One Of The Best European Islands
The Balearic Islands of Spain are a great place to visit in Europe. But I highly recommend visiting Mallorca and Menorca on the same trip as they are a smooth 1-hour ferry ride away from each other.
Mallorca is, of course, the bigger one of the two islands, almost four times the size of Menorca. While in Menorca, you could easily choose a centrally located hotel for your entire stay, but when in Mallorca, it’s perhaps better to divide your visit into two different areas of the island.
This is because driving from either North to South or East to West is close to 100km and a 1.5-hour drive. As you most likely will arrive in Palma de Mallorca first, you should start here. Since it is the capital, it is definitely more crowded but also means there are many more options in terms of restaurants, hotel choices, and shopping. Palma de Mallorca itself is a gorgeous city with many charming streets, great to wander around for a day or so. The highlight of the town is the stunning Cathedral de Palma de Mallorca, which was built in the 16th century.
The best beaches in easy reach with a rental car are Illetas, El Mago and Cala Blava.
A little further but probably one of the best beaches in Mallorca is Cala Pi. On a day trip, it’s also worth it to visit the Northern located charming town of Port de Soller and Deia, which are in easy reach and about a 30-minute drive. Having explored Palma de Mallorca and it’s surrounding area, I suggest you take your rental car and drive to your next destination, which should be the Southern part of the island.
The best beaches in Mallorca are located in this part of the island. An excellent central location to look for a hotel is near Cala d’Or. From here, you can quickly get to many of the fantastic beaches that make you feel like you are on a tropical island in the Caribbean. Some of my favorite beaches on Mallorca were Calo des Moro, Cala Llombards and Cala Mondrago.
The most spectacular one being Calo des Moro, which does require a small hike to get to, but that makes this beach not entirely run over by tourists, which is a good thing. If you’ve already visited the Greek islands, the Amalfi Coast and Cote d’Azur, then you should add the Balearic Islands of Spain on your list for your next European beach holidays.