Cala San Vincente is one of the smallest resorts on the island, and if only to increase its own self esteem, it's recognised by the three of names of Cala San Vicente, Cala San Vincente, or Cala Sant Vicenc.

Whatever version you prefer to use, for the purposes of these pages we'll be calling it Cala San Vincente except that is where we forget, it's all the same place.

The village itself is part of the municipal district of Pollensa on the north west coast of the island, approximately 60km north of the capital Palma and 5km north west of Pollensa old town.

Driving over to Cala San Vincente from the Son Sant Joan International airport in the south of the island, isn't really a bad journey.

From the roundabout leaving the airport grounds you will need to take the 1st exit onto the Ma-19 Autovia de Levante heading west towards Palma, before then joining the Ma-20 Circunvalacion de Palma.

As the Ma-20 arcs around the northern outskirts of the city, keep a sharp lookout for exit 3B signposted towards Inca/Port d'Alcudia/Son Castello.

From here the fast Ma-13 Autovia de Palma - Inca heads north past the industrial town of Inca, where shortly after at the roundabout outside the village of Crestatx, take the third exit to join the Ma-2200. Continue north along the Ma-2200, passing the old town of Pollensa and turn left onto the Ma-2203.

This road will then effectively take you all the way into the centre of the resort.

As with the other resorts on the island, this route is reproduced in greater detail, complete with links to maps where appropriate, on the Route Map link on the left hand frame of this page.

All things considered, from door to door the transfer should normally take about 1.1/2 to 2 hours from leaving the airport grounds.

If for whatever reason you chose not to drive, and don't have the luxury of a tour operators coach transfer, there are always plenty of taxis available from the ranks outside of the arrivals hall, although on occasions you should be prepared to queue.

In theory at least, they should all operate on a fixed price basis, typically charging around 72 euro for the journey to Cala San Vincente, however experience has shown that this "fixed price" may vary slightly depending upon the number of suitcases, the time of day or night of the journey, and of course the number of passengers carried.

Also an important consideration for families with small children, is that these taxis do not as a rule carry child seats, therefore children may have to sit on their parent's knee for the journey.

If this is a cause for concern, we strongly recommend that you make arrangements for a pre-booked taxi to be waiting for you, and clearly specify at the time of booking that a child seat is needed for the journey.

Even before the arrival of the tourists to Majorca in the early 1960's, the municipal district of Pollenca was one of the wealthiest areas on the island. Traditionally this part of Majorca has strong links with both farming and fishing, and even today Cala San Vincente is still essentially a fishing village that has made limited concessions to the island's tourist trade.

One of these concessions being, that you share the beach with the local fishermen who still use part of it for repairing their nets and storing goods. Much of the village is residential, and you will always have the feeling of being an invited, but welcome guest, to another way of life.

The scenery along most of the north west coast of Majorca is rugged and dramatic, and Cala San Vincente is no different. The resort has three beaches, Cala Barques is the largest and prettiest of the three, offering visitors the choice of a few small restaurants, bars and shops, and there's usually ample sun beds, beach umbrellas and pedaloes for hire there too.

One thing we did find at the time of our visit was a particular problem with tar on the beach, although a local tip was to use butter to remove it from your feet.

From Cala Barques if you take the path around the rocky knoll you'll find the tiny beach of Cala Clara. This beach, although being less than 100m from Cala Barques, is often very crowded during the summer due to its close proximity to one of the few hotels in the resort.

Finally, the third beach called Cala Molins, further round the sizeable headland, is the most popular beach for bathers due to its fine sands. What most visitors may not know, and perhaps may not care, is each year this beach is supplemented with imported sand.

The sea around Cala San Vincente is beautifully clear and from all of the beaches the views over towards the cliffs of the Formentor peninsula are spectacular.

Cala San Vincente has, on more than one occasion, been unfairly branded as the Mallorcan version of Ilfracombe with sun. In all fairness, I did visit Ilfracombe many years ago, and would agree that both resorts have exceptional coastal and rural scenery, and that both are more suited to mature couples and families with older children.

This is certainly not the place to go if you have walking difficulties, or are looking for clubs that are open all night.

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This website was launched on 1 May 2002

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