Last updated on August 16, 2023
We’ve just returned from a gorgeous holiday in Puerto Pollensa, Mallorca (or Majorca). We went as part of a Jet2 package holiday, but added our own personal touch by getting out and about and exploring the local area.
As you know, it’s in my nature to research, research, research, so here’s a round-up of our favourite things to do in Puerto Pollensa, including things we actually did, plus a few more that are on our wish list for next time…
Is it Puerto Pollensa or Port de Pollença?
Mallorca has two official languages, Spanish and Catalan. And there’s also Mallorquin, a Mallorcan dialect of Catalan. Like in Catalunya and places like Barcelona, you’ll often see both the Spanish and Catalan spellings on road signs. Puerto Pollensa is the Spanish name and Port de Pollença is the Catalan one. I’m going to use Puerto Pollensa in this post as that’s the one that’s more commonly used by English speakers.
What’s Puerto Pollensa like?
Puerto Pollensa stands out among Mallorca’s resorts for being a laid-back family-friendly alternative to some of the island’s bigger party towns. Plus it has some of the island’s most spectacular scenery.
The port is in a horseshoe bay, flanked by the Tramuntana mountains and edged with a long, white sandy beach. The area has strict building regulations, so you won’t see the high rises that blight other towns on the coast. Puerto Pollensa is particularly popular with British holidaymakers.
When to go to Puerto Pollensa?
Puerto Pollensa weather benefits from a Mediterranean climate with hot, dry summers and mild winters. July and August are the best time for long, sunny days, but it’s also the school holidays, so the crowds are at their largest. In both July and August, you can expect highs of around 30 C and lows around 18 C.
Although the winters are mild, they’re still chilly with highs of around 12 C, and lows of 2 C in January. You can expect to swim in the sea from around June to October.
Also bear in mind that many places close during the low season from around November until Easter.
Things to do in Puerto Pollensa, Mallorca
1. Hit the beach
Puerto Pollensa has some fabulous beaches to choose from. There’s Pollensa Beach, a long stretch of sand that fronts the town and beyond. It has lots of umbrellas and loungers for hire, plus a few beach bars along the way and watersports equipment for hire.
The pine-fringed Albercuix Beach is a smaller option a little further around the coast, but still in walking distance of the port. It’s popular with families for its shallow waters and shady spots.
But my favourite beach of all was Formentor beach, which we cover in the Formentor section below. It’s about a 20-minute drive from Puerto Pollensa. And also see our points on Cala San Vicente and the hidden beach at Cala Boquer.
2. Take a stroll along Pine Walk
Come evening in Puerto Pollensa, you’ll find tourists and locals alike strolling along the beautiful Pine Walk that runs alongside the coast.
It makes for a beautiful evening walk, and I also loved it for my morning run. There are a few playgrounds along the way for kids too.
3. Visit Pollensa old town
This post is mainly talking about Puerto Pollensa, but there’s also the town of Pollensa, about 15 minutes’ inland from the port.
This historic little town is well worth a visit for its cute winding streets and the fabulous Calvari Steps, a set of 365 steps that lead up to a tiny church.
4. Go to Pollensa Market
Try to time your visit to Pollensa on a Sunday so you can visit the Pollensa Market. Running from 8am-1:30pm every Sunday, the market has around 300 stalls selling food, crafts, clothes plants and more. It caters to the locals as well as tourists, so is a nice way to experience a slice of genuine Mallorcan life.
5. Take a day trip to Formentor
One of our favourite things to do in Puerto Pollensa is to take a day trip to Formentor Beach. The drive there is stunning and you can stop en route at the Mirador d’es Colomer for incredible views of Cap de Formentor and the surrounding ocean.
The beach itself is stunning, fringed by pine trees that cast shade upon the narrow beach and the shallow waters. It’s a recipe that makes it perfect for kids and those sheltering from the blazing sun. There are a few places to eat, including La Veranda that serves an excellent but expensive pizza (18 euro a pop).
If you don’t have a car, you can get to Formentor Beach by boat from Puerto Pollensa. This might be a good option in the high season anyway as the carpark fills up later in the day, which means you risk facing a long queue to get in, or perhaps not getting a space at all (we never had a problem when arriving around 11am, but saw queues when leaving around 2pm).
You could also do an organised tour such as this one that includes an open-top bus drive to Formentor and a boat back from there to Puerto Pollensa.
There are also glass-bottom boats, which would be a fun option (although liable to make you seasick if you’re prone to that like me).
And there’s also this whole-day tour that includes a trip to both Formentor and Alcudia Old Town.
See some options for tours that include Formentor below:
6. Visit Alcudia Old Town and its Roman ruins
Like Puerto Pollensa, the bay of Alcudia (one of Mallorca’s most popular and built-up resort towns) is paired with the old town of Alcudia. The walled historic town has atmospheric cobbled alleyways and Roman ruins. And you can walk along the top of the town walls for beautiful views across the city and the surrounding countryside and coast.
There are some lovely places to eat and drink (like Osteria El Patio) – it reminded me a little of the El Born district of Barcelona. There’s a market here on Sundays and Tuesdays.
7. Visit Cala San Vicente
Cala San Vicente is a tiny little resort village with three gorgeous beaches and a handful of restaurants, shops and fairly high-end hotels. Cala Barques is the biggest beach and Cala Carbi is a tiny one with pebbles.
But best of all is Cala Molins, a 50m stretch of sand with epic views out to Cap de Formentor. It has a beach bar plus parasols and sunbeds for hire. The whole area is popular with kayakers and you can rent one at Cala Molins here.
Cala Boquer is a spot you may have seen on Instagram. The secluded beach, surrounded by limestone cliffs, is picture perfect. It’s reached via a 6.5km, 40-minute hike, so feels like a special secret.
However, it’s also in a good anchoring spot, so popular with yachties. We didn’t get to go there as we didn’t fancy the hike with kids, but it looks like an amazing spot.
9. Go on a boat trip
There are some fabulous boat tours you can do around Puerto Pollensa and Alcudia Bay. There are more options, including dolphin spotting tours, from Alcudia, which is about 20 minutes from Puerto Pollensa.
That said, you can find great options in Puerto Pollensa too, including this 2 or 4-hour boat tour, which visits hidden coves and swimming spots.
Here’s a selection to choose from in the area, including snorkelling trips and sunset cruises.
10. Go dolphin spotting
There are dolphin spotting boat trips throughout the year in Alcudia Bay. This one from Alucudia Port leaves in the early hours so you can catch the sunset from the sea (it will pick you up from hotels in Puerto Pollensa).
And this three-hour trip from Can Picafort, a little further down the coast (30 minutes from Puerto Pollensa), has a 99% chance of seeing dolphins.
Active adventures in and around Puerto Pollensa
11. Hiking
The area around Puerto Pollensa is popular for hiking, especially through the Tramuntana Mountains along the Ruta de Pedra en Sec (dry stone route), which runs from Puerto Pollensa.
The whole route is 100km but you can choose to do little sections. Find maps of local hikes at the Puerto Pollensa tourist office.
12. SUP
The calm bay of Puerto Pollensa is perfect for paddleboarding especially in the mornings when the water is at its most calm. It’s an ideal place to try it for the first time and take a few lessons.
There are lots of options for SUP hire and lessons in and around the town, including the Mallorca SUP Company. And you can also hire SUP boards in Alcudia too.
13. Cycling
Mallorca is a super popular destination for cyclists and we saw plenty while there, especially on the road to Formentor Beach (which looked like a pretty mighty cycle!).
There are lots of places to rent bikes and you can cycle to other places on this list including Cala San Vicente, Formentor, Pollensa and Alcudia. 2GO Cycling offers bike hire as well as organised excursions.
14. Kitesurfing
Can Cap Bou Beach is the place to go for kitesurfing, and we saw the water filled with colourful kites every afternoon we were there. You can do classes, and it’s also fun to simply watch. Mallorca Kiteboarding offers both rental equipment and lessons.
15. Horseriding
If you’re into horseriding, there are lots of ranches offering excursions in Majorca. Rancho Ses Roques is about 15 minutes from Puerto Pollensa. You can book a 2-hour mountain excursion here.
16. Jet skiing
For adrenaline seekers, you can get out on the water on jet skis. There are some available from small outfits on the beach in Puerto Pollensa, or you could book one of these tours from Alcudia (sunset jet ski or Alcudia Bay tour) in advance (these both include short lessons before you’re let loose!).
Further afield day trips from Puerto Pollensa
17. Explore Palma
Palma is Mallorca’s biggest city and one worth visiting if you fancy a bit of city time during your holiday. The iconic Cathedral of Mallorca (buy a skip-the-line ticket here) makes for an impressive backdrop to your wanders, and the winding streets are filled with lots of cool bars, restaurants and shops.
Palma makes a great city break in its own right. There are a few tours you can do below, including hop-on-hop-off bus rides, boat trips and city tours (click through for more options on Get Your Guide).
18. Ride the Soller Tram and Train
In the north of Mallorca is Soller, a pretty town home to a very cool historic tram and trainline. You can ride the tram between the mountains of Soller and the beach at Port de Soller on a 30-minute trip.
And there’s also an historic train that travels all the way from Soller to Palma. It’s a fun way to see the big city, passing through mountains, valleys and viaducts along the way. The train is an hour-long journey both there and back.
Soller is just over an hour from Puerto Pollensa, so it’s do-able as a day trip. But we decided not to as it felt like too much with the kids in tow.
Probably the best way to do it is to join an organised tour as then you only have to take the train one way and not worry about returning to collect your car. This whole day tour leaves from Puerto Pollensa, driving you to Palma where you ride the train to Soller and explore the local area. It takes 9 hours in total.
19. Visit Valldemossa or Deià
Perched on a hill, Valldemossa is Mallorca’s most visited town, partly because it’s so pretty, but also because Chopin spent a winter there in its monastery. It looks gorgeous and we’d have loved to pay a visit – definitely one for next time. Another popular and perfectly picturesque village is Deià in northern Mallorca.
Where to eat in Puerto Pollensa
Here are a few of our Puerto Pollensa restaurant recommendations:
Imperial Bar and Tapas – tapas on the seafront (a good place to try the traditional Mallorcan tumbet dish of roasted veg pictured above)
Norai – a small and busy little bar selling pintxos
Osteria N15 – for good Italian food on the plaza in Puerto Pollensa
Abacco – natural health food and sushi
Naturpoke – Poke bowls on Pine Walk
Osteria El Patio – atmospheric Italian restaurant in Alcudia old town
Where to stay in Puerto Pollensa
We stayed at Aparthotel Club del Sol, about a 20-minute walk from the town. Read a full review of our Majorca package holiday with Jet2. We definitely recommend it as a family-friendly hotel with great views.
Hoposa Daina – stylish hotel on the seafront in Puerto Pollensa
Hotel Miramar – a family-run hotel right on the seafront in Puerto Pollensa
Son Brull Hotel & Spa – for stylish luxury in gorgeous grounds just outside Puerto Pollensa
Formentor, A Royal Hideaway Hotel – for the ultimate luxury escape next to our favourite part of the island.
More Spain tips
For more tips on Spain, see our guide to the best road trips in Spain, and our Barcelona guides, including the best things to do in Barcelona with kids.
