A weekend in the East of Mallorca

Some friends and I decided to fly to Mallorca to have a relaxed and lazy weekend in Mallorca. More precisely, we visited the east of the island. We went there the first weekend of October to avoid the high prices, and were a bit unlucky with the weather, as it was a weekend of quite bad weather. Nonetheless, at the end it was not too bad for us.

We took bus A42 from the airport, which passes once an hour. Our final destination was Sa Coma, where our hotel was.

Activities to do in the East of Mallorca

Swim at the Cales & check out the many natural caves

If the weather is good, there’s nothing better to do in Mallorca than to visit some cales (beaches) and swim there. It’s Mallorca, so don’t expect beaches without people, but certainly some are more crowded than others. As mentioned, when we went there was a storm, so the beaches were not very clean – many algae on the beach. However, my friends, who were there the previous year, mentioned that they found the beaches really clean and beautiful, with white sands.

You can visit the Caló d’en Refelino, and on the way, you can try to find the Cova Sa Figuera, a small cave next to the ocean. It’s a bit hard to find, but if you put the point on Google Maps and keep heading towards it, you’ll find it out. To swim, the Caló del Moro is nice.

Check the cactae at the Botanicactus

For 10€, you can visit the Botanicactus, a huge cactus garden in the south of the island. In October, many of the cactae were blooming, so it was super cool to see! The variety of cactae is not super high, but there’s definetly enough to enjoy a couple of hours. The garden is also very large, and has an area for other types of plants.

Visit the Colònia de Sant Jordi

Colònia de Sant Jordi is a small city in the south of Mallorca. It has a nice cala nearby to swim, and the city is quite touristy, with small shops and restaurants around. We enjoyed a short walk around and reached the lighthouse. Something cool is that from the coast you can see the profile of the Cabrera island.

Go into the depths of the islands by visiting one of the many caves

There are several caves that are open to the public. The most famous are the Coves del Drach, which have a visit that includes a small concert inside the cave and a boat ride. We decided to visit the Coves d’Artà, as they are less crowded. We could enter for 15€, and spent around 1 h inside. The Coves d’Artà were one of the first ones in the world open to the public. That’s why they are covered in a black substance, which comes from the fumes of the torches. The cave is quite large and very impressive. The guide also gave great explanations of the history and geology of the cave.

Eat an Ensaïmada

This is absolutely a MUST DO in Mallorca. Ensaïmadas are the typical dessert of the island, and in the plane you can see many people carrying them back to their homes. We pre-ordered our ensaïmada with cabell d’àngel (pumkpin filling) at the Can Benyó, a small local place in Sa Coma. While they have some to buy on the day of, I totally recommend ordering one for the next day.

Is Mallorca worth visiting our of season?

I’d say that’s the best time – you avoid the crowds, you avoid paying the summer premium, and locals are more relaxed. It’s true that depending on the weather you may not be able to swim, but that depends on how much of a priority that is for you. I’m happy not getting into the water and just walking on the beach, so fall is the perfect season to visit touristy places.

Do you need a car in Mallorca?

I’d recommend so. Public transport is not very frequent outside of the capital, so it’ll be a limiting factor to visit the island. The island is pretty small, so you can in principle visit Palma if you stay in the east and come back on the same day. However, if you only have one weekend, I’d recommend staying around the same area to be able to enjoy doing activities instead of driving.