A family holiday in Mallorca
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Mallorca has been a favourite holiday destination of many Brits for years. Whether it’s the party crowd heading to Magaluf or families heading to numerous family friendly beaches and resorts around the island.
Never ones to follow the mainstream holiday crowd we had never been on a family holiday in Mallorca until this year. Now we know why it is so popular and what we have been missing – a stunningly beautiful island!
It’s one of the Spanish Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean Sea. Whilst most visitors fly in, if you’re already on mainland Spain, you can also arrive by ferry from Barcelona.
We flew in and spent a week staying in a lovely villa in the north of the island. If you’re planning a family holiday in Mallorca, you can expect beautiful beaches, stunning mountain scenery and pretty towns.
When to visit Mallorca
Mallorca is best visited in the spring and summer for warm temperatures and to make the most of the numerous outdoor activites.
We visited in late May and had mostly perfect temperatures. The unheated pool in our villa was very cold, so if you are visiting at this time I would suggest finding accommodation with a heated pool.
The temperatures are likely to be very hot in July and August and you can expect more crowds at this time of year.
I would say June and September would be the perfect months for a visit to Mallorca.
Where to stay in Mallorca
There are plenty of options for places to stay in Mallorca, depending on what the priorities are for your trip. We’ve listed some of our favourite towns in the North of the island.
Pollença- best for villas near a pretty town
We stayed in a villa just outside the old town of Pollença, in the North of the island. We loved this area.
Pollença is full of villas of all sizes if you want plenty of space to relax as a family. We stayed at Villa Ull de la Font, which we thought was lovely. It was walkable into the centre of Pollença and yet was so calm and peaceful by the pool. We would highly recommend.
Port de Pollença – best for safe beaches and hotels
If you would rather be by the beach, Port de Pollença, is just a few miles away and has a lovely sandy beach backed by a promenade full of restaurants.
This resort has lots more hotel-style accomodation than the inland old town of Pollença, so would be better if you are wanting a resort.
Alcudia – best for beach resorts
Alcudia is a popular family holiday destination in Mallorca. There are two main parts, the port / beach area and the old town which is slightly inland. Most of the hotel accommodation is close to the beach.
You’ll find a large array of all-inclusive hotels and accomodation of all types here.
Our Top Accommodation picks in Northern Mallorca:
Villa Ull de la Font on the edge of Pollensa old town is just gorgeous and peaceful. It’s also walkable into the town for meals and exploring.
Aparthotel Flora is a good budget option in Port de Pollensa and is just a short walk from the beach.
Mar Hotels Playa Mar & Spa, also in Port de Pollensa is a good choice if you are wanting more hotel facilities and even an all inclusive option.
Getting around Mallorca with your family
We hired a car on arrival at the airport and used that throughout our family holiday in Mallorca. Rentalcars.com is a great website for organising your car hire.
If you’d rather not drive there are buses around the island which you could combine with doing tours to see any harder to reach places.
Things to do in Mallorca
1. Visit the pretty town of Pollença
This is a beautiful old town just a few miles inland from the coastal Port de Pollença. The town is full of lovely winding streets and small squares/ Plaças with nice restaurants to enjoy.
Just don’t drive into the centre of the old town like we accidentally did one day!
That trip ended in a local calling the police to come and remove a car. It was parked where it shouldn’t have been in a narrow street meaning we couldn’t get through the gap!
Luckily (for him really!) the car owner arrived before the police did and unapologetically moved his car so we could get through. Nobody batted an eyelid so it seems that it is probably quite a common occurrence.
We loved wandering around the twisting roads (on foot not by car) and browsing the numerous shops.
2. Have a meal in the main square or Pollença (Plaça Major).
One of the best places to eat in Pollenca in my opinion is the beautiful main square. There are some lovely restaurants and it is so atmospheric. The lovely thing is that the children can play while you eat/drink, making it a much more relaxed experience.
3. Climb the Calvari steps.
Also in Pollensa you will find the Calvari steps. There are 365 steps, one for each day of the year, leaving from Plaça Seglars to el Calvari chapel. Although it is a lot of steps, they are not steep and so even Benjamin’s little legs (aged 2 at the time) managed them.
At the top you can have a look in the lovely chapel. Our girls loved this, although not sure if that was mostly because it was nice and cool after the hot climb up the steps.
If you go towards your right when you get to the top of the steps there is also a lookout over the valley. It is a spectacular view.
You will also find a small cafe next door to the chapel. We managed to get one of the few outdoor tables where the kids enjoyed an ice lolly and us adults had freshly-squeezed orange juice.
4. Explore the stunning beaches
Mallorca is blessed with an abundance of beaches perfect for children. The closest ones to Pollença are Cala Sant Vincenç and Port de Pollença.
You wouldn’t have to go much further to discover many more.
Cala Sant Vicenç is a couple of small coves with beautiful sand and some small beach bars/ cafes near by.
There were quite big waves when we were there so it wasn’t ideal swimming for little ones.
They did enjoy playing in the waves though and the sand is perfect for sand castles.
Port de Pollença beach is a narrow bay and is much more sheltered so calmer water for little ones to play in. There are plenty of shops and restaurants here and a couple of small play areas dotted along the beach too.
5. Wander around the lovely old town of Alcudia
Around 12km south east of Pollença is the prime holiday spot of Alcudia.
This is made up of the port and beach area (which is where most of the hotels are) and the old town which is slightly inland.
We didn’t visit the port area (although I have heard great things about some of the beaches here) but went into the old town of Alcudia early one evening for a stroll and dinner.
If you are driving like we were, there is a large free car park just south of the old town.
What to do in Alcudia?
Like Pollença it is a beautiful old town, also brimming with winding streets which transport you to atmospheric Plaças.
Enjoy Paella or seafood in a pavement restaurant
Pavement cafes and restaurants are plentiful and we enjoyed super tasty paella while the girls got their fill of mussels (their favourite holiday food).
Take a quick peak in the Church of Sant Jaume d’Alcudia
Before dinner we had a quick look in the beautiful Church of Sant Jaume d’Alcudia.
This gothic church in the heart of the old town is definitely worth having a quick look in. We popped in (free of charge) on our way past.
6. Climb the medieval ramparts
Before you leave Alcudia you should defintiely climb up the old town walls. We climbed up the medieval ramparts, which gave a great view of the town from above and out to the bay of Pollença.
I believe that sometimes you can walk all the way around the walls but part of it was closed when we were there so we just walked a small section.
For the girls this was probably long to enjoy the view without getting bored. The toddler was asleep in his pushchair being minded by Grandma and Grandad while we were up there.
We were grateful for this as the fences weren’t particularly substantial and it would have been a much less relaxing experience if we had been constantly worrying about him throwing himself over the side!
There are steep steps to get up on the ramparts, not suitable for a pushchair so if you have a baby or toddler it would be worth having a carrier.
As mentioned above the fencing isn’t particularly toddler proof so they will need to be kept close if not carried.
7. Visit the Mallorcan capital, Palma
We had a great day exploring Palma. There is a beautiful old town capped by the jaw-dropping cathedral.
We drove to Palma and went to the Aquarium first which is close to the beach area. We would definitely recommend the aquarium, particularly if you are with kids.
From the aquarium we drove and parked in one of the many underground car parks close to the old town of Palma.
The area around the cathedral is a good place to start and you definitely shouldn’t miss looking inside this stunning church.
Our children enjoyed the small playground near the cathedral and the Jardines de S’Hort del Rei.
8. Serra de Tramuntana – taking the scenic route from Pollença to Sóller
The edge of these mountains can be seen looming to the north west of Pollença. They are a UNESCO world heritage site (my husband’s motivation to explore them!) and are stunningly beautiful.
The mountains stretch right along the north west coast and are a magnet for cyclists and walkers. Having young children with us we didn’t attempt any hikes and instead opted for a scenic drive with stop offs for photos along the way.
The scenic drive from Pollença to Sóller is a 55km journey but probably took us about 1 hour 20 minutes of actual driving.
We took the motorway back at the end of the day which was much quicker! It was quite a lot of driving for the children but we managed to keep them entertained and stopped along the way.
The Ma-10 road passes Lluc monastery, which could be a really interesting stop (we didn’t have time). I was slightly concerned about what the road would be like as our hire car was more like a mini bus and the fiasco of driving through Pollença old town was still haunting me!
The road is winding and quite narrow but it is a main road so there are no single track parts. You do have to concentrate, which was a shame as it meant not being able to take in the stunning views so well.
And the views really are stunning! In my opinion the first part of the drive is the most beautiful, although there is a gorgeous view point just before the final descent into Sóller.
9. Check out the trams in Sóller
Sóller is a lovely town in the valley between the mountains and the sea in north west Mallorca.
Lots of people arrive here by the vintage train from Palma. I had heard lots of good reviews about this trip but since we weren’t staying in Palma we decided to drive there instead.
We had a lovely lunch in the main square, Plaça Constitució and then got the vintage tram to the coastal Port de Sóller. In my opinion this is a must for any family holiday in Mallorca.
The tram ride was probably Benjamin’s favourite part of the whole holiday!
If you are in Mallorca with kids, I’m sure they will love it too. It takes around 30 minutes each way winding slowly through orange groves until you reach the port.
We had to forcibly remove the toddler from the tram on both journeys as he was enjoying it so much!
Once at the Port there is a nice small beach and restaurants around a pretty harbour. The children enjoyed looking at the fish in the harbour- there were lots swimming around by the jetty.
Top tips for Sóller
Enjoy lunch in the main square. It is a beautiful square full of pavement cafes and the trams come through every half hour. This was very exciting for the children and built the anticipation for having our own ride on it.
The tram leaves from next to the train station, just a 2 minute walk from the main square.
The tram is cash only so make sure you have money with you. You can’t buy tickets in advance- just pay when you are on the tram. The Ferrocaril de soller website has more information about the tram and train from Palma.
There are lots of other tram stops but it tends to fill up at the station. I would advise getting on here as it could be tricky to squeeze on further down the line.
10. Take a trip out on to the Cap de Formentor
The Cap de Formentor is a dramatic peninsular located close to Port de Pollensa in the North of Mallorca. At the tip is a lighthouse and spectacular views along the coast.
Getting to the peninsular by car can be tricky as it is a long winding road to get to the end. In peak summer months cars are restricted and in this case you need to take a shuttle bus, which leaves from both Alcudia and Port de Pollensa.
The peninsular can be very busy in the middle of the day so to beat the crowds you may be best visiting either early morning or late afternoon.
It’s also a popular trip out with cyclists and there are options of boat trips to the peninsular from nearby Alcudia
There are plenty of things that we didn’t get around to doing on our family holiday in Mallorca. We will definitely be back at some point to explore some more of this beautiful island.
Let us know if you have been to Mallorca and there are other activities that we should be adding to our list.
Is Mallorca a good destination for families?
Without doubt, yes! Mallorca is a great destination for families. The north of the island in particular is very family friendly.
Some resorts/ areas e.g. Magaluf, West of Palma, have a reputation for a party crowd so just make sure you choose your resort carefully.
Is it just the North of Mallorca that is suitable for families?
No, there are also some lovely family-friendly resorts in the East and South of the island. We haven’t been to this area but I hear Cala d’Or is beautiful.
Is Mallorca expensive?
Mallorca is generally a little more expensive than mainland Spain but is still very affordable compared with other parts of Europe.
Like anywhere, factors such as time of year that you travel and popularity if the area will also impact on costs.
