Mallorca 2019

Here are some insights and impressions from my summer vacation in 2019 that I would like to share with you. I spent a week at the 'Globales Playa Santa Ponsa' hotel. At first, I was skeptical because the hotel didn't have the best reviews and I only booked it because it was cheap, to be honest. I was positively surprised and mostly satisfied. We arrived and were warmly welcomed and provided with all the information. Then we put our suitcases in a storage room and gathered our first impressions of the city and the beach. Our room was always clean and the facilities were more than adequate. To my satisfaction, we got a room with a view of the pool, which I actually liked better than a room facing the street with a bit of blue in the distance. Well, not really in the distance, because the beach was just a stone's throw away. In general, it can be said about the hotel that the entertainment was very good and everyone was very nice. The food was always delicious, but the selection was not very varied. The cocktails were also great, but the sangria surpassed everything. We had already booked an excursion in Germany beforehand. On the third day, we went on the mentioned excursion. We were picked up by a tour bus on a street nearby and taken to Palma city, where we then switched to another bus. That was a bit annoying, but since the excursion only cost 25€ online, I refrained from getting unnecessarily upset. Afterwards, we quickly went to Valdemossa, where we had 1.5 hours of free time. We looked at the church and the small alleys. Valdemossa is a must-see. In my opinion, it is one of the most beautiful places in Mallorca. Before returning to the bus, we got an ice cream cone across from the church at the beginning of the village. It cost a bit too much for my taste at 1.50€, but it was definitely worth it. Once we were in the bus, we continued towards Port de Soller. Here, too, we had free time and walked along the promenade and the harbor and took beautiful pictures. I would have loved to take a ride on the nostalgic tram, but unfortunately there was no time. The excursion was beautiful, but we were still glad when we were on our way back in the midday heat and could refresh ourselves in the pool. Two days later, we took the public bus to Palma for about 3€. The island's capital, and definitely one of my favorite places. I love the different facets and the openness of the people. As one of the few who dare to go out into the sun at noon, we walked through the city and had all the time in the world. First, we visited the cathedral, as it is not far from the bus stop. We didn't go inside because I had already been there several times. Later, we walked towards the old town and shared a pizza there. We compared prices and ended up not paying much at all. And we even got olives served for free. After some shopping in the new town, we walked back to the bus stop with a juice and went back. Apart from lying on the beach and occasionally renting a beach boat, we also went on a well-known dolphin tour one day. I've been on this tour a thousand times and never seen a dolphin, but that changed this time. We paid about 20€ per person for a 4-hour ride. Tickets were available at a stand on the promenade. The route was Santa Ponsa - Paguera - Camp de Mar. We saw 9 dolphins up close. In the middle, there was a short swimming stop in the middle of the sea. However, thanks to the people who can't behave properly, I returned to my sun spot 5 minutes later. Don't forget sunscreen, as there was not a centimeter of shade. In the evening, after dinner, we either went to the pool bar and participated in the program or strolled through the city and drank cocktails. If you walked up the street past Burger King, there was a long street with many bars, clubs, shisha bars, and English people. We usually walked to the left, where you could enjoy the sunset in quiet cocktail bars right by the sea. We also had dinner there on our last day. The food was quite expensive, but the cocktails were normal. You can also eat well at Jürgen Drews' cult restaurant, which every German should know. I don't really have any insider tips for this vacation, except for one small one. When we were sitting in the above-mentioned bar, I saw a super long staircase in the distance. Out of curiosity, we walked there and climbed it. It was super exhausting and I regretted it after a few minutes, but the view was a compensation. We could overlook the whole Santa Ponsa and enjoyed the view and the many lights. There were many pine trees on the beach that provided ample shade. I can only recommend lying there instead of squeezing yourself between all the tourists on the overpriced loungers in front. We preferred to lie in the shade with the locals, who were much friendlier anyway. There was plenty of space on the beach for fitness, ball games, and water activities. That's all I have to tell and recommend.