Mallorca Travel Blog
- Timelady Sophz
- Jul 11, 2023
- 6 min read
Updated: Aug 9, 2023
Hola readers,
I am back from my holiday in Mallorca!
This blog post will cover some of the incredible things I got to see, as well as some transport tips if you ever come to Mallorca and want to explore more than Palma.
I am also an avid fan of The Mallorca Files (TMF), a BBC crime show with two detectives running around the island solving murders! One detective is played by Elen Rhys and the other by Julian Looman.
This show was the reason I fell in love with the island of Mallorca back in 2019!
I had 3 days of what I've called "Mallorca Madness". These involved a planned trip to Palma on a TMF location hunt and another unplanned stumbling across the cast and crew filming the following day! It also included a catamaran trip and a scenic tour to the east of the island ending up at the amazing Cuevas Del Drach (or Drach caves).
I will try to cover these 3 days as well as other memories I created on this holiday alongside a previous trip last year.
2022/2023 Mallorca Memories
So back in March/April 2022 I got to opportunity to visit Mallorca with my mum's friend and her family. We were based in Port de Pollença on the northern tip of the island.
Despite this location we did a crazy one day trip to Palma using the tib bus service from Port de Pollença.
Travel tip
This service takes you to the Estaciò Intermodal at the Plaça D'Espanya and uses primarily contactless payments. This is the larger company that enables you to go to lots of different parts of the island directly from Palma via train, bus or metro. There are other bus services (green and grey buses) that are more localised which only take cash or coins.
For more information on tib click here: https://www.tib.org/en/linies-i-horaris
Soller Train
Back in 2022, we went on the Soller Train during our quick trip into Palma.
In The Mallorca Files Miranda and Max dash through it chasing a suspect, so it was super fun to experience that in person!
If you are in Palma for a short time, this is a must do trip!
You can find out more information by clicking here: https://trendesoller.com/
We also explored the heart of Palma on the hunt for the Catedral and the main bar where TMF protagonists usually meet up in the show.
We found the Catedral but a Google maps search told us the bar only opens at 7, so we had to miss that unfortunately.
2023 Mallorca Trip
In early 2023 my mum asked me if I could go anywhere for an early summer holiday, where would I like to go?
Silly question, I chose Mallorca!
My reasons why:
I adore Spanish as a language and I have been doing a course on Duolingo for over 1290 days. I love using it as much as possible when I'm away.
My mum introduced me to The Mallorca Files back when it was COVID/lockdown times and I was in a very stressful job. It became my comfort and escapism show.
We had a rocky start to 2023 so to have a week exploring and soaking up some sun seemed like a perfect combination.
Below are photos from my 3rd bullet journal showing the location map I have drawn out, using the Mallorca Film Commission map as a guide.
My Mallorca Files Location Map
Palma Route and location checklist
Click here if you want your own version of the Mallorca Files location map: https://mallorcafilmcommission.net/en/grafics-descargables/
This year a particular highlight was being able to enter The Catedral-Basílica de Santa Maria de Mallorca or La Seu.
I was obsessed with the Gothic architecture and the beautiful stained glass windows, see below:
Palma 2023
So on our planned trip into Palma this year, we went in on the 23 bus to the Plaça D'Espanya.
Our first stop was the Plaza de Toros/ Coliseo Balear otherwise known as the bullring of Palma de Mallorca.
Click this link for more information about the Plaza de Toros:
You aren't allowed inside unless there is a festival or concert on but the view of the building from the road is still incredible!
Be warned it does appear out of nowhere and you can easily walk past! (My mum nearly did just that!)
In TMF Series 1, Episode 8: Death in the Morning is the one where they film inside the bullring.
During some research for this blog, I discovered the bullfighting ban in 2010 was recently overturned in 2016 by a top Spanish court.
Bookshop Stop (always a must for me)
On route to the Plaça Mayor, we discovered La Biblioteca de Babel, which was a marvellous find!
This bookshop is much more than it appears with a cafe terrace outside, with a bar and piano inside amongst the beautiful floor to ceiling shelves of books lining every corner of the walls!
I decided I wanted to find a classic book to try and read it completely in Spanish. The hunt began by looking for my favourite Shakespeare play: Much Ado About Nothing.
Then I found the most stunning hardback Spanish version of Pride and Prejudice:
So of course I bought it!
The books are written in a diverse range of languages so if you want to find your own extraordinary gem of a book, this is the place to go!
Click the link below to discover more about this bookshop:
Molta Barra
This is THE BAR where TMF had filmed a lot of scenes for Max and Miranda to relax after solving a crime or for a breather mid case.
Click here to find out all about the bar: https://moltabarra.es/
So to go this year and discover the grill was open and I could see inside, I nearly screamed with delight!
Never would I ever have guessed that the following day we would stumble across filming and actually be allowed INSIDE THE BAR!
I also got to meet and take selfies with Miranda and Max a.k.a Elen and Julian. They were both so friendly and lovely.
I took my bullet journal with the location maps in and had a fan girl moment with Elen about it!
It was surreal to stand back and watch the filming before we had to dash off for a catamaran tour that afternoon.
Catamaran tour by Cabo Blanco and Es Trenc
We went on an organised excursion tour around Palma Bay, conveniently stopping at two Mallorca Files locations to swim!
We went with Magic Catamarans: https://www.magic-catamarans.com/
These are shot from the boat as my phone was not being lost overboard!
Cabo Blanco
I only realised the location of this when I heard the boat guide say Cabo Blanco. My brain went "Wait a second, I know exactly what that is! Those are the cliffs from the end of the 1st ever episode of TMF". Obsessed? Me? Obviously.
Es Trenc Panorama
This was the main reason I wanted to go on this tour. I knew we wouldn't be able to go to the beach but I swam about as close to it as I could. And this was where I joined the kids and jumped from the front of the boat!
For TMF fans, behind this beach is a nature reserve where some of Series 2: Birds of a Feather was filmed.
Cuevas Del Drach
Now this for me was one of the longest tours I've ever been on, around 8 hours! But it was so worth it!
We explored a local market at Saint Llorenç, stopped off for some lunch in Porto Cristo before arriving at the Drach Caves.
These are on the far east of the island of Mallorca, so that's why it took a whole day of travelling.
The formations lit my geologist heart on fire! I forgot how much I'd missed seeing rocks, caves, stalagmites and stalactites! I studied A level Geology so it has been a while since I was this hyped about rocks.
Here are a selection of the many many photos I took
If you want to find out more, click this link
Final Mallorca Memories
So to round up one of the longest blog posts of this year (so far) I thought I'd finish with my latest addition to my bullet journal.
I created 3 logs to hold my core Mallorca Memories: ensaïmadas, 6 days of doodles and obviously The Mallorca Files locations I've seen across 2022/2023.
History of the Ensaïmada and why I love them
My 6 days of doodles and locations from TMF
I created the doodles using only fine line pen, no colouring in (the struggle was real!)
And I cut up my Mallorca Film Commission map (the horror!) to create a little log of the locations I've seen.
If you hadn't guessed by now I'm mildly obsessed with Mallorca and a complete Mallorca Files fan!
Series 1 and 2 are on BBC Iplayer/Britbox if any of my rambling has given you a desire to watch the show!
And the best thing about my bullet journals is that I will have these memories to treasure for years to come!
All in a little notebook that I can bring back on my next Mallorca trip!
See you next week,
Thank you for reading and I hope some of this helps if you are planning your own trip to Mallorca!
Sophie 🎬⛵🌄🌴🏰🌊
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