Mallorca, Puerto Soller..

Away from the bay of Palma, Mallorca is a beautiful unspoilt island with small fishing ports and medieval villages and a fantastic coastline overlooking the azure Mediterranean Sea.

Port de Soller is a pretty fishing village and port on the north-west coast a million miles from the more raucous resorts of the south. The port fringes a perfectly formed natural harbour, where most afternoons you can watch the fisherman unloading their catch or mending their nets. This is a small unspoilt resort with restaurants and bars but without the discos and clubs of those in the south. There are no high rise hotels here. It is an ideal resort offering everything you need but without the masses of tourists to spoil it. Port de Soller is surrounded by countryside where mountains preside over the lush fertile Soller valley filled with olive, lemon and orange groves.

The port is linked to the old town of Soller by tram, a great hit with the children. Our hotel is based right on the sea front looking out over the bay to the harbour. The narrow harbour entrance is flanked by light-houses on both sides. The beach just outside the hotel is sandy, the water is clear and shallow and just a pedestrianised walkway separates the hotel from the beach.

Transport links are good from Port de Soller. Using the local bus services you can travel along the rugged coast and visit the villages of Valldemossa, a regular haunt of Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta Jones or Deia, a pretty village with dramatic scenery and a lovely church perched above the village from where you get fantastic views along the coast. Alternatively take a boat trip and head out to sea and along the Mallorcan coastline to the beautiful, yet quiet bay of Sa Colobra.

If you fancy a day away from the sun and the sand, head to the capital of Mallorca, Palma. You can get there in about half an hour on the express bus. On your return take the more leisurely old electric train through the mountains on the old narrow gauge railway, which has linked Soller to Palma since 1912 and return on the old tram back to the port. In Palma you can wander through the streets of the old town down to the fabulous cathedral. You can sit in one of the squares such as the Plaza Major and watch the street entertainers and check out the stalls for momentos to take home.

Accommodation

Lying on the North West coast of Mallorca, the hotel Marina is located in the pretty bay of Port de Soller. This family-run 2 star hotel is right on the sea front, only the pedestrianised walkway and the sand come between the hotel and the sea. This is an ideal holiday location for families. You can step out of your hotel onto the sandy beach with its clear, shallow waters.

All rooms are en-suite. We have half board accommodation, except on one evening (two for the 14 night stay). Breakfasts and evening meals are buffet style served in the Marinas Mallorcan restaurant.

You can enjoy a coffee or sangria from the bar on the seafront terrace. The swimming pool and children's pool are situated on the hotel's rear terrace, where there is also table-tennis. There are sun-beds and parasols for use by hotel guests both by the swimming-pool and on the beach. The hotel has helpful reception staff, who are happy to help you should you need to know anything about the hotel, the resort or the island. The bar area is situated in the sea front lounge with satellite television. A quieter lounge is located upstairs on the top floor.

We all eat together

Each evening we meet up in the bar before dinner so that we can all go into dinner together. Meals in the hotel are a self-serve buffet. We leave you free to do your own thing on one evening (two for the 14 night holiday), either on your own but more likely with a small group from the many friends you and your children will make. This gives you the opportunity to try out one of the restaurants specialising in Mallorcan cuisine, including locally caught fish or if you prefer there are Pizzerias and cafes.

Mango Group Holiday Fun

Each day after breakfast we all meet up with the Mango Holiday coordinator to plan the activity for the day. The beach is a major attraction of this holiday, but the coordinator will organise short walks, a boat trip to Sa Colobra, a visit to Palma on the bus, returning by train and tram and can organise fun and games on the beach.