In Mallorca there are so many places to see. I have already visited some of them but I always discover more places to go. Last time I wrote that I rented a car with my friends and we went to Porto Cristo, Portocolom and Caló des Moro. You can read about it here. The second day we drove to Santanyi, Faro de Ses Salines and Colonia de Sant Jordi. So let me tell you about it.
Santanyi
Santanyi was our first stop where we decided to have a second breakfast. After we parked, we were walking around to see the village. At the end we decided to stay on the main square and we sat in the sweets shop Terrasa. We ate ensaïmada, drank a coffee and got energy for the next ride.
The town of Santanyi is a small medieval and agricultural town situated in the south of the island. It’s the capital of the municipality of Santanyi. The town has maintained the original essence of Mallorca. It offers an authentic mallorquin cultural experience. That all thanks to its extensive coastline (approximately 48km) and beautiful coves, and due to the fact that you can find there the second largest natural park in Balearic islands, Mondragó natural park.
Faro del Cap de Ses Salines
After our refreshing stop in Santanyi, we headed to the lighthouse of Cap de Ses Salines. We didn’t know how the situation with parking will be so we decided to go till the end to see if we find a spot as close as possible to the lighthouse. Just at the end of the road there wasn’t neither free spot nor place to turn around. We had to go backwards till we found a place to turn. After we parked on the first free spot, we were walking to the lighthouse. Unfortunately, it’s not possible to enter to the lighthouse but you can still walk around and enjoy the sea views. That’s what we did. We went to both sides, took some photos and then we decided to go back to the car in order to drive to Colonia de Sant Jordi.
The lighthouse was built between 1850 and 1870 and is located on the closest point to Africa. The place itself offers opportunity for excursions. If you decide to go to the east, you can visit magnificent coves and cliffs such as Cala des Marmols, Cala S’Almonia or Sa Plana cave. On the way to the west, in less than 30 minutes you will get to one of the most beautiful beaches of Mallorca – Platja d’es Caragol.
Colonia de Sant Jordi
When we arrived to Colonia de Sant Jordi, we were very hungry. Before we started to look for a restaurant, we went to see the lighthouse that was just nearby. Then we were walking along the seaside till we got to the port and the beach. We checked several restaurants and then we decided to have a lunch in Tambucho Bar. We both ate a baguette and then I ordered a take away watermelon shake which actually reminded me the times in Thailand!
Anyway, we left the bar, we walked along the beach, took some photos and then we had to go to take the car in order to go back home. It was a shame we didn’t have more time there because it would be really nice to walk on the path leading to other beach.
Colonia de Sant Jordi is situated on the south-eastern coast of the island. It was, originally, an agricultural and fishing village which has became a tourist destination since 1950s. It has a natural harbour and next to it there is a small but well maintained beach. It’s close to the restaurants and cafes in the port. From the left side of the beach there is a path which leads to the next beach of Es Dolc.
As I mentioned above, in Colonia de Sant Jordi there is a lighthouse called Sa Puntassa. The area is also known as Carregador, since in the past the ships used to catch there to load the salt. The tower of the lighthouse emits a white light and three bursts in intervals of ten seconds that help to locate the port to the boats that cross the Freu de Cabrera.
Conclusion
Just to make a conclusion at the end, we liked all of the places. Santanyi is a small village but worth stopping just for a short walk or a coffee. Around the lighthouse of Cap de Ses Salines you get great views and if you fancy, you can obviously reach beautiful beach. Overall, I have to say that the best place was Colonia de Sant Jordi. We quite regreted we couldn’t stay there for longer time and take the walk to the other beach. We liked the place very much so I would definitely recommend to spend more time there and walk around. In general, it was a great trip of the south part of the island, we really enjoyed it!
