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Any experiences out there? We would all like decent beach access, within walking distance if possible. Kids will be looking for a bit of nightlife but I dont want to be in a party hub. Wife and I can hire bikes and do some big days out. Looking at Alcudia and Porto Pollenca.
Looking for a house/ villa for one or two weeks in July. Been perusing a site called Vrbo.
Never been before, even to cycle.So what do you know?
Thanks
I think the nightclub requirement means you'll end up in one of the northern beachy towns.
Quiter is Cala st Vincente, a lovely little place a wander over the hill from Pollenca. It has bars but not aure about dancing. Lovely beaches, great walking.
We went to Pollença a few years ago, though with small kids so we didn’t really look into the nightlife. Seemed to be plenty of cycling going on…
I know Mallorca well and think it's great. Port de Pollenca and Port d'Alcudia are probably the best options (the former especially). There's probably an acceptable level of nightlife for the teens but they're still quite small towns (unlike the package holiday resorts of the south coast). Easy to hire bikes in the town and there are some superb rides you can go on from there (although in July it will be far hotter and busier than any times that I've visited in spring or autumn).
Pollença is a so hot but great place, I would recommend Los pinos for accommodation in Cala St Vicente a wee walk from Port Pollença as it has a great swimming pool round the back although the beach is great but often amber/red flag due to the current
Old Alcudia very scenic and historic but I'd avoid the holiday bit unless you like the British Spain resort atmosphere
I'd go for a boat trip from Pp guy named Sebastian, look on trip advisor , food drink included and a stop off for a swim in some of the best coves
Hire bikes to get about or scooters for the odd day out further afield eg Port de Valdamosa over the Tramuntana hills/ mountains
Great cycle if your reasonably fit
I've stayed near Can Pastilla, there were seemingly more Germans that Brits around there (which you may see as a positive or negative). There's decent bike hire nearby and roads are very good(and so are the local motorists) so getting to the good bits is easy. There's also a nice coastal cycle route into Palma for a more relaxed ride.
It's great for cycling (I've only been on the road bike), smooth roads and great weather mean you can do much bigger mileage than in the UK for the same effort.
I had a holiday in Porto Pollenca. Nice enough but nothing special. I did manage to find one decent restaurant but everything else was poor tourist tat. Plenty of bike hire and OK bike riding. I didn't see anything much in the way of night life but I wasn't looking for it.
Cheapish compared to other resorts but basically a pretty standard tourist town
PP is great; I've been many times, but I can't think of any night clubs.
There are a couple of Irish Bars that might have late licenses and the hotels might do something, but I can't think of a single night club.
Would love to know if there is one.
Soller is great.Lots of hiking,biking trails and nice beach.Good restraints,bars ect.Also Deia is worth popping to as its nearby.
PP is great; I’ve been many times, but I can’t think of any night clubs.
There are a couple of Irish Bars that might have late licenses and the hotels might do something, but I can’t think of a single night club.
Would love to know if there is one
There's Chivas, but I was absolutely steaming when I went in so no idea if it was decent. I liked PP, away from the front there are some great little local bars and places to get a bite to eat. Inland, Pollença is quite nice too. I think Alcudia had a bit more nightlife but just passed through. Palma is definitely worth a visit, some beautiful places there and great bars and restaurants.
Thanks all!! After a day of internet trawling and looking through google maps we found a couple of nice apartments close to the beach in PP with a good communal pool.Flights and transfers booked. Bit different to what we normally do [camping en francais]. Everone seems happy, job done. Just need to map out those epic climbs and see if I can drop a couple of kilo's in the interim.
The cycle ride out to the headland (formenter?) is a really nice one. Much of the road is closed to cars. Well worth doing. Quite a few big climbs so i did it on an ebike
I've not been for 3 years but the hire cars were always right up to the lighthouse nose to tail in the blazing sunshine but great on a good road bike, the climb out of PP is just a steady climb for a wee while, tarmac so smooth compared to our pot hole patchwork we have
Closed to carsless than halfway along when I was there with a bus shuttle to get folk to the lighthouse
Will definitely do Cap de Formentor - ridden it several times virtually over the past 24 months. Will get an e bike for my wife so she can have a more relaxed time if we ride over to Port de Soller for lunch. Will have to map out distances carefully as I think the ebikes have a range of about 120km.
If you're going to do the Cap Formentor ride, take some bike lights with you. There's a tunnel that gets incredibly dark really quickly. It's really hard to see the walls after a couple of hundred yards. If cars are allowed through it a back light also necessary.
I had heard it's been illuminated recently, but I'd not want to risk it again for the sake of taking lights in my hand luggage.
Thanks - always ride with day lights and Varia radar on the road so will make sure I remember to pack them.
If you are into adventutous walks, this book (or series of books he's done for a few places) are fantastic.
Some of the places he takes you are mind blowing. The one just off the Formentor road is truly epic. Don't underestimate the difficulty ratings.
Thanks csb - got the matching map on order too! Looks great.
If you want a more serious ride hook up with Stuart Hall.
If you can get the bus trip out to Andtrax and ride back. Its flippen awesome and there's no need for a map just keep the sea on your left
I have a garmin record i think somewhere.
The ride from pp up the mountain and drop into sa callobra is stunning. Like an alp climb with a frightening decent then about 45mins of pain winching back p the road you just flew down. Pros do it in sub 20.
Then there are some flat runs inland on really good roads too
The cap formemtor road is best riden at dawn or dusk imo
Far less traffic and knobbers who cant go downhill for toffee. Dunno about the tunnel having lights but yeah take a brave pill if you wanno poon it through
Lovely beach about 5 miles nw of pp up a dead emd road too.
Port de Soller from PP is an incredible ride but not 'relaxed'! You're going over the biggest mountain on Mallorca. But you can make a great loop by going out via the villages on the inland side of the Tramuntana to Bunyola, up and over to Soller/Port de Soller and then back via Lluc so you get the great descent down to PP. But it's definitely an epic day out.
That said, there are also some really nice flat routes out towards Arta and Petra.
The climb out of Soller south, up towards the tunnel is nasty though. But the reward is the old road switchback climb which is almost traffic free. Then you can do another stiff climb before rolling back to pp along undulating but fairly flat roads.
If you want a more serious ride hook up with Stuart Hall.
Recommended. My cycling club have been using him for donkeys years and I'm going for my first trip this April, (well, Covid allowing - this was already cancelled in 2020) for 6 days. I did the Formentor ride during a break there with my partner on a hire hybrid with gears that skipped when you were pressing on, so this should be a bit more cycling focussed.
I ride with a few folk who have guided for Stuart Hall, may be some out again this season to hook up with - will defo look at the options and thanks for the suggestions.
I realise Port de Soller and Sa Callobra are not going to be relaxed 🙂 - I'm sure my wife will enjoy it more on an ebike. My son is coming too so perhaps I'll take the ebike that day.
Looking forward to doing these iconic routes for the first time. Hopefully heat is manageable in June/ July. Like the idea of bus out ride back.
Yep, booked up with Stuart for the last week in April. Taking the son so am really looking forward to it.
Was just looking at his site and thinking of booking up for April as well - I'm sure I've ridden with him before in the UK. He must have a link to my local club as there are a few familiar faces on the website.
The Formentor ride is stunning, I remember just having a massive shit eating grin for most of the way round. On the way back we also nipped up from the coll de la Creueta car park to the top of the Talaia d'Albercutx which was quite cool.
Inland can also be relatively flat (and still really pleasant), so if you're thinking of a big day out and worried about ebike range, then you can plan accordingly - for example from PP to PdS you could always go out via the northern road via Lluc, then back via the Col de Soller then Selva, Campanet.
There are loads of bike hire shops there too, some of which may do shop rides that you can tag on to as well.