Who needs holidays when you live in Mallorca paradise?

Work all morning, beach all afternoon is the mantra of my friends and I, interspersed with dog walks in the surrounding valley and up the mountainside. Friends have been known to say, to my chagrin, that my life is one long holiday…….ugh!

So where do we go when we go on holiday? Let me share my tips with you because as a holidaymaker in Mallorca you can have the same advantages as me – if you know what to look out for. Firstly on a holiday isle there are many hotels and at certain times of the year they offer great bargains and special offers. Recently we took our grandchildren and niece to the Ses Pins Hotel in the Port of Pollensa. This hotel changed hands this year and started their season late. That meant they had rooms available at really low rates to fill their rooms. They combined the room rate with a set price for dinner for a full choice from the a la carte menu. This was an offer not to be missed with its superb location on the beach in the Pine Walk of Pollensa. Our evenings were spent dining on their terrace next to the sea being entertained by one of the best on the Island – the lovely Izzy. The key to this offer was an advert in the Mallorca Daily Bulletin and immediate response. It is always worth buying the Bulletin , the only English newspaper printed in Mallorca. It gives a fascinating insight into life here and details of the all the special offers.

Another holiday this year was a trip to Minorca by boat from Alcudia. The fare was a special offer advertised, you’ve guessed it, in the Bulletin. Three hours on the boat and then the arrival in Cuitadella in time for the main fiesta of the year with all its superb horsemanship. Cala Sandrina was our location and a hotel with reduced rates to fill spaces which we were happy to accept. Minorca is a gentle green island that has cows on it! This English pastoral scene is very different from Mallorca where we see many sheep but rarely a cow. It is a little known fact that most of the fresh milk on the Balearics come from Minorca.

Then my latest bargain was the ‘piece de resistance’ – a cruise on the Thomson Destiny for under 400€. Palma plays host to many cruise ships each year and has a thriving cruise trade. For some ships their itinerary starts in Palma and these are the boats we watch out for. If you keep your nerve and don’t finalise your booking until a day or so before the sailing date tremendous offers are available. The key here is looking out for the advertisements in the Bulletin or keeping in contact with Ticket Travel Agency in Portals Nous. This agency work with Thomson and get the offers as they are released. Our cruise took us to Monte Carlo, Pisa, Rome, Corsica and the Costa Brava. Full board and fun entertainment all for a fantastic price.

These are the trips we have enjoyed this year and now we are home back to our own slice of paradise. It is good to get off our Island for awhile and then appreciate the hidden valley when we return.