Majorca certainly caters for the mass market traveller in its famous big resorts of Magaluf and Palma Nova. But most of this beautiful island offers plenty of scope for the more independent minded, from the deep bay of Puerto Pollensa in the north to popular Cala d'Or in the south.

Most visitors tend to stay around only part of the coastline, many without realizing about the magnificent inland scenery of plains and mountains that can also be enjoyed.

Palma, the island's capital, has a population of approximately 300,000, which is practically half of the entire population of the island. It stretches some 15 km along the coastline, from El Arenal and Palma beach in the east as far as the cosmopolitan districts of Cala Mayor and San Agustín in the west.

Palma is a smallish city, having all the advantages that this brings, while at the same time having all the possibilities of a much larger city. Its main source of income comes from tourism and, consequently, leisure activities of all kinds are more than well-catered- for here. There are restaurants, cafeteries, pubs, concert halls, discotheques, a bull-ring and all types of shows, offering the visitor entertainment and amusement at all times.

Tourism had already become an important aspect of life on the island of Majorca back in the early 1920's although on a much smaller scale than today, of course. It was a select, mainly winter tourism which grew up steadily until the begins of the Spanish Civil War. The later "discovery" of Ibiza and Menorca did not occur until well after the Civil War. At that time Majorca was full of artists, who established what was, to all intents and purposes, a colony in and around Pollensa and its port. One of the most famous of them all was Anglada Camarassa.

That conglomeration of artists and poets at Pollensa was to bring about something previously unheard of in island tourism - the construction in 1929 of the Hotel Formentor. It was promoted by the Argentinian entrepreneur Adan Dihel, who even suffered personal hardship in his determination to build the finest hotel on the Mediterranean, near a beach which was not really considered the most adequate place for rest and relaxation. The Hotel Formentor brought about a previously unimaginable change in the island's tourist industry, and was soon imitated by the Hotel Cala Dor and the Gran Hotel Camp de mar. These new hotels successfully joined forces with the already-existing Hotel Victoria Gran Hotel de Palma and the Hotel Príncipe Alfonso.

Beaches to the West

Cala Mayor - sports installations.

Illetes

Two coves some 75 and 150 meters wide, respectively. Pine trees stretch as far as the shore. Excellent sand.

Portals Nous

Small beach with a magnificent urban development.

Palma Nova

Excellent beach with fine sand, good installations and pine groves.

Magaluf

Magnificent beach with fine sand and crystal-clear waters.

Santa Ponsa

Another beach with fine sand and crystal-clear waters.

Peguera

Interesting tourist resort. Beautiful, quiet beach with fine sand surrounded by pine trees.

Cala Fornells

Small beach with fine sand.

Puerto de Andratx

Nearby are the beaches of Camp de Mar and that of San Telm, which is sheltered by Dragonera island. Both have pinewoods.

Beaches to the east

Ciudad Jardín. Can Pastilla - El Arenal - seven kilometre long beach know as Playa de Palma.

The northern coast

Estellencs (489 inhabitants)

Rocky coastline with a beautiful, small bay. Very picturesque site.

Banyalbufer (535 inhabitants)

Magnificent nearby coves. Typical scenery with tomato fields all around.

Valdemossa (1,300 inhabitants)

The Royal Carthusian Monastery has reminiscences of Chopin and George Sand. There is also a small port just a few kilometres away.

Deia (414 inhabitants)

A picturesque mountain village with the Llucalcari cover and a small beach.

Puerto de Soller (1,000 inhabitants)

Its semi-circular beach is approximately one kilometre in length.

La Calobra

A very beautiful cover. Nearby is the Monastery of Lluc and the Torrent de Pareis beach.

The north-east coast

Puerto de Pollensa (300 inhabitants)

It has the beaches of Cala de Sant Vicencs and Formentor, the former situated some 7 km away from Pollensa. It is very cosmopolitan and has beautiful pine groves running right next to the beach. Formentor beach is 9 km from the port of Pollensa and 16 km from Pollensa itself.

Puerto de Alcudia (500 inhabitants)

Has an extensive beach with fine, clean sand, and is the location of many urban developments.

Can Picafort (800 inhabitants)

Extensive beach with fine sand and pine groves.

Cala Ratjada (1,500 inhabitants)

The location of the Artá Caves, as well as the beaches of Son Moll and Cala Guia. Both have fine, clean sand and crystal-clear waters.

Cala Bona - Cala Mllor (300 inhabitants)

There are magnificent sandy beaches in a lovely bay surrounded by pine trees.

The east coast

Port Cristo (1,000 inhabitants)

The caves of El Drac and Hams can be visited, and there is also Porto Cristo beach. Nearby is an aquarium and a safari park.

Porto Colom (411 inhabitants)

Has beautiful beaches, like those of Porto Colom, Cala Murada, Cala Marsal and Arenal.

Satanyi (6,640 inhabitants) Here we find the fishing port of Cala Figuera, surrounded by pine trees. Cala Santanyi lies 5 km away and has fine sand and clean, shallow waters. Other interesting sites include Port Petro, Cala Llonga and Cala D'or - the latter being surrounded by rocks and pine trees.

Colonia de Sant Jordi

There is a lovely, sandy beach with crystal-clear waters, as well as pine groves and salt pans.