As winter sets in here in Alaska, memories of sandy beaches, warm weather, and tropical drinks start making their way into our thoughts as we begin to plan our 2016 travels. During our stay in Mallorca, Spain, we actually hit the tail-end of summer, and were a little bit disappointed about the weather being rainy a good 50% of the time. However, Mallorca is such a gorgeous island, we would absolutely love to go back in the spring (think of the flowers), just as summer is starting, or right smack dab in the middle of it to experience the full tropical, sun-soaked island. I’m also a bit intrigued about what winter is like on Mallorca? All that to say, I’d move to Mallorca (aka island paradise) in a second if I had the chance — come sunshine, clouds, or rain!
Mallorca is a popular Spanish island for Europeans to go on vacation to, and is definitely a location worth noting in your European travel plans. Airline tickets straight to Palma de Mallorca aren’t too expensive, and we thought food prices and gas were also relatively moderate in comparison to Germany (where we were staying three months prior).
Although weather can affect some sunbathing and pool-time plans as it did ours, there are still plenty of things to do on the island when the sun is not shining. Here were a few of our favorites:
1. Rent a Villa
I can’t recommend this enough. Mallorca is home to some of the most gorgeous luxury vacation villas in Europe, and any one of them can be yours during your stay on the island! You can feel right at home without being at home: cook, clean, sleep in, swim in your own private pool, not get disrupted by noisy hotel neighbors, not have to worry about yourself or your children being to loud, etc, etc. Holiday Villas are amazing. You’ve probably already read my recap of our stay with Travelopo, but they’re a great company to work with if you’re in the market for a holiday rental!
2. Visit Cap De Formentor
If you’re looking for breathtaking views, coffee inside a lighthouse, sheer cliffs, and the bluest ocean, Cap De Formentor is a definite visit! The road out to the edge of the island is a little windy (nothing near Road to Hana in Hawaii), and you’ll be battling bicyclists on your way, but trust me, it’s worth it.
Be sure to head out first thing in the morning or late afternoon, or you’ll be waiting in a line of cars a mile long just to get a spot to park! It’s nuts up there!
3. Have a sunrise breakfast at Port De Pollenca
In my ideal world, the sun would rise after 9:00am leaving plenty of time for me to stay up late at night, and sleep in a bit in the morning. That obviously doesn’t happen during the summer, and prying myself awake to stroll down sleepy Port De Pollenca and finding a small cafe to eat breakfast at while watching the sunrise over the bay, just may be the best thing on earth.
A lot of the cafes don’t open until late-morning, but if you hit up a hotel that has breakfast, they’re more than happy to accommodate [paying] customers outside their own guests. Just be patient with the service as the hotel guests are the waitstaff’s first priority.
4. Go for a scenic drive
It was hard prying ourselves from our beautiful villa, but we also knew we couldn’t spend a week in Mallorca without actually exploring Mallorca! For two of the seven days, we took road trips around the island. We found all sorts of amazing beaches, food, and beautiful landscapes. We didn’t have a specific itinerary in mind, and it was fun to be flexible enough to go where the road took us.
5. Get underground
Rainy days are no fun, especially when you visit an island in hopes of basking in the sun all day. One thing to understand though, for islands, weather can come and go at the drop of a hat. Be prepared for rainy days. What will you do?
One of our days was extremely rainy, and didn’t look like it was going to let up anytime soon. We decided to head over to the gorgeous Caves of Drach (Cuevas del Drach) for a bit of underground fun, and weren’t disappointed! It is 14.50 euro per adult, but you’ll see why it’s worth it once you get to the heart of the cave and a mini-orchestra starts playing in the darkness — the acoustics were phenomenal!
6. Hit the beach
After all that running around, you can’t forget to take a couple days of rest. The beaches of Mallorca remind me (strangely) of Floridian beaches: small waves, white sand, blue water. We had two little ones with us (2 and 15 months), so playing in the sand on the beach was perfect for them.
Lifeguards are on duty, and they are very serious about protecting beach goers if the tides are too rough.
Overall, Mallorca is a beautiful place to visit. There is plenty to do if you have enough time for it! Relax, explore, talk with the locals, and eat some delicious food. The biggest piece of advice I can give you for planning a trip to Mallorca is to do a bit of research before you go to see what’s around that interests you!
Have you been? What was your favorite thing to do while you were there? Write it in the comments!