Cala d’Or is a tourist town located on the east coast of Mallorca (also known as Majorca – the largest of the Spanish Balearic Islands). It’s approximately 60km (1hr drive) from Palma and the airport. There is a wide selection of hotels and resorts to suit a variety of budgets. But be aware that if travelling via an airport transfer bus, travel times to Cala d’Or can be closer to 2 hours depending on stops. In this Cala d’Or guide, I share the best things to do in Cala d’Or, Mallorca.
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Things To Do In Cala D’Or
Beaches In Cala D’Or
One of the best things to do in Cala d’Or is visit one of the calas! True to its name, one of the main features are the ‘calas’. These are coves or small bays with the bluest sea and white sand beaches. During my visit I went to 4: Cala Serena, Cala Ferrera, Cala Esmeralda and Cala Gran. Another is Cala Petita. The largest is Cala Gran. Several have facilities such as: toilets, showers, beach bars and rentals. (Cala d’Or means ‘Golden Bay’)
Cala Ferrera
Swimming & Cala d’Or Jellyfish
The coves have calm waters with marked swimming areas. Some of the larger ones also have lifeguards on duty. The Calas mostly have rocky edges, with many of the deeper areas having ladders to get in and out of the sea. These are popular with people jumping in off the rocks!
On one day during my stay unfortunately the cove did ‘fill up’ with jellyfish. Spring/summer is a popular time for them. They are carried on the tides and become trapped in the inlets. Luckily they can come one day and be completely gone the next. When one Cala may have them, the next may have zero.
I was speaking to another person in my hotel that got stung while snorkelling. It had marked him but he said the lifeguards have ammonia to help stop the pain. At the time when he was treated, he was told that another 20 people had also been stung!
Jellyfish hunting from the safety of my SUP rental!
As the water is so clear, they can often be spotted. They are small and brown in colour. If one is spotted, there are likely to be more within that area. Either go back at a different time of day, try another Cala instead or stay in the shallows.
Rentals
On many of the beaches you will find sun loungers and umbrellas for hire. A whole day rental for 2 beds, an umbrella and use of a safe cost €14. In June, when the temperatures were hitting 28c daily, most of the beds were completely filled by 11am. Payments are accepted via cash or card.
For watersport lovers, stand up paddle boards can be hired on Cala Gran and Cala Fererra beaches. Paddle boards are €10 for 30 minutes and €13 for an hour. Another popular option are the pedal boats with slides on the back. These are €12 for 30 minutes or €15 for an hour.
The Cala d’or fruit man
I personally loved the fruit man! There were a couple of different men selling fresh fruit at the different beaches. You can’t miss him, he sings a song about get your mangos and your coco locos. Guaranteed you’ll end up finding yourself singing the song to yourself!
He sells fruit out of a wheelbarrow and chops everything up in front of you. Half a pineapple is €5 and a coconut is €4 and you get a free banana for every portion you buy. He even offers the coconut water to you before slicing up the coconut into bite sized pieces. Mangos and cherries are also sold.
Cala D’Or Boat Trips – Starfish
Another frequent visit to the Calas is the Starfish glass bottom boat. This large purple and green catamaran offers a variety of different tours with pick ups from Cala Ferrera, Cala Esmeralda, Cala Gran, Es Forti and Cala Egos.
A couple in my hotel did the 3 hour tour to Portopetro which included a 45 minute swim stop. The boats have 2 smaller stern slides and a giant inflatable slide on the bow. They highly recommended it and said it was a great trip! They also have dolphin watching trips.
Starfish boat at Cala Ferrera
Cala d’Or Marina
It took us about 30 minutes to walk from Cala Ferrera to the Marina de Cala d’Or. A taxi costs approximately €6 one way. The marina is in it’s own Cala and there is a promenade around the water’s edge. It is home to some amazing private boats, as well as ones that charter luxury day cruises.
Starfish also have some trips on smaller boats, departing from the marina. For those that like a little kick of adrenaline, there are also jet ski rental companies. A 1 hour jet ski rental costs approximately €140.
Marina de Cala d’Or
There are a variety of restaurants and bars with water-side seating. I recommend Waves Bar. They have a lovely outside seating area and serve great iced coffee with cream on top! In the ladies bathroom they also have a complimentary basket with products such as: perfume, sun cream, after sun, lotion, babies nappies/diapers and more, which is a lovely touch. (Full products not to be removed).
Iced Coffee at Waves Bar – Cala d’Or Marina
Children’s Fun Parks
Fantasy Park & Happy Park
For Cala d’Or things to do with kids, there are two children’s fun parks. Happy Park and Fantasy Park are a short distance from each other. Both have similar attractions such as: coin operated go karts (children must ride with an adult on the ones at Happy Park), bungee trampolines, inflatable slides, air hockey tables and more. You’ll also find public toilets. They open at 4pm and close around midnight.
Happy Park
Some Majorca island excursions have a bus pick up at Fantasy Park, rather than stopping at every hotel. It’s a central location within walking distance from many Cala d’Or hotels. (May be listed as Mallorcalandia even though no signs say this in the area).
Food & Drink
During the day, Cala d’Or is quite a sleepy town, with many people opting to spend the day at one of the beaches or around hotel swimming pools. In true Spanish fashion, it comes alive in the evenings, with the pedestrian area in the centre of town becoming packed out with late evening diners. If you want a good burger, the ‘Hawaii Burger’ I had from Supertramps was delicious!
For great gelato, check out Cala D’Ice. There are popular chocolate bar based flavours such as: Kinder Bueno, Ferrero Rocher, Bounty and Snickers. Alongside the more typical fruity flavours like: cherry, passionfruit, strawberry and more. After 8pm, they also serve crepes! They have a small shaded seating area too, perfect for a stop when wondering around town.
Cala d’Ice
Cala D’Or Nightlife
Live Entertainment
As mentioned above, there’s a buzz around the restaurants in the evenings. Many of the bars also open around 6-7pm. Several of the bars have free live performances and shows to entice in customers. For example: Tropical Garden has Robbie Williams, Elvis and Abba tribute acts as well as a reptile and parrot show (and a swimming pool!). Eden Paradise Karaoke & Music Bar has Rod Stewart, Tina Turner, Motown and Freddy Mercury tribute acts.
Tropical Garden Cala d’Or
Cocktail Bars
For cocktails bars In Cala d’Or, I really enjoyed Cheeki Tiki. Along with the traditional cocktails (€9), they also serve Polynesian themed cocktails (€8.50) served in unique ceramic tiki mugs! I tried a Bahama Mama (light and dark rum, Malibu, banana liquor and pineapple juice) and a Reef (vodka, tropical liquor and exotic juices).
The mugs are decorated with fruit and sparklers and a complimentary bowl of snacks (nuts) are served to each table. There are also two resident parrots: a blue Macaw called Mayo who will say ‘hello’ and ‘hola’ to people walking by and an African Grey called Yaco.
A similar tiki bar is Kalypso Tutti Fruitti, located in the pedestrian area. They also have 2 parrots and the bar looks like a flower explosion! The concept is slightly different in that it doesn’t have a traditional menu. Instead they serve a daily ‘house cocktail’ in a 2 person sharing ‘bowl’ for €18 with extra long straws. (Other drinks are available but they have to be requested).
Shopping
The dominant type of shop you’ll find in Cala d’Or are the typical tourist souvenir shops. Almost every shop sells identical products, from pool inflatables and towels, beach cover-ups to keyrings, postcards and toys. Even the Spar convenience stores are packed with souvenirs and are located on most street corners.
For branded products Av. Tagomago has more ‘High Street’ type stores such as Desigual and Lacoste. It borders the pedestrian areas and there’s a giant T-Rex statue at the end of the street!
There are a few ‘street sellers’ around Cala d’Or but I didn’t find them to be too overbearing like that can be in some locations. One of the most popular types are those offering hair braiding and those retro colourful hair wraps that were popular in the 90’s. Prices are not listed, so it’s important to settle on an agreed priced BEFORE starting.
A couple wander the streets, into the outside seating areas at the bars and on the beaches selling brightly coloured glasses and fake golden chains etc. Generally they were not pressurising and if you say ‘no thank you’, they do walk away. A couple of girls sell cover-ups, dresses and sarongs on the beach and will walk between the sun loungers showing the products.
Es Forti de Cala d’Or
Approximately a 25 minute walk from the Cala d’Or marina, is Es Forti de Cala d’Or. Originally built in 1730 this military base was declared a cultural site of interest in 1949. The fort was destroyed in 1755 after an tsunami and earthquake hit the island but it was rebuilt in 1793. It’s free to visit the fort but there are no facilities or information boards at the site. It is said to be a good place to watch sunset and has great views across Cala Llonga Bay.
Cala d’Or Express Land Train
Before the pandemic, there were 2 land train routes around the Cala d’Or area. The Cala d’Or Express yellow covered the area towards Cala Ferrera and the blue line did a circuit towards Cala Egos and Es Forti. It could either be used as a one way hop on, hop off (€2.50 per person) or a complete tour lasting around 1 hour (€4.50 adults, €3 children).
There’s talk in a local Facebook group that the Cala d’Or Express train should be returning into service soon. I will update when I see the announcement! If it was in operation during my visit, I would definitely have used it on multiple occasions. It can be quite tough walking around in summer temperatures of 30c!
Where To Stay In Cala d’Or
Hotel Cala Ferrera
Majorca All-Inclusive restrictions
During my visit to Cala d’Or, I stayed at the Hotel Cala Ferrera on an all inclusive basis. Unlike some of the Majorca resorts, correct at the time of writing, the hotels in Cala d’Or are not including in the new all inclusive alcohol restrictions. Some of the resorts around the Palma area are restricted to 3 alcoholic drinks served with lunch and 3 at dinner. This is not in place at the Cala d’Or hotels.
Alcohol was available between 10am until 11pm (with a one-hour break in service at 5pm). The all inclusive basis included house beer, wine and a selection of spirits and cocktails (along with soft drinks). Other brands could be purchased for an additional cost. The pool bar also had hot snacks and ice cream throughout the day.
Location
One of the highlights of staying at the Hotel Cala Ferrera were the views and the swimming pool area. The hotel sits up on top of the rocks, overlooking the ridiculously blue water in Cala Ferrera bay. It also sits on a cliff path with access to the beach (5 minute walk) and the rocky areas with ladders, perfect for jumping into the sea.
Hotel Cala Ferrera
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The hotel is on the smaller side, so the daytime and evening entertainment is on a smaller scale, compared to some of the larger resorts. We did sometimes struggle to get a sun lounger around the pool in the afternoons, finding that some people would often reserve more than one so they were able to switch between the sun and the shade. Overall, we loved the staff, the food was always hot and it was just a 15 minute walk into the centre of Cala d’Or.
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