TOP 10 BALEARIC CALAS
Scattered up to 100 miles off the Spanish mainland, the Balearic Islands have some of the best cruising in the Mediterranean, particularly for fast motor boats that can cover miles quickly along the wonderful stretches of rugged coast.
Mallorca has been a popular package holiday destination since the 1960s, yet despite its mass tourism the island charm remains. The climate is often pretty hot in high season, but sea breezes keep life comfortable under a bimini or awning.
The capital Palma commands the head of a grand bay with its magnificent, golden stone cathedral as a focal point. There are smart marinas in and around the city, and plenty of smaller yacht harbours elsewhere, but you can still anchor in the many beautiful rocky inlets around Mallorca known as calas, which dramatically indent the whole coastline. In the north, there are remote villages hardly touched by tourism, where simple rural traditions carry on regardless.
The smaller islands of Menorca and Ibiza are also well endowed with calas, especially quieter Menorca, which I much prefer. Ibiza has a reputation for glitzy clubbing nightlife, but clear of the main town you can always get away from it all by boat – the finest form of independent travel ever invented.
In this article I have chosen my ten favourite calas in the Balearics, mostly around Mallorca, which is the hub of motorboat activity and berthing, and a few from Menorca and Ibiza. Picking ten from such a wealth of
