Last Updated on July 25, 2023
Mallorca (also know as Majorca), the largest of the Spanish Balearic Islands, is home to some amazing beaches with turquoise sea. A ‘cala’ is a small cove or bay and Cala d’Or (meaning ‘Golden Bay’) has several to explore! In this post I share a guide to the best Cala d’Or beaches that can be found on the eastern side of the marina (towards Cala Ferrera). These are: Cala Serena, Cala Ferrera, Cala Esmeralda, Playa Cala Gran and Cala Petita.
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Cala d Or Beaches
Cala Serena | Cala Ferrera | Cala Esmeralda | Cala Gran | Cala Petita
Swimming & Snorkelling
The coves have calm waters with marked swimming areas. Some of the larger beaches also have lifeguards on duty. Thanks to the extremely clear waters, snorkelling is popular. There’s not a huge amount of marine life but the visible can be amazing. Take care when swimming or snorkelling outside of the marked areas. The Calas can be ‘high traffic areas’ with various size boats anchoring throughout the day. The large ‘Starfish’ catamaran cruise boat also comes in to dock.
Many of the nearby shops sell various inflatables, from swim rings of all shapes and sizes (watermelons, unicorns, ‘car’ tyres etc) to lilos and boats. A standard swim ring costs around €7. They also sell snorkel sets and water shoes. I found the sand soft enough to not need water shoes, but this may be your preference.
The Calas mostly have rocky edges, with many of the deeper areas having ladders to get in and out of the sea. These are popular with people jumping in off the rocks!
Playa de Cala Serena
⛱Facilities: Small beach bar, sun lounger & umbrella rentals
Starting with the furthest east is Playa de Cala Serena. This is a very small beach with a small beach bar. It is accessed via a pedestrian street between the Robinson Cala Serena hotel.
Even though it is a public beach, it did feel like it was more for hotel guests as it is their closest beach. It is also surrounded with private residential properties. There’s an area to one side that is for hotel guests only but there are a handful of public sun lounger and umbrella rentals. I would imagine that you’d need to get there very early to secure one.
I personally felt like Cala Serena was the best beach in Cala d Or if you are after a deserted ‘tropical island’ feel. It wasn’t as overlooked as some of the other beaches and the water was extremely clear and blue as it lacked sea grass.
Platja de Cala Ferrera
⛱Facilities: Public toilets, showers, beach bar, sun lounger & umbrella rentals, stand up paddle boards, pedal boats, lifeguard
The Cala d Or beaches may be signposted as either ‘Playa’ (Spanish) or ‘Platja’ (Catalan). There’s actually a cut-through from Cala Serena to Cala Ferrera which has an arrow sign saying ‘Platja’. A small path leads through the woodland area, it can be found near the turning circle at the top of the street that goes down to Cala Serena beach. It comes out on Cala Ferrera beach, just above a water sports rental area. The path is very steep, uneven and rocky, so take care!
I spent the majority of my time at Cala Ferrera beach, as I was staying at the nearby Hotel Cala Ferrera. The beach is long and narrow with a beach bar (food, drinks, ice cream and snacks), public toilets, showers, a beach volleyball net, sun lounger and umbrella rentals and a lifeguard on duty (during peak times).
During my visit, Cala Ferrera beach had 4 pedal boat rentals. Two look like cars with larger slides, and two more standard pedalos with smaller curved slides. During peak times, there may be a short wait for one to become available. Alternatively, there were lots of stand up paddle board rentals which often had a shorter wait time. Water rentals are expected to stay out of the public swimming area.
I think that Cala Ferrera is the best beach in Cala d Or. It felt quieter than Cala Gran (see below) as it’s smaller, but it still has a lot of facilities.
Looking for a hotel in Cala d’Or? For a hotel with great views overlooking Cala Ferrera, check out Hotel Cala Ferrera.
Cala Esmeralda Beach
⛱Facilities: Beach bar
Similar to Playa Cala Serena, Cala Esmeralda beach felt like it was more like a beach for the surrounding hotels. It is accessed via roads through the Inturotel hotel resort complex, so naturally the guests use it as their ‘go to’ beach. It is quite a small beach with lots of people using their own parasols, so it feels a little crowded too.
The Saladina Beach Bar and the Sa Cala Beach Club have food and drinks for purchase (the Sa Cala Beach Club is part of the adults only side of the Inturotel hotel).
Ladders are along the rocks for swimming in the deeper areas.
Playa Cala Gran
⛱Facilities: Public toilets, showers, first aid, beach bars, convenience shop, sun lounger & umbrella rentals, stand up paddle boards, pedal boats, lifeguard
As the name suggests, Playa Cala Gran is the biggest Cala dor beach. It’s also one of the most centrally located which adds to its popularity. Similar to Cala Ferrera beach, there’s a lifeguard on duty during peak times. Sun lounger and umbrella rentals are also available and you’ll find a larger selection of pedal boats and stand up paddle board rentals.
During peak season all the umbrellas become reserved quite quickly. But there’s a large amount of sand for towels and personal parasols, especially at the back of the beach. During my visit, there were also a stack of spare sun loungers, so if you didn’t mind sitting in the sun, you could hire a lounger without an umbrella.
There is also a concrete wall along one side of the beach. So if you were just out for a walk and wanted somewhere to sit and people watch, this is the perfect place. It’s also shaded by trees if you were after some respite from the sun!
Playa Cala Gran also has more facilities compared to some of the other beaches. Such as: a toilet block and outdoor showers, a first aid kiosk, several beach bars with various food and drink options, as well as a convenience store selling inflatables and beach supplies.
Cala Petita
⛱Facilities: Beach bar, sun lounger & umbrella rentals
Being the opposite of ‘Gran’ (large/big in Catalan), ‘Petita’ means small! Cala Petita is one of the smallest beaches in Cala d’Or. There are a handful of sun loungers and umbrellas to hire and a beach bar has food and drink. The beach is also surrounded by concrete walls, so it may also not the ‘best’ looking.
Additional Information
Other Beaches in Cala D or
To the western side of the Cala d’or Marina, you’ll find Cala d’es Pou beach and Cala de Egos. You do need to walk around the whole perimeter of the marina, there’s no short cut across the middle, so it’s at least a 30 minute walk from Cala Petita to Cala d’es Pou.
Rentals
Sun Loungers, Umbrellas & Safes
A full day rental for two beds, an umbrella and the use of a safe cost €14 at Cala Ferrera and €17 at Cala Gran (correct at the time of writing). In June, when the temperatures were hitting 28c daily, most of the beds were completely filled by 10am. Payments are accepted via cash or card.
Safes are large enough for a small handbag or personal items such as wallets, keys, cameras etc. They are number coded so you simply follow the instructions to set your own number.
Stand up Paddle Boards & Pedal Boats
For watersport lovers, stand up paddle boards can be hired on Cala Gran and Cala Fererra beaches. Paddle boards are €10 for 30 minutes and €13 for an hour. The pedal boats with slides are €12 for 30 minutes or €15 for an hour.
The Cala d’or fruit man
I personally loved the fruit man! There were a couple of different men selling fresh fruit at the different beaches (Cala Ferrera and Cala Gran). You can’t miss them, they sing a song about get your mangos and your coco locos. Guaranteed you’ll end up finding yourself singing the song to yourself at some point!
They sells fruit out of a wheelbarrow and chop everything up in front of you. Half a pineapple is €5 and a coconut is €4 and you get a free banana for every ‘portion’ you buy. Watermelon, mangos and cherries are also sold.
Cala d’Or Jellyfish
On one day during my stay unfortunately Cala Ferrera did experience a lot of jellyfish. Spring/summer is a popular time for them. They are carried on the tides and become trapped in the inlets. Luckily they can come one day and be completely gone the next. When one Cala may have them, the next may have zero.
I was speaking to another person in my hotel that got stung while snorkelling. It had marked him but he said the lifeguards have ammonia to help stop the pain. At the time when he was treated, he was told that another 20 people had also been stung!
As the water is so clear, they can often be spotted. They are small and brown in colour. If one is spotted, there are likely to be more within that area. Either go back at a different time of day, try another Cala instead or stay in the shallows.
Cala D’or Beach FAQ
There are 5 main beaches in Cala d’Or, these are: Cala Serena, Cala Ferrera, Cala Esmeralda, Cala Gran and Cala Petita
As there are 5 different beaches in Cala d’or, they are all slightly different in terms of sizes and facilities. For the most part they are all white sandy cove like beaches, that are quite narrow at the water’s edge but are long in length. The sea is calm, shallow in places and an amazing turquoise blue colour.
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