Category
G
THE TRIP
Visited
Basis
Updated
The short answer
At a glance
The Ma-10 through the olive terraces, which is most of day four.
Two bases, one mountain road and a lot of swimming – Palma, the Tramuntana and the southeast coast in seven happy nights.
The opening scene
Day four, somewhere above Banyalbufar, and I’ve pulled over for the third time in twenty minutes because the light keeps doing something I’ve never seen it do before. The road is empty – it’s ten past seven – and the sea is a long way down on the left, flat and grey-blue, with one boat on it. There’s a cyclist coming up the hill behind me who’ll be here in about four minutes, and after that I’ll probably see nobody for half an hour. This is the part of Mallorca nobody puts in the brochure, and honestly, it’s the reason to come.
The ask
Seven nights, first time on the island, and the brief I get is almost always the same: you’ve heard Mallorca is beautiful, you’ve also heard it’s a party island, and you’d love to be reassured. You want mountains and villages and swimming, somewhere good to eat every night, and not to be in the car for four hours a day. My answer is two bases, a hire car for the middle of the week, and the famous coves saved for the end.
You’ve reached the quiet door.
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