| |
BALEARIC ISLANDS
Cap de Formentor in Mallorca |
|
Catalans call it the Illes Balears, the Spanish Islas Baleares and in English it’s simply The Balearic Islands. The cluster of a handful of islands in the Western side of the Mediterranean Sea fuses together an excellent climate, extensive beaches and natural beauty to create perhaps the most effective recipe for the ones with a taste for soil.
This autonomous division of Spain is one of the most popular holiday destinations for the Europeans. The main islands being Majorca (Mallorca), Minorca (Menorca) and Ibiza (Eivissa), the Community shares a common capital, which is Palma de Mallorca. Formentera, Cabrera and the uninhabited Dragonera forms the rest of this archipelago, and are located off the coast of Spain between France and the coast of northern Africa.
The largest island being Majorca, it is also the most commercial among the rest; the reason being the large concentration of the hotel industry and apartment complexes along the countryside. The world’s party zone, Ibiza is also an attraction for its white sands and clear blue waters. Minorca, the most tranquil of the lot is also the last to buckle under the tourist encroachment; aided by the Government it has kept at bay the insane development of the tourism industry.
The forgotten Balearic, or the Formentera is a small piece of land with an area of 30 square miles; the smallest as well as the least developed. Mostly worth a day’s visit, the island is currently under a strict restriction that’s currently barring the hotel industry to enter the territory. However, all the islands vary from each other extensively, be it in appearance or the ambience.
Cathedral of Palma at night
|
Visitors are not expected to spend their vacations in complete wilderness, therefore, a wide selection of hotels are found even at the Balearic Islands; from budget, business, tourist and luxury hotels to bed and breakfast arrangements and apartment for rent kind of accommodation. The catch is: any hotel on the islands offers comfort, quality and great value for the money.
Sol Antilles Barbados Hotel Mallorca, Sol Falco Hotel Minorca and the Sol Ibiza Hotel are the ones mostly preferred by the tourists; however, the backpacker's accommodation i.e. a hostel is a non-entity in Ibiza.
Portinatx beach in Ibiza
|
Palma from Bellver Castle
|
|
|
