordable. There was just so much to see and do in Barcelona, and the coast was really close too.
I hope that helps. If you have any specific questions about our experience, let me know.
Thought this very old [1985] beer advert may help - if you can understand the British accents!
