One Week of Relaxation, Fun and Adventure in Mallorca

Article written in 2015

My partner and I recently went on holiday to Mallorca for a week. We decided to spend our first few days in Magaluf (famous for its partying scene) and then moved on to a resort north of the island, with beautiful scenery and a calming atmosphere.

On the coach from the airport to our first hotel my heart began to sink; I thought we’d made a huge mistake. Driving through the centre of Magaluf there were hundreds of drunk, loud British people wobbling along the road chanting at the top of their voices. There were women carrying huge inflatable willies and men dressed as women for their stag dos.

The coach eventually arrived at our hotel and I looked at my boyfriend nervously as we walked towards reception. The doors slid open and I could almost hear angels singing from the relief I felt. The hotel looked so glamorous and refreshing. We were greeted by welcoming staff dressed in white linen and handed a glass of champagne each.

We spent our first couple of days by the hotel pool, which felt very exclusive. Waiters brought us the tastiest mojitos as we watched gorgeous models cat-walking by the pool showing off the designer beachwear. I had my eye on one dress in particular and went to try it on but when I saw the price I decided it wouldn’t suit me after all.

In the evenings we tried out different restaurants along the beach. We found a sweet little cocktail place that was like a secret garden with colourful plants, twinkling lights and relaxing hammocks. We were so close to the bar/club strip yet it seemed worlds away. Not a Jager-bomb or blow up woman in sight.

Our hotel was directly next to the infamous Nikki Beach, where there is a daily pool party only accessible to the rich, and by the looks of it the young and beautiful too. Our sunbeds were just meters away from the party and we were able to enjoy the DJ sets that really got you in the mood for cocktails and dancing. At one point the music changed to a remixed version of the Pirates of the Caribbean theme tune whilst models were carried on in a make shift pirate boat. They were placed near a group of people dressed as pirates who all had champagne bottles in hand. The DJ paused the music then dropped it into ‘Champagne Showers’ whilst there was an actual champagne shower! Surreal but entertaining.

On our fourth day we packed up our stuff, checked out of our Magaluf hotel and travelled to the top of the island. It was great having two different resorts as it felt like we were starting our holiday all over again. Our new resort was situated in an incredibly quiet and tranquil area. From the front of the resort you could see the sparkling blue sea with mountains in the distance. There were no shops or restaurants within walking distance and there were certainly no drunk English men looking for a pint, a pie and a pull.

We decided to hire bikes and cycled along the coast into Alcudia Old Town, which had beautiful architecture and charming little shops selling handmade jewellery and summery clothes. In Magaluf it was difficult to find Spanish food, as the cliental were mostly British whose taste buds are not the most adventurous in the world; but in Alcudia we found a family run restaurant serving delicious traditional tapas. After eating and exploring the village my partner led us on a ride through the scenic countryside. We passed picturesque farmhouses with fantastic views of the Mallorcan cliffs. We saw goats with bells on that clinked as they chomped away on the hay. And we cycled past dozens of olive trees that looked as if we had stepped into a postcard.

After working up an appetite we scrubbed ourselves up and went down to the hotel buffet. I’m used to buffets consisting of potato salad and coleslaw but this one had a huge variety of quality yummy food from local fish to Chinese and Italian. There was so much tasty cheese I could have filled myself up on just that but I controlled myself enough to fit in my main course. My partner chose to have some food from the BBQ where all the men were queuing for their meat fix. For dessert I went straight to the chocolate fountain and made about three fruit kebabs before smothering them in the hot melted chocolate. Needless to say, I got chocolate everywhere.

On the penultimate day of our holiday we had booked paddle boarding but due to a mix up with the tour operator we weren’t able to do it. I was pretty devastated because I was really looking forward to it but they kindly booked us in the next day free of charge. We then had a whole day with nothing planned and money left to spend to treat ourselves to a new and different activity. We chose to hire a scooter and rode on a scenic route up the coves. Entering the coves was like walking into a mystical cave for enchanted creatures. Inside there was one part named ‘The Romantic Room’ because it had stalactites in the formation of a church organ and stalagmites that looked like candle holders. I imagine that is where the magical cove creatures tie the knot.

On our final day we were picked up in the morning by our friendly tour guide, Eugenio, and driven to the coast where we were equipped with wetsuits and aqua shoes. It was just me and my partner doing the activity so we didn’t feel too much like tourists. We began by jumping into the sea and coasteering along the rocks entering different sea caves as we went. We climbed through a small hole into a cave in pitch-darkness. Using a torch to find our way we swam along the cave’s tunnels into an underground natural swimming pool. There was just enough light coming in from under the cave for the water to be crystal blue; we were both awestruck by being in the presence of such a precious natural gem.

After coasteering into different caves the tour guide took us cliff jumping, which was so much fun! My partner managed to jump from 30ft but I chickened out at 20ft, didn’t think I could handle any more adrenaline. Eugenio decided it was time for a tamer activity and took us snorkelling. I felt like I was one of the colourful fish swimming between the rocks and seaweed.

The activity was meant to last three hours and as he wasn’t charging us for the tour I thought he might cut it short but after over two and a half hours of climbing, swimming, cliff jumping and snorkelling Eugenio drove us to a different part of the island where we went paddle boarding. My boyfriend was amazing at paddle boarding but I wasn’t as confident and kept falling to my knees. I was actually better at wind surfing, which we had tried out a couple of days before as lessons were complimentary for resort guests. Once I had got used to keeping me balance we paddled our way to a small island where we went swimming in the clear and cooling water and enjoyed the views knowing that we only had a few hours left in Mallorca.

It was a perfect way to end a perfect holiday. We had a great mix of relaxing and adventuring and I would definitely recommend a holiday to this beautiful island with so much to offer.