Traveling with Tanya
23rd June 2021
Best Beaches to Visit in East Mallorca
Oh Mallorca! The first thought that comes to my mind when I hear this word is – a PARADISE of Crystal Blue Seas and Sandy Beaches. Mallorca has been hands down our best beach vacation until now. Mallorca also known as Majorca is the largest of the Balearic Islands, which lie in the western Mediterranean Sea. I was amazed as the island is brimming with picturesque turquoise waters everywhere, peacefully tucked in calm beaches and drenched in Natural beauty.
Although the island is in Spain, we felt that we were in Germany itself, as the island is thriving with German tourists. Most of the restaurants and pubs have German names and almost all of the hospitality staff speak German because of the dominance of the German tourists here. Nevertheless, the island is a popular holiday destination in entire Europe and the beaches here should definitely be on your bucket list.
How to Reach Mallorca:
Flying is almost certainly the most convenient and fastest way to travel to Mallorca. We flew directly from Nuremberg to Palma de Mallorca Airport which is the gateway to this beautiful island. The flight duration was around 2hours 20 minutes. There are also 1 hour flights from major cities in Spain like Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia. Once you reach Palma Airport, you can take either cab or a bus to your destination hotel .
Where to Stay in Mallorca:
This can be quite tricky and confusing if it is your first time visiting the island. I had put a lot of research into deciding exactly where we wanted to stay.
Every coast of Mallorca has a different vibe to offer and a different type of vacation experience. It completely depends on what kind of vacation you are looking forward to.If you are looking for a young, loud party beach vibe or for an active, adventurous vacation then try heading to the West and the North West Coast of the island. The East is calmer and has some of the most beautiful beaches in Mallorca.
And we finally pinned it down to Cala Ratjada which is a town on the East Coast of the island. The town has a coastal promenade and is built around the harbor area.
It is an ideal location if you desire a peaceful beach getaway or if you are traveling with family and kids. Cala Ratjada has just the right vibe to welcome you and set you into a beach vacation mode. You can choose to stay in the vicinity of any of the popular beaches like Cala Mesquida, Cala Agulla. I would recommend you book your stay near the Son Moll region. The place has plenty of chiq, cozy bars, restaurants, shops. Trust me even if you come here with an empty suitcase you can do your entire beach and swimwear shopping from here and the merchandise is decently priced. Reminded of my Thailand Shopping days. 🙂 There are resorts and hotels for every budget size and supermarkets in every 20 steps.
It is also a host to some of the most beautiful beaches in Mallorca and at a nearby distance to the South East Coast which is also home to incredible natural beauty and azure blue beaches.
The property we stayed at in Cala Ratjada was Bella Vista. We stayed here for 5 nights and 6 days.
More details about Bella Vista to follow
How to get around in the Island:
If you want to cover a number of locations, beaches in a short duration of time and explore the less known gems & corners of the island, then I would strongly recommend you to hire a car. And it is the most common way of exploring the island. However since we do not have a European driving license , we relied on public transport i.e. the city buses. Since our hotel was very centrally located, most of the beaches were just a 1 km walk for us. To reach Cala Ratjada from the Airport we took the bus A42 and then another bus connection to our final destination. The entire journey time was around 2 hours and cost us only 10 Euros pp. If you want to take a taxi to the east coast, you can hire them from the Airport itself and would cost you around 100 Euros or more as the distance between the airport and the East Coast is around 80 kms.
When traveling in the buses, be very careful and watchful of your stations as the bus doesn’t stop at most of the stops if there isn’t anyone boarding the bus from the station. Also the stations are quite far from each other. You can buy the bus ticket from the driver itself while boarding the bus and pay in cash or just tap your card on the machine to buy the tickets.
Beaches to Visit in East Mallorca
Most Beautiful Beaches to Visit in East Coast:
It was a little difficult for me to prioritize and rank these incredible beaches as every beach was a blue paradise in itself. Before I landed in Mallorca, I googled most of the beaches and thought that most of them looked alike with pretty blue waters. However, when we reached the island it was only then I realized that every beach has its own vibe, its own charm that would make you want to visit them again.
If you are planning a trip to Mallorca, here are our top picks from the island that you must explore and are absolutely a no miss.
Cala Mesquida:
No exaggerations here, but Cala Mesquida is indeed one of the most beautiful, clear and magical beaches that you will see. The beach is located towards the North Eastern side of Mallorca and is surrounded by lavish beach side resorts and restaurants. There is a staircase that takes you down to the beach and offers you that amazing glimpse of the magical blue waters. It also makes for a great photo spot. The beach is very child friendly and we realized that most of the families here are with kids. The beach is almost 350 m long and offers gorgeous views from all sides. Make sure to get on the rocks right next to the beach to get a beautiful panoramic view and also some pintersty and insta worthy photos. We also found a lot of Jellyfish here on the shore, so please be a little watchful of that. Sadly there aren’t any toilets and showers on the beach. Cala Mesquida, unlike other beaches in Mallorca, isn’t very commercialized.
Cala Agulla:
Did you know that Mallorca is home to some of the most beautiful BLUE FLAG beaches? Blue Flag is a prestigious award given to eco-friendly and sustainable beaches with not just crystal blue waters but also safety and biodiversity; and Cala Agulla is one such beach.
It is a charming 500 m long sandy beach and even though it is popular with tourists, the beach doesn’t seem to be too crowded. The beach has a breathtaking location and is beautifully located between hills and trees. The water is reasonably shallow that makes it a great spot for snorkeling, even for kids.
Watch out for JellyFish flags on the beach as a jellyfish sting can be quite severe. You can rent sun umbrellas and sun beds to enjoy the view of the turquoise blue waters.
You can find beach bars to fuel in some chilled beer or cocktails to beat the heat. You can also rent out pedal boats with slides to go further into the sea and slide down & take a dip in the waters and go snorkeling. There are other water sports activities like kayaking, banana boat rides. There is a lot to do on this beach and you can easily have a day-long picnic here.
This beach has showers, toilets and lifeguards.
Cala Gat:
The word Cala means Cove in English & Mallorca’s beaches are renowned to be the most stunning and beautiful in entire Europe; and one such beach has my heart- The Cala Gat. It is a very small, beautiful beach surrounded by Pine forests and cliffs. The sand is gold and the waters a gorgeous turquoise blue. The water depth is average and we had some of our best snorkeling experience here. We saw a cluster of 30-40 fish at once and at very shallow depths. It is in the municipality of Capdepera. I would highly recommend you to go to the beach around the Golden Hour as the entire bay is bathing in the soft golden light of the setting sun. The beach has a very relaxed and laid back vibe during that time. The cove has a lifeguard, a bar and some great beach view restaurants in the immediate vicinity.
It is a very child friendly beach and most of the snorkelers we found around were children and teenagers. To our surprise , one of the local snorkelers got hold of a baby octopus.
Capdapera Lighthouse:
The lighthouse is the Easternmost tip of Mallorca and was built back in the 1200’s but only came in service in 1861. The lighthouse stands majestically in a natural landscape offering beautiful panoramic views of the seas and the island. The views over the Mediterranean will give you an impression that you are at the very end of the world and that feeling is beyond words. The lighthouse is very close to Cala Gat, so you can combine your beach trip with the light house. It can be reached on foot.
The cliffs near the lighthouse are a perfect photo spot and are the perfect getaway from the beaches and island bustling with tourists.
Cala Lliteres:
Cala Lliteres is very close to Cala Agulla, so close that you can see the beach from Cala Lliteres. It is not a typical sunbathing beach, but more of a diving spot. It is a cove with a lot of rock formations around.You will find a lot of hotels, restaurants and villas here.
From here you will also see the Meero Diving school, established back in the 1970s. It is a great snorkeling spot where you can see a lot of different fish and corals. The place is ideal to be visited during the sunset as well, as it is a great sight to watch the waves gushing to the rocks and then melting down into blue-white creamy water of the sea. The tides firecely rising up and the sun gently setting down, made it a magical sight to witness it felt as if time had come to a stand still. It was Ethereal!
Son Moll:
Son Moll is not only the most known but also the largest beach of Cala Rajata. The urban beach is covered with sunbeds and strawed sun umbrellas which make it quite a sight. There are also lots of mini markets around the beach to buy chilled beer, snacks , beach or snorkeling accessories and equipment. Son Moll is visited by a lot of tourists as it is very close to the city center. The water here as well, like other beaches, showcases rich shades of blue and makes a great spot for the lazy days to just chill on the beach.
The Coastal Promenade runs from the Son Moll beach and leads to beautiful rock formations that are ideal to soak in the beach coastal vibes of the place. Although there are many restaurants and shops in the background of the caves, the place has a calmness and stillness to it.
