When we visited Mallorca in September 2017 we honestly didn’t do a whole lot of 
planning. The was one of our “wing it” trips where none of our hotels were planned until the night or two before, and we bounced around the island in two different rental cars and stayed in 3 different towns over the course of 5 days (read more about our itinerary here). It was an amazing trip, but hands down, our best nights were spent hosted at Hotel Esplendido in Soller. Situated in the most perfect spot in the town, the hotel offers the best possible view of the port. Our hotel room balcony opened right up to face the water with this stunning view that almost made us want to stay in the room all weekend! We walked all over town and saw the port from all possible angles and nothing beat the view from Hotel Esplendido. Seriously AMAZING!
Before you arrive you should take a few minutes and do some research on where to park if you’re renting a car. We didn’t, and spent a good bit of time driving around trying to find parking on the one-way streets that lead to the car-free boardwalk. Turns out, the best place to park is in a paid parking lot that ends up being about 6 euros a day (fair warning, the machine ONLY takes cash), and is only a 5 minute walk to the hotel. Certainly not a long or hard walk, but you will bring your bags with you, so keep that in mind. You can probably ride the trolley too if you want to, we just didn’t ever look into it.
The hotel is easily the most magnificent hotel on the strip, so you can’t really miss it. It 
has it’s own restaurant, bar, shop (selling beach accessories, jewelry, a few clothing items, hats, blankets, etc.), library, sauna, and 2 pools, TWO! They also offer spa services, massages, and yoga and pilates classes if you’re wanting to purchase any of those services…they pretty much have anything you could want! We really wanted to get dinner at the hotel’s restaurant since it looked so amazing, but unfortunately we ran out of time and didn’t get a chance to. However, the hotel 
breakfast is AMAZING! Quite possibly the best hotel breakfast that we’ve had – and free too! They had an amazing do-it-yourself yogurt bar, with all types of fresh fruits, nuts, granola, jams, and honey. They had an assortment of freshly baked bread and all kinds of cheeses and meats that were absolutely fabulous. Not to mention all of the juice options, coffee, pastries, and hot breakfast items that you could order too! Absolutely fabulous breakfast, in all honesty, it was the meal we looked forward to the most during our entire stay in Soller.
The room itself was small but cozy, and had everything we needed. It was very nicely 
decorated, and had a mini fridge, radio, flatscreen TV, safe, hairdryer, and nespresso maker in it. The tub was AMAZING
and made me seriously reconsider my stance on baths (I’m not normally a fan) 😉 However, the best part of the room was again, hands down, the balcony. The balcony was a great size and boasted lots of room, along with a set of balcony chairs and ottomans to relax on. The hotel is situated smack dab in the middle of the port, so your view is a straight shot of the harbor clear through to the ocean, and is absolutely INCREDIBLE. I honestly don’t think any other hotel in town could beat this view, which is probably a big factor in the hotel being one of the top ranked Soller hotels on TripAdvisor (see it here).
Also, did I mention that there are TWO pools on the premises??! The first pool is on a
terrace above the hotel, which has a little bar right next to it, but is family-friendly and pretty secluded from everyone except other hotel guests. ABOVE that pool is ANOTHER pool that is an infinity pool just for adults, which is also situated on a terrace that overlooks the harbor. How amazing is that?! The pool is like a rooftop pool but is higher than the hotel itself, so
as you sit on the edge of the pool you’re looking over the hotel roof and get another perfect view of the harbor. Absolutely incredible. Kids aren’t allowed up there, so it’s pretty quiet, with lots of reclining pool chairs scattered all around the pools and garden area near the pools. Also, the landscaping is GORGEOUS, even if you aren’t at the pool. The hotel also offers beach chairs and towels on the beach itself, but the pools are so nice that it’s hard to pull yourself away from them 😉 The other great thing about Hotel Esplendido’s location is not only the perfect view, but it’s also close to everything! It’s right on the main strip, but just in a quieter section, so noise isn’t an issue, but all the restaurants, bars, and shops are just a few steps away. It really puts you at the heart of the town, with the best amenities and a perfect view…what more could you need?!
Prices seem to range from $200-$400ish per night depending on the room and the season, and while the price is definitely worth it, below are some additional budget-friendly hotels that we stayed at while visiting other parts of the island. While they weren’t nearly as amazing as Hotel Esplendido, they’ll get the job done if you’re working with a budget!
1.) Hotel d’Or in Cala d’Or (south eastern side of Mallorca)
- We paid around $86/night for this hotel right in Cala d’Or. It did not have an ocean view, but it was only a 10-15 minute walk to the water, and a 5 minute walk to the adorable town center. It was a small room but provided everything we needed, and had a beautiful little pool and courtyard, along with a bar and restaurant. Breakfast was provided every morning and had something for everyone. The hotel itself really wasn’t anything special, but you pretty much got what you paid for, and it was clean, which was sufficient for our needs since we were trying to budget! Honestly, I’d do this budget option again for a few days if it meant that we got to save money and splurge a bit on Hotel Esplendido 😉 Unfortunately I didn’t get any photos of the hotel, but TripAdvisor’s photos are accurate to the real thing, which you can check out here.
2.) New & Art Hostel (Palma, Mallorca…main city in Mallorca, located in the west side of the island)
- This was our first experience in a hostel, which came about due to our inability to find anything around $100 in Palma at the last minute. We ended up staying at the hostel for about $100/night with the “private room” option, so we didn’t share our room strangers. We got a simple, small, but clean room that contained a shower and toilet, and had everything we needed. Again, you get what you pay for, but it was clean and affordable and was all we needed! We even saw workers cleaning the rooms thoroughly in the morning, which is always a good sign 🙂 We wanted to spend one night in the main city of Mallorca, so this ended up working out great for us – better than we thought! We were a bit wary of staying in a hostel, but you only live once, right?! In all honesty, it really was much better than we expected! It was definitely a local spot, the cab driver that dropped us off was the only person on the whole island that we met that didn’t speak any English, but probably because they picked us up in a local spot as opposed to a tourist spot. The location wasn’t anything special, it was pretty much where you would expect to find locals in any big city in the US, but it was near the places we wanted to go to in Palma – only a 15-20 minute walk to the Catedral de Mallorca, Palma’s main attraction. However, a few things to note…. being in a local neighborhood you did hear a variety of neighborhood noises (dogs barking, scooters, cars, construction work, etc.), which didn’t make for a very relaxing morning. Also, the shades didn’t block much light out in the morning, and the light on the AC was pretty bright, so I’d recommend bringing an eye mask. All in all it was a good experience and while it was certainly no Hotel Esplendido, it was sufficient for our needs and our budget for the one night! Check it out here!
**This post was a collaboration with Hotel Esplendido, but all opinions and photos are my own
and absolutely BREATHTAKING! This 1,405 square-mile island is situated in the western Mediterranean Sea and is a popular tourist destination for Europeans, especially Germans in particular. We visited in September 2017 and the good news for us is that since tourism is the island’s greatest source of revenue, almost everyone on the island speaks multiple languages, with a universal language being English! While not many Americans visit Mallorca, many Europeans speak English as a second language, so it is a pretty universal language with which to communicate with….lucky us! Mallorca is a beautiful island that can provide just about any type of 
terrain that can thrive in a Mediterranean climate that you can think of…it has gorgeous sand beaches, pebble beaches, coves, caves, limestone cliffs, and rugged mountains. The island is a well-known travel destination for rock climbers due to its mountain peaks, limestone cliffs, and coves. Many famous climbers venture to Mallorca for its deep-water soloing locations, and the famous Es Pontas. Mallorca offers lots to do for adventurers and relaxers alike, and is one of the most beautiful islands we’ve ever visited! Keep reading to find out more about this amazing island, our favorite spots, and our best advice!
we were able to see so many different parts of this amazing island, and all on our own time and schedule! Pro Tip: if you’re planning on renting a car, DON’T rent from Gold Car. They are the cheapest option online, but have a bunch of hidden fees that you don’t know about until after it’s too late. The $15 insurance is not optional, and even if you purchased it online like we did they still make you purchase it in person from them. They also require a surprise $100 gas deposit, that, even if you return the car with a full tank of gas you only get $75 of that deposit back. Everyone in front of us in line was having the same issue with these surprise fees, which made the process long and tedious…it took forever to get our car, and they did not negotiate or compromise with us or anyone else in line at all. In the end, we ended up only renting this car for 2 days, and then we returned it and rented a car from Avis for the rest of our trip. We paid about $140 for 2 days at Gold Car, and $160 for 3 days with Avis and a lot less fuss. HIGHLY recommend getting a rental car for the freedom it offers, but don’t bother wasting your time with Gold Car 🙂
days. While they were traditionally appetizers or snacks, every restaurant does them differently, so it is a little tricky to figure out. Sometimes they really are appetizers and snacks, other times they are sides that are ordered alongside an entree, and other times you order several tapas to share and create a customized 
full meal on your own. The only thing that really seems consistent from restaurant to restaurant is the fact that they are small(ish), shareable portions. Our favorite tapas came from the restaurants that did them as mini entrees, so we created a full meal by ordering 5-6 tapas plates and sharing them all. This way allowed us to really try a lot of different Spanish specialties at one sitting without a.) getting too full, and b.) spending a ton of money! We didn’t have to make decisions about what to try or not try, we could try it all!
to try it! Its half espresso and half condensed milk that you mix together and drink, but I’ve only ever seen it on the menu in Cala d’Or, so definitely give it a try if you can find it! I know it sounds gross, but don’t knock it ‘till you try it 🙂 We also did dinner in that main hub every night too, it’s a super fun little area where you just walk around and read menus that are displayed until you see something you like, or hop around and get drinks and tapas. Definitely don’t forget to stop for gelato….that became a nightly tradition for us 🙂 (Pro Tip: tipping isn’t a thing in Mallorca, in fact, when you pay by credit card there isn’t even a tipping option available, however, it does mean that concierge services like bellhops and valets aren’t a thing either).
majority of the coastline is made up of limestone cliffs, so sand beaches are a hot commodity and fill up pretty quickly. The good news is that if you aren’t a fan of crowded beaches, you can almost always adventure along the limestone rock coves until you find a more secluded 
area. A lot of the coves have ladders that go right into the water so you don’t even have to jump if you don’t want to! Just make sure you have shoes with you, as the limestone can be pretty sharp. I was mostly fine in flip flops, it just requires some concentration. We checked out the coves at Cala d’Or Beach, and Cala Gran and were not disappointed! Absolutely STUNNING!
other beaches and coves that we had visited where the beach is small and crowded, but if you do a little hiking you can find your own spot free of other beachgoers! This one in particular had a super small parking area, so most people (including us) parked on the road and walked the 1 mile down the gravel road until we got to a large chained gate at the end of the road with an opening just big enough to squeeze through. From there you have to walk another 1/3 of a mile down a rock path through the woods to get to the beach. Once there, we did an additional ¼ mile walk around the beach up to the rocks that led to a secret cove on the other side of the beach that was basically empty. 
I think this ended up being our favorite cove that we visited due to it’s exclusivity and it’s cliff jumping! Andrew used to be a rock climber, so he loved trying the climbing spots and jumping off the cliffs. There were a few other climbers there who were deep water soloing around the caves and such. Word of caution though, there are jellyfish in the water that we were unaware of until it was too late…we realized they were there the hard way when I got surprised by one that left a 3-inch long rash for several weeks. As long as you’re looking for them though you should be fine! Other than the jellyfish, this was probably our favorite cove that we visited on this trip, so we highly recommend it!
happens to be the hardest deep water solo climb in the world, first ascended by Chris Sharma. The structure is absolutely breathtaking and pictures really don’t do it justice. It is pretty difficult to find if you don’t do your research ahead of time. We didn’t, and used a combination of road signs, a sometimes-working GPS, prayer, and lucky guesses until we miraculously found it. It 
probably isn’t that difficult to find if you know ahead of time to research it, and should only take about 30 minutes driving from Cala d’Or if you don’t get lost. Even getting lost thought it was still worth the trip; we stopped at a few other coves to explore along the way… sometimes getting lost isn’t a bad thing 🙂 (For those wondering, Es Pontas is located between Cala Santanyi and Cala Llombards. You’ll park outside what looks like a national park with a dirt path that you will walk along until you see the arch. You should see a sign or two along the way – it’s only a few minutes’ walk, not a hike). We ended up climbing straight down the cliff so that we could get in the water and swim to the arch, which was UNREAL! We didn’t fare too well on the climb, but there is a pretty sweet rope swing tied to the arch that is available to anyone who can get out there!
the hard way, is a military base that is blocked off and closed to visitors (we didn’t find that out until we had walked over there to get in). The other one has a paved road that you can drive up or walk up to get to the top. The lighthouse itself is not accessible to the public, but there is a great view from the top and a restaurant up there if you’re interested. On the way down, I’d recommend stopping at the little café at the bottom of the path…the owner always has a great stash of Spanish wine 🙂 Soller’s main pedestrian road is car-free and runs right along the harbor with houses, shops, and restaurants, and is a great place to stroll and get drinks, tapas, and gelato. There is also a small rocky beach for the beach bums as well, although, to be honest, it was our least favorite beach and we didn’t spend any time on it. We DID spend a lot of time on our hotel balcony which had an absolutely MAGNIFICENT view…I mean, can you GET much better?! To see where we stayed in Soller with this view stay tuned for a post coming soon!
mountains. You can take a tunnel that goes through the mountains, but obviously, you miss out on the best part – the view! Winding through the mountain is absolutely incredible, and allows you to get the full Mallorcan experience…beach, coves, and cliffs!
runs through the incredible little Spanish town of Deia. The town looks like a picture from a magazine of a traditional Spanish town with its stone walls, shingled roofs, overflowing flowers, and Spanish homes. 
Even better is the cove with its small pebble beach and rock cliffs. I would suggest going early as the parking lot supposedly fills up and it gets trickier to drive down there once it gets crowded. The road down to the cove is a long narrow road with lots of switchbacks and tight turns that make it a little difficult if there’s a car coming the other way. Parking is only 2 euros for the day, which isn’t bad at all! We chose to forgo the small pebble beach and opted to follow a path through the woods that led to a rock cliff that we were able to climb all over and explore. It was only a 5 minute hike through the cliffs and woods to get to our secluded spot on the rocks…totally worth it!
airport. The city is thriving with culture and life and you definitely need to check it out! We aren’t big on cities, but this was a fun one….especially since there happens to be gelato on every street corner 😉 There are tons of shops and restaurants and cafes all over the main plaza, where you can find anything you want, it’s kind of like a mini NYC, but older and prettier. Plus, there are tons of little bonus alleys that you can explore and adventure all through the city, and really cool doors around every corner!
It was only a 15-20 minute walk from our hostel (again, post on where we stayed coming soon
) and is totally worth it for the view of this magnificent building. You can tour the inside of the cathedral for about 7 euros per person, but we didn’t end up opting into the tour based on our limited amount of time. If you have time to I’d recommend trying it, but even without the inside tour the outside view is outstanding and definitely worth a trip!
we had on our trip. Paella is a traditional dish made up of rice, spices, veggies, and meat. Most restaurants will have several different versions to choose from, usually they offer a traditional paella with chicken or beef, seafood, or a vegetarian option. Even if you try nothing else authentic, DEFINITELY try this one!
originated from Italy I can’t classify it as an authentic Spanish specialty, but I definitely think it should be on your list to try! What’s not to love?!
Pilot Life for Me 