On the sheltered south-west coast, about fifteen minutes from Palma, Palmanova is one of Mallorca's pioneering family resorts. It revolves around three fine-sand, calm-water beaches, with a palm-lined promenade that makes it gentler than its neighbour Magaluf.
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Palmanova is lived on the beach. Its bay strings together three Blue Flag stretches — Palmanova, Son Matíes and Es Carregador — along almost three kilometres of white sand and shallow, calm turquoise water: exactly what families are after. Es Carregador is among the most popular for its children's play area behind the sand; Son Matíes is the largest, with more of a bar-and-restaurant buzz. A palm-lined promenade connects the beaches to each other and to Magaluf — flat and easy to walk.
The area's other big draw is five minutes away: Marineland Mallorca, in neighbouring Costa d'en Blanes, a marine park open since 1970 with dolphin and sea-lion shows, exotic birds and an aquarium with a tunnel. Between that, the beaches and the watersports off the sand, Palmanova is a rounded family-resort plan.
The dining is Mediterranean resort fare, with beach bars and restaurants concentrated around Son Matíes and the promenade. Palmanova has no festa of its own on the official calendar: it joins the Calvià municipal programme, with Sant Jaume (16–25 July, the 25th being the patron's big day) and, in summer, the Festes de Palmanova i Magaluf on its beaches. To get here, several TIB lines link Palma with the Palmanova corridor (line 104 Magaluf–Palma also passes Marineland); by car it's about fifteen minutes from Palma.
