August + September, 2022

THE SNAPSHOT

I absolutely loved Mallorca and would recommend it to someone looking for a European beach vacation with a mix of activity and adventure.  The island is STUNNING; it has the mountainous landscape and atmosphere of the Mediterranean combined with the crystal turquoise water of the Caribbean.  If you want to see many parts of the island, a rental car is a must, and would recommend spending 5-8 days.  I think it’s a reasonably priced trip even if you want to stay and dine in nice places.  Going the first week of September was PERFECT timing; it was not super crowded and perfect weather (sunny and 80F every day).  A few words I’d use to summarize the trip: beach, sun, wine, relaxing, luxurious.    

After Mallorca, we came to Ibiza to enjoy the breathtaking beaches and nightlife and it certainly did not disappoint.  Ibiza has the reputation of being a huge party destination, which it is, but there is SO much more the island has to offer.  I wish we had a few more days there to explore more parts of the island, so I would say 4-7 days is the perfect amount of time.  We did not rent a car there because we did not do TOO much moving around but rather used cabs, which for the most part worked out well.  The restaurants and food are delicious but compared to Mallorca, substantially more expensive.

The combination of these two islands is truly a dream summer European beach vacation.

THE DETAILS

NIGHT 1 

To get to Mallorca, I thought I would have to fly to Madrid and then take a smaller flight from there to Mallorca.  However, it ended up being a much better option to fly through London.  Definitely worth searching flights from your departure city to Mallorca.

I arrived in Palma Sunday evening, picked up our rental car, and drove to our hotel in central Palma that was only a 10 minute drive from the airport.  Since we planned to travel all over the island, a rental car was a must.  Be sure to get a small one that can easily drive through all the winding roads! PRO TIP: make sure when you book (if you need), select an automatic car ahead of time. NOT the norm in Europe.

We stayed at the Iberostar which was a beautiful hotel and cost around $300 per night.  That evening we just enjoyed a delicious dinner at the rooftop hotel Asian restaurant and walked down to the beach for some drinks.  We really did not spend much time at all in Palma which I do not regret; I spent a few days there when I was studying abroad in college and it does not have nearly as pretty of beaches as the rest of the island and is more of a party scene.  It was a great place to stop for one night.

DAY 1 

After enjoying a delicious buffet breakfast included at the hotel, we hit the road and drove 30ish minutes to the town of Valldemossa.  PRO TIP: have a few Euros in coins ready to pay for parking (which were IMPOSSIBLE to find)!  Valldemossa was an ADORABLE town.  It is so nice to spend a few hours walking around the cute cobblestone streets, shopping, and grabbing a coffee or lunch.

From there, we drove to Mirador de Sa Foradada for one of the best views on the island.

After, we drove down to Cala Deià for lunch and to hang by the beach.  There are two restaurants down there, Ca’s Patró March and Ca’n Lluc, both of which have similar Spanish tapas lunch and the same view.  If you can, try to make a reservation at Ca’s Patró March ahead of time.  We weren’t able to, and waited about an hour to eat at Ca’n Lluc which was not bad at all and just enjoyed the beach in the meantime.  

That evening, we drove to the very well known Belmond Hotel.  SO – this hotel.  I had heard it was incredible and a must, and even debated splurging for a night there if it was THAT incredible (which, by that way, was around $2200 that time of year).  We spent a few hours there having drinks and dinner and watching the sunset which was truly amazing, but I am happy we did not stay there.  The property is very beautiful, but it’s not on the water (it’s located right in the town center) and would be a place to go if you never want to leave the hotel property.  The island has so much more to offer so in my opinion, would not have been worth it.  Regardless, I loved exploring the property, taking in the beautiful views, and having a delicious meal at Cafė Miro.  There is another restaurant there as well for dinner.  We did not spend the night there, so after dinner drove about an hour North to Pollenca.  That night we stayed at Hotel Pollenca, which was honestly kind of disappointing.  The hotel cost about $300 a night and looked very nice online, but the room was tiny and the beach was one of the less nice ones (and you had to pay 15 Euros for a beach chair).  

DAY 2 

We woke up, had breakfast at the hotel, and spent a few hours relaxing on the beach.  In the early afternoon, we drove about 10 minutes to a different hotel in Pollenca where we were spending the night.  This hotel, El Vicenc de la Mer, was INCREDIBLE.  It has an extremely calm, soothing aesthetic and excellent service.  It cost around $400 per night, which actually felt like a steal.  The hotel has an amazing rooftop with the pool and restaurant, and overlooks the beach which is right across the street (as seemed to be the case with most “beachfront” hotels in Mallorca).  We really wanted to enjoy the hotel, so spent the rest of the day going between the pool and the beach and had dinner at the rooftop restaurant.

DAY 3 

The next morning, we walked around to see another nearby beach, Cala Borques, and then enjoyed the spa at El Vicenc de la Mer and got massages.  The spa was beautiful and the massages were great.  

We then left Pollenca and started driving East towards Cala Mesquida.  Cala Mesquida was one of my favorite beaches in Mallorca.  Unlike the other beaches we had seen so far, this one was MUCH bigger and also had incredible views.  I wish we had spent more time here!  We had lunch right on the beach at Mirablau (definitely recommend), and hung out on the beach for a little.  Our last activity of the day was the last ticket timing for a tour of the Drach Caves.  These caves are the largest underwater network in Europe and were pretty cool to see.  We walked through and then at the end there is a music performance (not random at all…) and in total took about an hour.  It was cool, but if you’re short on time I would not by any means say it is a must see.  

After the caves we drove to our hotel in Cala Millor, Iberostar.  This was by far my least favorite stop of the trip.  Don’t get me wrong, being right on the beach was nice and the views were very pretty, but there was not much to see in the town and the hotel felt like being on a cruise.  It had an all inclusive option (which, by default, attracts a certain crowd), and the only restaurant there was a buffet.  To be fair, the buffet WAS actually very good (we had dinner and breakfast there), but not really my style.  It was a great value and they even had live music that night.

DAY 4 

We walked on the beach in the morning and had the hotel breakfast hotel, then went to my FAVORITE beach of the trip, Cala Monodragó.  It is massive; you can definitely spend the whole day here, and located within a national park.  We spent a few hours here swimming and tanning, and then drove to our final hotel of the trip, Can Ferrereta.  This hotel is hands down one of my favorite hotels of all time.  The only “downside” was that it is in the city vs. on the beach, but very close access to many beaches.  The hotel aesthetic is absolutely incredible.  It has a beautiful pool and spa, the rooms were large and so nice, and the service was top quality.  It was pretty expensive ($800ish per night) but worth budgeting for in my opinion.  

That afternoon we had a delicious lunch by the pool, got massages at the spa, and laid by the pool.

For dinner, we ventured into the town and ate at Grand Cassai, which we loved!  Such a cool vibe and decor, and great/pretty inexpensive food and drinks.

DAY 5

We woke up bright and early to make the most of our last day in Mallorca and went to Cala Llombards before the crowds.  Another beautiful beach!  We spent an hour or so there getting in a last swim, then went back to the hotel for breakfast.  Gotta love a luxurious breakfast spread!  We then spent all day relaxing by the pool before it was time to head to the airport. 

There is a ferry option from Mallorca to Ibiza, but on our travel day it was not at a convenient time so we opted for the flight option which was very quick and inexpensive.  That wraps up our time in Mallorca before we hit our next stop, Ibiza!

We flew in from Mallorca in the evening and went straight to our hotel, Ushuaia, which was a quick drive from the airport.  The hotel is very popular in Ibiza, known for its nightlife and “Vegas-like” energy right on the beach.  It is a very fun, cool hotel and quite expensive.

We quickly met our other friends and got ready for the evening where there was a great party at our hotel.  PRO TIP: have some drinks before you head over to the party… the lines and crowds are insane.  It was the perfect start to kick off our time in Ibiza!

DAY 6

After our fun evening, we slept in before getting ready to head out for the day.  We spent ALL afternoon and into the evening at an awesome beach club called Blue Marlin.  We ordered tons of food and drinks and enjoyed the beach and music.

DAY 7

This day was fully dedicated to Formentera and was INCREDIBLE!  We rented a private boat through __ for the whole day and it was amazing.  The island is not very far from Ibiza and in the most crystal clear blue water.  Our driver took us to multiple spots along the route to stop and swim and truly take in the scenery.  The weather was perfect and it was truly a perfect day.

After several hours of fun on the boat, we anchored near the shore of Formentera for a late lunch at Juan y Andrea.  DEFINITELY book a reservation here well in advance!  It is one of the most well known restaurants on the island known for its authentic food and ambience.  

They took us to the restaurant on a small boat and we spent a few hours eating, drinking, and dancing.  Sadly we had to return to our boat eventually; we could have spent the whole evening there!

We stopped again another time or two back to Ibiza, and then returned to our hotel for the night.

DAY 8

This was a packed day full of exploring.  We headed out to Ibiza Town which was adorable and wandered through the winding roads and charming shops.  We stopped in a cute sandwich shop for lunch before heading to the beach, Cala Comte.

The beach was stunning, although significantly more crowded than similar beaches in Mallorca.  Somehow we were able to grab a few chairs right near the water than only cost 20 or so euros.  We had a great afternoon lounging on the beach and in the water.  This beach even had a nice restaurant on it where you could grab snacks and drinks.

After the beach, we went back to the hotel to get ready for dinner at Patchwork, which was right on the water.  We made it just in time for sunset and it was the most beautiful view and environment.  Highly recommend this restaurant!  We then returned to the hotel where there was another party for the evening.

DAY 9

Our final day in Ibiza! 😦 We had some time to hang out by the pool and the beach at the hotel in the morning and have lunch before heading to the airport.  

We decided to fly to Madrid this evening before taking our big international flights home the following day out of Madrid to avoid any potential flight issues from Ibiza to Madrid the day off.

I spent 6 months my junior year of college living in Madrid and this was the FIRST time I had been back in over 10 years – crazy!  I love this city so much and need to come back again for longer, but we definitely made the most of our short stint in Madrid.

We arrived in the late afternoon and went to our incredible hotel, Relais & Chateaux Heritage Madrid.  I absolutely LOVED this hotel and would love to stay there again.

We had some time to walk around and shop, but once it got dark stopped at a great outdoor cafe for some drinks and appetizers.  That night, we had dinner at Amazonica, a cool Asian fusion spot with a great vibe.  We also stopped by their downstairs lounge after for a drink and live music.

By this time it was late and time to go back to the hotel for one last night of sleep in Spain and the next day I flew back to Chicago.