Mallorca - where to stay?!

[PinkPomelo]

I'm at an absolute loss where to stay on Mallorca! Looking for somewhere not too built up, nice restaurants and a beach you can walk to but still a little nightlife in the bars.

I've read other threads but can't seem to land on somewhere... want to avoid the magaluf type places, taking a 11 month old baby. You seem to get more for ur money ie. Better apartments in resorts like cala dor and playa de muro but they're an hour transfer which is quite long. Staying nearer palma would be handier but can't see anywhere that doesn't look v built up? Any help appreciated.

Cala D'Or fits the bill here. Beautiful place and perfect for kiddies too.

I second Cala D’Or. The transfer really isn’t that long 😊

You are going to have to compromise on something, between proximity to Palma, not built-up, and lively bars. Lively bars mean lots of people, and lots of people need lots of rooms to sleep in.

Magaluf is actually nowhere near as bad as its reputation, if you avoid "the strip" where all the stag groups go. There are some nice hotels at the south end, and the beach is brilliant. Many people go to Palma Nova "to avoid Magaluf", but there are plenty of groups of lads in footy shirts there too.

Puerto Soller and Puerto Pollensa are quite nice, and Porto Colom is genuinely unspoiled with a pretty bay and great restaurants, but the inevitable downside is that there's not much of a bar scene. Cala d'Or has all you need for a holiday but it's quite built-up, I think. Playa de Muro is an entirely artificial town with a winter population of pretty much zero.

Also, transfer time need not be a huge issue as long as you don't get a shared transfer that waits for six flights to come in and then has 12 hotels to visit. Nowhere apart from Playa de Palma (very built-up) or Can Pastilla (rather run-down) is less than half an hour's actual driving time from the airport, and nowhere is more than an hour. If you splurge £75 on a taxi you can be in your room within an hour of collecting your luggage from the carousel, even in Cala d'Or or Porto Colom.

DH and I love Port Soller. It isn’t big and it has character.

I am just off a flight, home from Majorca I stayed in the port town Pollença, it is exactly as you describe. Alcudia is close also. Old Pollença is really beautiful, and the port town is also. It's small, with beaches, shops and lots of great restaurants. sporty people from all over. I was spoiled for 5 days there. Weather was perfect too. I have completely overhauled my view of Majorca / Magaluf and I love the place now

We had a lovely time in Porto Christo last year. Small, full of character, not much other than beach, restaurants and bars but a lovely Spanish vibe. As one of the biggest tourist attractions in Mallorca is close, The Caves of Drach, buses go in all directions and are very easy to use. If you want a day at a larger resort, Cala Millor is a short bus ride north. If you want a few hours in a Spanish city. Manacor is a short bus ride, and has a proper weekly market. It is about an hour from the airport, but a really good road.

I've stayed in Cala D'or. It's great for families. Heard good things about Porto Pollensa etc. Soller and Palma are lovely.

Re: transfers. First time we booked coach from airport. Air con wasn't working and it stopped at 20 hotels before it got to ours (last one). It took nearly 3 horrible hours.
Next time we hired a car. It's an easy 40 minute drive.

I like Paguera. About half an hour from the airport, three nice beaches, pedestrianised promenade, lots of Spanish food available. Only thing to be aware of, which absolutely isn't a problem, is that just about all the tourists there are German, so everything is in Spanish, German and occasionally English.

We found it accidentally on a day trip out and liked it so much we've been back twice to stay for a week.

Thanks everyone! We were looking for paguera originally but can't find anything in our budget. The 4 star hotels that are left don't look great.

Yikes that 3 hour transfer sounds a nightmare. I've seen companies like holiday extras you can book a transfer but it's a gamble whether it'll stop loads.

Cala dor looking good, and get lovely apartments there. Anyone been to playa de muro?

Thanks

Well when we went there it was a last minute thing and we had a choice of a 3 star hotel or a 4 star at twice the price so we took a risk with the 3 star, it was lovely and the food was really good.

However, since then it's been 'boutiqued' and upgraded to a 4 star so is a bit more expensive but not too bad considering, but it's now adults only so obviously no good to you (it was what is now the BQ Paguera Boutique Hotel in case you're wondering).

Have you looked at Calla Millor?
It's busy enough, family friendly, lovely long promenade. Coaches from the airport can take 2 hours but we book a taxi which costs around 80 Euros.

I've never stayed at Playa D'Muro but driven through on the transfer and although it probably has one of the best beaches on the island it looks a bit boring...just a few nice hotels and a handful of restaurants, entirely purpose built.Sa Coma has a gorgeous beach and a nice little promenade with shops and restaurants, perfect for a stroll in the evening. Very family friendly. Can picaforr similar too, also a lovely beach.

Santa Ponsa is not that far from Paguera.

I've heard santa ponsa isn't very nice?

Hi Twoforjoy, I’m staying in pollenca this summer, first family trip to Mallorca. Hiw long would our day it took to get from the airport to Pollenca area please and do you have any recommendations ?
thankyou!

Apologies for my typos! How long would you say it takes to get from the airport up to the Pollenca area please @twoforj0y

Apologies if this has posted twice it wasn't showing for me

We went to Can Picafort, Tonga Towers last year with our 2yo and we have since booked another 2 times for this year. Short flight,
Great hotel, fab location and yet a short walk down to the beach, restaurants and shops and a bus ride away from the beautiful Alcudia old town and port. Would highly recommend @PinkPomelo

In a taxi it will take just under an hour, but it will cost around £75.

With a coach transfer, the drive itself takes an hour. But then it can take an hour to fill up the coach with people coming from 6 flights (you might be the first or last), plus up to an hour to tour the hotels (you might be the last or first). So it's a lottery, which is why people pay for a taxi.

I’ve stayed in Puerto Polensa three times with young kids & could not recommend it highly enough.
Loads of apartments there and loads of decent restaurants. It also has a lovely beach.it was about 45 minutes from the airport with a private transfer.
Old town Pollenca is a short bus ride away and lovely for an evening meal.

Thankyou @Brycare @samarrange !
we will be getting a taxi as staying in a villa near pollensa lidl, not looking forward to crossing that road with my shopping bags 😆

DH and I went pre-covid and stayed near Palma. We did a day trip via the small gauge train (tren de soller) which was enjoyable and had lunch in Soller. We actually wished we'd stayed there. A little beach, marina, cafes, nice vibe, market stalls etc. I'm not sure of transfer times, but if I returned to Majorca, I'd stay there.

@Dreamweaving

It took us about 50 mins for the transfer (those transition buses I think?)

We weee the final pick up for collection, so it was a straight run there. On the route to pollença there weee a few drop offs. Air con was working, roads were smooth, some kids were laid out sleeping on seats... I'm sure it's different in peak season but I loved it and am thinking of going back with the kids in October

Would love to hear how you get on!

Sorry, coaches were Transunion I think..

Yea it was a specific coach booked to match each flight. We were the last to board at the airport so there was no hanging about.

My only worry is how hot and what can my kids manage. Are you getting an apartment complex or a villa, or what are you thinking?

Yes this is where I was going to suggest I love Mallorca last time we went to Porto cristo it's quieter but still nice.

It’s not horrible but it’s not the best. Cala D’Or is much nicer. We took our children there multiple times when they smaller.