Heaven in EL VILLA
Chilling on a family break in Majorca
OUR excited five-year-old son Jacob squealed with delight: “Look mummy, we are above the clouds”.
He was sitting next to me on his first flight not knowing what to expect. He said the take-off was like being on a ride. For my husband Mark, it was a different story.
He’s a very nervous flyer and this was his first time in the air for five years. Our 12- year- old daughter Amber was keeping an eye on him.
But the Monarch flight from Gatwick to Palma in Majorca could not have been smoother and the flight attendants were really helpful.
The extra legroom also made it more comfortable. In just over two hours we landed on the Spanish isle, itching to start our holiday.
A 10-minute shuttle bus ride took us to a clean and spacious seven-seat Ford Galaxy we had hired with affordablecarhire.com. Just 50 minutes later we arrived in Pollensa in the north of the island, a very easy drive with our satnav. A beautiful villa booked with travelopo.com was our home for the following week.
Like most families our day-to-day lives are busy, so we booked flights, car hire, villa and travel insurance online. The easy-to-use travelopo.com website has over 100,000 properties – from beach apartments to country villas, ski chalets and even castles.
We were not disappointed with the three-bedroom villa – it was spotless, really spacious with a private pool. A perfect way to spend some quality family time together.
When we go anywhere new, we like to explore the surroundings.
After dropping our cases in the villa, we didn’t want to waste sunshine hours unpacking, so we drove 10 minutes into the small main town of Puerto Pollensa.
On the way Amber spotted a couple of big supermarkets so we could stock up with necessities later.
Puerto Pollensa was originally a fishing village and lining the marina are plenty of restaurants and bars. All the restaurants are very child friendly, taking the stress out of dining.
Watching the sunset over the marina while enjoying a lovely meal with my family was pretty much what we did every night.
By day there’s the choice of the sandy beach in the horseshoe bay set against the stunning backdrop of the Tramuntana mountain range.
There are plenty of watersports available, such as hiring a pedalo, kayaking or parasailing. But Mark and I were here to take it easy – as much as you can with two children – and all that activity sounded like too much effort.
Boat trips around the bay or to the beautiful beach at Formentor are popular. There are also many fes festivals and events held in the main squ square. As we were staying in a villa, we enjoyed relaxing and splashing in our private pool without the stress of finding a good spot on the beach.
After a hard day doing not very muchh around d th the pool,ol we enjoyed going on the beach at night, the kids liked to paddle in the cool, calm sea.
Back at the villa, the kids loved it, and Jacob gained lots of confidence in the pool. He was happily jumping in by the end of the week.
Mountain
The villa was very spacious, airconditioned (perfect for those hot nights), and had all the facilities we needed, especially wifi, the only requirement for Amber.
It also had amazing views of Puig Maria mountain, which is topped by a chapel and monastery dating from 1348.
We couldn’t quite summon up the energy to walk up to it, so we admired it from afar while sipping an ice-cold beer, discussing how long the trek would take.
Why bother leaving the beautiful fig and lemon trees and Mediterranean palms of our villa? We were just a short stroll from Pollensa’s picturesque old town, the perfect antidote to the hustle and bustle of Puerto Pollensa.
Its old winding lanes and squares are lined with tapas restaurants and cafes. On Sunday mornings there is a busy market selling plenty of fresh fruit and veg along with crafts, toys and clothes.
It comes to life in the evenings, as many of the shops and restaurants are open late. We made lots of family memories, enjoying lazy days, late nights and getting up in the morning when we felt like it – bliss! FACTFILE: Monarch has year-round flights to Majorca from Birmingham, Gatwick, Luton, Leeds Bradford and Manchester. Fares are from £59 one way (£160 return) from monarch. co.uk. Three-bedroom luxury villa with pool from £566 to £1,547 per week from travelopo.com.