Beaches in north Mallorca: long sand bays or small coves

Which family beaches in north Mallorca have shallow water and lifeguards?

For small children, the easiest choice in north Mallorca is the long sand of Alcúdia bay. Platja d'Alcúdia and Playa de Muro slope so gently that the water stays shallow far out. Both have lifeguards, at Playa de Muro in high season. Colònia de Sant Pere is a smaller village beach with its own lifeguard service.

At Platja d'Alcúdia the sea floor slopes so gently that the water stays shallow for hundreds of yards. Lifeguards watch several zones, and there are toilets, showers, foot washes and a children's area. An adapted bathing point, reached by an accessible route from Carrer Saturn, has amphibious chairs for adults and children.

Sector I of Playa de Muro carries straight on from Platja d'Alcúdia. You walk quite a few metres out before you lose your footing. Its rescue service has 5 lifeguards, a jet ski, 3 watchtowers and a first-aid module with defibrillators.

If you prefer a smaller beach, look at the villages. Son Bauló, next to Can Picafort, is 160 m of fine sand with shallow water, toilets and showers. Colònia de Sant Pere is a 70 m strip of golden sand in front of the village, very busy with families in summer. Artà council runs a lifeguard service there but rents out no sunbeds or parasols, so bring your own shade.

On Pollença bay, at Es Mal Pas near Alcúdia, Sant Pere and Sant Joan are about 100 m each. Both were on Alcúdia council's 2020 lifeguard contract, and Sant Pere has a beach guard in summer. Both have a beach bar and sunbed hire, and Sant Pere is popular with local people.

Platja d'AlcúdiaPlatja de Muro (Sect 1)Playa de MuroSon BaulóColònia de Sant PereSant PereSant Joan

Where are the beaches near Alcúdia?

The beaches near Alcúdia lie on two bays. Platja d'Alcúdia runs from Port d'Alcúdia along Alcúdia bay. Alcanada is a pebble shore off the road from Alcúdia to the port. Sant Joan and Sant Pere are two small sand beaches on Pollença bay, about 2.6 km from the town. Es Coll Baix is a walk-in cove under cliffs.

Official figures for the length of Platja d'Alcúdia range from just over 3 km to over 7 km. The liveliest stretch runs from the seafront promenade to Ciutat Blanca, where a canal splits the sand. The beach has two stretches, and the second, towards Playa de Muro, is more natural and quieter. You park in the streets of the built-up area, and bus 327 links Alcúdia, the port and the beach.

Alcanada is a 700 m shore of stones and round pebbles, with a small, old pine wood that gives shade. The Illa d'Alcanada and its lighthouse sit 150 m offshore. There are no services, so bring water, food and shoes for the stones. A small car park lies off the Camí d'Alcanada, and the Govern's tests rated the water excellent in 2024 and 2025.

Sant Joan and Sant Pere are near twins of fine sand, split by a narrow rocky bar that you can cross on foot. Sant Joan looks across Pollença bay to Cap de Formentor. Sant Joan has a car park before the path down to the sand, and at Sant Pere you park on the Camí de Manresa. In 2026 bus 323 ran hourly from Alcanada and Alcúdia to its last stop at Es Mal Pas, above the coves, from May to the end of October.

Es Coll Baix is the walk-in option: 220 m of gravel and sand between two cliffs, about 7 km from Alcúdia. You reach it on foot or by boat. A signposted path leads down from the Coll Baix pass in about 30 minutes. Near the end the path fades, so take more care there. The only service is litter bins, so carry water and food.

Platja d'AlcúdiaAlcanadaSant JoanSant PereEs Coll Baix

Where are the beaches near Port de Pollença?

The beaches near Port de Pollença start with the town's own sand, whose official length is 1.5 to 2.4 km, depending on the source. Cala Sant Vicenç is a group of four small coves on the north coast. The Formentor road leads to Formentor beach and to the walk-in cove of Cala Figuera.

The beach at Port de Pollença is man-made. Coarse sand was brought in behind a breakwater, and until some years ago there was no sand at all. It joins three named stretches: Can Cullerassa, Tamarells and Albercuix. The water is shallow, still only 1 m deep more than 300 m out at Albercuix. Parking nearby is free and easy, and a bus stop is a few metres away.

Check two things before you swim there. Port de Pollença is not on the 2026-2027 Blue Flag list. The Govern's tests rated two Albercuix sampling points insufficient in 2024 and 2025, while Llenaire and most Tamarells points were rated good. At Tamarells, on Passeig Londres, a free inclusive bathing centre has amphibious chairs, a hoist and an adapted sunbed.

Cala Sant Vicenç shares 175 m of beach between four coves: Cala Barques, Cala Clara, Cala Molins and Cala Carbó. Cala Molins has a lifeguard and a lift for people with reduced mobility. You reach Cala Barques down steps that are not adapted for wheelchairs. Cala Carbó has pebbles, gravel and no services, so bring drinking water and bathing shoes. Molins and Barques are on the 2026-2027 Blue Flag list.

Formentor beach, also called Cala Pi de sa Posada, is 840 m of white sand but only 8 m wide. It has sunbed and umbrella hire, toilets and showers, and its occupancy is rated high. Further along the peninsula, Cala Figuera is a 45 m cove of sand and pebbles at the end of a U-shaped inlet between cliffs. Its only services are cleaning and a diving zone, so bring water and shade.

Port de PollençaCala Sant VicençCala FormentorCala Figuera (N)

Where are the beaches near Can Picafort and Artà?

The beaches near Can Picafort run from the town's own 1,300 m of sand to protected shores towards Artà. Es Comú lies 1 km away, inside S'Albufera Natural Park. Son Bauló sits next to the town and Son Serra de Marina 7 km away. Sa Canova, Colònia de Sant Pere and Cala Torta lie further on.

Can Picafort's beach stretches 1,300 m in front of the town, from the Club Nàutic end to the road in from Muro. Long wooden ramps lead from the promenade to the sand, and there are toilets, showers and sunbed hire. You park in the nearby streets, and the nearest bus stop is about 100 m from the sand. Bus 302 runs to Palma and bus 324 to Alcúdia.

Es Comú, the protected stretch of Playa de Muro, is 1 km from Can Picafort and 1,750 m long. Roads stop at each end of its pine wood, so you walk about 400 m on paths and wooden bridges over the dunes. It has no services and no lifeguard post of its own. The council's undated page lists daily jet-ski patrols by the rescue service. Bathers are few, mostly local families.

Son Serra de Marina, 7 km from Can Picafort, is 450 m of coarse sand with isolated rocks and a car park next to the beach. Services stop at bins and cleaning. Windsurfers and naturists use it. Across the Torrent de na Borges, Sa Canova is a long beach of fine sand with dunes that reach 2 km inland. You park at s'Estanyol and walk about 300 m, and nude bathing is possible.

Cala Torta, about 10 km from Artà, is 150 m of white sand inside the Llevant Natural Park. From the parking area you walk about 20 minutes. The beach bar is closed, and the seabed drops steeply, so the water soon gets very deep. There is no water-quality sampling point.

Can PicafortPlatja de Muro (Es Comú)Son BaulóSon Serra de MarinaPlatja de Sa CanovaColònia de Sant PereCala Torta

Where do you park for Formentor beach and the other north coast beaches?

Along the two bays you usually park close to the sand. It is free at Port de Pollença and in Playa de Muro's streets; at Platja d'Alcúdia you use the streets. Formentor beach is the exception. Its road has been restricted in summer, from 1 June to 30 October in 2024 and from 15 May to 18 October in 2026.

In 2026 the rules applied from 10:00 to 22:00. Private cars could drive to the Formentor beach car park at PK 8+000 until it filled. Then a barrier came down, and driving into the closed zone meant a fine. The car park charges and sits about 400 m from the sand. The other way in was to park free on the Ma-2200 service road at Port de Pollença. From there, bus 334 ran to Platja de Formentor during the restriction. Cars with a reduced-mobility badge, bicycles, taxis and the bus could still pass.

Past the beach, the road to the lighthouse was open only to authorised vehicles in the same 2026 dates and hours, with a second barrier at PK 8+700. On foot, the Cala Figuera path starts at km 12.7 of the PM-221, a little before the tunnel. It is 944 m long and takes about 30 minutes.

At Cala Sant Vicenç, free car parks serve Molins, Barques and Clara, and if they are full you park in the village streets. Alcanada has a small car park off the Camí d'Alcanada.

Cala FormentorCala Figuera (N)Cala Sant VicençAlcanadaPort de PollençaPlaya de MuroPlatja d'Alcúdia

Which beaches in north Mallorca shelter you from a tramontana wind?

In a tramontana wind from the north, Formentor beach and Alcanada are the sheltered choices in north Mallorca, because both face south. The north-facing shores take the waves: Cala Sant Vicenç, Sant Joan, Sant Pere, Can Picafort, Son Bauló, Son Serra de Marina, Sa Canova and Cala Torta. This is our estimate from the way each beach faces.

Cala Molins, in Cala Sant Vicenç, takes the full force of the cold north wind, which whips its water into foam. Cala Torta is open to the tramontana and to the gregal, the north-east wind. At Can Picafort, the beach's opening to the bay brings moderate waves when the dominant north winds blow.

A south wind turns the picture round. Then the north-facing beaches are the sheltered ones: Cala Sant Vicenç, Sant Joan, Sant Pere, Can Picafort, Son Bauló, Son Serra de Marina, Sa Canova and Cala Torta. Formentor beach, Alcanada and Platja d'Alcúdia face into a south wind.

An east wind hits Platja d'Alcúdia, Playa de Muro and Port de Pollença. At Port de Pollença the council warns boat owners of a strong swell in east, south-east and south winds. Colònia de Sant Pere faces north-west, so it is the one beach on this page that turns its back on an east wind. A west wind does the opposite: it leaves Platja d'Alcúdia, Playa de Muro, Port de Pollença, Cala Figuera and Es Coll Baix sheltered, and blows onto Colònia de Sant Pere.

The windy days guide sorts every beach on the island by the wind it faces away from.

Cala FormentorAlcanadaCala Sant VicençSant JoanSant PereCan PicafortCala TortaSon BaulóSon Serra de MarinaPlatja de Sa CanovaPlatja d'AlcúdiaPlaya de MuroPort de PollençaColònia de Sant PereCala Figuera (N)Es Coll Baix