Sant Joan beach

Sant Joan beach; small and protected sandy area with all the comforts

Services and features

Description

Sant Joan beach is a small stretch of 115 m long and 15 wide located next to the Es Mal Pas urbanization, in the municipality of Alcudia, in the north of Mallorca. It is a sandy beach with some rocks, especially near its banks. It is located on the Cap des Pinar peninsula, but on the slope that overlooks the bay of Pollensa, and is one of the two sandy areas on this part of the Alcudia coast, mainly rocky.

It is a very popular destination with tourists and local residents

It has easy access (enabled even for people with mobility problems), and the beach enters the sea on a gentle slope. This fact makes Sant Joan beach a perfect place to enjoy a day at the sea with the family, including young children.

However, it must be borne in mind that the beach is exposed to north winds

In fact, it is one of the beaches with the most waves in all of Mallorca. The rocky margins offer some protection to the bathing area but with strong wind this will not be enough and we will not be able to bathe.

At the back of the beach there is a lush pine forest that hides the buildings quite a bit

The environment is quite urbanized, but it is mainly low-rise single-family houses, there are no hotels or other large buildings. Sometimes the sea can drag posidonia remains to the beach, but normally sand and waters are kept clean.

The gentle slope means that the beach is not very deep, which makes anchoring difficult.

How to get to Sant Joan beach

Open route in GPS

The route to Sant Joan is well signposted, so getting there shouldn’t be a problem

First we will go to Alcudia, and once there we will quickly find the signs to Es Mal Pas and Manresa.

When we get to Es Mal Pas we will follow the Manresa road for about 400 m. We will pass the access road to the neighboring beach of Sant Pere and we will be able to park in Sant Joan street, where the access to the beach is located, which is about 200 m away. Another option to park is to continue along the Manresa road for another 200 m and we will find on the right a small open space enabled as parking.

Sant Joan beach is a good place to get to by bike

Since the roads leading to Alcudia have bike lanes or good shoulders, and the access area to Manresa and Es Mal Pas has little traffic.

During the summer months we will have the option of arriving by bus

• Line 356B connects the Alcudia bus station with the Bonaire marina. From here the access to Sant Joan beach is 1.4 km on foot
• To get to Alcudia we have line 351 from Palma
• The A32 line is also available, which is the express line from the airport and also stops in Alcudia

If we are in the Puerto de Pollensa area or in Can Picafort:

• We can take line 352 that runs through a large part of the north of Mallorca.
• In the summer months, line 353, which connects Can Picafort with Puerto de Pollensa and Formentor
• and the 354, which goes to Puerto de Sóller, will also allow us to link with Alcudia
• From the town of Cala Ratjada we can take line 446
• From Portocristo we have the 445, which passes through several coastal towns in the Manacor region, and also reaches Artá

We have already commented that the shallow depth of Sant Joan beach, and the swell that rises with north winds, discourage anchoring on this beach

Even so, if the day is calm 200 m from the shore we have a sandy bottom 3 m deep.

Services

Sant Joan beach has a good number of services to provide maximum comfort to its visitors

• It has hammock and umbrella rental service
• There are also showers next to the beach
• In high season (from May to October) there is a lifeguard service
• There is a beach bar where we can have soft drinks or sandwiches, and which has a bathroom

There are no facilities for water sports.

Activities

Sant Joan beach will allow us to enjoy a relaxing day at the beach

Cleaning its waters will invite us to spend a good time in them, swimming or simply refreshing ourselves while our feet enjoy stepping on the sand at the bottom. Then we can lie quietly in the sun enjoying the views towards the other side of the Pollensa bay, the Formentor peninsula.

The most experienced swimmers will enjoy crossing these waters, and can even reach Alcanada beach, on the other side of the Cap des Pinar peninsula.

• Swimming route: Es Mal Pas – Aucanada

The shallow depth of its waters makes it an ideal beach to start snorkeling, especially for children

The rocky areas near the margins are the most interesting to discover an amazing underwater world.

The same can be said about diving

It is a perfect place for initiation, and very close to the beach there is a diving school where we can also rent equipment. From here, outings are organized to different dive sites. For example, in the center of the bay of Pollensa is the Andrea Ferrara wreck. This sailboat was abandoned at anchor in the bay in 2010. It disappeared overnight and in 2019 it was found sunk at a depth of 38 m.

If we are fans of canoeing from this beach we can cross to the other side of the bay

To Cala Murta, for example. It is also common to cross the Cap des Pinar peninsula until reaching Alcanada or Puerto de Alcudia.

Hikers, or those who simply enjoy a quiet walk among nature, have a good opportunity here to stretch their legs and breathe clean air

A somewhat long but easy route takes us to the other side of the Cap des Pinar peninsula and to Puerto de Alcudia. Much longer and more difficult is the route that will take us through the bay of Pollensa and then to Cala San Vicente.

• Hiking route: Es Mal Pas – Port of Alcudia
• Hiking route: Es Mal Pas – bay of Pollensa – Cala San Vicente

Without leaving this small peninsula from Es Mal Pas we can reach the Coll Baix beach, at the other end. If we want to enjoy spectacular views over the bays of Alcudia and Pollensa, and even manage to see Menorca, we can climb the Talaia de Alcudia. On this top are the foundations of an old watchtower built in 1567 and destroyed in 1936. It is possible to spend the night up to see the sun rise from behind Menorca. Not in vain the cape at the foot of this hill is called the Cap de Menorca.

• Hiking route: Coll Baix – Coll Baix beach
• Hiking route: Talaia de Alcudia

As we have said, Sant Joan beach is perfect to visit by bike

In addition to that, on the roads that run through Cap del Pinar we will be able to test our ability with mountain biking, and our resistance. The first route runs through the middle of the peninsula with somewhat difficult but fun sections. The second takes us inland but with very interesting parts of the route.

• Circular cycle route: Alcudia – Alcanada – Coll Baix – Coll de Ses Fontanelles – La Victoria – Manresa
• Circular cycle route: Alcanada-Serra del Gabelli – Penya Fort – Sa Marina – Sant Martí – Port de Alcudia

History buffs should not miss visiting the ruins of the Roman city of Pollentia

There are remains of it at various points, but some of the main ones are very close to the access to the Es Mal Pas area. The size of the city was such that it had two ports, one on each side of Cap del Pinar.

To refresh ourselves or regain strength we can count on the chiringuito that is located on the same beach

Without going too far, in Es Mal Pas and in the neighboring urbanization of Bonaire there are several restaurants with different specialties. In Alcanada, on the other side of this small peninsula, we have several more.

Lodging

In Es Mal Pas, a few meters from the access to Sant Joan beach, there is a 4-star hotel

In the Manresa area we can find several more than three stars. Throughout the Cap des Pinar area there are many villas and chalets for vacation rental.

If we do not find anything to our liking or for our budget, in Alcudia there are several more hotels, most of them four stars

And if we go to Puerto de Alcudia, one of the main tourist centers in Mallorca, then the offer increases a lot, being able to find hotels, aparthotels and apartment complexes, as well as many tourist rentals.

 

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