PALMA de Mallorca, already congested this early, with hordes of tourists will welcome another bunch – students from all over Europe. From Universite de Paris to Berlin University, students from all walks of life will converge to Palma de Mallorca to have a jolly good time during spring break. And these are not just French or German students. For the Universite of Paris has one of the largest foreign student populations in the world. There are Filipino, Chinese, Moroccan, Israeli, Egyptian and Pakistani students splashed all over the place.
And take a look at this, folks! One of the hottest English stars today (and I really mean hot!), Sienna Miller, was just spotted tanning topless at one of the trendiest beaches in Palma de Mallorca over the weekend! It’s not like she did it in a private beach, she did it at 4 p.m. on a public beach – the Palma Nova at the western strip of the island. If you think that’s nasty considering that Palma de Mallorca is inhabited with a largely conservative Roman Catholic population, think again. For the many people who troop to this island paradise are not because they are all English and Scandinavian tourists. Like Sienna Miller for instance.
Its people like Sienna Miller and all of these tourists who encourage airlines to create more routes in going to Palma de Mallorca not just in spring but for the whole year long. With the deregulation of the Spanish aviation industry and with the entry of foreign airlines such as Irish-based Ryanair, this is one thing to look forward to this spring. There are now flights coming in from London as well as inter-Balearic flights from Ibiza and other destinations from the Iberian Peninsula like Lisbon, Madrid, Salamanca, as well as direct flights coming from Tenerife and Las Palmas Gran Canaria in the Canary Islands off the coast of the Horn of Africa.
Along with spring also comes the annual jazz festival of Palma de Mallorca. Whereas its sister island Ibiza is well known for party music and the Spanish mainland is known for flamenco, Palma de Mallorca is known for jazz of course. And they call their jazz festival the Jazz Voyeur Festival – meaning its open to the public and not just to jazz enthusiasts. It is also named as such as an ode to the rising tide of nudist beaches here.
EVERY summer, international students based in Paris troop to Palma de Mallorca to wind up. Palma de Mallorca is now the place with the fastest growth of tourists. Most of the tourists here are British and Scandinavian. The British are the older ones who are expats (many have jobs giving one to one English class and enjoy a relaxed stress free life) while the Scandinavian ones are the younger ones who come here to enjoy the nudist resorts in Palma de Mallorca while enjoying house music till the wee hours of dawn.
One of the most sought after events in Palma de Mallorca this year will be the Rally Clasico Isla Mallorca 2008 which is slated from March 26 to March 29. That’s four days of nothing but showcasing vintage cars. And they do not just choose Spanish-made cars or even European-made ones, you can show off your United States-made or Japanese-made cars here. The track of Rally Clasico Isla Mallorca 2008 is a total of 400 kilometers. Of course, the track is held inland and must not be near the beaches because there is an existing regulation that beaches in Spain (and that includes Palma de Mallorca of course) are free of cars which are driven on dirt roads. They value their cleanliness so much because each beach here is constantly inspected by the European Union and being given the blue flag accreditation. And the nice thing on these beaches here especially at the nudist ones is that your body will be illuminated if you go skinny dipping on a moonless but starry night because there are glowing planktons in the water surrounding you and are witnesses of your honeymoon with your partner if there are two of you out in an enchanted evening.
And just like anywhere in Europe, football remains to be a pastime here. In fact, international favorite Real Madrid has been humiliated by the Palma de Mallorca team. In fact, it is one defining moment for Real Mallorca because Real Madrid was booted out of Copa del Rey as a result of Wednesday’s game. And what’s even more humiliating was the fact that Real Mallorca defeated Real Madrid at their own turf in the capital of Spain. It is said that Real Madrid has rapidly descended its performance after the loss of superstar David Beckham to an American team. Real Mallorca’s victory comes at a time when two of its players – Dani Guiza and Jonas Gutierrez – are both heading to Portsmouth to play in the Premier League.
In another piece of news, Ryannair has announced additional daily flights to Palma de Mallorca. This is a living testament that Palma de Mallorca is indeed the hottest destination in the Balearic archipelago. If you are coming in from any part of Europe, you don’t need to have a visa to get here. But if you come from the United States or any part of North America and the world, then you certainly need a visa to come here. So go ahead, call your travel agent today for a trip here.
PALMA de Mallorca has been the fastest growing tourist destination off the shores of Spain in 2007. Even though Tenerife in the Canaries and Ibiza in the same Balearic Archipelago are still the hottest tourist magnets, Palma de Mallorca has become the buzzword among all young circles anywhere in Europe. At the universities in Paris for example, students there from around the world say they all want to troop to Palma de Mallorca by summer. It’s just like the Carribean of Europe for them.
As early as the first days of 2008, travel agencies all over the United States and Europe have started various gimmicks just to lure travelers to Palma de Mallorca. Even though it is still the middle of winter, the temperature in Palma de Mallorca at this time is not that low because it enjoys a very temperate climate here all year round. It’s not just the discounts in plane and hotel suites that are available, there are also discounts on such delectable offers as spa services like body wrap, body scrub and a barrage of other body and facial treatments complete with free sauna and jacuzzi.
It may be a rainy Christmas in Palma de Mallorca last December 25 but that definitely has not hampered the vacationers from partying. Some were even seen soaking wet in the rain as they grinded like crazy to the tunes of dance and party music like Christmas Eve down to the wee hours of dawn with some parties even lasting up to 6 a.m. the next morning. But despite the liberated mood all around, it is imperative to note that tourism officials as well as resort management in Palma de Mallorca are very strict to apprehend anybody will illicit drugs. You can be dancing and gyrating wildly in stark nudity but you just cannot sniff cocaine.
And one thing that I like more in Palma de Mallorca resorts are their strict adherence to cleanliness. In fact, all Palma de Mallorca resorts have been stamped the blue flag accreditation by the European Union for having excellent quality service. To ensure independence and reliability of the accreditation, the European Union conducts surveys to customers in these resorts. These surveys are the bases for the blue flag accreditation.
One of the best resorts in Palma de Mallorca are the aptly-named Mallorca Farmhouses. The Mallorca Farmhouses may not have a beach but this inland resort has all the amenities a guest can call the entire sprawling campus a paradise. Among its excellent features are a heated pool and a terrace featuring cushioned lounges where you can tan yourself naked if the sun is up. Why not try the Mallorca Farmhouses during New Year? It may not rain there at all just like it had last Christmas. For first-timers in Mallorca, it may be helpful to note that the Spanish government has issued an updated digitized map of the place just in time for the new year.
