Look forward to the most beautiful beaches in Mallorca

Nowhere else on Mallorca will you find so many small sandy beaches as in the south-east between Santanyi and Porto Cristo. Unfortunately, some of these natural beaches were built over with holiday resorts and hotels in the 1960s. Cala Romantica, Cales de Mallorca, Cala Murada, Cala Marçal and Cala d'Or are examples of this. In between, however, there are still secluded, picturesque rocky coves, surrounded by pine forests and jagged rocky inlets with turquoise-coloured water and white sandy beaches. In the age of Google Maps and Wikipedia, they are no longer insider tips, but in the low season you can still experience having the beach all to yourself.

Here we describe just a small selection of beaches in the immediate vicinity. If you don't mind travelling long distances, you can also find long sandy beaches in the bay of Alcudia, but we recommend these local beaches.

Cala Domingos Petits, our "home beach" between Calas de Mallorca and Cala Murada. It is the closest beach and there is usually a car park on the long hotel grounds. A short footpath then leads around the hotel entrance to the beach. A recommendation for Sundays when the other beaches are overcrowded. No bars, but you can walk left over the rocks to the sister beach Cala Domingos Grans with restaurants.

Beaches to the north of the fincas

Cala Antena, one of the closest beaches and easy to reach by car. You can park above the cliffs. In the low season, you can also try your luck and drive all the way down the winding road to the beach. However, there are only 10 parking spaces there. It is the smallest of the three Calas de Mallorca beaches and closes off the town to the north. This is where the nature reserve begins, which extends as far as Cala Mendia, as you can see on the map below.

If the hotel beaches are full in high season, you can try your luck in the northernmost of the three Cala Mendia beaches, signposted as Cala Anquila. Similar to Cala Marçal in Portocolom, the beach is very child-friendly as the water is shallow and the beach is designated as a non-smoking beach. A small road leads directly down to the beach with around 30 parking spaces.

If you want to combine a visit to the beach with a coastal walk in the low season, you can park above Cala Antena and walk along the path to Cala Bota. At the end, however, you have to leave the hiking trail and walk across to Cala Bota. You need good footwear because the terrain slopes steeply down to the beach and there are no paths. However, the view high up from the cliffs is worth the effort. Cala Bota itself is a pebble beach, so unlike the other beaches, it is not a sandy beach.

The three bays Cala Magraner, Cala Pilota and Cala Virgili can either be reached via the hiking trails in the nature reserve or you can park on the main road at the beginning of the dry riverbed Reguero de Cala Magraner and walk from there to the beach, approx. 30 minutes. Cala Magraner is popular with cliff climbers, but the police now make it difficult by handing out parking offence tickets on the main road and side streets.

Cala Varques was long considered the most beautiful beach in Mallorca, but is now difficult to access for visitors coming from the land side and is not fully recommended. The direct access road has been closed to traffic and the iron gate has been locked. Nevertheless, there are still cars parked on the main road with beach visitors who are not afraid of the long walk. Under no circumstances should you park there on a yellow line, as the police hand out expensive parking tickets several times a day. Even from the sea, Cala Varques is crowded with yachts and motorboats in high season.

Beaches to the south of the fincas

Cala Marçal in Portocolom, particularly suitable for children because the water is shallow, good restaurants, parking on the road, but very crowded on Sundays. The nudist beach Cala Brafi is still an insider tip next door, but is more difficult to access.

Depending on the wind direction, the somewhat smaller Arenal beach on the northern side of the village is also recommended, as it is sheltered in the natural harbour.

Cala sa Nau near S'Horta, very picturesque and nice for snorkelling, large car park directly on the beach, non-smoking beach, but very crowded in high season.

Cala Mitjana, the small neighbouring bay of Cala Sa Nau. Highly recommended as a hiking destination in low season, as it could hardly be more picturesque. Not a good idea in high season because there are virtually no parking spaces. The small sandy beach is surrounded by a very well-kept private estate, but is therefore also difficult to reach as only a rocky footpath leads to the destination. You can either park at Cala Sa Nau and walk for around 1.5 km or park in one of the few designated car parks on the roadside from S'Horta to Cala Sa Nau. From the public road there is a road that is closed to traffic, the Cmo. Cala Mitjana, which narrows into a stony footpath that leads down to the beach. You cross a private road and at the end you can walk around the bay to the left on a beautifully laid out footpath. The water of the elongated picturesque bay is shallow and therefore also suitable for children. However, the beach is so small that there are hardly any moorings. In summer, the bay is also crowded with yachts.

Cala Mondrago and S'Amarador near Portopedro are two large, beautiful beaches. You park in a paid car park just below S'Amarador and then walk 10 minutes to the beach. A well-maintained footpath along the rocks leads to Cala Mondrago. Just like Cala sa Nau, these two beaches are very crowded in high season. The less popular beaches, such as Cala Marçal and the two Cala Domingos beaches, may therefore be the better alternatives in high season.