Realistic Travel Diary: Mallorca with a Toddler
16 months old
The Basics
Who Went: Mom, dad, toddler (16 months)
Timing: late September - early October 2023
Trip Location: Mallorca, Spain
Reason for Trip: Family Vacation
Trip Length: 9 nights in accommodations (8 full days in Mallorca) + 2 travel days
Transportation: LAX to London (10 hours) + London to Palma (2.5 hours). Palma to Madrid (1.5 hours) + Madrid to LAX (12 hours)
Lodging: This Airbnb in Port de Pollença. $345 / night, including all taxes
Layout: 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms. Kitchen, living, dining area, outdoor patio
Food Status: Solids
Bathroom Status: Diapers
Sleep Status: At home: 1 nap per day & 11-12 hours of overnight sleep. On trip: 2-3 naps per day & 10-12 hours of overnight sleep.
The Day-by-Day
Day 1, Sunday: Morning
An easy morning in Port de Pollença. First night in Mallorca and the SlumberPod works its usual magic… Mila made a few crying noises but she slept through the night, even with the 9 hour time difference.
After waking her up at 9:30am to get her on Mallorca time, we fix her a bite to eat at the Airbnb by scrounging through the leftover food we traveled with (bars, pita bread, fruit).
Take an 8 min stroller walk to Holibike, a cafe and bike rental spot. Mallorca is a huge biking destination and often requires dodging cyclists on windy mountain roads.
Breakfast at Holibike is a great pan con tomate avocado toast, smoothie and iced coffee.
Shop the supermarket. Drive to Eroski, the local supermarket chain, to stock up on food for the Airbnb and some toiletries.
Port de Pollença is brimming with British and Germans but this area, and most of the island, is devoid of American tourists. I anticipate this will change with the recent launch of the first-ever non-stop flights from New York to Palma.
Day 1, Sunday: Afternoon/Evening
Lunch at the Airbnb in Port de Pollença. Back at the Airbnb, we make charcuterie lunches for Mila and ourselves.
Nap at the Airbnb. Put Mila down for her time change-adjusted nap time (she’s on a one nap schedule) and cross our fingers that she’ll fall asleep. She does!
Joe and I enjoy our charcuterie board overlooking the Mediterranean and read our books out on the patio.
Visit a local beach in Port de Pollença. After Mila’s nap (we cap it at 2 hours to protect her overnight sleep), we walk 10 mins down Port de Pollença’s seaside Pine Walk to nearby Albercuix beach. Splash around in the warm Mediterranean water and hang on the sand.
The beaches in Port de Pollença have extremely calm water and virtually no waves. This spot is absolutely idyllic for small children and the type of beach I wish we had more of at home in California.
I had questioned whether it would be worth traveling halfway across the world for the same weather we have at home and after an hour at Albercuix, I can confirm that yes, this Mediterranean toddler-friendly beach alone is worth it.
Quick drive to eat dinner in the town of Port de Pollença. Back at the Airbnb, we change and drive 10 mins to dinner in the main square of Port de Pollença. The Mini Voyager travel kit entertains Mila while we enjoy a leisurely dinner.
She runs around the square after dinner, semi-delirious from jetlag but mostly content. My little traveler!
What I would do differently on Day 1? Nothing! We took it easy, recovered from jetlag and had some great food. I recommend a chill first day while traveling with a toddler. Keep expectations at zero. Stay local, minimize driving after being contained on the plane and explore the area you’re staying in.
Day 2, Monday: Morning
Solo morning for mom in Port de Pollença. Joe handles Mila’s wake up and breakfast while I take a solo walk by the sea, grab a coffee at Holibike and bask in the joy that is being on vacation.
Beach morning at Cala Formentor. Drive 30 mins through some very steep mountain roads to Cala Formentor, the northenmost inlet on the island and a secluded beach with crystal-clear water.
Park in the parking lot and walk a bit to the beach itself. We use the Artipoppe carrier but this beach is also stroller-friendly as the sand is compact. Perfect shallow water with minimal waves for small kids.
At 10am it is super quiet, but by noon the ships have docked and it’s crowded. Turns out most people visit Formentor by boat to avoid the drive.
I recommend renting beach chairs/umbrella and bringing snacks. There’s a bathroom and one cafe but the food options aren’t great.
Day 2, Monday: Afternoon/Evening
Drive to Santanyí. We are prioritizing Mila’s sleep at the beginning of this trip, especially because she only slept for one hour on the entire overnight flight on the way here. We attempt a beach nap but being that she really only naps in her crib or car seat, it doesn’t happen.
So, we leave Formentor after a couple of hours and use nap time to take a drive down to a town in the south of the island called Santanyí. Mila gets a one hour nap during the 1.5 hour drive.
Lunch at Es Molí.This tapas spot in an old Mallorcan mill is picturesque with its courtyard seating. The food is fantastic, Mila learns the Spanish word “pato” while enjoying a duck dish and even in this small town they have high chairs readily available.
Walk around Santanyí. After lunch, we stroller walk around Santanyí. It’s a cute, small town with several shops to pop into. We buy a children’s book written in Catalan.
Stop at the port of Cala Figuera: Well, it turns out there are two Cala Figueras on Mallorca and we accidentally end up at Cala Figuera, the port, instead of Cala Figuera, the sandy beach.
Regardless, it’s stunning; the town is on a hillside that leads into a canal-like fishing village where we take Mila’s travel stroller off-roading around the thin boardwalk right up against the seaside.
Drive back to the Airbnb, late evening nap on the road 😬. On the 1 hr 45 min drive back to the Airbnb, Mila falls asleep for about an hour. I freak out because it is only 7:30pm and her Mallorcan bedtime is 10pm! I spend the drive wondering how she is ever going to fall asleep tonight.
Once we get back to the Airbnb, we give her a snack and she goes to bed surprisingly easily. The excitement and movement of the day must have helped get her tired enough to fall asleep for the night, even after a late nap. I find this shocking.
What I would do differently on Day 2? This was the beginning of Doing Too Much on this trip. I was balancing the desire to see and do as much as possible (we didn’t fly 12 hours with a toddler just to sit around!) but also to appreciate the moments and take it slow.
In retrospect, on Day 2 I would have taken Mila back to the Airbnb for her nap and would have planned a visit to a closer town for the afternoon instead of driving all the way south across the island and back in one day. It was a lot of driving and Santanyí, honestly, didn’t feel worth the trek for a child-friendly trip.
Day 3, Tuesday: Morning
Wake up, quick breakfast at the Airbnb, drive to the town of Sóller. To optimize the full day in the north west of the island, we decide to get an early start.
The hour-long car ride requires lots of hands-on entertainment for Mila but it goes okay. The parking in Sóller, however, is an absolute nightmare.
I end up navigating us down a closed-to-the-public ancient street in our mid-size SUV. To say we almost get stuck on multiple occasions is an understatement but luckily Joe is a calm driver and gets us through with some expert maneuvering.
Walk around Sóller. We park almost a mile away from the city center and, because we have limited time before our lunch reservation, we book it with the stroller into the center of town.
Sóller is beautiful. We stop at a cute coffee shop, RE Organic for a beverage and teeter the stroller on the tiny cobblestone sidewalks. Our travel stroller, the SilverCross Jet 3, does pretty well on this terrain.
We make it to the city center and, okay, Sóller is awesome! The main square, Plaça Constitució, has tons of cafes and the church of Sant Bartomeu. The best part of this town is the famous tram, Ferrocarril de Sóller, a 110-year-old wooden train that runs through the square. Trains are toddler catnip.
Drive from Sóller to Hotel Corazón. We run out of time and head back to the car. Start our 15 minute drive up a mountain to visit a spot I had been dying to see…
Note: We intended to stop at Fornalutx between Sóller and Hotel Corazón but ran out of time. It looked gorgeous when we drove by and is often called the “prettiest village in Spain” - potentially worth a visit if you’re nearby!
Day 3, Tuesday: Afternoon/Evening
Lunch at Hotel Corazón. Maybe you’ve seen this hotel in Vogue or Condé Nast Traveler? It’s owned and run by a British fashion photographer who just so happens to be giving an interview to a journalist at the table right next to us during lunch.
While I would love to have stayed here overnight, I opted for the more practical choice on this toddler vacation: a spacious and well-located Airbnb.
We meet another traveling family with a toddler who are also visiting Hotel Corazón just for lunch. Seems to be the move with a little one in tow.
The meal is delicious and kid friendly. High chairs are available (I’ll stop mentioning this, as all Mallorcan restaurants have high chairs, even the ones you need to hike to) and there is plenty of space on the outdoor terrace for Mila to explore while we take turns watching her and luxuriating in the scene.
After lunch, we pop into a few of the communal spaces at the hotel which are artfully decorated. Even so, I feel validated that we chose not to stay here. As much as I love the vibe, it comes off as too breakable and, being up on a mountain, too geographically isolated for our purposes.
Drive from Hotel Corazón to Port de Sóller. This is where we begin to test our limits. The plan is to have Mila nap on the ride from lunch to our afternoon activity, a beach day in the town of Port de Sóller.
Problem is, the drive is only 15 minutes long. Not the best laid plan.
After Mila falls asleep in the car, we park in Port de Sóller and take out our respective books. We proceed to read while sitting in the car for another 30 minutes to make sure Mila gets at least 45 minutes of sleep and is ready to tackle the afternoon. Ah, parenthood. A prime example of taking it slow with a toddler.
Note: Port de Sóller is a town on the Mediterranean coast and Sóller is the inland town we visited earlier in the day.
Several areas in Mallorca have both a port town and a regular town with similar names. For example, we are staying in Port de Pollença on the sea which is a different, adjacent town from Pollença itself. Slightly confusing so be sure to check where exactly your Airbnb or hotel is located on the island.
Beach time at Port de Sóller. This town is on a curved bay with beaches that separate the town from the sea. The restaurants on the promenade next to the sand create a lively atmosphere. We select a few beach chairs and pay for them through a QR code on the umbrella.
This afternoon is European summer in all of its perfection. At one point, we hop up from our lounge chairs to grab gelato from a shop on the promenade. It’s Mila’s first gelato and the response is a chorus of “more! more!” Joe and I take turns chasing Mila around the beach and wading into the shallow water ourselves.
A huge positive: the tram from Sóller also runs to this port! Every so often, the train passes by and Mila runs to it, waving at the passengers.
Dinner at Patiki Beach. Once dinnertime hits, we walk the full length of the promenade to the other side of the bay. This takes about 20 minutes and I have to serve Mila puffs to keep her in her stroller. Upon arrival, we navigate the stroller across the sand to Patiki, a restaurant on the beach.
Talk about kid friendly! When we arrive at Patiki Beach there are several families with young children eating dinner, strollers all parked on the sand.
Not only can the children play on the beach right next to the tables while parents dine, but there is also a kids activity area inside the restaurant with coloring materials. Unique for such a nice restaurant.
The dinner is superb, full of local delicacies. As the sun sets, we watch Mila make friends on the beach with two German children from the table next to us.
With no shared language between them, they are able to find a way to play together and I am reminded of my youngest brother who was always the one to make friends with the local kids on our travels growing up.
For visuals to describe the dining experience at Patiki Beach, check out this video I made.
Drive back to the Airbnb. Of course, Mila falls asleep again on the drive back to the Airbnb. She sleeps from 8:30pm - 9:20pm and is upset when we wake her up to head inside the Airbnb. Somehow, by the magic of traveling, she still falls asleep for the night at 10:20pm, just a bit later than her Mallorcan bedtime.
What I would do differently on Day 3? I would have spent an entire day in just the town of Sóller. It had much more going on than Santanyí from the day prior, and the ~hour we spent there wasn’t enough.
You can actually take the tram that runs through Sóller all the way to the capital city of Palma! Mila would have loved to have ridden on the tram, but I was worried that she would want to get off and move around during the hour-long journey. For a slightly older child who could sit still, or a younger baby who isn’t mobile, the long tram ride would be a solid activity.
In retrospect, I also would have tempered expectations and minimized the amount of activities planned in a single day. This is a theme of the trip. All of the driving and moving from one spot to the next wasn’t relaxing and caused some anxiety.
That said, the locations we visited on Day 3 were all places I’d recommend so in the end, I am glad we got to experience them.
Day 4, Wednesday: Morning
Wake up and walk to Port de Pollença beach. We walk the 10 minutes over to our favorite beach for a casual morning. You can rent chairs & umbrellas here but being that we are just staying for a bit, we bring our own towels today.
Early lunch at Restaurante Bar Coral. Our Airbnb is slightly outside of the main shopping and dining area in Port de Pollença so our lunch options are somewhat limited unless we are willing to drive a few minutes. Restaurante Bar Coral was good enough for a simple lunch, including Mila’s favorite Spanish dish: croquetas.
Day 4, Wednesday: Afternoon/Evening
Drive to Deià during nap. Back to the north west of the island we go! Our main move has been to divide the day by driving while Mila naps in the car. Happily, she falls asleep easily in the car today.
Note: We intended to stop at Valldemossa on the way to Deià but you know the story, we didn’t have time. Check out this enchanting Moorish town if you’re in the area. I’m bummed we missed it.
Walk around Deià. Deià is two things: breathtaking, and a stroller’s nightmare. The town is situated on the side of a mountain which allows for expansive views and tons of tiny nooks to explore.
Unfortunately, getting up and down the hills in the heat with our stroller was a nonstarter. And, being limited on time, we chose to parade down the main street and keep it at that.
Our highlights were a small shopping spree at de moniö, gelato at Gelateria Cal Tio, and an extended recess playing with Mila in a pretty little park.
Dinner at Ca's Patró March. Commonly known as the most Instagrammable restaurant in Mallorca, Ca's Patró March is technically in Deià but requires a drive from the town down a very steep mountain and then a 5 minute walk down to the sea where the restaurant sits.
Ca’s is situated on the rocky edge of Cala Deià, an equally rocky beach that looks straight out of a postcard. Without a toddler, I would have spent the day lounging at Cala Deià until sunset after which I’d pop over to Ca’s for a late dinner.
With a toddler, however, we have a 6pm dinner reservation (basically lunchtime in Spain) and we skip the rocky beach for fear of falling. Mila is still gaining confidence with her walking during this trip.
I have to be honest. The experience at Ca’s is not what I dreamed when I trekked my family down a mountain for the best restaurant on the island.
First, it is full of bees which are constantly bothering us and triggering anxiety about the baby getting her first bee sting in a place that’s practically only reachable by boat. The service is slow which, alright, it’s Europe. The seafood menu is extensive but the food itself is about a 7/10. Prices are 10/10 for Spain.
Most of all, Mila is not content to be in a high chair for most of this dinner and wants to explore.
But, the restaurant is quite tight and perched on a cliff over the water so there is nowhere for her to move around. At one point, she starts scaling some steps that lead up the mountain on the inner wall of the restaurant and that feels like the end of dinner so we head out.
Worth visiting? Probably, if you can make the most of the time in Cala Deià and keep expectations lower than all of the hype you’ll see about this spot.
For Ca’s, make a reservation in advance. Actually, make reservations for every restaurant in Mallorca. Even in the shoulder season, reservations were required most of the places we dined.
Drive back to the Airbnb. Mila falls asleep in the car from 7:50pm - 8:40pm and still manages to pass out for the night at 9:30pm. If you’re not a parent, these are boring details. If you are a parent, this is a miracle.
What I would do differently on Day 4? Again, I would have done less. To be fair to myself, the sleep schedule of one mid-day nap is a blessing and a curse. It allows us to have two separate activities each day but on a trip like this, the sentiment was that if we don’t use the nap time to drive from point A to point B, we won’t get to see or do as much as we want to.
Day 5, Thursday: Morning
Wake up and drive to Inca Market. By day 5, I have overdone it with the plans and I give Joe the reigns by asking him to pick an activity for the morning.
I am fine with a local beach stop or cafe morning but Joe pulls out a unique activity - the extensive Inca Street Market about 30 minutes from our Airbnb.
The drive is not wonderful and Mila isn’t happy to be contained, which is to be expected first thing in the morning. And similar to Sóller, parking in the center of Inca is sparse so we have to walk a ways to get to the market.
I actually feel bad for Mila at this point. The Inca Market has more of a local vibe than our other stops so far but it is crowded and therefore not possible for Mila to wander around with her newly walking feet. If she was a bit older, closer to two years old, the market would have been more doable.
We end up keeping her in the stroller while exploring some of the stalls and ultimately spend most of the time in a plaza where Mila can stretch her legs.
Nap at the Airbnb. We drive back to the Airbnb and after three days of shortened naps in the car, today Mila gets her full two hours in her pack & play at the Airbnb.
Come to Jesus moment. Joe and I spend Mila’s nap in deep discussion around the challenges we are facing on this trip. With it being the halfway point and our friends arriving this afternoon, the go-go-go nature of our days has depleted us. It is starting to feel like we are not even on vacation.
I picked Mallorca as our destination in the hopes that there would be enough to do to keep us busy but not too much that we would be running around trying to see everything. Turns out, there’s way more to do than I anticipated and my nature is to soak it all in.
Pre-baby, doing it all was realistic. For example, on one occasion, Joe and I flew from Barcelona to Paris in the morning, spent the day walking 18 miles around Paris with stops at most of the major sites, and hopped on a train to London that same evening. We walked so much that my shoe broke clean in half.
I could laugh out loud thinking about doing that travel day with a toddler. So, yeah, things change. As I am learning, though, change is not a single event.
The change isn’t just booking a toddler-friendly Airbnb or packing a diaper bag instead of a little crossbody.
The change is present in every decision we make. There is beauty here (the life-affirming happiness of traveling with my family) and there is difficulty here (the constant reminder that I have departed from the person I once was).
Today’s version of me can look back and give myself grace for feeling immense pressure to make this trip perfect. At this moment, I throw my hands up in the air and decide to make a concerted effort to let the feelings of not-enoughness go for the rest of this trip.
Day 5, Thursday: Afternoon/Evening
Port de Pollença beach afternoon with friends. When Mila wakes up from her nap, we head back to Platja d’Albercuix. This little beach is so easy to get to and just lovely.
Our friends’ flight lands and they meet us at the beach. It is incredibly special to spend time with great friends who live in Europe so we only get to see them every few years. Even better, it’s Mila’s first time meeting them and she is enamored!
Stroller walk to dinner at Ca’s Pescador in Port de Pollença. Remember what I said about reservations? With the stress of our mid-day reset, I forget to reserve a restaurant for dinner in advance and we end up getting lucky with a walk-in at Ca’s Pescador. It feels a bit touristic but the experience is optimal, sitting right on the Pine Walk.
What I would do differently on Day 5? I simply would have taken the morning to relax instead of visiting another town.
Day 6, Friday: Morning
Port de Pollença beach day. Taking yesterday’s lesson to heart, day 6 is spent fully at the beach.
We rent beach chairs and umbrellas at Platja d’Albercuix and spend the day alternating between catching up on life with our friends while lounging and swimming in the sea.
Day 6, Friday: Afternoon/Evening
Lunch and nap at the Airbnb. When it’s time to each lunch, we leave our towels on our beach chairs and walk back to our Airbnb. The adults eat lunch from our groceries and Mila gets her nap.
Back to the beach and dinner in Port de Pollença. We finish the day at the beach and get lucky with another walk-in dinner in town. Eating dinner early and not going to popular spots helps us with the ability to forego reservations.
What I would do differently on Day 6? Not a thing. It was lovely and easy and exactly what we needed the day to be.
Day 7, Saturday: Morning
Port de Pollença beach morning. Rinse and repeat our beach morning. I’d prefer to leave for Palma sooner and to spend the full day there, but if we do that, Mila will not be able to get her nap. So, we opt for another nap time drive.
Day 7, Saturday: Afternoon/Evening
Drive to Palma during nap. Mila naps on the 45 minute drive to Palma. It’s not the length of nap we’d love for her to get, but it’s something and it will get us through the rest of the day.
An afternoon walking around Palma de Mallorca. Due to my focus on the natural beauty of Mallorca, I haven’t done a ton of research into the capital city of Palma. It feels like a place we should visit while on the island and I am pleasantly surprised when the city is even better than expected.
Palma feels huge and bustling after a week in small towns. It has everything you’d want in a European capital (tiny cobblestone streets to explore, high fashion and high street shops, great cafes and community squares) coupled with the easy vibe of the Mediterranean lifestyle.
We meander around the Cathedral (the inside of which which looks somewhat difficult to navigate with a stroller), make a quick stop into my favorite Euro athleisure store Oysho, grab an ensaïmada pastry and generally attempt to keep Mila in the stroller while allowing for a few stops so she can run around.
Dinner at S’Angel in Palma. We spend several minutes in a plaza outside of S’Angel waiting for the doors to open so we can eat and drive back to Port de Pollença. Even the plaza is kid friendly with some small playground items to climb on.
Dinner is great, we are sitting in the outdoor area and no one else eats at the ungodly early hour of 6pm so Mila can run around a bit.
Drive back to the Airbnb. Mila falls asleep in the car back to the Airbnb at 7pm and still manages to go to bed at 10pm. The mysterious travel sleep schedule continues and I’m not questioning it.
What I would do differently on Day 7? In retrospect, I think I would have winged it and spent the entire day in Palma. Though this likely means Mila wouldn’t have napped, we’ve had no-nap days before and it’s been okay. Spending more time in Palma would have been worth it - I loved this city.
Day 8, Sunday: Morning
Port de Pollença beach morning. We find ourselves back at our local beach on our last day in Mallorca. Rent beach chairs and soak up as much sun as possible.
Day 8, Sunday: Afternoon/Evening
Lunch on the Pine Walk. We finally try the seaside restaurant at the Hotel Illa d´Or, which is so close to our Airbnb that we can see it from our patio.
Service is slow, they forget our drink order and lunch starts to run dangerously over Mila’s nap time. Joe takes one for the team and brings her back to the Airbnb for a nap while I get to spend a few more minutes with our friends before saying goodbye so they can head to the airport.
Beach & packing. After Mila’s late nap, we stop back at the beach to enjoy one last Mediterranean sunset. Back at the Airbnb, we clean out the fridge, eating whatever’s left for dinner and start packing our bags.
The combination of Mila sensing that we are leaving and her late nap being later in the day make bedtime difficult. She cries and I let her out of the travel crib to help us pack which entails her crawling all over the suitcases and removing whatever we’ve put in.
She eventually falls asleep around 11pm and we prepare for our 6am wake up call to drive to Palma airport in the morning.
What I would do differently on Day 8? We hoped that lunch would be quick but when it wasn’t, we could have made the game time decision to send Mila home for her nap sooner. This would have helped with getting her to bed earlier, but in the end, she did great on our long travel day from Spain back to California on Monday - even with less overnight sleep than usual.
Questions about traveling to Mallorca? Thinking about visiting yourself?
I have a follow-up post planned which will cover the need-to-know information about Mallorca with a small child (suggestions on where to stay, research on the spots I didn’t get to go but would recommend, notes on how to navigate the island, etc)
To read more posts that discuss this trip, check these out:
Thank you for reading! Know someone who travels, has kids or is thinking about having them? I’d appreciate if you’d send Carry On their way!
p.s. you can always see all posts on the website
This is sensationally helpful, honest and detailed. Thank you so much.
HOW am I only just now finding your substack?? What a treasure trove!!