Information on Mallorca courtesy of MAD divers

Non-diving activities

Year round activities available on the island include eating in restaurants of almost any speciality you can think of. If it isn't available in your local resort, it will almost certainly be in Palma. Bars are open crazily long hours in many of the resorts, even in the winter months. With satellite television widely available on the island it's possible to watch and also bet on most televised UK and Spanish sporting events and Real Mallorca football club play their home games up in Palma in a new all seater stadium. Many of the pubs are the 'typical British pub', with the exception that the windows and doors are normally left open, even in the winter, so if you're a non-smoker you'll still find fresh air. Golf courses are sprouting up all over the island and the winter weather especially suits itself to a day with the irons.

In the summer there are a number of seasonal activities available. The beaches are warm with spaces on many of them set aside for sports such as beach volleyball and football. Watersports include skiing and parasailing and even renting out jet-skis and pedaloes! Something for the kids? How about one of the 'crazy golf' courses, or an aquapark if the beach gets too repetetive? Many of the hotels also offer kiddies clubs to allow you a few hours to spend doing your own thing away from the kids. In the evenings most of the hotels offer entertainment and there are a number of good shows including 'Pirates' in Magalluf that are suitable for adults and children alike.

Needless to say, this is only a taster of what is available on the island. Have a word with your travel agent or holiday rep and you'll find this is only the tip of the iceberg!

Looking for flights? Try these links:

Easyjet

Globespan

BMI Baby

Thomsons

Air Berlin

British Airways

Typical Weather

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Agu Sep Oct Nov Dec
Rainfall
liter/m²		 8 34 7 83 37 1 1 31 59 123 52 24
Afternoon Air Temp.
ºC		 17 17 21 23 29 31 34 34 29 25 21 20
Night Air Temp.
ºC		 4 4 4 8 11 17 19 19 14 9 8 7
Sea Temp.
ºC		 13 13 14 15 16 23 26 28 26 21 18 15

To find out what the weather is right now in Mallorca you can follow this link provided by Holiday-Weather.com:
Mallorca Weather - We provide weather forecasts for Mallorca.

"The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain" so the saying goes. Certainly not a lot of it falls in Mallorca!

That which does, falls predominantly on the mountainous north coast. The south and west of the island, where we base most of our diving, are the drier parts of the island.

Air temperatures are pleasant most of the year round with temperatures in July and August reaching the low to mid 30sºC during the days. Winter temperatures are on a par with the summer temperatures in the UK and Ireland, but the weather is less predictable than during the summer months.

With sea temperatures ranging from 13ºC in the coldest month of January up to 28ºC in late summer, diving is possible all year round if the right dive suit is used. Note though, that if you're thinking of visiting between December and March a semi-dry or dry suit is recommended and these are not generally available for hire on the island. Here at MAD Divers we do have a small number available.

Resort Information

There are numerous holiday resorts around the southwest quadrant of the island. Moving from Palma, the capital, in a clockwise direction we have:
  1. Palma - the capital city of the Balearic islands (Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera) and one rich in history, shopping opportunities and great eating places. Unlike many places in Mallorca and the southern coast of Spain, a visit to Palma and a walk around the old town with its churches, spectacular cathedral and numerous tapas bars makes you realise that you really are in Espana! A great place to visit for a day, but a bit of a treck to the diving areas of the island if you're going to be diving regularly.

  2. Portals Nous - a very quiet area, this is predominantly, though not exclusively, a British and Scandanavian resort. Very, very quiet...!

  3. Puerto Portals - the playground of the rich and famous. Don't be surprised if you see the King of Spain here as he's a keen yauchtsman and frequently visits the port. The list of other rich and famous is too long to go into, but a 10 minute walk along the quayside with the luxury yauchts on your right and the equally luxurious shops and restaurants on your left will leave you in no doubt that this place is used to seeing money. Don't let the thought of the prices put you off visiting Puerto Portals as there are some very good quality restaurants here and some of them are quite affordable. A beautiful place to have dinner with someone special, looking over the yauchts in the harbour with the reflection of the moon glistening on the sea outside.

  4. Palma Nova - this is a very busy and very British location. There's quite a strong Scandinavian representation here too. If you want your waiter to speak english, the beers to be Tennents Lager or John Smiths Bitter, this is the place to be. Prices are competetive whether you're talking bars, restaurants or car rentals and the beaches are clean, spacious and within easy walking distance of every hotel and apartment complex in the area. Summer of 2003 a new restaurant opened in Palmanova, Seymours. This is a favourite with the expats on the island and is a real must for those of you that like great food at a good price. The resort is quieter than its near neighbour, Magalluf, during the summer but a bit livelier than Magalluf during the winter. Within easy walking distance of Magalluf and with a good road network connecting it to the rest of the southwest, this is a M.A.D. divers favourite.

  5. Magalluf - it still has a well deserved reputation as being the party capital of the island during July and August (the 'crazy season'), but changes in recent years to licensing laws and noise pollution laws mean this is now an area which can be suitable for all ages, even during the crazy season if you find the right accommodation. Think of Magalluf as a younger version of Palma Nova and you can't go far wrong. For more information on Magalluf, go to Magalluf Uncovered

  6. Cala Vinas - a very small resort within walking distance of Magalluf. The resort is pretty much closed from mid-October until May. If you want somewhere very quiet but within easy travelling distance of the best diving in Mallorca then this may be the one for you!

  7. El Toro - an even smaller and quieter version of Cala Vinas. Has one hotel (5*) and a small number of apartment blocks. If you want nightlife, forget it, but if you want to be a 5 minute boat ride from the new marine reserves and some very good diving...

  8. Santa Ponca - another M.A.D Divers favourite. Very similar to Palmanova, lots of reminders of home, with British sports on the pub televisions and all the other little things you miss when you leave home. Beautiful beach. A great family resort for the summer months.Santa Ponsa has an excellent choice of restaurants and a varied nightlife covering most tastes is available. 3 miles from Magalluf for those wanting to see the nightlife capital of the Med.

For those of you interested in additional information on any of the above resorts you can either contact us directly or alternatively, Bestway2Mallorca.com is a source of additional information on some of the resorts listed above.

To contact us you can follow this link to our 'Contacts' page.