THE BEAUTY OF MALLORCA

Mallorca is a beautiful island that boasts a coastline of 550km during high season. It has wonderful sunny beaches which is the major reason why tourists flock to the island. However aside from the sun, beach and, sand Mallorca has more to offer including its beautiful mountain ranges, places with old Gothic architectures, hilltop villages, wonderful caves, and olive groves.

TOURIST FAST FACTS

Mallorca (or Majorca in English) is a 3640 square mile island that lies in the Mediterranean Sea off the south east coast of mainland Spain. It can be reached by plane form most UK airports with the flight taking only around 2 to 2 ½ hours.

Getting around Mallorca is not a problem since many of its citizens can speak English and even German due to the large number of tourists they interact with constantly. The official language is Spanish though Catalan is also widely used. Money is also not an issue for UE travelers since Mallorca’s main currency is the Euro.

The history of Mallorca is very old since the island has been inhabited way back in the Paleolithic period. The first inhabitants of Mallorca came from the sea and lived in natural caves along the coastline. The next group of settlers decided to settle further away from the sea and built dwellings from immense stones. Their dwellings of which there were around a thousand of them recorded are called talaiots.

When the Phoenicians, Greeks, and Carthaginians started migrating from Central Asia to the west they found Mallorca and traded with the people there although the Carthaginians settled and occupied the islands. This continued until 123 BC when the Romans under the command of Quintus Caecilius Metellus arrived and set up colonies all over the island. Of the cities they built the most important, which is Pollentia (now Alcudia) and Palmaria (now Palma), still have some remaining structures which are tourist attractions nowadays. The Romans also introduced olive cultivation, viniculture, and salt mining. To this day the olive groves in Mallorca are quite a site to behold and remain to be one of the many sites tourists love to visit.

Mallorca became Christianized after it was conquered by the Byzantine Empire and declared to be part of Sardinia in 534 AD. This was true until Muslim “visitors” from North Africa started attacking Mallorca around 707 AD and the Moors conquered it in 902 AD. The Moors left a legacy of improved irrigation for agriculture and let Mallorca flourish.

Mallorca was then ruled by one conqueror after another until King James I of Aragon and Catalonia annexed the island and conquered the Moors. On his demise in 1276 the island was divided into two with his son James II declared as king of the Kingdom of Mallorca. The Kingdom flourished under his rule but again lost its independence in 1344 when King Peter IV of Aragon incorporated the island back into the Crown of Aragon.

Now Mallorca is part of the Kingdom of Spain but along with the rest of the Balearic Islands has their own autonomic government and local administrative bodies.

Mallorca is an island so that there are only two ways to get to the place, by plane or by boat. You can fly to Palma Mallorca Airport from 26 UK airports where flights are quite frequent. If you choose to fly via discount airlines the flights are not as frequent though most of them offer at least daily flights. You can also fly to Mallorca’s international airport, Son Sant Joan Airport, which is located 8km (5mi) from Palma. Most airlines also fly direct to the international airport since Mallorca is a very popular destination. For those who want to see other parts of Spain before heading on to Mallorca you can go to the mainland then fly from other airports there though this will of course jack up the price of your trip. Flights from Valencia and Barcelona to Mallorca are the cheapest while flying from Menorca and Ibiza are not recommended. This is because you’ll need to pay double the price of what you need to pay when taking a ferry while saving only about an hour’s worth of travel. Discount airlines are also available in Madrid and Malaga, which are ideal for tourists who have these places included in their itinerary.

Getting from the airport to ones hotel is not a problem since airport buses are usually available and run from both of the airports to Palma. Airport transfers can also be arranged before hand and many hotels offer this service though it will cost a bit more than taking the bus or a taxi. Taxis are also readily available as well as rental cars, wherein the offices are usually situated within the airport grounds. It is a good idea though to arrange car rental in advance to avoid delay when you get to Mallorca. If you plan to take a taxi make sure that you have money of lower denominations with you since most taxi drivers do not carry change for more than 20 Euro.

For those coming from the mainland and the other Balearic Islands catching a ferry boats is a very good option. You can ride a ferry boat from several points in the Spanish coast as well as from Menorca.