Turquoise water, white fine sand, palm trees, and a radiant sun: it’s no coincidence that the south of Mallorca is called Migjorn, the Mallorcan word for midday. Only a two-hour flight separates you from this paradise!
Es Trenc Beach
Mallorca’s largest unspoiled sandy beach, Es Trenc, is known as the nearby Caribbean. Eight kilometers of dreamy beach stretch from Sa Ràpita to Colònia de Sant Jordi (it is best to arrive from Campos; large parking lots are available at Ses Covetes at the northern end of the beach and at the Salinas de Llevant).
The dune landscape is protected, and in the bay, Aleppo pines, junipers, and rosemary grow. You will find good infrastructure in the area of Colònia de Sant Jordi (umbrella and lounge chair rentals, showers, restrooms, and beach restaurants). In the central section, you’ll find the unofficial nudist area.
Llevant Salt Flats
About 10,000 tons of salt are extracted every year at the Salinas de Llevant between Campos and Colònia de Sant Jordi. By car, you can comfortably travel a small road through this 130-hectare private land, with its salt lakes and gleaming mountains of white salt.
Bird enthusiasts should explore Mallorca’s last coastal salt flats with binoculars, as many rare species can be spotted here. The salt extraction method is simple yet ingenious: in April, seawater is pumped into the salt fields, and during the hot summer, the water evaporates. What remains is almost pure sea salt.
The harvest takes place in September and has been done this way for over 2,000 years. It was in 1850 when industrial salt production began with the founding of the company Salines de Llevant. In the salt shop, you can buy Mallorca’s white gold in one-kilogram bags for a few cents (Ctra. Campos-Colònia de Sant Jordi, km 10, Camino Playa d`Es Trenc, Monday to Friday from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.).
Recommendation: try the new gourmet salt Flor de Sal in different flavor varieties (available in gourmet shops in Mallorca or at the weekly markets in Andratx and Santanyí). Since 2003, the entrepreneurs of Flor de Sal, Katja Wöhr and Sabine Kersten, have been harvesting the precious top layer of saltwater ponds, which has a sweet taste and contains 16 times more magnesium and double the calcium.
Explore places along the south coast
The popular tourist destination Colonia de Sant Jordi is located on the southeast coast of Mallorca.
Mallorca's metropolis, with 480,000 inhabitants, captivates with its picturesque harbor atmosphere.
The village of Capocorb Vell
Greetings from the Flintstone family: The village of Capocorb Vell near Cala Pi is one of the most important megalithic settlements of the Bronze Age in the western Mediterranean. The Talaiot houses were likely built in the 14th century BC by immigrants from the eastern Mediterranean who practiced agriculture and livestock farming on the island.
The term Talaiot refers to a robust construction made of enormous natural stones, stacked dry on top of one another. Most of the Talaiots were two or three stories high and had a pyramidal or conical shape. By the way, the original population of Mallorca was still living in caves at that time.
As the beautiful large stones of the Talaiots were transported to build new buildings over the centuries, in Capocorb Vell only three circular houses and two square ones from the Bronze Age remain, surrounded by smaller annexes and foundation ruins.
Botanicactus in Ses Salines
The desert lives in Mallorca! In the 50,000 square meters of the cactus garden at the Botanicactus Botanical Garden in Ses Salines, over 400 species from around the world thrive. Among them, impressive specimens like the 300-year-old Carnegiea gigantea, native to Arizona.
With a total area of 150,000 square meters, this garden, inaugurated in 1988, is one of the largest in Europe. Additionally, it may even feature the largest navigable artificial lake in the world. The biotopes with endemic plants alternate with tropical and arid landscapes.
The garden’s architecture is also impressive: from shaded galleries to artificial hills and original water features, everything that makes this place a green paradise is offered, including highlights like a faithfully reproduced Arab waterwheel and a Mallorcan windmill with a pond used as a fish pond.
Eating the best empanadas
The bakery Ca`n Pomar, located on the main street of Campos, is renowned throughout the island for its excellent empanadas (stuffed pies with fish, meat, or jam). It’s no wonder that their quality is recognized across Mallorca: after all, Ca`n Pomar has been baking with care for over a hundred years.
Advice:
If you are in Campos, pay attention to the very creative chimneys designed by local artisans. It is also worth visiting the splendid coffered ceiling and the painting “The Holy Christ of Patience” by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo in the Church of Sant Julià (C/. Major; the key is available from the parish priest at the Rectory House, right across the street).
Try the spicy cheese
Quality in every bite: Piris is the Mallorcan variant of the famous square Mahón cheese from the neighboring island of Menorca. On the farms around Campos, the descendants of Friesian cows, known as “frisons,” produce the milk for this cheese, which is found all over Mallorca.
While Piris is not as spicy as Mahón, it also emits the popular aroma of Mediterranean herbs and sea salt. At Formatges Piris cheese factory in Campos, around six million liters of milk are processed each year. An impressive total of 30 liters of milk are concentrated into a single three-kilogram wheel of cheese. In addition to fresh cheese, the family business, which is about 60 years old, also produces three other varieties.
The semi-cured cheese has a mild and creamy flavor, as it matures for only four to five weeks. The cured cheese needs at least three months of maturation to acquire its characteristic firm edge. The reserve cheese requires almost half a year to develop its typical flavor.
Visiting the island of Cabrera
From the Cap Blanc cliff on the southern coast, which rises 80 meters above the sea, you can enjoy a stunning view all the way to the neighboring island of Cabrera, 14 km away. Since Cap Blanc is a restricted military area, it’s easy to find parking near the lighthouse.
From the roadside (for instance, at kilometer 17), it only takes a few steps to reach the cliff. A draw for botany enthusiasts: a slender variant of the Aleppo pine grows in this area, which is only found in the Balearic Islands (Pinus halepensis ceniliae).
Every morning, around nine-thirty, the ferry boats depart from the small idyllic port of Colònia de Sant Jordi to the neighboring island of Cabrera (from spring to fall; in winter, you can only reach it by private boats). The journey takes about an hour. The return trip is usually in the afternoon, around four o’clock.
Until then, you will have time to explore the paradisiacal flora and fauna. In 1991, Cabrera and its 18 islets were declared a national park, covering a total area of 10,000 hectares: the first national park in Spain to include both land and sea. Divers can discover small octopuses, groupers, moray eels, and many other interesting underwater inhabitants.
On land, the dark lizards of the endemic species Podarcis lilfordi cross your path. The boat trip costs around 65 euros per adult. If you want to visit the island in your own boat, you need a permit from the park administration (Tel.: 971-72 50 10, zoeamallorca.com).
Following the Footsteps of the Pirates
The Cala Pi watchtower was built in 1662 to spot approaching pirates. In its day, there were more than 80 watchtowers along the coast of Mallorca. Until the late 19th century, they formed a warning chain with smoke and fire signals.
Afterward, the stone monuments were auctioned off, and many were used as quarries. The remaining talaies today serve as viewpoints for tourists. The sturdy round tower of Cala Pi is well restored, but it can only be visited from the outside.
Enjoy the sun all year round
The southern region of Mallorca is called Migjorn, which is the Mallorcan word for midday. Understandably so, because in the warmest corner of Mallorca (with an average annual temperature of 17 degrees), one almost always feels the calm of the siesta. There’s no other place on the island where it rains so little and so rarely (only between 300 and 500 mm of annual precipitation).
