Welcome to the beautiful Balearic Island of Mallorca, the jewel in the Mediterranean Sea, and voted the best European place to visit for 2024, according to a recent Condé Nast Traveller report. She boasts rugged mountain terrains, breathtaking coastlines with stunning callas and anchorages and quiet hamlets juxtaposed with the vibrant buzz of Palma’s old town featuring winding streets, charming architecture filled with tapas bars and restaurants in sunken archways, jaw-dropping boutiques, piazzas filled with al-fresco diners and live music. And with just a 2-hour hop by plane from the UK, it’s easy to find a very agreeable climate throughout most of the year.
Princess Motor Yacht Sales has offices on the island and has been taking care of Princess clients for over 20 years. With the luxury sector gaining momentum and investment in the development of infrastructure, marinas, boutique hotels, exceptional service and a new-found focus on sustainability, it’s easy to understand why this island is so popular. Mallorca is renowned for being loved by the British and Germans, either as holiday-makers or second-home owners, along with French, Dutch and Scandinavian visitors, and there are now more Americans frequenting the island with a recently launched direct flight from New York with American Airlines.
Cala D’Or is a low key white washed cosy marina holiday resort. And Puerto Portals is an all-year round upmarket marina village with many alluring boutique shops and high-end restaurants undergoing redevelopment. The Argo Nautica group of Princess Motor Yacht Sales and sister company Argo Yachting also has an impressive aftercare and service centre facility in Son Bugadelles. Thanks to its offices and marina facilities, Princess offer new and used boat sales, aftercare & service, retrofit & upgrades, and of course advice on buying and selling along with finance and insurance options. Furthermore, many of its charter yachts are based in Palma and the popular YachtQuarters fractional ownership programme is based in Port Adriano.
Nigel James came to Mallorca to set-up the Princess operations some 22 years ago and is based at Puerto Portals Marina in the upmarket Calvia region just to the west of Palma Bay. The Cala D’Or office to the south east is led by Tracy Neale, who joined the company seven years ago with an automotive service background from Mercedez-Benz in Dubai. And David Walder joined the business in March 2022 as General Manager for the Balearics, having spent nine years living in bustling and entrepreneurial Hong Kong working for a multi-brand yacht dealership.
David and Nigel in Puerto Portals Tracy in Cala D’Or
‘My Princess’ caught up with Nigel, Tracy and David for an inside scoop on island life, best spots for cruising, land-based highlights, must-see events and how the island is changing.
The main season for the island kicks-off at Easter and runs until 31st October, ‘day of the dead’, or Halloween to most of us, and then many peripheral resort-style areas close. Having said that, December is pretty lively with many Christmas markets and fabulous festivities across the island, in particular Puerto Portals, and the Spanish celebration of the Three Kings which is held on 6th January. Temperatures are usually in the twenties during the shoulder season, with the peak summer holiday season in July and August known to hit the high thirties. January is calm with clear bright skies and February is the coldest month. The winter is great for hiking, golfing and cycling – even the Tour de France Team Sky train in Mallorca.
From Cala D’Or, there are some incredible spots for boating such as Cala Mondragό and S’Amarador with two of the best Blue Flag beaches in Mallorca, part of the Mondragό National Park. A cruise from St Elm to Andraxt is stunning and the far southeastern tip at port Andraxt is renowned for its fabulous sunsets. ‘Or, if you fancy a bit of island-hopping, you could reach Ibiza in about four hours on a Princess F50’, says Tracy. He continues, ‘and on a Sunday, my family and I like to take a drive to the Serra de Tramuntana, the mountain range which forms the backbone of North East Mallorca and stretches for nearly 90KM, and in some places you can see down to both sides of the island. I love Valldemossa, a quaint stone village, and the mountains are great for a scenic walk, with the promise of a pit-stop at a restaurant for lunch!’
Cala D’Or
If you’re looking for that remote island feeling, cruise to Puerto de Campos and Platja es Trenc. According to Nigel its only just over an hour from Portals and is completely unspoilt, with nothing but incredible crystal-clear water lapping onto a long stretch of golden sand backed by sand dunes. Pick your weather, make sure there’s no onshore wind or you can take your car, but be prepared to park, gather everything you need for the day and start walking. ‘I also like Alcudia, its rather underrated, especially the authentic walled town which was the earliest settlement on the island being closest to mainland Spain.’ He continues, ‘Soller is both a real town and a holiday destination, it has something very special, it reminds me of a St Tropez vibe, and it’s a safe and easy anchorage. You can also take the train from Palma to Soller and then change to the historic 1913 tram to Port de Soller.’ Nigel also recommends the Island of Cabrera, an uninhabited national park which is only about 1.5 hours away. There’s no light pollution so it’s awesome for star-gazing. You need to book a mooring buoy online in advance and you’re not allowed to anchor. If it’s deemed you haven’t made a concerted effort to make the least impact possible with your anchor around Mallorca, thus destroying the seagrass, you will be fined.
Port de Soller tram
Relatively new to Mallorca life, David likes to spend time at Illetas, it’s incredibly picturesque, offering glorious beaches and calm turquoise waters for swimming and paddle boarding. There’s a lovely beach club with a cool laid-back vibe called Balneario Illetas, serving wonderful weekend brunch all year round, and it’s all backed by pines and palms – perfect for a relaxing weekend. ‘I’m also fond of Orient, which is a valley in the mountain range, a sleepy little hamlet with a hotel and restaurant, its off the beaten track – not your typical holiday destination. There’s a relatively easy hike from there up to a waterfall and back. If you want something more strenuous, there is the long hike up to the fortress of Alarό which takes about four hours there and back,’ enthuses David. And in the North, there’s Son Serra de Marina which is another sleepy village. You have to drive through amazing agricultural land to get there, its peaceful, it has nice restaurants, live music and a relaxed vibe that draws the affluent crowd.
Illetas Beach
Mallorca is alive with events and incredible sights almost all-year-round. There are car shows, rallies, wine fairs, sailing regattas, concerts, olive shows, restaurants in amazing buildings offering world class sushi to 40-year-old jamon, beach clubs, luxury hotels and of course the ever-growing Palma International Boat Show. According to Tracy, the Pollença Wine Fair, in the first weekend of May, is a must-see. Over 40 wine producers exhibit in the grounds of the old church – a truly beautiful setting. ‘You buy a branded festival glass for around €15 and then you can sample everything and keep notes on your score card. There’s also music, paella and a great party atmosphere. We usually stay the night as there’s also a fab Sunday market in Pollença town.’ regales Tracy.
With regards boating, the island hasn’t really changed, but the way people use it has. It seems to be getting busier and there’s more second-home owners, hence a rising trend for day-boating. The V Class and S Class Princess yachts are very popular in Mallorca as the perfect Med boats with great social space and connection to the water. Owners tend to enjoy exploring the bays during the day and return to their villa to sleep. ‘The V55 is a big hit here and with her great deck space she’s perfect for hosting, partying and being cosy and intimate, spacious but not too big and easy to handle with great sea-keeping. A fab platform for fun in the sun’ says David.
Serra de Tramuntana mountain range
Practically native, Nigel, Princess yachts Mallorca, has his fingers on the pulse of economic development, telling us all about the three-year modernisation programme in Puerto Portals and the new Club de Mar in Palma. ‘Here in Portals, the redevelopment includes more offices, hence our new office, a new underground car park, pedestrianising the front, adding a new swimming pool, restaurants and upgrading the beach,’ says Nigel. ‘This is an upmarket area with the perfect blend of being close to Palma, the airport, sheltered boating in the bay of Palma, shops and restaurants. A private rental this year, for an 18M yacht can cost €70K per year on the private market,’ he adds. And Club de Mar, as Nigel demonstrated via a fly-through CGI film on his iPad, is taking marina life into the future with new apartments, shops, restaurants, a roof-top pool for members and a huge amount of additional berthing. It’s four years into a five-year build with the first phase due to open in summer 2025.
Marina Port de Mallorca, Palma
There’s little wonder then that tennis player, Rafael Nadal, has a pad on the island and was seen on board his previous Princess, while actor Jason Mamoa chartered a Princess S72 and Richard Branson’s latest venture includes the launch of Son Bunyola – a recently renovated 16th century Finca to join the myriad of five-star luxury hotels popping up.
If you’re visiting Mallorca, whether you’re new to boating or already part of the Princess family, be sure to pop in to one of the Princess offices for a coffee with Nigel, David or Tracy and their friendly teams at Princess yachts Mallorca (Princess Motor Yacht Sales). Telephone; Puerto Portals: +34 971 676 439 or Cala D’Or: +34 971 643 353. Or visit: www.princess.co.uk/locations/
