As requested by CharlieV, here is a report of our recent visit. I got a bit carried away so apologies now for the length LOL!
OK, so we bit the bullet, booked a last minute flight and we're now back from our trip to PP. I wanted to add our trip report to the thread just in case it is of interest to anybody.
We were last out in February, then we had a May trip cancelled, we couldn't do our June anniversary trip and a
Jet2 holiday we booked for the beginning of August was also cancelled due to Covid. We really didn't expect to make it over this Summer but at the very last minute we decided to risk it and got a cheap Ryanair flight.
We could only do 8 nights as we've now obviously got to quarantine for 14 days. Our daughter will go back to school the day the quarantine ends but we were thrilled to have the time we did there.
Airports/flights.
Birmingham and Palma were both extremely quiet on our outgoing and return flights and we sailed through security at both ends in minutes.
I'd say the Ryanair flight was around 50% full on the 08.45 flight out and we could only order limited drinks and small snacks. Only a couple of people kept forgetting to keep their masks over their nose and mouths on the plane, they were having fun on the Jagerbombs.... and were luckily a few rows away from us!!
Our contact QR code was scanned on arrival at Palma without issues - it was really easy as we had prepared it a couple of days earlier and had it downloaded to our phones.
The return flight was a late one (21.35) and was even quieter with about 35 people on board. Considering it was a late flight, there was a lot of food on offer including hot meals and sandwiches.
I filled in the contact forms for our return trip as required, but this wasn't scanned or even mentioned at Birmingham Airport which was annoying considering the serious implications of the quarantine.
Car hire.
We tend to use Formentor cars and we arranged for a car to meet us at the airport which was there when we arrived.
Then Russ had an easy, leisurely drive to the port. We've only actually used the car a few times this visit, but it's got us to and from the airport so no taxi fares. We also drove to Cala Sant Vicenc,
Hotel Llenaire and the big beach so was still worth having. Before our flight home we dropped it off on level 3 of the car park at the airport as normal.
Accommodation.
We stayed in Hotel
Miramar's Maricel
apartments this time. We booked direct with Miramar the day before we flew and booked a one bedroom
apartment, pool view with extra bed. When we arrived they were as welcoming as you'd imagine. They'd given us a two bedroomed pool view apartment instead which was fabulous and we were the ONLY guests which was both a lovely novelty, but also extremely strange and a bit sad.
Having the apartment blocks big pool just for us was amazing. We even had a lifeguard, who must have been bored to tears most of the time. Hopefully we gave her a bit of entertainment with our silly holiday giddiness. Russ has dumb and dumber pool hair as well which us girls always found hilarious!
2 days before we left something happened with the heating system in the Maricel apartment block so we were asked to move to the main hotel for our last 2 nights. They gave us a second floor sea view room. This was lovely as the views from the Miramar are some of the best. The room was a lot smaller than the apartment so felt a little cramped with the three of us. We hardly spend any time in the room though so as a base it was great. They also threw in free breakfasts for us for the inconvenience of having to move all our stuff over.
General ambience.
The Port was a lot quieter than a normal August, but not as quiet as I'd imagined it would be, although towards the end of our break it did get quieter as the families with school age kids must have started to travel home.
After being there for 8 days we found that the vast majority are abiding to the mask rules. With the heat it takes a couple of days to get used to wearing them, but after that it's fine. We bought some cotton, material masks with us as well as a box of disposable ones and we've found the disposable ones to be a lot lighter and easier to wear during the day.
There was a post on the IlovePP FB group recently regarding people not wearing masks where they should be. This was aimed at tourists mainly, but we didn't see the same issues ourselves and have found people to be generally, very respectful of the rules. There were times where we did notice a few families/people not wearing masks (perhaps they didn't understand the rules or were health exempt?), so can see there could easily be times where you noticed more issues as they did.
Food.
We decided to
stay room only this time so we could eat out for our meals and help out all the restaurants we could.
Russ and I are vegetarian and we've found that more and more restaurants are catering for us with many more choices than previous years. We can honestly say we didn't have a bad meal or experience anywhere.
We ate at:
Moll de Bellagio
Tiberi
Stay
Meraki
Miramar
No31
Ca les Monges
Store Formentor
The Pines
Sama
Imperial
Hostal Borras
Tierra de Fuego
La Vall
Payeras panaderia
Ambrosia
Abacco
With drinks before/after dinner at. ..
Terraza 360
Lemon bar
Bonys
Hotel Llenaire (with cake)
Daina
Activities.
With a 9 year old water baby in tow, activities are largely centred around the pool. We've done a stint at the pool every day and it's been bliss. I wouldn't say relaxing, we don't get to do that, but amazing having it all to ourselves.
We've also snorkeled at Cala Sant Vicenc, paddleboarded around the bay, had a beach day around Tamarells, been scuba diving with the Tramuntana Diving team and had a sunrise paddleboard trip with Mallorca SUP Company.
It was our first time doing scuba and we totally loved it! It was only a little lesson where we were taken out to 'Chicken Bay' just below La Fortaleza. We were taught how to use the masks, oxygen tank etc in shallow water and then swam around a little to where the floor drops away to around 3 metres. As expected, the little one did the best and took to it instantly. She swam to the sea bed and found a starfish! She got a little tired towards the end so I got out with her and Russ carried on with our instructor, swam a bit deeper and was extremely happy to see a little octopus 😁
The Tramuntana diving team are great. They're like a little family and really professional. Our daughter suffers with anxiety and needs extra support in lots of situations and our instructor Sami was very patient, explained everything to her perfectly and put her mind at rest.
The sunrise paddle trip was unbelievable! A very early 6am start for us on our final day, but totally worth it. To paddle out in the dark, when the water is so flat and still, and see the sunrise whilst floating on a paddleboard in the middle of the sea is a truly wonderful experience.
Hannah at Mallorca SUP is fab. We've used her boards and taken trips with her a few times now and never fail to have a good time. During our first lesson last year she taught us all we needed to know about the boards - mainly staying upright!! She must have taught us well as this time we were up and out on the water straight away. Our daughter loves her (and her gorgeous dogs).
We've tried to fit in as much as possible this time as we missed out on our last few trips and may not get back in October if things worsen again. We're so happy to have been able to support the local businesses though and everyone has been really lovely. I know they always are, but with the situation as it is, you would forgive them for being a bit down in the dumps, but they were far from it.
We're now back home - landed in the rain ☹️
We're reunited with our beautiful cat and dog who we've missed, as we always do. We just can't wait to get back out there as we pine for it as soon as we leave.
If anybody has any questions about our experiences then we'd be happy to try and answer them.
One day soon our plane ticket will be one way!
Love
Toni x