Cheap Holiday Guide to The Balearic Islands
A Guide to Cheap Holidays in The Balearic Islands
Getting to and around The Balearic Islands cheaply
Countless low-cost package and scheduled airlines fly into Majorca, Ibiza and Menorca several times daily throughout the summer.
Certainly on the smaller islands of Menorca and Formentera, public transport can be far from reliable so it's a good idea to hire a car which is relatively cheap for a week of easy travelling.
On Majorca and Ibiza, car-hire is again probably the better option although the public transport links are much better. From the Majorcan capital, Palma, you can even catch a train to the villages of Inca and Soller.
Beaches in The Balearic Islands
If you want to join the British hordes on holiday on the Balearic Islands then head for the big, busy resorts such as Palma Nova, Santa Ponsa and Magaluf on Majorca. Despite being jam-packed with sunbathers and backed by high-rise hotels, they're actually beautiful stretches of sand.
The best beaches include Cala Bona on the east coast and, further down, the resorts of Cala Gran, Cala Esmerelda and Cala Ferrera collectively known as Cala d'Or. Ibiza's fairly similar, with many beaches backed by concrete monstrosities, but it's easy to head off the beaten track and find some isolated gems.
On Menorca, you'll find more than 100 beaches and your toughest holiday decision will be whether to try a small secluded beach with white sand and warm turquoise waters, such as Cala Es Talaier, or a bigger stretch with cheap pedalo hire and beach bars such as Cala Blanca, just south of Ciutadella. The best beaches on Formentera are Platja de Llevant and Platja de ses Illetes - two beautiful stretches of sand in the extreme north of the island.
Low-cost sightseeing in The Balearic Islands
Palma de Majorca is well worth a visit. It's a really picturesque city, with impressive sights such as the Muslim castle - and current kings' residence – El Palau de l'Almudaina and the imposing Gothic cathedral on the waterfront, which has views over the harbour. On Ibiza, the old port of Sa Penya is a great place to go people watching. It's full of narrow, crowded streets and squares nestled around the harbour and there always seems to be something going on.
In Mahon you can spend a couple of very pleasant hours touring the massive deep-water harbour. The Xoriguer Gin distillery is nearby too and you can take a guided tour before a tasting. Ciutadella is a stunningly beautiful city with a lovely harbour and a historic old quarter. In Formentera, away from the beaches there's not a great deal to see. Sant Francesc Xavier is the capital, a white hamlet with a few cheap but pleasant cafes overlooking sunny squares.
You can spend a lovely day in Menorca in the tiny village of Binibeca. Although it was built in the 1970s, it looks a bit like the place that time forgot. It's a really popular holiday spot for Menorcans (so it must be good), and you can dine al fresco overlooking the harbour. Majorca is well-known for its coves and underground caves, particularly those at Arta and Drac. Book yourself on a cheap guided tour and explore one of the world's largest underground lakes at Drac. The picturesque villages of the Serra de Tramuntera mountains are also worth a visit.
Art lovers visiting Ibiza should take a bit of time away from the beach to visit the Museo de Arte Contemporaneo, near D'Alt Vila, an old walled town with an arched gateway. There are regularly changing modern art exhibitions and it's a nice place to spend a few hours.
Eating cheaply on Holiday in The Balearic Islands
You won’t be short on cuisine on holiday in the Balearic Islands. All over the islands you'll find excellent cuisine and the seafood's particularly good. Palma has lots of good restaurants serving Spanish and European food and Ciutudella's harbour, in Menorca, is a lovely place to dine on some of the most wonderful seafood you’re ever likely to taste.
Tapas, consisting of lots of little dishes such as spicy potatoes or grilled squid, is also popular and it's great fun to wander from bar to bar sampling a few treats with a glass of wine.
If you're pining for some more familiar grub then there's no shortage of restaurants and cafes offering full English breakfasts, Sunday roasts and lots of other British dishes too. All the big touristy resorts cater superbly for English tastes. You can even enjoy a cheap pint of Guinness and a bit of premiership football in many bars and pubs found all over the Balearics.
The nightlife really is superb in the Balearics, but nowhere more so than Ibiza, one of the top clubbing destinations in the world. During the summer, thousands of tourists flock to the super clubs on the island, such as Pacha, Space and Amnesia to dance the night (and some of the next day) away listening to the world's most famous DJs. Be warned though that a serious clubbing holiday on the island can hit the wallet pretty hard as entrance can be expensive and the drinks aren't usually cheap either.
There's a good variety of bars and clubs in the big Majorcan resorts, like Magaluf and Palma Nova which attract brash partygoers, to quiet al fresco nights in local village bars. Ciutudella in Menorca has some very chic cocktail bars and a couple of live music venues, which turn into hip clubs later in the night.
Cheap Shopping in The Balearic Islands
Palma de Majorca has a great pedestrianised shopping area with familiar high street names as well as souvenir shops. You'll also find good markets all over the Balearics selling traditional arts and crafts such as glassware, ceramics, pottery and embroidered linen.
Sa Penya in Ibiza has lots of funky clothes stores, and is also home to the hippie market where you can pick up anything from cheapo T-shirts to local arts and crafts. The Saturday market at Ferreries in Menorca is excellent and you can buy some delicious local food and drink there too. In the rest of Menorca, Ciutudella's good for those seeking stylish boutiques, but remember that the Spanish like to take a long siesta, so the shops shut at lunchtime but stay open late into the night.
The Spanish are very family-orientated and this is certainly true in the Balearics. Many of the resorts have children's play areas, crazy golf courses and the odd amusement arcade and in Majorca, there are fun miniature trains which transport holidaymakers along many of the resort promenades and at low prices too.
There are lots of water parks on the island too, including Aguamar Water Park in Ibiza and Aquacity in Arenal, Majorca, Europe's largest park, which has numerous slides like the Black Hole and Kamikaze. Marineland in Portals Nous, Majorca, is really popular with kids, largely thanks to the regular dolphin, sea-lion and parrot performances. The 25-acre Fiestaland Sports Complex is great for sporty families too. On Formentera, there isn't much for children besides the gorgeous beaches.
<< Back to Balearic Islands Holiday Guide
