Despite being young and German, and having played a team sport, I have never been to Mallorca until now. To me (and a lot of other Germans), Mallorca was simply the place to party, get violently drunk, and repeat the next day. Not something I am into. So I steered clear of the island. But recently I have come across some gorgeous snaps on social media that had been taken on Mallorca, and they completely changed my perception of the place. So without faffing around for too long, my boyfriend and I booked a 4 day trip, and went on our merry way to the largest Balearic island. And we were absolutely taken aback as soon as we left the airport: never had we underestimated a place like this before! But let me break it all down for you…
Day 1 – Finding Our Way Around
After arriving to the airport in Palma de Mallorca, we rented a car to get to our holiday rental. And can I just quickly say that that holiday rental (find here) was also the best one I have ever stayed at! We both agreed it was far better than our own flat in Frankfurt. Not only was it bigger (not that hard), but it also had an amazing balcony, overlooking the port and the mountains surrounding us. Just absolutely fantastic location wise, because it was still within walking distance to the shops and port, but without all the hustle and bustle around it.
And it was sooo well equipped, there was even Tupperware. But possibly the best thing of all about this place was the fact that there were SO MANY cats living around it. We tried counting them, but failed, because they were 1) so many, and 2) pretty similar looking. Since both of us are Cats >>> Dogs, that was the ideal situation for us. 11/10 would recommend and would stay again!
I would also recommend to rent a car, even just for a day or two, as the island is so big. We did do quite a bit of exploring and having a car to come and go as we pleased made everything *that* much more easy. And to be quite honest, for the most part the roads are in better condition than in Germany, so driving there was a breeze (although seriously curvy).
Once we were all settled in, we went and explored Port de Sóller. Since March isn’t high season, it was really nice and quiet down there. I would imagine it’s going to look quite a bit different in a few months time. We had some lunch and then treated us to the first of many ice creams at io Gelato Artesans, which was amazing. I had a scoop each of the brownie and the hazelnut flavor, both exceptionally yummy!
Later that day, we went to dinner at Ses Oliveres for some authentically Spanish food. And we were not disappointed; starting off with croquetas (they had baby squid in them, so were actually black!), tomato salad with the best burrata I have ever had, and fried calamari with aioli. We then had a rice dish not too dissimilar to Paella – but not actually Paella. I would describe it as a mix of that and a Bouillabaisse from Marseille, so very flavorful. However it was served in a paellera, so more Paella than Bouillabaisse – maybe just go and try it yourself. We had the one with seafood, which was pretty good. We did decide that we prefer regular Paella, though.
The place itself is amazing as well; it looks like it’s been – and probably has been – built around two huge olive trees. As you can see on the picture down below, their branches actually go through the roof. Or the roof goes around their branches. Either way, it looks really cool both from the inside and outside. And it adds so much ambiance and coziness to the place. Absolutely loved how they did that!
Day 2 – Hiking The North Of Mallorca
My favorite part of pretty much every trip I go on is to explore, and hiking is the perfect way to do so. And since we were in the north of Mallorca, there were a lot of good sized mountains to climb onto and admire the city from above. The first tour we did was this one, the perfect mix of mountains, countryside and the ocean. You can see some of the highlights on my Instagram reels or down below.
The first part of the tour was pretty easy, there was a little bit of an incline, but nothing serious. Plus the terrain was pretty easy to walk on. The trail went through the most magical olive groves – each olive tree looking both whimsical and mysterious at the same time. I wouldn’t have been surprised if a fairy or dwarf had popped out of one of them. The views were absolutely spectacular – looking down onto the port and the surrounding mountains.
The halfway mark of the tour is at Refugio de Muleta. You could easily walk back to Port de Sóller from here, if you prefer shorter tours. Of course, we didn’t do that. Instead we headed west along the coastline and into more rocky territory – this definitely wasn’t as easy to hike as the first half. But I always find the trickier it gets, the more fun it is! Plus we didn’t meet a single soul on this part of the hike, so got to enjoy the place all by ourselves. (Now that I’m writing this, I’m glad nobody twisted an ankle or something – because there truly was NOBODY around).
We got to see some rather impressive cliffs – of course my boyfriend didn’t let me go nearly as close to them as I would have liked to. At one point, he even held me by my backpack, so the wind (it was pretty breezy) wouldn’t push me over the edge. Making sure I’m more than safe is his love language. This part of the hike was also the most surprising for me, as I hadn’t pictured Mallorca to be this beautiful and rough in terrain. That made me love it even more, it was just so much fun. I never wanted it to stop. But like all good things, this one had to come to an end, too.
After the tour, which took as roughly 4 hours – breaks included – we stopped by the port for some refreshments. Our place of choice was Randemar, where we sat outside on the sofas and had some fantastic cocktails. I opted for a Gin & Tonic (of course), made with Mallorca Gin – super tasty. Once again, the restaurant itself looks incredible, with loads of trees and other plants incorporated into the space. People on this side of the island really know how to interior design for maximum comfort.
After our little recharge at Randemar we decided to do another little hike to end the day. Since we hadn’t been to Torre Picada, on of Port de Sóllers attractions, we wanted to include that in our hike and opted for this tour. We did get to the tower just fine, but after that, things escalated quickly. We got horribly lost. It was the kind of lost were you still knew where you were, just not how to move on from there. There definitely weren’t any trails. And no reception, so we ditched our hiking app and just went for it.
With some effort, a lot of scratches and a couple of bruises, we eventually managed to climb up to the tower from the other side. And when I say climb, I mean it. Ironically, we climbed up the exact boulder me boyfriend had stopped me from looking down when we first got there. We actually didn’t mind being “lost” though, as we did get to enjoy a lot of amazing views of the cliffs and saw the cutest thing ever: a family of wild goats – mum, dad, and little one.
Day 3: Exploring The South Of Mallorca
Another day – another hike. After all, that’s what we came to Mallorca for! This time we wanted to explore the southern coast of the island. As we had seen a lot of mountains the day prior, we opted for shores and beaches on this day. This tour seemed to be perfect for it. It started off in Cala Figuera, which has the most picturesque little port. Cristal clear, turquoise water, fishing boats all around, absolutely marvelous.
From there, we headed to the Parc natural de Mondragó, a huge area along the coast. It’s lovely to look at and very easy to hike, as it is most flat and easy to walk on terrain. To get to the cliffs, you do have to get off the road and onto the footpaths, but still, really easy to walk on. Just make sure you have someone to hold you by your backpack as you walk up to the cliffs ;). If you want to get to the Calas, you do have to do a little bit of climbing, but nothing serious. It’s worth the effort, because once again the views are everything.
The highlight of this trip was the Platja s’Amarador. Walking up to it, you could see the turquoise water glistening through the trees and bushes around the coastline. The sand on the beach was almost white and super fine. Who needs to travel to the Caribbean or the Maldives? Europe has got it all! Once again, I can imagine this place is crazy busy in the summer. But right now, there were only a handful of people there.
After cooling off (= dipping our feet into the sea, it was pretty chilly), we walked back to the car in Cala Figuera. Since it was still pretty early (our tour around the natural park took around 3 hours), we decided to go to Manacor. Not the best idea. Being German, of course we didn’t consider the time – middle of the day – which meant: Siesta. So there was literally nothing to do (or see) in Manacor. Which really was a shame, as there would have been quite a few nice shops. But alas, the best we could do was eat ice cream. Could be worse.
To brighten our moods, we thought we’d give one more town a shot – Fornalutx. This one had been recommended to me – and was conveniently located on our way home. Off we went with nothing to lose and were absolutely amazed upon arriving there. Fornalutx really is a small town. But like a lot of Majorcan towns it is so picturesque. Stone houses, narrow and winding streets, citrus trees and rolling hills all around. Absolutely beautiful. Plus we were there at the perfect time – golden hour – which made everything even prettier. To be fair, there isn’t really much to do in Fornalutx. But it is so worth a trip, just because it’s lovely to walk around.
After a lovely day exploring so many places, we went to dinner at Nunu. This one to me felt like a bit of a crossover of a lot of different cuisines – but with a Spanish touch. We started with a few different tapas; croquetas, fried prawns, spicy potatoes and cuttlefish with pine nuts, raisins and honey. All of it was pretty good, but had touches of Asian and Persian cuisine. For my main dish I had the sea bream, which was alright. What they did absolutely nail though was the Gin & Tonic. They have a huge selection of different gins, and also different ones from Mallorca. So I just told the waiter I liked a herbal note to my G&T, he brought me something (sadly no idea what exactly), and it was absolutely scrumptious. What a way to end the day!
Day 4: Town Hopping
On the last day of our absolutely fantastic vacation, we decided to visit a few different places before flying home in the evening. Since our flat was in the north of the island, we headed to Deiá first. The drive there was super scenic already, through the mountains and olives groves.
Our first stop was Cala Deiá, which was nice, but this early in the year, nothing was open. I would imagine that it is absolutely gorgeous in the summer time though, as the water was crystal clear. We then headed into town, but because it was a Sunday, it was pretty much dead. Except for the service held in the church. But that was about it. It was lovely to look at though, quite similar to Fornalutx. If you only have the time to visit one of those places, I would opt for Fornalutx. It seemed a bit bigger, with more going on.
From Deiá we drove to Valldemossa, another small town more to the north of Mallorca. This was definitely my favorite place of the day: loads of lovely buildings, and the shops and restaurants actually open. There was also a farmers market going on, which is always fun. And once again, the views from the outskirts were breathtaking. That seems to be a common theme with Majorcan cities…
Our last stop was Palma de Mallorca, because we had to go to the airport there anyway. This part of Mallorca has to be my least favorite. Since it is a bigger city (for Majorcan standards), it looks its part. Way fewer beautiful houses, a lot of concrete. Of course there are pretty spots, but had I just visited this part of the island, I would have felt way different about it. So in my opinion, not really worth a visit.
And that sums up my perfect Majorcan holiday! If you have been to the island, let me know where you went and how you liked it! I’m definitely tempted to go back and explore some more. And as always, thanks for reading (if you have made it this far)! I know it was a long one. But I had lots to talk about.
Lots of Love,
Lena
Disclaimer: This post is not sponsored.
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