Quick Tips:

Best Way To Get Around:

Bus #17 links the airport with central Palma (15 minutes, every 20 minutes 6am–12am, 2€) from the main entrance to bus station on Plaça Espanya. From the bus station buses run to many destinations including Port Alcúdia (Mon–Sat 17 buses per day, hourly, last bus at 9pm, 5 on Sun, travel time 1:10, 7 €).

Ferry: Terminal 4km west of the city center; you can reach it taking bus #1, 1€ runs every hour 8–21 or taxi 5 €. Ferry to Ibiza on Saturday departures from Palma 9:30, arrives at 14:30, 45 €.

Train: Ferrocarril de Soller 5 per day 2. 5€.

The only problem you may encounter here are mosquitoes – they are plentiful due to proximity of the Lake Menor – don’t forget your repellent.

Excellent Caprabo supermarket (next to the resort) has fantastic selection of seafood, meats, ice cream and wine; fruits and vegetable selection could be better.

Best Things About the Resort:
We had a big apartment with two bedrooms, spacious terrace, one bath, all kitchen needs. This resort is family friendly. After midnight no loud noise is allowed (but sometimes you can hear it from the neighbor resorts). Facilities: Restaurant, bar, tennis field, swimming pool.

Resort Experience:
Here is a typical holiday week:

Sunday 10:30 - Welcome party; 12:00 - Walking tour to the Hidden Church in the cave of St. Martin; 14:30 Monster Club for kids; 15:00 - Archery lessons; 16:00 – Ping – pong; 20:00 – Professional show.

Monday: 9:30 Excursion to Alcudia, Pt. Pollenca and Cala San Vicente; 11:00 Monster Club for kids; 15:00 - Archery; 21:00 Turbo course Spanish

Tuesday: 8:45 Island Tour (Coach to Palma, nostalgic train to Soiler, boat to Sa Calobra); 10:30 Walking tour to the market in Alcudia town; 11:00 Monster Club for kids; 15:00 - Archery; 20:30 Mini-disco; 21:00 Turbo course Spanish.

Wednesday: 8:45 Island Tour (The famous Dragon Caves and Manacor Pearl Factory); 11:00 Monster Club for kids; 15:00 - Archery; 16:00 – Horse riding; 19:00 BBQ party; 21:30 Men VS Women

Thursday: Inca Market Tour or Palma and Marineland Tour; 11:00 Monster Club for kids; 15:00 - Archery; 20:30 Mini-disco; 21:00 Turbo course Spanish.

Friday: 8:45 Island Tour or Aquacity (waterpark); 11:00 – Horse riding; 20:30 Mini-disco.

• Unit Type: 2 Bedroom
• Activities: Excellent
• Amenities: Very Good
• Unit Satisfaction: Very Good
• Family Friendliness: Very Good
• Service: Very Good

In order to visit the cathedral, you enter through a side door, and come into the former Treasury, today a two-room church museum with wonderful silverworks. Large baroque candelabras made of silver and weighing 250 kilo each are really impressive. From here visitors head for the west portal and gaze down the long nave.

Light pours in through the huge rose window,12m across and studded with 1,236 pieces of stained glass. The vast interior is striking for its harmonious proportions. The columns are ringed with wrought-iron candelabra by Gaudi; his most controversial addition is the unfinished Crown of Thorns, fashioned from cardboard and cork and suspended above the altar. Behind it, you will see 110 walnut choir-stalls sculpted in flaming Gothic style.

Now turn right at Santa Eulàlia, walking down the narrow, unpaved street against the flow of traffic, and you will very soon (as long as you don't get run over) come across another even more commanding building, the Church of San Francisco or Basílica de Sant Francesc (1281), (Mon–Sat 9.30am–12.30pm and 3.30–6pm, Sun 9.30am–12.30pm; €0.60). Le Seu definitely is more famous but the church is the finest among a host of worthy medieval churches. It is the most important church in Palma, and is, along with Santa Eulàlia, the one with largest dimensions.

If our by now awe-struck traveler staggers on, he (or she) can find -- all within a radius of 2 or 3 hundred yards -- the churches of Montesion, Santa Fe, Santa Clara, El Temple. A few of these old churches were originally Jewish temples. It's interesting to note that the local Jews had, in fact, got on far better with the Islamic Arabs than they subsequently did with the invading Christians. After years of uneasy coexistence with the Christians almost all Palma's Jews eventually either left the island or converted to Christianity. Their synagogues were knocked down or turned into Christian churches. Several other churches were originally Islamic holy-places, for instance the church of San Miguel. And after the Christian reconquest the Cathedral itself -- pride of Majorca -- was actually built around a mosque called the Aljama.

Palau de l'Almudaina (April–Sept Mon–Fri 10am–6.30pm, Sat 10am–2pm; Oct–March Mon–Fri 10am–2pm & 4–6pm; €2.70, but free on Wed but only to to the EU citizens).

The castle’s construction started in 1300 by the orders of James II, King of Mallorca. It took nine years to build the royal residence. It is unique among Spanish castles in being entirely round. Three large towers surround a central courtyard, connected by an arch to a free standing keep. The courtyard itself is on two levels, the ground floor with semicircular arches and a flat roof, the upper level with Gothic arches and rib-vaulting. For the full effect, walk around the moat then climb onto the roof and look down into the courtyard to compare the contrasting styles. While you are there, look out over the city and the bay for one of the best views in Palma.

In the late 14th century, John I and Violet of Aragon stayed there with their court for three months. The castle has also entertained other European royalty, such as Charles I of England, the Prince of Savoy, John of Austria, the Duke of Monpensier and the present British Monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, as well as members of the Spanish Royal family including the present monarchs King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia. These days it contains Palma's museum of municipal history which traces the development of the city through its artifacts, with pottery from Talaiotic, Roman, Arab and Spanish periods. You can get there by car or taxi, or take a bus to Placa Gomila and climb up through the pine woods above Carrer de Bellver, passing a chapel on the way.

Admission to Castell de Bellver (April–Sept Mon–Sat 8am–8pm, Sun 10am–7pm; Oct–March Mon–Sat 8am–7pm, Sun 10am–5pm; €1.65, free Sun).

A castle has stood on this site since Moorish times; it was so impregnable
that the Arab commander was able to hold out for two years after the Christian conquest. Later, in 1285, two heroes of Mallorcan independence, Cabrit and Brassa, defended the castle against Alfonso III of Aragon and were burned alive on a spit when he finally took it by storm. Their punishment was a consequence of their impudent defiance of the king. They pretended to confuse Alfonso's name with that of a local fish -- anfos, shouting: 'We like our anfos grilled'. The present ruins date from the 15th C and seem almost to grow out of the rock, dominating the landscape for miles around.

The climb up here is one of Mallorca's most popular walks; do not go on a Sunday if you want to be alone. From the town of Alaro it takes about two hours, following the signs from the PM210 to Orient; you can also leave from Orient, following a small path opposite L'Hermitage hotel, again taking around two hours in total. The paths converge at Es Verger restaurant (you can even bring a car this far if you don't mind the potholes and the hairpin bends), where you can fill up with roast lamb to fortify you for the final steep climb. At last you reach the castle, 800m above sea level; look back at the view, stretching across the entire plain to Palma and out to sea. A few minutes further bring you to the summit, with a small chapel and sanctuary, restaurant and bar. If you are inspired by the views, you can stay the night here in one of the simple rooms.

Graves was hardly the first to discover Deia. An 1878 guidebook noted its 'collection of strange and eccentric foreigners' and it has stayed that way ever since.

Climb the Carrer es Puig, Deia's only real street, passing ceramic Stations of the Cross, to reach the parish church and the small cemetery where Graves is buried. His tombstone, like many others, is inscribed in simple handwriting set into the drying concrete -- Robert Graves, Poeta, 1895-1985. If you want to know more, read "Wild Olives - Life In Majorca with Robert Graves" by his son William Graves.

If you have a time, from Deia you can scramble down to Cala de Deia, a small shingle beach set in an attractive cove, where local artists still continue the Graves tradition of naked swimming and long parties at weekends.

Bus to Palma (5 daily, 45 min); Port de Soller (5 daily, 24 min); Soller (5 daily, 20 min), Valdemossa (5 daily, 15 min).

The Reial Cartoixa (Roya Carthusian Monastery) is the focus of any visit -- white-arched corridors lead to 'cells' containing museums on various themes. Visit the old pharmacy -- you can almost smell the herbs -- then look into the library, where the monks would meet for half an hour a week, their only human contact. There is a fine modern art museum, with works by Picasso, Miro and Juli Ramis, and of course there is Chopin's cell.

Most people come for the Chopin experience, but there is more to Validemossa than that it is also the birthplace of Catalina Thomas, Mallorca's patron saint. A peasant girl born in 1531, she became a nun in Palma and was renowned for her humility. She died in 1574, was beatified in 1792 and achieved sainthood in 1935. Almost every home in Valldemossa has a plaque imploring her prayers, and her birthplace at Carrer Rectoria 5 has been turned into a shrine. She would probably be appalled.

Buses to Palma (5 daily, 30min); Soller (5 daily, 30 min), Deia (5 daily, 15 min).

Every day , during the 11 AM mass, the Escolania de Lluc, a boys’ choir founded in the 16th century, performs in the basilica. Pilgrims and tourists queue to pay homage, especially on Sundays and at 11AM before the daily concerts by Es Blauets choir. The choir, named after their blue cassocks, was established in 1531 comprising 40 boys, "natives of Mallorca, of pure blood sound in grammar and song". The service service may be marred by the flashing of cameras, and if it's meditation you seek, come back instead for the evening Mass.

The monastery complex includes Els Porxerets, the former pilgrims' quarters with stabling beneath the rooms, and the Way of the Rosary, with touches by the famous Antoni Gaudi. You can stay at Lluc, but it is more like a hotel than a hermitage the 100 'cells' have en-suite bathrooms and there are several restaurants and bars. There is also a museum -- among the displays of ceramics, chalices and coins is a collection of paintings by the 20th Century Mallorcan artist Josep Coll Bardolet, with scenes from Deia, Valldemossa and Fornalutx. Museum has extensive collection of majolica.

From courtyard walk through the arch to rough-hewn column at the start of the Camni dels Misteris del Rosari (Ways of Mysteries of the Rosary), a pilgrimage path to the rocky hillside (10 min.) to the crucifix. From the hilltop cross you look down over an unexpected farm and valley and up into the pine-covered mountains.

Monastery open 10–18:30, free, museum 10–13:30, 14:30-17:30 2 €.
Buses from Port Alcudia run once a day at 9 AM returning at 17; Alcudida (Mon – Sat 2 daily, 1:10); Palma (1-2 daily, 1:00).

The 20-km drive from Port de Pollenca to Mallorca's most northerly point has scenery as dramatic as anyone could wish for. Cliffs 400m tall jut into the sea, their weird rock formations attracting nesting seabirds, while pine trees seem to grow out of the rocks. The drive is also famously scary -- a local legend has it that the parish priest and the local bus driver arrived at the Pearly Gates, and only the driver was admitted to heaven. The reason? He had led far more people to pray.

Six kilometers from Port de Pollenca you reach the Mirador des Colomer - walk up the steps for views over a rocky islet. A path opposite the steps leads to an old watchtower from which you can see the whole of the peninsula as well as the bays of Pollenca and Alcudia. The road continues through pine woods before tunneling through En Fumat mountain, where you look down over Mallorca's most inaccessible beach. Eventually you reach a lighthouse with the bar and shop and more stunning views, all the way to Menorca on a good day.

On the way back, stop at Formentor beach and the Hotel Formentor, which opened in 1929 and has been pampering the rich and famous ever since (Charlie Chaplin, Scott Fitzgerald stayed here) . . . The fine sandy beach used to be reserved for the hotel's guests, but democracy has opened it to the masses.

If you don't rent a car then buses to Platja de Formentor run from Port Alcudia (Mon–Sat, 2 daily, 25 min); and Alcudia (2 daily, 30min).