Palma Majorca

Spain is well known for her first class championship golf courses, and the Balearic Islands of Majorca and Menorca offers 14 golf courses for golfers. They are very well designed courses that can be as enticing to novice golfers as they are challenging to veterans.

Thirteen of the courses are located on Majorca, and plans are in place to let holiday golfers know what they are missing if they overlook golf on the island, with the tourist board launching a marketing campaign soon.

With fabulous beaches, cultural offerings and sporting opportunities, Majorca is an ideal holidays destination. The island is nearly 80 kilometres long with over 500 kilometres of coastline. Much of that coastline features beaches ranging from blue flag pristine white sand stretches to tiny out of the way coves and inlets, attracting swimmers, wind surfers, scuba divers, fishermen, sailors and surfers.

Palma de Majorca, the capital, is the centre of Majorcan culture. The cathedral is a gothic structure overlooking the bay. It is noted for its enormous rose window and wrought iron works by Catalan master Antonio Gaudi. At night, the cathedral radiates green lighting that can be seen for miles around and is quite a landmark.

Throughout the year, Palma offers festivals, concerts, literary events and exhibitions that attract artists and tourists from around the world. Tourists can find works by Picasso, Gauguin and Kiefer in museums like L’Almudaina and Es Baluard.

Inland, the Sierra de Tramuntana mountain range reaches heights of 14,000 feet. Tourists on their Majorca holidays will delight in discovering numerous small towns within the peaks and valleys of the mountains. Eventually, the mountains sweep down to the sea in dramatic fashion.  Equally delightful, holidaymakers will also find a wide variety of Balearic cuisine, much of which is Mediterranean inspired.

Menorca is much smaller than its sister to the south, and has remained much more rural than Majorca. Despite its much smaller size, Menorca has almost as many inviting beaches along its coastline as Majorca and Ibiza combined. The white sand beaches and crystal clear waters are hard to resist. Swimming, diving, fishing, scuba diving, sailing and surfing are as popular on Menorca as they are on Majorca. Sailing, in particular, draws many enthusiasts because of the stunning harbours and inlets that dot the coastline.

Golf is also extremely popular on the island, but Menorca has just one course at the present time, Son Parc.

As in the rest of the Balearic islands, Mediterranean cuisine abounds. Known for its sumptuous seafood varieties, a staple of Menorcan cuisine is caldereta de llgosta, a delicious lobster stew that all visitors are encouraged to try at least once before they leave the island. But if lobster is not your choice, there are sardines, mullet, squid, prawns, grouper, tuna and sole to choose from as well. Menorca produces a variety of olives, cheeses and abundant fresh vegetables.