Sea & Beach Reviews from Mallorca

It's late October, and still the sun shines in Mallorca. And not just that autumnal sun that provides such wonderful light, but proper hot sunshine. It was a blissful 27 degrees yesterday, and with Northern Europe under the influence of a cold northerly front, we thank our lucky stars that we are here, away from the grey and the damp.

The sound of clinking glasses, popping corks and champagne bubbles filled the air around the harbour in Palma this weekend as we celebrated the end of the 2010 Superyacht Cup. The Superyacht Cup, which has been running for 15 years, is a race like no other. Twenty privately owned sailing yachts, which are generally designed for cruising rather than racing, set off in a staggered start with the fastest at the back of the pack and the slowest at the front. Over the course, the boats behind catch the slower vessels out in front so that the finish is close one with all the boats meeting at the line. First one to cross is the winner.

During the summer months there are plenty of opportunities to take boat trips across the calm sea in the North of Mallorca. There is a regular boat service from the popular tourist town of Puerto Pollensa to the beach at Formentor, where the sea is clear blue and the sand is soft.

The Port of Soller is heating up (35 degrees today) and welcoming its visitors for the summer. The Repic beach is the main playground, and the choice of which part of the beach you sit on is a decision of the day. Some of the deckchair vendors are attached to local restaurants and the expectation is that if you sit on their deckchairs you will buy your snacks and lunch from them. 

During the peak season even the quietest beaches and most secret bays in Mallorca become busy. Finding a space on the beach in Palma or any of the popular beach resorts can become difficult and the water becomes cloudy as hundreds of people stir up the sand.

The Sol Wave House Hotel in the Majorca beach resort of Magaluf is part of an plan to bring a bit more class to the resort. The main attraction at the hotel are the two wave machines that make learning to surf and even ride barrels a reality in the flat calm of Mallorca's beaches.

Living near the sea in the Port of Soller, Majorca, has many advantages. Waking to the sight of the perfect horse shoe bay surrounded by mountains is still a thrill. The beach is coming to life with strategically placed tin bins which are used by the local bar owners to burn the bamboo.

The bay of Alcudia is well known for it's endless Playa de Muro beach. Not quite as well known is that the bay is excellent for wind and kite surfing. And just a a little bit further down the coast from Playa de Muro, the wind surfers and kite surfers have laid claim to one of the best places on the island to ride the waves.

We arrived 15 minutes late. It would have been considered early if we were meeting Spaniards, however Mark and Chris are proud Yorkshire men. They are also the father and son team who run the yacht charter company in Puerto Soller, on the western coast of Mallorca.

The always cool, always sexy Nikki Beach opened up in Mallorca this summer bringing the world famous Nikki Beach cocktail of cool, sexy glamour to the south west coast of the island. We went down last weekend to see their "Amazing Sundays" party.

Last Saturday I decided that it was time for a change and I should visit one of the other beaches in Mallorca rather than my beloved Cala Llamp. There are so many beaches in Mallorca to choose from but I had set my expectations of what a beach should offer pretty high with Cala Llamp.

I drove down to see what Cala Ratjada was like as a friend had suggested I take a look. It is clear when you arrive that the town is another German stronghold on the island, with specials boards outside restaurants written almost exclusively in German, with the odd bit of Spanish and English.

It was a hot, sunny day and after we’d finished our desk based work we decided to go to the beach for some R & R, but we were keen to try somewhere new. After a brief glance at our island map we decided C’an Picafort was to be the destination for the afternoon.

Son Serra de Marina is a quite little coastal town in North Mallorca. Laid back and sprawling it covers a 5km stretch of coast and is made up of houses initially built as weekend getaways for city dwelling Mallorcans. 

Playa de Muro is worth a visit, whether as a day out or as a base for your holiday. There’s a very busy main road stretching the length of the town stocked with every commercial amenity you might need, there are supermarkets and pharmacies, clothing and souvenir shops, bars restaurants and fast food outlets and for nightlife you’re in walking distance to Playa D’Alcudia’s main hot spot the Banana Club.

Cala Mesquida cove lies at the Northerly tip of the Eastern coast of the island in the Capdepera district and it is well worth the drive to get to it, though you can take the bus from nearby Cala Ratjada if you prefer.