Majorca offers a choice of beautiful places to stay, from picture perfect beach resorts and party towns to lush traditional hillside villages and the historic city of Palma.
Northern Majorca
The north of the island is known for its mountains, idyllic beaches and hidden coves. Hilltop villages Arta and Capdepera and the traditional Spanish resorts of Colonia de Sant Pere, Cala Rajada and Canyamel are peaceful with wide sandy beaches, pine forests, olive groves and the odd golf course making them ideal for a relaxing retreat for couples or families.
C'an Picafort, Alcudia, Puerto de Pollensa and Formentor are well established family resorts with plenty of attractions and water sports. Playa de Muro is a newer, more upmarket beach resort on the coast.
East coast of Majorca
Image by Chris Parker under Creative Commons license. For popular purpose-built beach resorts, head to the east coast of the island - families and couples looking to stay in a lively resort with plenty of attractions will be well catered for. The following resorts vary in degrees of commercialisation, bingo and full English breakfasts, but they are all established package holiday destinations largely built around harbours or marinas : Cala d'Or, Cala Millor, Cala Bona, Calas de Majorca, S'Illot and Sa Coma.
A quieter resort popular with older couples is Porto Cristo, built around an old fishing village and famous for the Caves of Drac and Caves of Hams.
Cala Ratjada is a relatively new resort gaining a reputation as the 'Magaluf for German tourists' during peak season, which may or may not appeal to you! Between October and April it is popular with older travellers seeking out winter sun.
Southern Majorca
Southern Majorca is host to salt flats, remote beaches, pine forests and rocky coves.
Colonia St Jordi on the southern tip of the island is a marina and fishing port that mainly attracts independent travellers since it is very undeveloped. It's also well-placed for some of the most crystal clear waters and stunning beaches on Majorca including its most popular nudist beach, Es Trenc.
West/South West coast
Image by Chris under Creative Commons license. The west and south west coast of Majorca is known for its large party and package resorts, upmarket harbour towns and mountain villages within easy reach of Palma.
Most of us know that if we're looking for authentic Majorca, laid back days on the beach and quiet evenings we will not be booking somewhere to stay in Magaluf or its neighbour Palma Nova. The bars, clubs, foam parties, boat parties, water parks, and hordes of young, raucous revellers are not for the faint-hearted, but if it's your scene then you'll love staying here. Palma Nova is slightly quieter and attracts older holidaymakers during the off-season.
Nearby Santa Ponsa is lively and most definitely Irish, Scottish and English-themed but more suitable for families on package holidays.
Paguera is another boisterous resort, popular with German tourists and fun-loving families. Holidaymakers with young children in prams or pushchairs and those with mobility problems may want to avoid Paguera as much of the accommodation is in the hills.
For more upmarket places to stay, Camp de Mar, Illetas, Puerto de Andratx offer exclusive hotels, golf courses and A-list celebs.
Puerto de Soller has a gorgeous horseshoe harbour, plus views of the Tramuntana mountains and the azure sea. It's a relaxed, pretty port suited to families and couples, as are the hillside villages of s'Arraco, Galilea and Puigpunyent which will give you a real flavour of rural Majorcan village life, plus beautiful lush valleys, orange groves and stunning coastal landscapes to explore.
Bay of Palma (south west side of island)
Image by Sri_the_quack under Creative Commons license. The bay is full of popular older purpose-built resorts. C'an Pastilla, the closest resort to the airport, was one of the first Majorcan resorts to become popular with British tourists in the 1960s. It's a traditional cheap-and-cheerful Spanish package destination, with much of the accommodation showing its age - although the area is getting a bit of a refresh. Just down the coast are S'Arenal and Playa de Palma - old package resorts again, but attracting bucket loads of young Germans on the hunt for nighttime fun. Families and those fond of their sleep won't want to stay here!
The capital of Spain's Balearic Islands, Palma de Majorca provides an alternative to the typical Majorcan places to stay. You may almost be within earshot of package holiday heaven, but here you'll find a wide choice of good quality hotels from which to enjoy the restaurants, bars, clubs, concerts, exhibitions, festivals, ballet and theatre in this charming historic city.
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