This could probably also be entitled ‘times I’ve nearly cried because of the beauty’! It’s true.I’ve had several ‘moments’ in Mallorca where I’ve totally gasped, nearly cried, and had an awful lot of gratitude for this wonderful world.

Maybe it’s because it’s usually on the descent and I’m probably just slightly amazed that I’ve made it to the top. Maybe it’s the call of a cold drink and good food getting closer. Or maybe it’s because the views are just out of the world. 

Here are my top five stunning views (so far) in Mallorca, and their accompanying rides.

5 - In Fifth Place (and this may be controversial): Cap de Formentor

Ok, let’s start with why it’s controversial. Cap de Formentor is often THE bike ride of a trip (apart from maybe Sa Colobra). It’s certainly a ride! I just didn’t rate the ride as highly as I expected to. 

The views are certainly stunning, and there’s not just one of them. There are so many great viewpoints on this ride, especially if you go early in the morning as the sun is rising. The view back to Port De Pollenca, over the rocks to the sunrise, the views out to sea and finally the view from the Cap itself. There were several WOW! moments. 

So why fifth place? Well, it was the ride for me. Was I a little out of my comfort zone. Yes - totally. It was 6am when we started from Port de Pollenca and we knew we had to get out early to avoid the traffic (more on that later), and it’s essentially straight up from there. The first climb on cold legs was just not fun, and there was nowhere to stop on the side of the road. It was also unfortunate that as we headed up, about 1,000 drunk teenagers were heading back down from an all-nighter and watching the sunrise; being heckled for a number of miles probably didn’t add to the experience. I also got overtaken by a runner lol (yes - I’m that slow on hills!). That was just funny, but tells you how hard it is. Parts of it were lovely, and there was a great sense of achievement when we reached the Cap. The final part of the road was closed to traffic at that time too, which made those miles really great. On the way back however, the traffic wasn’t pleasant. So many cars heading to the beach and tour buses heading to the Cap, it just felt a bit attritional. Additionally, the cafe at the Cap wasn’t open when we arrived - the ride lost marks on this. There were loads of cyclists so there was definitely the capacity to make a coffee killing, but we just had to settle for an energy bar and some electrolytes, then straight back on the bike. 

It was definitely a ride to remember, and without the traffic and with a coffee stop it would be higher. But the traffic man!! 🙈

4 - Fourth Place: Valdemossa and the Descent Down Coll D'En Claret to Esporles

I was totally excited for this ride. It was my second ride with a cycle coach and one I’d been looking forward to for weeks. The plan was up to Valdemossa, down to Soller then back up and home. Some things went wrong and I decided to shorten it, but it was still a good ride. Spring cycling is tricky as, for me anyway, I’m at my worst fitness wise. Naff British weather and illness meant we arrived in Mallorca far from peak fitness, and with a hard ride the day before my energy levels weren’t great. Add a sore butt from the hire-bike saddle and a rainy day, and it wasn’t the best start. The road up into Valdemossa was also terrifying! It wasn’t the steepest, but it was relentless, and there was A LOT of traffic. Cycling up on the right hand side of the road, with no real barriers but just a sheer drop off a cliff edge just isn’t my jam. So my rating for this ride was knocked down a bit here. Iggy, my cycle coach, knew a great cut once we got close to Valdemossa. The road surface wasn’t great and it was steeper than the main road, but it was empty so I was happy to add switchbacks in return for no traffic. Did I see any views on the way up - nope. Only my feet, the traffic, and the rain which hit us as we started the climb. Luckily I didn’t see my breakfast again!

Valdemossa was lovely though. A cute little town with lots of ancient buildings. Kudos for a lovely outside cafe on the main street too. I decided to ditch the Soller climb at this point, and instead we headed up to the Coll d’en Claret, and that is where the views kicked in. Photos don’t do this justice, but it really was a WOW moment. The whole descent was stunning, and Esporles at the bottom was super cute too. Great road surfaces, lovely barriers (who knew a barrier could make or break a ride lol), very little traffic, great views down the valley and along the mountain sides. There was lots of ‘wow’, a few stops for photos, and an awful lot of gratitude. 

3 - Third Place: Pallenca and the Calvary Steps

I can’t remember lots of this ride, but I do remember the views (and the breakfast). It was towards the end of a ride and we were heading back towards Port de Pollenca where we were staying. Ca'n Moixet in the Plaza Mejor serve an epic breakfast, and we’d stopped to eat Pa Amb Oli with Sobrasada (a Mallorcan speciality of bread and oil with sausage and cheese - YUM!).

We realised that we’d never really looked around the town before, and decided to check out the Calvary steps. Just wow! Now strictly speaking this isn’t a ride. We did cycle back down the road, but once we got to the bottom of the steps we knew we had to head up. So this turned into a bit of a cyclocross event as we had to carry the bikes up, but that didn’t deter us. The quaint shops at the bottom and houses on the way up were fascinating, the church at the top was lovely and the history was fascinating. And the views back into the town, down to the coast, and across to the mountains were well worth the 365 steps to get there. The cafe at the top with ice cold drinks helped too. Then it was back to Port de Pollenca for swimming, sunning, afternoon napping and then dinner. A pretty perfect day!

2 - (Suprise) Second Place: Puig de Randa!

I wasn’t expecting to like this as much as I did, and it surprised me for lots of reasons. Most people who go to Mallorca for cycling are there for the climbs, and there are plenty to choose from. Although I’m rubbish on hills, I do enjoy them for the challenge, the sense of achievement at the top, and for the views. This one on paper beforehand didn’t look as challenging, so I think the views were unexpected. 

To put it into context, this ride was the first day of a holiday, and my main focus was on Valdemossa which I was doing the next day (see fourth place review). Perhaps I saw this as a ‘test the hire bike out and test out my winter legs’ ride. 

We were staying in Alaro in the centre of the island, and the route took us across the plains before up to the Puig de Randa and the Santuari de Cura, before back through the vineyards. The whole ride was just stunning. I often think of ‘views’ as from the top, so the views from the plains were actually surprise winners for me. Spring in Mallorca has some stunning colours, and the fields were alive with pinks and greens. Equally the vineyards on the way back were gorgeous. Having cycled through the plains the summer before and not having particularly been wowed by them (dry summer colours plus busy roads where we cycled probably took the edge off), they really took my breath away this time. The roads were all totally quiet too, which was an added bonus. Additionally, this was my first ride of two with a cycle coach. I decided to do this because Tim was out of action, and I would have been cycling alone, so I thought it would be good to try a cycle coach to learn some bits and bobs. I’d never considered it, but actually the best part about it was that Iggy knew the routes, planned a great ride, and I didn’t need to think about where I was or what was coming as he talked me through it all the way. I would totally recommend doing this if you’re by yourself or just want some good tips (routes and technique). I organised this through Girls Get Strong Cycling; Iggy and Elspeth were both so helpful both before and during our stay and I would certainly consider using them again for this (and I’m planning on doing one of their cycle holidays too). 

The climb and the views from the top were brilliant too. The coll is in the centre of wide plains, so you get views in every direction once you’re at the top. The roads were totally quiet (only one or two cars passed us on the climb) and in great condition, and the monastery at the top was steeped in history. Being above the cloud line and seeing across to the Tramuntana Mountains was breathtaking. I’ll definitely be doing this ride again next time we’re on the island. Oh - and the cafe stop back down in the plains was decent too. Lovely croissants and coffees always add to the charm!

1 - First Place: The Descent Down Coll De Femenia

This ride from Port de Pollenca, through Campanet and Caimari, up the Coll de Sa Batalla, and down Coll de Femenia, is my favourite ride of all so far. It was hard, I was nervous as hell. BUT I loved it. We headed out super early as it was the height of summer, and the lovely views started with the sun rising over the vineyards. Campanet is a lovely little town, and we’d cycled through there the day before; knowing this part of the route already made it very chilled. We stopped at a lovely little cafe in Caimari, just before we began the ascent. It was nothing special to look at, but the coffee was excellent and the service was friendly. My only regret is that I didn’t buy some of their cycling kit as it looked superb; it’s on my list to call in again next time we’re there. 

This was my first BIG CLIMB and I was terrified. I’d called my friend the night before to ask her whether I was up to it. She’d assured me I was and put my mind at rest, but I was still nervous. I’d asked Tim to go on ahead and just meet me at the top. Personally I find that the best way; if I know I’m going to slow others down it’s less pressure if they can get off and ride, and I can take my time. I was also a bit nervous in my cleats; I’d only been riding in cleats for about a year and struggled getting one foot out. So I did this WITH ONE FOOT OUT OF MY CLEAT! Yes this will have made the climb far harder, but it made me less nervous so that’s what I did. 

*Just as an aside here, I’d bought my bike shoes from Facebook marketplace and the shoes and cleats were both well used when I got them. Turns out better shoes and cleats, which I got a few months later, make unclipping so much easier. Who knew!?! Laughing emoji. 

The ascent was hard, but it was pretty much as I expected. I stopped a few times and probably ate FAR too many gels and energy bars, but I also chatted to loads of friendly people, stopped in some lovely little shady areas and generally actually enjoyed it. From others’ experiences, maybe I was lucky as the roads were fairly quiet, but I’ll take that. When I saw the ‘Welcome to the Tramuntana National Park’ sign I felt a surge of pride that I was going to make it to the top, and when I got there I was over the moon. Tim was there to meet me with coffee and gorgeous pastries from the Petrol Station (this is what everyone calls it, but the cafe and outdoor seating area is far better than the name makes it sound). Sitting outside talking to all the other cyclists was lush - it was great learning about different routes and people’s experiences and just generally meeting some lovely folk. It was well set up too with decent toilets and a bike repair station. These things make a difference you know!

And then the descent. I will fully admit that my joy at hitting the top, some lovely chats, and quite probably an overdose of sugar made me feel on top of the world and skewed what came next. But, I still rate the view down to the coast from the Coll de Femenia as my all time favourite cycling view so far. It literally took my breath away. There were nearly tears, and I did laugh out loud with joy. I didn’t take any pictures (a rarity), but just enjoyed zipping down the hairpins, and seeing a new view from every angle. It was more than worth the hard work to see that. I think that is the point that I fell in love with cycling. The point that I felt, even with only one foot in a cleat, that I was, A CYCLIST. 

If you’ve got this far and read all five, you’ll see that all of them are skewed by my experiences on the day. Yours might be very different, and for different reasons, and that’s ok. I’d love to hear about your favourite views and add them to my list of places to go next. 

We hired our bikes from UBH Mallorca; Jason was super helpful and the bikes were brilliant. We’ve stayed in a few places in Mallorca….

Cabot Hobby Club our shout for cyclists; good bike room, great apartments and excellent location on the beach in Port de Pollenca. Friends have stayed at the Cabot Pollenca Park Spa and really rated it, but we just prefer apartments so we can make our own breakfasts if we’re up and out early. 

We’ve also stayed at the Bahia Pollensa and while it was ‘fine’ that’s not a ringing endorsement. The staff were wonderful and there was a good bike storage room, but the apartment felt a bit dated and the 2 twin beds acting as a double were different heights - fine if you don’t like each other but no fun if you do!

Off season we stayed in Alaro which was a super cute town. We’d definitely return there in spring or autumn as the restaurants were amazing (the lamb at Es Verger HAS to be tried! It doesn’t have a website but we found out about it through this blog). We stayed in Vila Alaro Ti which was cute, although the single glass in the town square coupled with the church bells ringing every 15 minutes is not for the light sleepers!). We booked via Booking.com - the genius rewards and reviews mean we use it a lot to book accommodation.