More Mallorcan Advice Please.... :)

[NDA]

Following some excellent advice on here 2 years ago, my family have enjoyed 2 summer holidays in Pollença and have visited many of the towns recommended by PH'ers. Thanks.... Sincerely.

This year we quite fancy a villa we've seen in Cala d'Or but don't know this corner. So would like some real world reviews if possible.

There's four of us and our days are spent on the beach and every other night we eat out. Pollença old town was perfect for dozens of restaurants and the beaches near the town were great.

How's Cala d'Or?

[E31Shrew]

Havent been for a few years but I guess it hasnt changed too much. Ideal for families as all of the major eateries are located in a 'traffic free' zone.
Beach gets pretty busy as its quite narrow but as you know, many others nearby.
All in all we had a couple of great holidays there but our kids were quite young then

[wazzow]

I went their in September. Was easily the worst holiday I have been on. Nothing to do except shop or go to a beach which is not much fun but I suppose that is just my opinion.

For kids well mine are 2 and 3 and finding things for them to do was difficult. Everything is based around Magaluf and Palma.

Still, at least I didn't pay for it!

[LuS1fer]

We always go to Cala D'Or, more specifically Cala Egos. You have about seven coves round that area plus the Marina itself. We have stayed in a villa just round the corner from the Marina and a cheap flat in the middle of Cala d'Or but the last time we went we stayed at Marina D'Or III in cala Egos which was great with a shared but quiet twin pool and private parking.

I find Cala Egos very nice and it's a great point for day trips to places like Cala Mondrago, Cala Santanyi and Coloni St Jordi. The southern coast road is very pretty too and it's well worth a trip to palma to catch the Soller railway up to Soller.

It's also no hassle to use it as a base for exploring the rest of Mallorca, still my favourite island. I've enevr done magaluf and never want to. We've done day trips to Alcudia and Pollensa and have still always gone back to Cala d'Or. The big advantage of Cala d'Or is the restaurants tend to do cheap kids meals too.

[NDA]

That's really useful information - many thanks.

[AngryApples]

Went to Cala Egos last year, having been around 6 years ago.

I agree that there are some lovely cove areas around there and Cala D'Or itself is great for the marina area, lots of decent sized yachts about to watch coming and going (marina area definitely preferable to the centre of Cala D'or which is a bit........"Benidorm".

We're planning on going back this year for a quick week, but staying in a Cala D'or marina villa as opposed to the hotel we stayed at in Cala Egos - we used the yacht club in the Marina as an escape from the "entertainment" in the evenings at the hotel.

[littlebasher]

Likewise, i stay in Cala Egos (last time in Club Marthas) and use that as a base.

A couple of days around the pool either end of the holiday and 7 days car hire in the middle to go exploring during the day.

[NDA]

If you're in the Cala d'Or region, where's best for a good choice of authentic restaurants - not hamburgers and fish and chips (!).

Thanks.....

[E31Shrew]

NDA said:

If you're in the Cala d'Or region, where's best for a good choice of authentic restaurants - not hamburgers and fish and chips (!).

Thanks.....

mmmmm....that could be a challenge!

[LuS1fer]

There are some nice restaurants round the Marina, not that I've tried them. Some expensive looking rerstaurants along the coast road by Sa Rapita but again, not really tried them. You certainly don't get the choice you get in places like Playa del Carmen in Lanzarote but I'm sure there must be a few. I don't recall ever having a bad meal per se.

[R4PID]

Had an excellent meal in a restaurant called Portofino in the Marina for my wife's 40th in May this year. Best Paella I've ever had, ever.

Most of the restaurants in the Marina I've been too have been lovely and food in line with the price. If you pay a bit you get more choice and better food.

There's also a cracking little Chinese at the end of the Marina. Very cheap if you go set menu, reasonable food, you just about get a view of the Marina too.

We're going back this year for the 3rd year in a row. My daughter is 4 and son is 1. For us its perfect. Cala Egos has so many lovely villa complexes if perfect for us. We get a decent sized 3 bed villa, your own garden then a shared pool, usually they're amazing. The limited number of villa's means they're never overcrowded unlike the hotel in the centre my mum stayed in.

The kids love the beaches and because they're coves they can't go far.

For this time in our families life before the kids want/need more fun/activities for us Cala D'or is perfect.

Cala D'or town centre itself isn't that bad. The restaurants aren't the best in the world. But decent enough. nice to stroll through of an evening and dine alfresco though.

For really good food though, stick to the Marina.