Mallorca
From World travel guide
Mallorca is the largest one of the Balearic Islands the others being Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera.
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Understand
Mallorca (3640 sq.km) is known as an easy to reach Mekka for friends of sunny beaches. With a coastline of more than 550km in high season the island is flooded millions of tourists from all Europe. This is both, a blessing and a curse, for the inhabitants and they are well prepared for it and provide a very well organized tourist infrastructure.
Nevertheless, Mallorca can show even other faces when you leave the coastline and take a look to the inner country. Prices fall with each kilometer you move away from the coast and reach the usual Spanish standards in the center of the island or even in some places of the mountain area.
Geographically the island can be divided in three parts. The Serra de Tramuntana rocks from south-west to north-east, while the Serra de Llevante stretches along the eastern coast. Between them lies the central plain (Llanura del centro).
Talk
The natives speak the so called Mallorquin, a Catalan dialect, sometimes referred to as an own language. Of course, everybody speaks Castilian (normal spanish), too.
In touristic areas, you come along with English, German, French and other common European languages.
Get in
By plane
There are frequent flights from many European cities to Palma de Mallorca airport. In particular, many of the discount airlines have daily flights.
There are also flights from Menorca and Ibiza, but these are about double the price of the ferries from these islands, and save only about an hour.
From the airport public buses run frequently to cental Palma. Many car rental agencies have their offices at the airport.
By boat
You can catch a ferry to Palma de Mallorca from the other Balearic Islands or from several points on the Spanish coast, including Barcelona and Valencia. You can catch a ferry to Alcudia from Menorca.
Get around
Many spots are reachable by bus, but the services are limited on Sundays and in the lower season, as well as during the night.
There is inland train transportation, but mainly limited to Puerto de Sóller, Manacor, Inca and Sineu.
Cars can by hired in many tourist towns, especially along the coast. Unless in high season, when you should book you rental in advance if you want to ensure one, hiring a car directly at the airport without reservation shouldn't be any problem at all.
See
- Palma de Mallorca - the island´s capital is worth a trip on it`s own.
- Serra de Tramuntana - wonderful rough mountain scenery.
- Playa de Palma - the most well-known destination on Mallorca.
- Valldemossa - Georges Sand and Frederic Chopin spent some time in this beautiful village.
- the Caves - several caves are open to the public, being the Dragon Caves (Coves del Drach in mallorquin) the most visited.
Do
- Beaches: this is what the most people come for. The main tourist areas are on the southern and eastern coast but places may be crowded in high season.
- Hiking: The Serra de Tramuntana offers some fine trails.
- Cycling: In spring the island`s roads are popular not only with several professional teams in preparation for the next season
- Palma: the island`s capital offers the famous cathedaral as well as a nice city centre to stroll around
Eat
Drink
Drinking is allowed if you are 18 or older. While alcohol is widely sell, to local laws only bars, restaurants, discoqueteques and the like are allowed to serve it after 24 p.m.
Sleep
Accommodation is mainly for the package-tour tourist who wants a room near the beach. Most of these hotels are cheaper if booked by a travel agent. But there are also some hotels for the individual traveller and there are also many fincas, houses and apartments for rent.
Camping
There are no commercial camp grounds in Mallorca, but there are some recreation areas with toilets and sometimes with showers where camping is allowed.
Villa Rentals
Renting a villa is an excellent, if often expensive, way of enjoying Mallorca's more secluded locations. These are generally found on the western and northern sides of the island. Below are some agencies that offer villas for rent in Mallorca:
- Spain Select Over 25 villas for rent in Mallorca, mainly located between the towns of Deia and Pollensa. Many of the villas are in the luxury class, with private swimmings pools and exclusive locations. There are however some more affordable options. Minimum price for a villa is 1200 euros per week.
Get out
Spanish get out quite late and, while in the main tourist resorts you can find eople drinking and chatting from early hours, you will not see many locals before 24:00.
The main nigth spots areas are:
- Magaluf: well known to be the British capital in the island, this is the place for clubbing. Bananas Disco and BCM Empire Disco are a must.
- Palma de Mallorca: the most of the places can be found at the Paseo Martimo, the main road by the sea. Pacha and Tito's are the main discos where everybody goes. El Garito, and old bohemian bar now reconverted in to trendy clud also worth a visit.
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