Things to do in Majorca
To get my bearings on my first ever trip to this beautiful island in the Balearics, a helicopter ride seemed like the perfect way to exploring Majorca for the first time (Majorca is also known as Mallorca in Catalan).
At 62 miles across and 44 miles wide it is the largest of the Balearic islands and much bigger than I had expected.
Helicopter ride around Majorca
I headed off in my little hire car to find Jonny Greenall, my helicopter pilot for the morning (Jonny used to work for Sloane Helicopters and now runs Balearic Helicopters)
It was a beautiful, sunny day and perfect for buzzing around the skies: any initial nervousness was quickly dispelled by Jonny’s cheerful chatter and I even let him stall the engine in mid-air towards the end of the trip to show how helicopters don’t suddenly plunge out of the sky if the engine cuts out (we glided for a while, then he calmly restarted the engine – all thankfully very undramatic).
Jonny, my pilot for the morning
From my vantage point hundreds of feet in the air, I could see all that Majorca had to offer, from the mountains to the beaches, taking in sheer cliffs and sparkling bays and everything from vineyards and golf courses to swimming pools, marinas and millionaire’s mansions.
Majorca by air is pretty impressive
The helicopter ride was a great way to see every part of the island
The coastline stretches on for miles
There was Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones’ house, round the next cliff was the £30 million Mallorcan castle where Princess Diana reportedly stayed and just below me…
‘That’s Magaluf,’ says Jonny, my pilot and guide for the morning. ‘Down there.’
Seeing Magaluf from the air
I peer down past my feet to what looks like just a few streets running parallel to a beach, with high-rise hotels and a few swimming pools visible from the air.
The high-rises of Magaluf
‘That’s it?’ I said. ‘That’s what all the fuss is about?’
Jonny laughed. ‘That’s why it’s good to come up here,’ he said. ‘It’s just tiny compared to the rest of the island.’
Deia from the sky
Exploring the Majorcan coastline
While Magaluf seems to have the lion’s share of press coverage, there is certainly a lot more to the island than the infamous area known mainly for binge-drinking, sex-crazy Brits on their holidays.
Locals I spoke to during my week exploring Majorca for the first time either despaired of the bad press – ‘People think the whole of Majorca is like Magaluf,’ moaned one – or were relieved that the rest of the island was left unspoilt. Many people had never even been there, even if they had lived on Majorca for years. ‘Why would I, when there are so many much nicer places to see in Majorca ?’ said another.
Tennis in Majorca
My first port of call was the beach resort of Paguera, just 25 minutes from the main airport at Palma, where friends had booked their children in for a week at the Tennis Academy Mallorca there.
The beach at Paguera
While not the most glamorous town on the island, Paguera was actually rather nice – a pleasant main street and three sandy beaches flanked by a good choice of restaurants – and the island’s most famous son world-class tennis player Rafael Nadal was even rumoured to have been seen at the tennis club, to much great excitement.
Hire a boat in Majorca
Having seen Mallorca from the air, it was time to see the island from the sea, so I went out for the day on a 52-ft Riva Rivale boat with Lorenzo and Francisco Vila, owners of Easyboats yacht charters. At £2,400 a day to hire, it’s not cheap but drinking wine on a £1.5 million boat in your own private bay certainly made me feel like royalty, which was fitting as the Vila’s customer the following day was a member of the Saudi royal family.
My very own luxury yacht for the day…
This is definitely a good way to spend a morning…
We dined on sushi and seafood at the popular Gran Folies beach club where diners were shipped in on dinghies and could keep an eye on their luxury cruisers as they enjoyed a lengthy lunch overlooking the sea.
Waiting to be taken ashore for lunch. I’m doing a very unconvincing impression of someone who does this all the time…
The view from the terrace at Gran Folies restaurant
Xisco, Lorenzo and crew enjoying lunch at Gran Folies
Just the beginning of a very enjoyable lunch
Explore Palma
The capital of Majorca , Palma, was yet another unexpected delight. Behind the spectacular cathedral and riverside open-air cinema was a wonderful network of tiny streets where locals and holidaymakers alike ambled past people drinking in an array of delightful cafes, enjoying evening cocktails and listening to the sounds of jazz floating through the streets.
Discover Deia
My ultimate destination was the picturesque village of Deia, home of Robert Graves which still attracts a creative crowd – locals include Andrew Lloyd Webber and PR guru Lynne Franks who used to run women’s retreats in her amazing home overlooking the Mediterranean (Franks has since relocated to Somerset where she still runs retreats).
Over coffee Franks told me that she had never been to Magaluf: (‘what’s the point?’) and said that the beauty of Deia is not only the scenery but the fact that so many people’s links to it go on for years.
The winding streets of Deia
‘It’s not like other expat parts of the island where people stay for three years and then go home,’ she said. ‘I know people here who’ve been coming to Deia for years and now their children are bringing their own children here. But it’s very inclusive here too – everyone knows everyone else as it’s so small, so you’re bumping into people you know all the time.’
It does strange things to time too – just two nights in Deia felt like a month. I visited the wonderfully preserved Robert Graves house and sampled some of the gardeners’ homemade spirits before reeling off into the sunshine, resolving to come back and live here, writing best-selling novels and making my fortune.
Robert Graves’ home in Deia, Canellun
His writing desk…
And his kitchen, preserved from decades ago
Port de Pollenca
My final day in Majorca and a chance to explore northwards through the mountains to Port de Pollenca. After Deia, I didn’t fancy the crowds in town so chanced upon a beautiful tiny beach and cafe just past Alcudia where I spend the day before catching the evening flight – a perfect end to a wonderful week.
Bar Playa at Cala Ponset – a serendipitous find
Hotels in Majorca
Belmond La Residencia
I explored Deia’s lovely shops, cafes and restaurants and had a wonderfully relaxing massage at Belmond La Residencia, one of the best hotels on the island with its spa and stunning views making it a celebrity favourite.
The lawn at La Residencia, Deia
My room at La Residencia – I had to be practically dragged out of it when it came to leaving
My private terrace…
Awaking from my massage, I first thought this was a picture on the wall…
That evening there were cocktails for new guests – how very civilised – and then a gastronomic feast at its restaurant overlooking the town.
The terrace restaurant at La Residencia
The breakfast terrace – it’s unsurprising that I didn’t want to leave the next day
The upper pool at La Resi (there are three in total)
Es Moli hotel in Deia
I practically had to be prised out of my room the following morning – it had stunning views across the valley and a four-poster bed – but I had another hotel to check out – the Es Moli, just a short walk away on the other side of Deia and also delightful.
The pool at Es Moli
However I was back at La Residencia that night for its 80s disco on the lawn, dancing the night away to Wham and Duran Duran. Local resident Lord Lloyd-Weber was also there and for those who wanted to continue the party on after La Resi called it a night, there was Deia’s most popular (and only) bar at Sa Fonda, which was pumping live music across the valley.
At the end of a memorable night I walked home along the moonlit road to the Es Moli hotel across the valley. The real world – and especially the drinking dens of Magaluf – seemed wonderfully far away.
Sheraton Arabella hotel
It was a surprise to find that my hotel, the Sheraton Arabella resort which was surrounded by lush green golf courses wherever you looked was just a few minutes from the centre of Palma. It was the first golf resort on the island of Majorca and is still a great place to play golf (I was content to lounge by its many pools).
The view from my bedroom at the Sheraton Golf Arabella resort, just 10 minutes drive from Palma
Some traditional Mallorcan delicacies: garlic prawns and salty padron peppers
Reverting back to my more traditional transport of a hire car to explore the rest of the island I headed east to the seaside towns of Cala d’Or and Portopetro where I went on very different type of yacht, the 16m classic sailing boat Vita Bel II and dined out on Italian food while watching the sun set.
Jumeirah Port Soller hotel and spa
But the real highlights of Majorca for me were to be found up in the hills. Twisting roads took me away from Palma and the coastal resorts to the beautiful village of Valldemossa and the Port de Soller, where I had lunch at the impressive Jumeirah hotel, perched high on the cliffs so swimming in the infinity pool felt like I was swimming straight into the sky.
The aptly-named infinity pool at the Jumeirah Port Soller hotel
It’s the kind of place you imagine sunlotion adverts being filmed
Lunch with a view at the Jumeirah
Flights to Majorca
Easyjet, British Airways and Ryanair all fly to Palma, Majorca from the UK
Hotels in Majorca
Sheraton Mallorca Golf Hotel
Belmond La Residencia, Deia
Es Moli, Deia
Information about what to do in Majorca
Luxury yacht charter from Easyboats, Port d’Andratx
16m sailing boat Vita Bel II from Cala d’Or
Gran Folies Beach club, Cala Llamp, Port d’Andratx
Balearic Helicopters
Paguera Tennis Academy
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