We love Palma but being in the Mallorcan countryside made for a bit more of a relaxing break. If you do stay in the countryside you definitely need to hire a car. There are so many places to explore it would be a shame not to. Do be warned though that some of the roads (although great surfaces) are quite narrow and not for the faint-hearted – particularly when there are a lot of cyclists around.

Probably our scariest drive was to the well known restaurant Es Verger in Alaro. (If you like meat however, don’t let this put you off.)

Es Verger is very well known for its slow-cooked meat (thanks to Rick Stein, so much so that you need to make a reservation).  The shoulder of lamb is the dish to have, but equally nice was the goat and rabbit.

Vegetarians are best to steer clear! This is typical Mallorcan cuisine (very similar to what we ate in Northern Spain) – quite simply cooked meat with no thrills, but very tasty. The restaurant is pretty much a shack near the top of a mountain and the whole experience is very rustic (definitely no need to dress-up for this one!).

Another restaurant worth mentioning (and again, up a  very scenic, mountain road) is the beautiful Restaurant Es Guix (Lluc).

I fell in love with this place immediately. Such a beautiful spot, with the terrace overlooking a natural green lagoon (complete with it’s own waterfall). I could have easily spent the whole day here. The food is quite typically Mallorcan again (tasty but not particularly photogenic!) and I also loved the gorgeous interiors. Definitely one to bookmark (again – do ensure you make a reservation).

On a personal note, like the rest of Spain, I do find Mallorca to be gluten-free friendly and had no trouble eating out at all. If you are veggie or vegan though, and in the countryside it will definitely be worth doing your research and looking at menus before turning up anywhere.

We bought some surprisingly good produce at the supermarkets (put our fruit and veg in the UK to shame) but did drop into one market which I found a bit disappointing (mainly because it was very busy and full of tourist-tat and therefore not what I was expecting).

This was the market at Sineu. Unfortunately the highlight for us was leaving Sineu and finding the beautiful graveyard outside it (yes, I know how weird that sounds!) which was a real testament to family love.

The last place we visited on our trip was the dramatic Cala S’Almonia in Santanyi.  A very rugged beach/inlet near the Southern tip of the island. The sea here is crystal clear (there are no filters on these pics) and we visited on a bit of a blustery day but it must be a great place to snorkel in the Summer. Do be aware though that it is rocky and it’s a bit of a walk to get there. It’s worth it though:

This is my last post on Mallorca for now. I really do love this little island – it surprises me each time I visit as there is so much to see and it is quite diverse for such a small place.  If you have any Mallorcan recommendations do let me know, as I’m sure this won’t be the last time we visit.

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