Cala D’or, Playa de las Americas or Alcudia?

[Daisychain1013]

We’re going away in August with ds (10).

We love Majorca and have been to Puerto Pollensa and Playa de Muro several times.

Thinking of going to Cala D’or this time round but we have seen a hotel in Playa de las Americas that looks great for the money. But is the area as bad as people say?

Another option is Alcudia which of course is on the same stretch as we’ve been before, might it be a bit samey though?

If anyone has been to these resorts and can tell me the good the bad and the ugly?

Tia

Alcudia itself is lovely - best visited from Puerto pollensa ‘in my opinion’

Having worked in all of those areas in my younger days PP was soooo much nicer than either Alcudia or PDLas A. Unless some massive changes have happened since then, I wouldn’t touch either with a barge pole. Cala d’Or was definitely nicer back then but of all of those I’d choose PPollensa in a heartbeat.

True C’an Picafort is nice. It’s the main bit of Alcudia that we used to call Blackpool, not the old town.

DD went to Cala D'Or last year and loved it.

I hated the Alcudia beach area apart from the old town which was lovely, it's everything wrong with brits abroad and AI holidays.

Playa de las Americas has gone downhill a bit. The area around Veronica’s is a definite no go in the evenings and it’s become very popular with youngsters the past few years. Costa Adeje is better but that’s not as nice as it was a few years back either.

Camp De Mar is lovely. I went last year with adult DD for a few days and we're going back this year. It is very small though so probably not enough to do for you

Cala Dor is great with plenty to do. Puerto Mogan in Gran Canaria is also lovely. I wasn't keen on Alcudia and like a pp said I ended up covered in mosquito bites

It looks like I’m in the minority but I love all 3 of these places. We’ve had many family holidays in both Alcudia & PDLA when the children were ages 4-12 and both resorts were ideal. We’ve stayed at Bitacora a few times before it had a revamp and it was great for this age range. It’s a short walk to the beach and there’s a minigolf nearby which looks lovely when it’s all lit up at dusk. Siam Park is a great water park and Loro Parque is also worth a visit. Stay away from the Veronicas area of PDLA and you’ll be fine.

I like to think I’m not too much of a brits abroad sort of holiday maker but I do love the occasional full English breakfast and a couple of cocktails at happy hour. If you want a more upmarket resort then have a rethink but if you want casual and child friendly then any of these resorts tick the box for me. Cala d’or would be my least suitable purely because the beaches are all small coves which get very busy. I prefer a long walk along the shoreline.

Out of all of those we love Cala d'or, a lot quieter, and with some really stunning scenery.

i best never go to the other two resorts because we went to cal d’or last year after a 10 year hiatus and the difference was quite surprising. It had gone downhill massively in my opinion.

the main shops and restaurants were just a never ending succession of tat, neon lights and noise. I didn’t think it was particularly clean either.

the coves are indeed beautiful, but they are a) very sheltered and therefore BOILING hot in August, and b) rammed. And I mean rammed. You are shoulder to shoulder. And c) sunbeds were extortionate - and they all had safes screwed to the poles. We asked why and were told because it’s so busy, the level of petty theft has increased.

other parts of Majorca are far nicer these days!

I have no desire to go to the canaries. I’ve been to Cala D’Or a few times and would v happily go back.

PDLA has some seedy parts but easily avoided. It's definitely Brits abroad but then so is virtually every place mentioned on here to some extent. We once did a cheap and cheerful AI in PDLA when my DC were about 8+10 and it was fine. The best thing is Siam Parc which is a really spectacular water park and is on the outskirts of PDLA and Costa Adeje. Much loved by my DSs. We've also stayed in Costa Adeje which joins on to PDLA and isa bit more upmarket.

CalaD'Or is pretty along the coast if you have a seafront hotel but the beaches while beautiful are tiny. The main part of town is off the sea front. It's also a fair way from the airport. We stayed at the hotel next to the Cala Azul.

Have you considered Calla Millor in Mallorca? Miles of promenade and some good hotels.

We went to Cala d'Or some years ago and it was lovely. Very cosmopolitan, mainly because of the marina, I think. Yachts come in from all over, including some really rather famous people (genuine A-listers, film stars etc). A woman serving in a bar said to us "You should have been here last week!" and then did some name-dropping.😂

I've just googled a map, and it looks like it has expanded since we were there, but I expect it is still really nice.

Tenerife is only good if you want to go away at Easter or autumn half term as the weather is always good. It fine but not great. Very Brits abroad but also lots of pick pockets and muggings. Siam park is always a winner with kids. We've been a few times due to good timed flights and travelling at Easter.
For Majorca have you tried Cala Millor? The beach is gorgeous and it has a very chilled vibe. Attracts a mixed crowd not just Brits.

None of those places are very "authentic". Alcudia and Cala d'Or are one and two steps up from PdlA/Magaluf, respectively, on the "football shirts and full English" index. We had a couple of nights in Cala d'Or a quite a naice hotel but couldn't get to sleep before midnight because of the karaoke from next door.

Puerto Soller is nice, but it's not all that easy to get out of the valley without a car. If you want all-inclusive you won't find it. OK for 5-6 days maybe.

Even nicer (quieter, unspoiled, pretty) is Portocolom. Nothing much going on after 10pm, which might or might not be what you want. Also look at Colonia Sant Jordi which traditionally gets very few Brits, but I think the Universal hotel has made it into a couple of UK operators' brochures this year. (Are brochures still a thing?). Both of those towns actually have real Majorcan people living in them year-round, way more than Alcudia and Cala d'Or.

i love camp de mar but not a lot to do, it’s more a chill round pool , nice beach, go to that lovely oriental on the beach kind of place- if I can also mention Paguera and Santa ponsa - kind of a decent half way house- very lovely beaches, a bit package holiday yes but you can get high end and low end and middling eats and accommodation and very handy for nipping into palma on the very regular bus. Paguera in particular much loved by the Germans!! Camp de Mar then only 2 miles away on bus for a quieter more upmarket beach setting and has a few lovely restaurants too , close enough to go with a cab even at night.

I like Porto Colom on the way I like Puerto Andraitx and sant Elm over the other side- very nice for leisurely couple or older children dinners, a couple of drinks and then bed - very nice if you stay somewhere lovely and just like sitting or lying around in the days and ideally have a car

You can also walk through a pine forest to Camp de Mar and another little cove beach (Cala Fornells?) from behind the Lidl in Paguera in about 30-40 mins.

We're happy to swim/snorkel, spend time reading on the beach, eat/drink and then take a few trips out, eg to Palma and Soller on different days, so plenty to do during a relaxing week.

We loved Cala d’or when DC were around 4-5.

I went to P de las Americas on a post A levels trip so that should tell you quite a bit!

Thank you for all of the replies ❤️

PDLA is sounding like I thought which puts me off.

I’m not saying it has to be anywhere very upmarket, sadly we don’t have the budget this year.

But I’m trying to balance going to a nice ish area with it being fun for ds.

Have had a look at Turkey and it seems extremely cheap, do you think people are wary and not booking there because of what’s going on with Iran?

Cala dor is beautiful with lots going on and a nice evening stroll towards the what we call proper Spanish areas.

Alcudia was a massive let down for us.
our family ranges from age 1 to 80 at the time and nobody would go back again.

shabby looking.

can picafort is lovely it’s the place before porta pollensa.

PDA is horrible, I’d avoid.

I’m not a fan of Tenerife at all but in the winter adeje is ok for a bit of winter sun (the top end) … in August there are far nicer places to go.

Cala Fornells is south-east of the Lidl. If you go due south (it helps to have an app with footpaths) you end up at Cala d'en Monjo, which is amazingly cute.

It’s our fallback holiday on quite a lot of years, we do 3 nights sant elm, 3 nights camp de mar or the mon port in Andraitx and 3 nights palma!!

Cala d’or isn’t what it was previously. The beaches are really busy (we went in May half term)

I have lovely memories of going there in the early 2000’s and I hardly recognised it when we went 2 years ago