Understand
[edit]It's difficult to imagine when this was the "undiscovered Med", but from 1838 discerning travellers headed here, along with delicate souls like Chopin who found the likes of Monte Carlo and Venice altogether too crowded and noisy. Wisely they kept the secret to themselves, and mass tourism only developed from the 1960s, when a string of resorts sprang up along the coast. Every few minutes in summer, another plane-load of tourists descends over the scrubby hills of Calvià towards Palma airport.
It would be unfair to call Santa Ponsa, El Toro or Peguera down-market, but package deals are amazingly cheap, and these attract a value-for-money crowd of Brits and Germans escaping their chilly northern homes. These resorts don't have the insane drinking and clubbing reputation of Magaluf a few kilometres west, but anyone wanting a decent night's sleep (especially with young children) will need to pick accommodation away from the pubs and discos, and avoid the dates of Fiestas de Verano when the din can be heard in genteel Menorca.
Get in
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By road from Palma take Ma-1 west. From the airport use Ma-20 to bypass the city.
TIB buses run from Palma to Peguera (Bus 102), Santa Ponsa (103, 106), Calvià town via Santa Ponsa (107), and Port d'Andratx via Peguera and Santa Ponsa (122).
Get around
[edit]Bus 103 plies along the coast between Peguera and Santa Ponsa, every 25 min M-Sa and every 40 min Sunday.
See
[edit]- 1 Molí de Santa Ponça is an old windmill at the highway junction east edge of town. There's a small free parking lot for a photo but no interior access.
- 2 Nostra Senyora de l'Esperança is the parish church. It's modern and open-air.
- 3 Puig de sa Morisca is a viewpoint on the scrub-clad hill east of town, with a few stretches of medieval masonry. Open 24 hours, free, and best entered from the north off Av de Santa Ponça.
- 4 Punta de El Toro is a nature reserve, which continues beyond the point underwater.
- 5 Calvià the area admin centre has little to divert the visitor, but there are hiking trails in the hills to the southeast.
- A total solar eclipse on Wednesday 12 Aug 2026, starting at 20:31 and lasting 90 seconds. The chances of a clear sky are 65%, but you need to move west to the coast around Port d'Andratx to get a clear view to the horizon, as the sun will be setting over the sea. A few minutes later, sunset ends the show.
Do
[edit]- Beaches are sandy in Santa Ponsa and Peguera, in between is stony with poor access.
- Piraten Park is a climbing park (age 6+) by Gran de Torà beach in Peguera, open M 12:00-21:00, Tu-Su 10:00-21:00. It also hires SUPs. The eccentric owner is rude to many visitors but helpful with others, there's no obvious pattern.
- Jungle Parc Mallorca, Av Jaume I 40A, Santa Ponça, ☏ +34 630 948295. Tu-Su 10:30-17:00. Tree adventure park with one circuit for children aged 4-12, and an easy and a difficult circuit for adults. You move from tree to tree by bridges, ropes, vines and zip wires. Adult €20, child 4-12 €15.
- Scuba diving centres are Mar Balear and Zoea in Santa Ponsa, and H2O Academy in Santa Ponsa.
- Port Adriano is the marina for leisure craft and base for boat-related activities. It's in El Toro the southern district of Santa Ponsa.
- Golf: Golf Santa Ponsa has two championship 18-hole courses (only SP 1 is available to non-members), a nine-hole and a driving range. See Magaluf#Do for Majorca Country Club and T-Golf Calvia a few km east.
- Swimming pool: The municipal indoor pool is at Av Santa Ponsa near SP 1 golf course, open M-F 08:30-22:00, Sa 09:00-14:00.
- Fiestas de Verano are music festivals held in several towns in summer. Peguera fiesta is late July, when rock music blares out until dawn. Calvià town fiesta is a more civic affair with mostly sports events, over a week in mid-July.
Buy
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Dozens of small supermarkets in Santa Ponça and Peguera, open daily until late.
Eat
[edit]- Santa Ponsa has Waina Thai, Mamma Mia, Fat Sams, Maggiolini Gelateria, Sir Henry, Bleecker, Sakura, Empathia, Sun Burger, Parrillada El Ceibo, Xaloc and Las Olas.
- Peguera has La Hacienda, La Vida, Mar y Mar, Red Rubber Duck, Pizzeria San Marco, La Tasca Flamenca, El Burlaero, Los Poetas Andaluces, Beach Club, Da Giovanni, La Campana and Gateway of India.
Drink
[edit]Peguera has over a dozen beachfront bars. Santa Ponsa has Flozzie's, Flaming's Irish Pub and Eolo Bar.
Sleep
[edit]Many hotels in the area charge €500 extra to families with children. You will feel especially ripped-off if they put you in a room next to the plaza or disco.
Santa Ponsa
[edit]- 1 Reverence Life, C de Lisboa 4, ☏ +34 971 031032. Bright clean place near Santa Ponsa beachfront. B&B double €100.
- Hotel Casablanca is opposite Reverence Life at C Gran Via Rei Sanxo 6.
- Plazamar Serenity Resort is central, at Av del Golf 4.
- H10 Casa del Mar is midway along the bay at C Gran Via Puig Major 2.
- Playas del Rey is a simple hotel on Av del Rei Jaume I 76.
- Plaza Santa Ponsa is a large adults-only hotel at Plaça Santa Ponça 2.
- 2 Iberostar Jardín del Sol, Huguet de's Far, ☏ +34 971 691312. Swish hotel on the headland, great reviews. B&B double €250.
- Punta del Mar[dead link] is 100 m west of Iberostar on the headland.
- 3 Kimpton Aysla, Av del Golf 37, ☏ +34 871 555500. Luxury hotel edge of town by the golf course. B&B double €450.
Paguera
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- Apartamentos Ponent Carrer Sebel·lí 4. Trendy looking hotel in the heart of town. Maybe too close to the beach and plaza. Not a great place for relaxing.
- 4 Hotel Palmira Paradise, C de les Gavines 24, ☏ +34 871 181613. Pleasant resort hotel east edge of village. B&B double €200.
- Hotel Bahia, Blv de Paguera 81, ☏ +34 971 686100. Good value hotel with character, east side of beach. B&B double €120.
- 5 Secrets Mallorca Villamil, Blv de Paguera 66, ☏ +34 911 229866. Swish beachfront hotel, part of Hyatt group. B&B double €350.
- Valentin Somni was refurbished in 2024 but they've overdone the minimalism, eg no privacy for toilet. It's at C del Peral 3.
- Valentin Park Club is adjacent at C Eucaliptus 20.
- Cupido is basic but clean, in mid-village at C Eucalipus 5.
- Neptuno is similar, next to Cupido at C Roser 2.
- 6 Fergus Hotel Europa, C de la Savina 16, ☏ +34 971 685335. Family-friendly hotel west edge of village, good entertainment but 15 minutes uphill from beach.
- Bordoy Don Antonio is 200 m further north, at C Bonavida 11.
- 7 Hotel Coronado, C de Cala Fornells 80, ☏ +34 971 686800. Excellent resort hotel and spa on coast 2 km southwest of Paguera, linked by shuttle. B&B double €250.
- Hotel Venecia, C Rosal 8, Paguera, ☏ +34 971 6866 2, [email protected]. Clean quiet place west end of Palmira Beach. B&B double €100.
Connect
[edit]As of July 2024, Santa Ponça, Paguera and their approach roads have 5G from all Spanish carriers.
Go next
[edit]- Palma de Mallorca the capital needs a couple of days to explore.
- Andratx is a more upmarket, quieter resort to the west.