A week in Mallorca with a toddler can be an absolute dream. It can also be a little scary, especially if your little one isn’t that used to travelling long distances. We only really get to go abroad once a year so it feels like a whole new experience for our little boy.
With that in mind, this article looks at a more chilled out approach to spending time in sunny Mallorca. I won’t be recommending bringing your two year old to see the Gothic architecture in Palma, or going inland to explore the craggy limestone mountains. Instead, see below some details of our experiences going to the beach, playing by the pool and making the most of the island’s family friendly restaurants.
Where to Stay
I don’t know if anyone else has difficulty finding the perfect holiday accommodation when travelling with a toddler. We find it hard to narrow down places that fit all our criteria. What we look for when travelling with a 2 year old is:
- Short Flight Time – we wanted to keep it to around 2 hours on a plane. I think we will try to expand that to 3 hours next year when he’s a bit older.
- Resort within 1 hour drive from the airport. Again, trying to reduce travel time and any associated stress!
- A self catering apartment within a hotel complex. All the benefits of self catering but still being able to enjoy the facilities of a hotel.
- The apartment needed to have a separate bedroom to the living area. We wanted to be able to sit in the living room or balcony and relax with a glass of wine after bedtime.
- Within walking distance of a beach.
- Within walking distance of a good choice of restaurants and places to eat.
- Ideally, the apartment would have a bath rather than a shower.
- Just a general family friendly vibe.
I know the above sounds like a lot but I think when you are spending so much money on a holiday, you should definitely try to make it as perfect as possible.
So while we found it difficult to find the ideal place, the good news is that we’ve done the research for you. We ended up booking the fab Inturotel Sa Marina in Cala D’Or which ticked all of our boxes.
Other good options in Mallorca we considered were:
Inturotel Sa Marina in Cala D’Or
Cala D’Or lies about an hour’s drive to the east of Palma de Mallorca Airport. We pre booked an airport transfer which included a baby seat. We organised the airport transfer through ROIG. To be honest I found the €93 each way (so €186 in total) cost quite steep but this was the best price we could find. Another option would be the shuttle bus which costs around €24 per person each way.
Right on the edge of the main commercial area of Cala D’Or, Inturotel Sa Marina proved the perfect base location for us. Given its name, the hotel is obviously close to the Marina too which also offered us a variety of eateries to choose from.
Day One
We arrived at the Hotel late in the evening. While our 2 year old should have been wrecked after all the travelling, excitement and hyperness meant bedtime wasn’t as easy as we hoped. While Paula managed getting him to sleep, I popped out and got us a few slices of pizza. All was settled by the time I returned and we tried to get our bearings as we ate.
The bedroom with cot and double bed was located through a door to the left as we came through the entrance of the apartment. Then a good sized bathroom before coming out to a kitchen/dining/living room area. The little kitchenette proved basic but was fine for us for the week. Our apartment sat on the ground floor. However, this ended up being ideal as it still had railings at the front. So we could leave the little man playing safely out there if we were busy doing things inside.
Pro tip – we brought a roll of tape that looks like a road. Laying it out on the balcony for toy cars to drive on provided loads of entertainment.
Our apartment lay at the back of the complex. This proved a good thing as the nearest entrance to us brought us out onto a street which led directly to the nearby shops and restaurants.
Day 2
Stocking up on Supplies
I got up early to pop out to the nearest Spar shop to get some essentials and bits for breakfast. Most days we made our own breakfast and lunches. Then out to a restaurant for dinner.
Once we settled in we found a bigger Mercadona Supermarket which proved much better value and had everything you could ask for.
Exploring the Hotel
We spent the day pottering around the pool and discovered two playgrounds to play in. One inside the hotel complex and one public one right next door. We learned an important lesson early about not going down the slide in wet swimming gear. Seeing your 2 year old come barrelling down a greased up slide takes years off your life! Luckily everyone survived the experience. The crazy 2 year old even wanted to go back and repeat the ordeal!
Taking a little break for myself while Paula looked after nap time
In the early evening we went for a long walk down to the Marina and into the town. We randomly chose a place called Restaurant Diferent for dinner. While everything was ok, Restaurant Diferent was probably our least favourite place to eat during our week in Mallorca with a toddler.
The tables were a little grubby and the waiter seemed a little put out when we asked to change tables so we could look out onto the street and watch the world go by. In saying that, our little man loved the pizza he got there and devoured loads of it.
Main course dinner for the 3 of us plus 2 beers and 2 glasses of Sangria came to just under €90.
Coming back to the hotel, we discovered they have a kids club disco every night. We had fantastic fun and this became a staple to get home every night in time for the disco. I found it hilarious watching all the little kids dancing around.
The Hotel runs a kids club during the day. We didn’t avail of this but everyone seemed to be having fun in there any time we walked past.
Day 3
My turn for morning duty and I brought our toddler out for a walk through the town in his buggy.I also discovered a nice place for coffee – check out the Panaderia Pasteleria Cala D’Or Bakery if you are looking for a morning pick me up.
We figured out how to get to the lovely Cala Gran beach and the three of us returned there later that morning. We laid out our beach towels and enjoyed playing in the sand and water. Cala Gran was the nearest beach to our Hotel and only took 10 minutes to walk there.
That evening, we tried out the Restaurante Los Amigos. We ordered a sharing platter and a couple of cocktails each for the adults. The total bill came in at €73.50.
Day 4
Another day by the pool. We all enjoyed the fact that the Hotel had a kiddies pool and a larger pool. We spent the day between the two of these with the odd trip to the playground.
In the evening, we went for a long walk then had food in the Marina. We found the food options a little bit pricier but they still had a family friendly vibe going on.
Day 5
Another morning at the Cala Gran beach. In the afternoon, we ventured out on the tourist train that runs through Cala D’Or. While it has a few bad reviews online, we found everything to be well organised. Maybe we were just lucky we had a stop right outside the Hotel.
We hopped off the train near the Es Forti Castle. The old stone building was more or less empty in the early evening and our little boy really enjoyed running around the ramps and battlements.
After getting back on the train beside the lovely looking Calo d’es Pou beach, we headed back to the hotel. We ate dinner in the hotel bar that evening. The bar was very quiet but the food was good. The Hotel bar also proved to be the cheapest dinner of the week in Mallorca with a toddler. Coming in at just over €40 for two main courses and a couple of glasses of wine.
Day 6
We spent the morning by the pool before taking a walk to Cala Esmeralda Beach in the afternoon. We had a drink at the bar/restaurant at the top of the beach while the little man had a nap in his buggy. Then some lovely ice cream after he woke up.
We ate in an English run restaurant called Indiana Johns in Cala D’Or that evening. While we would usually try to avoid English places on holidays, we were tempted by the colouring books and crayons on offer. The food was fine and came in at a reasonable €70 for dinner.
Day 7
With the end of our holiday fast approaching, we wanted to make the most of the sun so spent much of the day by the pool and nearby playgrounds.
Dinner that evening was in one of the more fancier places in Cala D’Or. We had been talking about getting Paella all week so wanted to try some place authentic. We ended up going to Restaurante Ca’n Trompe. While still very friendly, they did seem to eye up the buggy a little bit and sat us well away from everyone else. We didn’t mind though and the Paella (after a bit of a wait) was delish. The cost wasn’t altogether different from previous nights.
Day 8
Our last full day in of a week in Mallorca with a toddler. To mark the occasion, we decided to be adventurous and take the Glass Bottomed Boat tour which departed from Cala Gran beach. The boat journey proved nice with the highlight being the sea swimming while the boat dropped anchor in a picturesque bay.
Unfortunately, this also proved to be the low point as Paula ended up getting stung by a jellyfish. Luckily, the staff on the boat knew their stuff and had cream on hand to apply immediately.
We did get to see Dolphins on the return to Cala Gran which helped make up for things a little bit.
That evening, we went to a place called La Bodega for our last dinner. We ordered 5 or 6 tapas plates. The portions were huge which always gets a big nod of approval from me. We also ordered a couple of beers and a glass of Sangria with the bill coming in at €65.
Another Pro Tip – We found a nice little toy shop beside La Bodega. We were able to pick up a couple of small bits to entertain/distract on the plane journey home.
Saying Farewell Following a Week in Mallorca with a Toddler
Our flight home the following day thankfully proved uneventful and we got back to Dublin without any issues.
We had an amazing time in Mallorca. I’m so glad we spent the time researching the ideal place to stay while there. We wanted a lovely relaxed holiday with loads of time by the beach and pool with our little boy. We did a couple of little tours like the Tourist Train and the Glass Bottomed Boat. While not overly adventurous, it suited us perfectly. I hope this article will be of help if you are thinking of planning something similar in Mallorca.
While the focus of this website is on walking in Ireland, I do like to upload articles like this on overseas adventures. Check out other posts on my trip to the Oscars in LA or how I climbed Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.