Mallorca Spain is the biggest of the Balearic Islands, a Spanish territory situated in the Mediterranean Sea. Being a popular holiday destination among English, German, and Dutch, Mallorca offers range of activities such as beach relaxation, mountain climbing, children’s theme park, wildlife sightseeing, and night parties. Therefore, this holiday destination is suited for wide target groups such as families, couples, and group of friends, and even for sole travellers.  As a family of four,  we chose to come here for our winter holiday relaxation and to capture sunshine, which was difficult to do in the Netherlands. Indeed, Mallorca is a holiday destination that I can greatly recommend for families! Here are the ten reasons why  families should consider going to Mallorca Spain (especially if you are in Europe), plus some tips on how you can make your trip as pleasant as possible.

Ten reasons why Mallorca Spain is suitable for family holiday:

1. Mallorca Spain is affordable and very accessible from many European airports.

It is very easy to find cheap flight tickets from other cities in Europe going to Mallorca Spain, using low cost airlines such as Ryan Air, Transavia, and Easyjets. If you book earlier (or if there are some promotions), you can find deals for as low as 9,99 euros one way! When coming from the Northern or Western part of Europe, Mallorca is nearer than Malta and Greece. It is also more accessible since its capital city, Palma, operates internationally.

2. Mallorca has cheap varied accommodations with some offering baby sitters.

Booking an accommodation in Palma Mallorca is cheap, as long as you stay outside its capital Palma city. The accommodations also vary from hotels, apartments, houses, and villas, catered to different number and groups of travellers. It is interesting that many of these accommodations offer baby sitting services in case that couples would like to enjoy the island, such having dinner in restaurants or swimming in the pool or beaches.

Since we travel as a family of four, we stayed in Vistasol Hotel (Apartamentos Vistasol), which is located in Magaluf and is 30 minutes away from Palma city. This apartment hotel is close by the sea (5 minutes walk), restaurants, supermarkets, and children attraction park. The hotel is affordable therefore it is advisable to top up your booking with a balcony and sea view to enhance your stay.

3. Mallorca offers varied transports for an island experience.

When arriving from the airport, you can arrange your transport by renting a car, arranging a private transport, or commuting via public transportation. The easiest way to go to your hotel from the airport is via the first two options. Renting a car is also a cheap option to go to your hotel and to get around the island the rest of your holiday. If you would like to arrange a private transport, do the booking online so you can compare prices that the private transport services are offering in Mallorca and to avoid paying heavily when you book only after arriving in Palma. One of the cheapest transports services that we found online is via Airport Transfers website. In case time is not an issue and your travel without kids, public transportation could be a cheap alternative but may take longer. For example, if you stay in Magaluf, a private car takes 20mins, shared private transport is 40 minutes, and public transport is 1 hour and 10 mins.

One you arrive in the Mallorca, you can explore and tour in different ways such as driving through the island, biking, using buses, trains, trams, and boat.

4. Mallorca Spain has beautiful beaches and sand.

Families that prefer relax holiday away from busy cities can find haven in Mallorca Spain as it prides many beautiful beaches with white sand and clear water. We haven’t explored other beaches except Magaluf (the place we stayed), but there are actually around 262 beaches to visit in Mallorca (see ABC Mallorca). So far, our experience is Magaluf beach which is already wonderful though we didn’t swim since we visited in November. The beaches around this time is less touristic and off season, but families can let their children enjoy playing on the sand and can sun bath.

5. Many kid’s attraction

In Magaluf alone, there are children theme parks, such as Katmandu and Western Water Park, which children and parents could definitely have fun with. Other children theme parks that can be found in Mallorca includes Fantasy Park Cala Mallorca, Jungle Parc Mallorca, Jungle Parc Junior, and Forestal Park Mallorca.

6. Great outdoor activities

Families visiting Mallorca can do many outdoor activities, such as climbing mountains, exploring forests, driving through the island, and visiting zoos where you can find giraffes, zebras, rhinos, and chattering monkeys. We were not able to this (yet) since our kids are still very young, and we’ll surely do once they are on the right age.

7. Rich in historical sights

Palma city is very rich in history and historical sights, just like other countries situated in the Mediterranean region. Its most famous historical sites include the Cathedral de Mallorca, a gothic style cathedral that was  built in 1229 and the Believer Castle, which is the first circular castle built in Europe.

As a Catholic island, Mallorca is also rich with other churches such as Basilica de Sant Francesc, San Nicolau Church, and Santa Eulalia Church. It would be nice to experience Palma city and indulge in its cultural heritage even just for day. Kids might love the castles and church visit adventures!

8. Good and reasonable prices local food

It is possible to try the authentic Mallorcan dishes with reasonable prices, especially if you are staying outside Palma city. Dining out away from main tourist attractions will save a lot. For instance, we discovered and dined out in a restaurant few blocks away from the city center of Palma, and we only paid 8,90 euros for a delicious 3-course meal consisting of soup, main dish, and dessert. It was definitely a nice indulgence for food at a reasonable price!

9. Shopping in Palma Mallorca Spain is cheap.

Even the shopping in Mallorca is in general cheap. For people who loves shopping, you might have fun buying souvenir items, clothing, shoes, and other items.

10. Supermarkets offer organic and biological products.

One thing that we love about this island is that we were able to shop wide varieties of organic and biological products from German-based supermarkets ALDI and LIDL. The variation of organic and biological products in these supermarkets are wider and  cheaper in Mallorca than in the Netherlands. Since we stayed in an apartment-hotel, we had the opportunity to cook. Therefore, we were not only enable to save money from our food, but also felt sustainable during our travel.