There is something about the Balearic Islands we love. After traveling to the Island of Ibiza for 11 straight years, my wife Maureen and I decided to go to the much larger but equally vibrant island next door to Ibiza, Palma De Mallorca. This island is as famous as Ibiza and is naturally beautiful in its beaches and mountains; it is very low-key, has excellent weather most of the year, and is much less costly than hotels and restaurants.
Our trip typically begins with flying on Delta to virtually any major European city and then transferring directly to Palma De Mallorca. Palma De Mallorca Airport (PMI) is massive and supports huge air traffic from all over Europe. Once in Palma, and after renting our car, we proceed about a half hour south to a cute city in the southwestern quadrant of the island, Colonia Saint Jordi, and its world-famous beach, Es Tranc. Colonia Saint Jordi is a wonderful city with beautiful hotels, excellent restaurants, and great shopping. The city is dominated by the hotel chain Universal Hotels, which offers primarily four-star hotels all over this town.
The hotel we have enjoyed for three separate trips is the Universal Hotel Marques, which is on the water facing the famous Es Tranc beach. Directly next to our hotel is a beautiful 5-star boutique hotel called El Coto. Es Tranc beach is enormous and absolutely gorgeous, and it is in every way as nice as the famous Formentera beaches, the beaches that all European beaches are measured up against.
Es Tranc has a sandy bottom, super clear warm water, and no waves. It is both a family beach and clothing optional beach with an excellent restaurant.
From the hotel, you can walk to the beach (not recommended) in about 45 minutes or by car in 10 minutes. Whereas the trip to the beach by car is reasonably quick, the roadway from the main route to the beach is a hair-raising experience with a one-lane road for two lanes of traffic. So, we recommend that you become part of a caravan of cars in either direction, or you wind up backing up to provide space for the oncoming traffic. Traffic always seems to work out, but this is something that nightmares are made of!
Colonia Saint Jordi has a beautiful seaport area with several restaurants on the water. We have eaten many times at the Restaurante Marisol; however, Restaurante La Mallorquina at the seaport is equally wonderful.
Colonia Saint Jordi is a walker’s paradise; not only within the town but around the town is a beautiful ocean walkway that encircles most of the city. For the past two years, United Airlines has become the only airline providing non-stop air transportation directly to the United States from their Newark Hub. This route has been reported to be highly profitable for United and is well-appreciated by everyone living on the island.
