The resort of Cala Ratjada is the principle port and coastal development of the municipal district of Capdepera, and is built on a small rocky peninsula on the extreme north east corner of the island, around 65km from the capital Palma.

Driving over to the resort from the Son Sant Joan International airport on the northern outskirts of Palma is quite a pleasant journey, although after a 2 hour flight I doubt if many visitors really get to appreciate the transfer.

For those visitors who do not have the advantage of a tour operators coach transfer, and choose to drive into the resort, the main Ma-15 takes you all the way into the town, passing through the towns of Manacor and Arta on the way.

A more detailed version of this route, complete with links to maps where appropriate, is available from the Route Map link on the left hand frame of this page.

Realistically you should allow a minimum of 1.1/2 hours for the journey, but be also equally prepared for it to take 2 hours on a bad day.

For the growing numbers of visitors who are now opting for a taxi transfer, there are always plenty of taxis available from the ranks outside of the arrivals hall, although on occasions you should be prepared to queue, and in theory at least, they should all operate on a fixed price basis, typically charging around €85 for the journey to Cala Ratjada, however experience has shown that this "fixed price" may vary slightly depending upon the number of suitcases, the time of day or night of the journey, and of course the number of passengers carried.

Also an important consideration for families with small children, is that these taxis do not as a rule carry child seats, therefore children may have to sit on their parent's knee for the journey. If this is a cause for concern, we strongly recommend that you make arrangements for a pre-booked taxi to be waiting for you, and clearly specify at the time of booking that a child seat is needed for the journey.

Before the onset of tourism in the 1960's, the original village of Cala Ratjada was a quiet little fishing port, who's name literally translates as "The Bay of Rays". The original harbour still exists, but today is more likely to be the home of expensive private cruisers than the fishing boats of times gone by.

Historically, Cala Ratjada has also played a very important part in the Majorcan economy. This part of the island is the nearest point to the neighbouring island of Menorca, and on a clear day it is possible to see the former Menorcan capital of Ciutadella from the port area. It is from here that Cape Balear also run a daily hydrofoil service from Cala Ratjada over to Ciutadella, which we'll cover in more detail on the Attractions and Amenities pages.

Despite being a well established resort, with a selection of over 40 hotels with a reported capacity of almost 12,000 beds to choose from, until a couple of years ago Cala Ratjada still remained virtually "undiscovered" by the British tourist.

Even today the larger UK Tour Operators are only just including it in their Summer Sun offerings. Also, quite rare for Mallorca, Cala Ratjada is very popular with French visitors, but it is without doubt the German tourist who far outnumbers the rest, giving the area a bit of a reputation as being the German equivalent of Magaluf.

Another striking similarity with both Magaluf and Palma Nova along with the other popular "Brit" resorts on the south coast of the island, Cala Ratjada also changes dramatically each year from the end of October to April of the following year, when it becomes very popular with the older generation who are able to take advantage of a long winter sunshine break.

One of the features of this part of Majorca is the dramatic jagged coastline and numerous sandy coves. Overall the municipality of Capdepera has almost 42km of coastline and most of its beaches and coves have been awarded the prestigious Blue Flag by the European Union for their cleanliness, facilities and water quality.

Cala Ratjada, and the surrounding area, has a number of good beaches to choose from. Although in all fairness the main town beach called "Son Moll", isn't particularly large and does get very crowded and noisy during the summer. One point to certainly bear in mind if you have small children with you, it that the sea shelves quite steeply a few metres out from the shore.

Also, the other beach at "Cala Gat" is even smaller than "Son Moll" at just 50m long and 25m wide. However, if it's privacy you seek, you'll need to head a little further north, where you’ll find a number of good sandy beaches at Cala Guya, Cala Agulla or Cala Mesquida.

This stretch of the north east coastline around Cala Mesquida and Cala Agulla has been recognised for its special ecological and environment value. The Balearic Islands local Government have declared the area as a specially protected bird sanctuary, and as such is one of the few places on the island that the pine forests still overlook the beach.

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