Gems of the Mediterranean

Palma is the richest city in Spain’s wealthiest province. Its residents step out with a confident, cosmopolitan air. Like a baby Barcelona, this ancient harbour is an alfresco fiesta of cafés, cocktails, shoes, shops, markets and bars. Mallorcans are modern art fiends. Colourful Catalan Joan Miró has a museum by the marina. Even humble tapas are presented at Picasso-like levels. Bar counter bites include towers of seaweed, spelt, peppers, prawns and Manchego cheese. Even locals struggle to get to Palma’s best boating spot, the Cabrera Archipelago Maritime Park. Its 19 islands are accessible only to those with their own boat, as are its 100km² of aquarium-like seas.

There’s a saying among Mediterranean mariners: If a port was once a den of pirates and smugglers, then it makes a damn good marina today. Puerto Andratx is a stunning natural harbour ringed by an amphitheatre of beaches and cliffs. Its current quayside bustles to the sound of popping corks and a playlist of Enrique Iglesias.

Superyacht guests can thank the corsairs for Andratx’s parting gift. The uninhabited island of Sa Dragonera was kept au naturel by its history as a smuggler’s lair. In the 1970s, piratical Spanish authorities tried to flip it into a casino resort. But Mallorcan locals fought back like buccaneers: Sa Dragonera is now a pristine marine and island reserve.

Superyacht guests can thank the corsairs for Andratx’s parting gift. The uninhabited island of Sa Dragonera was kept au naturel by its history as a smuggler’s lair. In the 1970s, piratical Spanish authorities tried to flip it into a casino resort. But Mallorcan locals fought back like buccaneers: Sa Dragonera is now a pristine marine and island reserve.

The wild Serra de Tramuntana mountains tumble into the sea around Puerto de Soller. Only mule tracks and fishing boats link many of the coastline’s sandy coves. But Soller itself is one long arc of sand. A dozen seafood restaurants are backed up by a muddle of honey-hued houses. Fiery red prawns are the local speciality; gastro-genius Heston Blumenthal is a devotee. Mallorca’s must-see village sits some 10km away. Hilltop Deià became a hippy chic playground in the 1960s as poet Robert Graves entertained his kaftan-clad crew. Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta Jones maintain a house nearby, surrounded by olive and citrus groves.

Just north of Port Nou is the fortified town of Pollença safeguarding a Mallorcan tradition of stone townhouses and cobbled streets. Pollença is particularly noted for its culinary custom: expect steamed snails, wild mushrooms, tuna-stuffed artichokes and crunchy bacalao.

Ciutadella may be Menorca’s second city. But it boasts a greater cultural collective than its big brother Port Mahon. A theatre, 10 museums and 100 restaurants sit side-by-side. This medieval masterpiece wears its Roman, Arab and Ottoman history with pride.
Like the islands of Formentera, Hvar and Santorini, Menorca is best explored by yacht tender, sea kayak or mountain bike. Most coastal trails start in Ciutadella, including a stupendous nine-mile hike’n’bike route that meanders south. Northerly trails to the secret beaches of Cala Morell are of equal allure.

After breakfast, we cruise along the southern coast of Menorca stopping along the way for lunch and water sports. We reach Cova d'en Xoroi in time for sunset dinner and drinks. Here, natural caves form a series of terraces that sit in the cliff face. Dine in the restaurant perched directly above the crystal clear waters and, if the mood takes you, dance the night away in the caverns with live DJ's and laid back Balearic vibes.

Palma’s best boating spot, the Cabrera Archipelago Maritime Park. Off-limits until 1988 as a military base, its 19 islands are accessible only to those with their own boat. The towering cliffs harbour herons and shearwater, while whales and dolphins bask in the 100km2 of protected seas.

Formentera is the Balearics as they used to be. It’s low-rise, low-tech and decidedly low-stress. Bob Dylan and Janis Joplin washed-up here in the 1960s. Given today’s languorous selection of beach bars, it looks like they never left.

The island boasts some of the longest, whitest and quietest beaches in the entire Mediterranean. Playa de Migjorn is dotted with chiringuitos. These are beach shack restaurants offering sunset yoga, beach volley, piña coladas and tantric massage. A few degrees north sits the sun-kissed sandbar of Playa de ses Illetes. Come sunset it’s desert island bliss. Believe us: even Robinson Crusoe would be proud.

Ibiza has long been the destination of choice for the world’s party elite. By night, its clubs offer pulse-popping licentiousness. By day, its beaches detoxify with massage, yoga and sunrise smoothies. Many visitors spin such 24-hour hedonism into a rolling seven-day spree.

Ibiza’s Old Town is where the party started in the 1970s – and where it throbs ‘til dawn today. Its cobbled streets are café-lined catwalks: Soho meets St Tropez. This tree-dappled quarter welcomes A-listers and global celebrities with scant deference to social mores. Jade Jagger and Natalia Vodianova can be seen shimmying on the local dance floors.