First Impressions of Mallorca

Last Updated on May 1 , 2024 by acrossthewaterwithchelsita

Today I’m sharing my first impressions of Mallorca, more specifically compared to Barcelona, but first of all I’d like to say a big hello to all of my readers. It’s been a while – two years to be precise. Funny how working as a full-time copywriter can put you off writing in your free time!

How come I’ve started writing again?

Since moving to Mallorca three months ago, I’ve been feeling the urge to revive the blog. Partly because I haven’t made any friends yet and also because I now have some sweet terrace views. It’s definitely easier to write when you don’t have a 72-hour social programme planned every weekend and you have a desk with a sea view. 

But I also want to write about my experiences in Mallorca because when I was moving here I found that a lot of the information available about Mallorca in English was written with rich British pensioners in mind. But as a thirty-something-year-old who’s already lived in Spain for 7 years and who definitely doesn’t have the savings to invest in exclusive beach-front properties, that’s not the kind of information I needed. 

During my time on the island, (which will hopefully be forever as the memory of our difficult and expensive move from Barcelona is still painfully fresh in my mind!) I aim to explore the island, its food, beaches, bureaucracy and nightlife and report back with my findings to help you save time money and sanity. 

With that said, let’s get to the main point of this post.

What are my first impressions of Mallorca?

Based on my three months living in the South of Mallorca, here are the four main things which have stood out:

The beaches in Mallorca are amazing

While there are some great beaches a short train ride from Barcelona, the ones in the city can be pretty dirty as well as being small for the city’s huge population. Mallorca on the other hand is a beach lover’s paradise: long powdery-soft sand beaches, rocky coves, stunning calas, Mallorca has it all. 

Something that really makes Mallorcan beaches stand out is how clear the water is. The crystal blue hues of the water is due in no small part to the Neptune grass meadows that grow around the Balearic islands. Not only does this seagrass, or Posidonia, help to keep the water clear by filtering out pollutants and sediments, it also provides important nursery habitats and food sources for a wide range of sea life like turtles and fish. This makes Mallorca a top destination if you’re into snorkelling and scuba diving! 

Mallorquíns generally seem friendlier than people in Barcelona

Now, don’t shoot the messenger, this is just my subjective impression, and I have some great Barcelona friends who are like family to me and who I really miss, but so far the people I’ve interacted with in Mallorca, from neighbours to workers at the ayuntamiento (council), to Amazon deliverers and bartenders, generally seem friendlier and more relaxed than in the Catalan capital. 

Perhaps it has something to do with Mallorca’s smaller size. Mallorca has around 900,000 inhabitants compared to Barcelona’s almost 5 million. Or maybe it’s that sea air and crystalline water. It’s surely easier to be happy on a beautiful island. Whatever it is, I definitely think Mallorca scores a point higher than Barcelona for friendliness.

Life is cheaper on the island

Nowhere is this more evident than in rental prices. In Mallorca you can rent a four-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment with sea views for the price of a two-bedroom apartment on the outskirts of Barcelona. As you can see, you can definitely make savings on the housing front here. 

Another way you can save a lot of money is by taking public transport. In 2023, public transport is completely free to Mallorca residents. Not to mention the 75% discount on air and sea travel for Balearic island residents!
In fact, according to cost-of-living sites like expatistan and numbeo, Mallorca is cheaper on all fronts compared to Barcelona. The only area for me where this doesn’t seem to be the case is eating out. I’ve found that we’ve consistently spent more eating out here than we used to, but this could be because of the current high inflation almost everywhere in Europe, and the fact that we live in Can Pastilla, a resort town in Palma. This means that a lot of the seafront restaurants are aimed at tourists, making them more expensive, and I am a sucker for a seafront restaurant!

There are soooo many Germans in Mallorca

The Germans joke that Mallorca is Germany’s 17th federal state and I can see why. Alongside the 18,000 or so permanent German residents in the Balearics, over 2 million German tourists visit Mallorca annually. This has made a huge mark on the island. There are German schools, German medical practices, German radio stations, as well as German beer halls like Bierkönig and Megapark. Admittedly, I live within walking distance of Mallorca’s notorious German resort of S’Arenal, famed for debauched drinking orgies, so it’s probably no wonder that I feel at times as if I’m walking around Munich’s Oktoberfest with sunshine.

Unlike my German husband, who cringes every time he sees anything reminiscent of his homeland, I don’t see this as a bad thing. First of all, I’m a big fan of German food, second of all it gives me a chance to brush up on my rusty German, and lastly, I’m unapologetically excited to dust off my dirndl to wear to the beer halls.

And it’s not just Germans. 18.8% of people living in the Balearic islands are foreigners, making it the region with the highest percentage of foreign residents in all of Spain. Of these, 29,063 are Moroccans, 21,326 Italians, 18,222 from Germany, and 17,953 from the United Kingdom. A true cultural melting pot in the middle of the Med!

What were your first impressions of Mallorca?

So now you know that moving to Mallorca has only brought positives for me. Beautiful beaches, cheaper cost of living, friendly people and lots of Germans. I think most people would agree that at least the first three points are definite pluses.

But enough about what I think, how about you? If you moved to Mallorca or have holidayed here, what were your first impressions? Let me know in the comments section below.