Playa de Porto Cristo: A Family-Friendly Beach Haven on Mallorca’s East Coast

4 min readJun 5, 2023

Playa de Porto Cristo is the main beach of the former fisherman’s village of Porto Cristo, located on the east coast of Mallorca, about 15 km from the inland town of Manacor. This region is known for some of the best beaches on Majorca, with other resorts such as Cala Romantica, Cala Varques and Cala Murada, all within a 10–20 minute drive. Porto Colom is also just a 20-minute drive to the south. Playa de Porto Cristo is a beautiful, white sand beach about 350-metres long, surrounded by the village and backed by steep cliffs on either side. The Porto Cristo marina is right next to the beach. The water is calm and clear, making it ideal for families and small children.

Playa de Porto Cristo is a popular holiday destination, particularly among German and French families, but locals also appreciate the convenience and amenities. You can rent umbrellas and lounge chairs, and while there are limited water sports activities, peddle boats are available. There is also a pontoon with a slide out in the water. On-site facilities include changing rooms, showers, and toilets, and there are plenty of restaurants and shops along the boardwalk offering easy family fare such as pizza, paellas and burgers, as well as a beach bar selling basic refreshments.

Beach Holiday

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Safety and Access

Playa de Porto Cristo is easily accessed by car from the main road coming in from Manacor. Parking in the town is free but can be quite crowded in the summer months. There are also public buses from different villages that have a stop right by the beach. This is an accessible beach for handicapped and wheelchair users as the paved boardwalk runs right behind the beach and there is a ramp down to the sand.

This is a great location for anchoring a boat and the marina of Porto Cristo is within walking and swimming distance.

There is a lifeguard on duty here during the summer months.

Things to do on Playa de Porto Cristo

There are no water sports activities here except for paddle boats. Take one out to the large pontoon with a slide which many people like to swim out to as well. The Porto Cristo marina is next to the beach and you can hire a boat for the day.

There is a volleyball court on the sand and of course many souvenir shops to buy paddle ball and similar games. This is a family-friendly beach where many people enjoy beach games of this sort.

Walk along the cliffs to escape the crowds and appreciate the natural beauty of the landscape here.

Restaurants on Playa de Porto Cristo

Along the boardwalk, at the beach, the restaurants remain quite standard but good. Classic Spanish, Mallorcan, pizza and kid-friendly food reign supreme. That said, over the last few years, restaurants in Porto Cristo have improved greatly, particularly in the summer months, with more well-known chefs heading up restaurants in this town, offering a more diverse and gourmet cuisine.

Hotels on Playa de Porto Cristo

There are many hotels of all sizes and budgets near Playa de Porto Cristo and around the port town. You’ll also find a range of self-catering apartments and luxury holiday villa rentals here as well. A bit further afield, The Hotel SonMas is a high-end rural finca hotel. There are plenty more top hotels in Mallorca located nearby.

Nearby Playa de Porto Cristo

There are many beaches of all shapes and sizes around Porto Cristo including Cala Varques, Cala Romantica, and Sa Coma. For off-the-beach visits, the famous cave systems of Coves del Drach which means ‘the dragon caves’ and ‘Coves del Hams’ which means ‘the fish-hook caves’ and refers to the shape of the natural rock formations, are really worth a visit.

There are several golf courses in this area for all levels of golfers, whether beginner or advanced.

Manacor is Mallorca’s second-largest city after Palma and has a lovely plaza with shops and restaurants, and it is home to tennis champion Rafa Nadal and his famous tennis academy.

We hope you find this guide to the Playa de Porto Cristo useful and that it leads to many memorable experiences in Mallorca.

Bon Profit as the locals say!