Majorca must-sees

[AnonymousBleep]

Me and my teens are heading to Majorca in the summer. We're staying in a nice hotel and I'm hiring a car and I understand Majorca (outside Magaluf!) is pretty bougie and we'd love to visit some beautiful towns and beaches and swish restaurants etc. We also love a water park (although that's probably a fairly straightforward thing to manage). Any recommendations?

Where are you staying ?

Palma, the city is worth a look around.

And the little train from Palma to Soller, then the tram to Port de Soller.

I liked the old town at Alcudia and the scenic drive to Cap Formentor (sp?) which I think you could also reach by boat.

We stayed in Puerto de Pollensa, and also had a separate break to Palma, so if you are staying in a different part then these things may not be convenient for you .

Santa Ponca - but planning on hiring a car and exploring the island. Soller looks amazing.

The Caves of Drach are amazing
www.cuevasdeldrach.com/en/index.php

Came on to say the Drach caves - incredible!

Pollensa market on a Sunday

I’d agree with all of this. We also like to visit Pollensa old town (inland from the Port).

Palma is lovely but gets very hot and busy in the Summer.
Go to Bar Espanya for great pinchos and tapas. But you have to get there as soon as it opens as it gets very busy
www.barespanya.es/ www.barespanya.es/]]]]
The trip from Palma to Soller and Puerto Soller on the train is worth doing .

Old town Pollensa is really lovely to wander round and the Sunday market is good . Much nicer than Puerta de Pollensa in my opinion. Lots of great restaurants there.

Palma/Soller/Port de Soller are all fabulous. I'm not a huge fan of Port de Pollenca, Pollenca itself is nice but I prefer Valledemossa - which is also close to Soller. Nearby Deia is very popular but I thought over rated as is the beach there. The scenery all round this area is stunning though, beautiful walks everywhere. Fornulutx is also popular, and in that area too.

I liked the old town at Alcudia and the scenic drive to Cap Formentor (sp?) which I think you could also reach by boat

Cap Formentor is lovely but very crowded. I think they've put in a park and ride type system now as it was getting so bad on the narrow road to get there.

If you go west from Santa Ponsa we like Paguera which has 3 lovely beaches and an almost entirely German clientele which makes for a fun change.

Then you have Cala Fornells, which is great for snorkeling but not much else there, Camp de Mar and Port Andrax, the latter is very 'Yacht Club' so might be what you're looking for. We went to Port Andrax after visiting Andrax Town, which we'd read about in a series of books by a Scottish farmer who moved there (Peter Kerr).

The other way towards Palma you have Portal Nous and Illetes, which also meet your 'bougie' requirement, one of these has a small island just off the coasthat you can swim to if you're a decent swimmer.

Highly recommend booking sunbeds here: https://balnearioilletas.com/en/ if you want a break from sightseeing. They do a great vegetarian paella, too.

Otherwise, I'd take a look at Deia and Cala Deia (where the Night Manager was filmed), definitely Port Soller (Randemar - https://www.randemar.com/en - is good for seafront food), and you can get a Sollemar (https://www.sollermar.com/en/) boat round to Sa Foradada (when open) or book a trip out to see the sunset, which is really worth it. Maybe the Jardines de Alfabia also: https://www.jardinesdealfabia.com/en/

It's been a looooong time since I went, but we used to love this restaurant in the mountains with a swimming pool cut out of the rock
esguix.com/en/

I live in Mallorca (Pollensa to be exact!) but I don't know what bougie means!

It's a lovely island, it gets very busy in summer to state the bleeding obvious, and parking is a nightmare, but do try not to stay in the all-inclusive hotels but get out and about and eat local as it helps support the economy. Try not to speed as well as you get a ticket for being one kilometre over the limit here if you're caught!

It's worth hiring a boat with a skipper for a half a day or full day as it's lovely seeing the island from the water—you can do that almost anywhere but I like it around Port d'Andratx.

There are great restaurants everywhere-I love Miceli in Selva though you have to book well in advance, but they cook seasonally depending on what's available in the market in Inca. If you like Mexican, Primo Taqueria in Palma is fab. Adrian Quetglas in Palma, which has a Michelin star and is surprisingly reasonably priced is also worth a visit (book in advance as well - it's a tasting menu but not over the top).

Beaches: Es Trenc is worth going to, and I love Alcudia beach as you can walk for a long way but it gets really busy in summer. Also Muro.

Sant Elm near Andratx is also lovely as well and has several great restaurants and a nice beach.

Seller is lovely, but very very busy.

I too was going to recommend the narrow gauge train from Palma to Soller or back. We got the train 1 way, and a local bus back. The bus was just quicker and suited the time we wanted to leave better than the train. Lovely Port Soller and wished we'd stayed there instead of Palma.
https://trendesoller.com/eng/routes/train

From where you are staying( know this area well)

Palma itself is lovely
Camp de mar-lovely secluded beach with some nice restaurants on beach- the orientalist one is lovely
Sant Elm- my favourite resort on the island- no packages-lovely setting, excellent restaurants
Valldemosa- very pretty town
Puerto portals- great for a bit of yacht and bling watching!!

Soller and Puerto soller- lovely either to drive or goon the vintage train from Palma through the mountains- busy and touristy but nice

Other places
Like the towns of lucmajor , Arta and Pollensa- Puerto pollensa is a nice resort in a great setting

Cala d'or- nice low rise purpose built resort with nice coves

Cala ferarra-great setting- almost like Norwegian fjord

Rent a bike and ride down to Sa Calobra. The ride back is a lot of fun too.

Another vote for the Caves of Drach.

Palma is stunning
The cathedral is beautiful
Loss of stunning squares and gated courtyards with restaurants inside in the old town
Marina has great restaurants too
Ses Illetes beach