Palma beaches: the city beaches and the nearest coves

Palma beaches fall into two groups: the city beaches, which run east and west of the centre and cost €2 to reach on a city bus, and the coves around Palma, which are prettier but nearly all in the neighbouring municipality of Calvià, and some have no public transport. You do not need a car for a good beach day: you just need to know which line to take.

My quick verdict: Ciutat Jardí if you want a Blue Flag, lifeguards and calm water a quarter of an hour from the centre; Can Pere Antoni if you only have an hour between sights; Cala Major if you are also visiting the Fundació Miró; Playa de Palma if you want miles of sand (and do not mind the scene). For picture-postcard coves, Illetes and Cala Comtesa.

Palma beaches at a glance

Distances are as the crow flies from Plaça de la Reina, next to the cathedral.

Blue Flags are awarded every year and they change: Playa de Palma had one a few years ago and does not now; Cala Major has won its back. If it matters to you, check for the season you are travelling in.

Can Pere Antoni and Portixol: on foot from the centre

Can Pere Antoni (also spelt Ca'n Pere Antoni: same beach) is the city's own beach. It lies east of the cathedral, along the seafront past Parc de la Mar, about 15 minutes' walk. It has lifeguards and an assisted bathing point, but no Blue Flag.

By bus, the "Àrea d'intercanvi Palau de Congressos" stop is served by the A1, 23, 25, 35 and 30; if you come in from the airport on the A1, it drops you right next to it. It is ideal for a spare afternoon: cathedral in the morning, a swim after lunch.

Carry on east along the promenade and you reach es Portixol and es Molinar, the old fishermen's quarter, with small beaches and lifeguards at Portixol. The 35 stops at both. It is more a walk with a swim than a beach day.

Ciutat Jardí and Cala Estància: Blue Flag beaches to the east

Ciutat Jardí is my general pick if you are staying in the centre. It has a Blue Flag, lifeguards and assisted bathing, and the water is shallow and sheltered. It is 4.1 km away; the EMT 35 leaves from the cathedral area and stops at "Ciutat Jardí" roughly every 10 minutes on weekdays and every 12 at weekends (autumn–winter timetable). Allow about 20–25 minutes for the ride.

Cala Estància is a little further on, next to Can Pastilla and 1.5 km as the crow flies from the airport. It also has a Blue Flag, lifeguards and assisted bathing, and calm water too. The 35, the 32 and the A2 airport bus all go there. If you land at midday and your hotel is in this area, you can be in the sea very quickly.

The 35 terminates at Palma Aquarium, so aquarium in the morning and Ciutat Jardí in the afternoon makes a full day with kids and no car. Can Pastilla also rents paddleboards and kayaks from €15 an hour: see water sports.

Playa de Palma and Balneario 6

Playa de Palma is the long beach of the bay: 4.6 km of fine sand with a very gentle slope, from Can Pastilla to S'Arenal, with 15 numbered balnearios. A balneario is a beach kiosk with a lifeguard post; the numbers double as meeting points ("see you at 13"). The last stretch, at S'Arenal, already belongs to the municipality of Llucmajor.

It is the Palma beach with the most lifeguards, but it has no Blue Flag. The atmosphere changes a lot along its length: the S'Arenal end is the loudest, and first thing in the morning the whole beach is quiet.

How to get to Playa de Palma

• EMT 25: leaves from Plaça de la Reina (cathedral) and runs along the whole beachfront to s'Arenal Balneari 1. Roughly every 10 minutes, 05:25 to 01:55; the ride takes 35–50 minutes. The easiest bus if you are staying in the old town.
• EMT 23: from Plaça d'Espanya, through inland streets (it passes Balneario 6), every 20 minutes, last one around 22:10.
• EMT A2: direct from the airport, €5. More in airport transfers.

Older guides mention line 15: it no longer exists.

Balneario 6, the "Ballermann"

Balneario 6 is the famous "Ballermann" of German party fame, near venues such as Bierkönig and Megapark. If that is why you are coming, read the nightlife guide first, because the area has its own rules against excess tourism:

• Drinking in the street or on the beach is fined €500 to €1,500 (bar terraces are exempt).
• Shops cannot sell alcohol from 21:30 to 08:00: buy water and anything else you need beforehand.
• Open bars, happy hours and organised pub crawls are banned.
• Party boats cannot pick up passengers here.

The assisted bathing point is not at 6 but at balnearios 7 and 15; 7 is right next door and quieter in the morning.

Cala Major, Cala Nova and Illetes: heading west

The EMT 4 is the western beach bus: it leaves Plaça d'Espanya, passes the cathedral and Plaça Gomila, and continues via Cala Major, Cala Nova and Cas Català to Illetes. On weekdays it runs every 10 minutes from 07:40 to 20:30; the first leaves at 05:57 and the last around 00:30. The TIB 108 also serves Cala Major.

Cala Major (4 km) has a Blue Flag, lifeguards and assisted bathing. It is next to the Fundació Miró stop, so museum and swim fit into the same morning. Sunbeds are expensive: there was a public complaint about €70-a-day "premium" sets. Your towel is free.

Cala Nova (4.6 km) is a small sandy beach in Sant Agustí, next to the yacht club of the same name. Supervised area, no Blue Flag. Pleasant if you are staying nearby, but not worth a special trip.

Illetes, already in Calvià, is where the clear-water coves begin. The EMT 4 ends there, at the "ses Illetes" stop. If you are staying in Palmanova, Magaluf or Santa Ponça, the TIB 123 stops at "Playas de Illetes 1" and "2" without going through Palma. Illetes has no Blue Flag.

Coves near Palma: Cala Comtesa, Portals Vells and El Mago

Cala Comtesa, in the Illetes area, is small: around 30 sunbeds, a beach bar, showers and toilets. Its free car park fills early, so it is better to arrive on the EMT 4 or TIB 123. Boats anchor offshore over sand and posidonia seagrass.

Portals Vells is a cove of about 30 × 20 m with a beach bar, toilets and sunbeds in season, and a chapel carved into the rock above the bay. There is free parking in the pine wood, about 200 m away. There is no bus, either to Portals Vells or to neighbouring El Mago, which has a long naturist tradition although it is not an official nudist beach. Bear in mind that Palma's bylaws fine nudity outside authorised areas up to €750.

On the far side of the bay, Cala Blava is reached on the TIB 504, which passes through S'Arenal. And Es Trenc, the big beach in the southern nature park, is further away with no bus to the sand: it is all in the Es Trenc guide.

Reaching the coves by boat

Without a car, the coves of the bay are best seen from the water. Palma's catamarans stop for a swim at places like Cova Verda, Cap Rocat, Cala Vella or Cala Blava, and some include lunch, snorkelling and paddleboarding. Compare options in boat trips or, for the end of the day, in sunset cruises.

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From Colònia de Sant Jordi: Catamaran Cruise to Es Trenc

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How to get to Palma beaches by bus

Children under 5 travel free with an adult. Resident cards do not work for visitors and there is no tourist pass: your contactless card is your ticket on EMT and TIB. A rise to €3 has been given initial approval but is not yet applied; check the fare at https://www.emtpalma.cat/es/tarifas/tarifas

Frequencies in this article are from the autumn–winter timetable; in summer some lines run more often. The whole network is explained in our public transport guide.

Beaches for kids and accessible beaches

With children, the best are Ciutat Jardí and Cala Estància: sand, shallow, sheltered water and lifeguards. Playa de Palma also shelves very gently, though it gets busier in summer. A combination that works: aquarium and Ciutat Jardí on the same 35 bus. More ideas in Palma with kids.

Palma has six assisted bathing points for people with reduced mobility: Cala Major, Can Pere Antoni, Ciutat Jardí, Cala Estància and balnearios 7 and 15 on Playa de Palma. They have a shaded area, accessible showers and toilets, amphibious chairs, crutches and staff who help with transfers and go into the water with you; you can go alone or with company.

The service runs until 31 October. Details at https://visitpalma.com/en/dir/accessible-bathing-points/ and in our accessible Palma guide.

When to swim: lifeguards, sea temperature and rules

The sea off Palma averages around 21 °C in June, 24 °C in July, 26 °C in August, 25 °C in September and 22 °C in October. In May it is about 17 °C: swimmable, but fresh. September is the month I would choose: a warm sea and fewer people on the beaches than in August.

The city's six lifeguarded beaches are Playa de Palma, Cala Major, Can Pere Antoni, Ciutat Jardí, Cala Estància and Portixol. The service runs until 31 October and in October usually finishes at 17:00; if you swim later, or in November, nobody is watching.

Rules and prices worth knowing:

• Red flag = no swimming; after heavy rain, because of sewage overflows.
• Sunbeds: on Playa de Palma, sunbed + parasol + safe come to about €20, and a pack of two sunbeds €30. They are not compulsory.
• Nudity outside authorised areas: fine of up to €750 in Palma.
• In the Playa de Palma and S'Arenal area, no drinking in the street or on the sand (€500–1,500).

If the day turns out cloudy, swap the beach for rainy-day ideas.

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