Mallorca

We decided on a short break to Mallorca during September for 5 days and decided to base ourselves near the pretty harbour town of Porto Cristo. We had an apartment that had a roof terrace so were able to avoid any need for trips to the beach or poolside sunbeds!

We were also conscious of trying to avoid the all inclusive and party animal areas of the Island and managed to find numerous lovely low key areas to enjoy the warm autumn weather and fantastic views and fabulous yachts!

Porto Cristo itself has a lovely harbour surrounded by low cliffs and a sandy beach with a large swimming area. To us it had a local feel and we found that most of the bars were occupied by young locals. There are also many restaurants to choose from but we found one with great sea views half way up the main road out of town which did great sardines.

Another lovely harbour is right up in the North at Puerto Pollenca. This also has the benefit of having a nice inland neighbour as well in the town of Pollenca itself. Both were hugely photogenic, the port with its lovely promenade and some stunning villas and the town with its historic centre. If you're feeling energetic take a climb to the top of the steps for a great view of the town and surrounding countryside.

If you go past Puerto Pollenca and take the Formentor road you will be treated to some fabulous views and dramatic cliff top photo opportunities. This was actually one of our highlights of the whole trip!!

We then went to the capitol Palma for a day. We arrived early to make sure we got the full benefit of the shopping areas before the afternoon siesta! There are some great areas for shopping around and behind the cathedral which are worth a look at and numerous tapas bars in the old town. We also went to the Placa Major which had a craft market selling fantastic jewellery pieces. Our final call was to the magnificent Cathedral for some respite to the mid afternoon heat.

We then decided to go down to Port d'Andratx. As soon as you arrive here you can feel that it is an affluent resort and is definitely for the well heeled. Dining prices could be expensive right on the sea front but prices did moderate as you moved further back from the sea. That said the atmosphere was lovely here and we happily spent a couple of hours watching the flash boats (and flashier cars) cruising up and down.

Probably the one message we got from our trip is that Mallorca is a lot more than the all inclusive party Island. Whilst it does have that side in certain areas and can be a bit like Blackpool in others, there are classy little areas that can be found quite easily. Just make sure that your travel agent knows the difference!!!