TravelingDreamDuo

Hi, we are a small family of 3 (parents plus baby who doesn't need a bed yet) from NYC who are traveling to both Mallorca and Menorca in July. 9 nights in Mallorca and then taking the ferry over to spend 7 nights in Menorca.

Would anyone be able to direct me to cottage/finca/house/apartment websites that would have less expensive but still wonderful Spanish character homes? Reputable agencies?

In Mallorca, I think we want to stick to the Northwest if possible - either Soller or Pollenca port or Alcudia. They seem more civilized and genteel from what I have read and family friendly.

We don't like modern or crowded areas. We like nature and not too far from the beach and cute villages with old historical centers and shopping/cafes/restaurants.

Our main requirement is a clean pool. We only need one bedroom but if the house is not too expensive, then we can have a bigger place, but not necessary.

I really appreciate all of your help and input. Any advice is welcome!

travelhorizons

I wonder if you're looking at this trip backwards.

First question: do you have your flights yet? I hope not.

Why? You want a 9-night rental in Mallorca followed by a 7-night rental in Menorca. Typically, most home rentals run for 7-day periods, Saturday-to-Saturday. So you'll eventually want to book flights with this in mind. You could do pre- and post-nights in Barcelona and/or Madrid.

You're hoping for a small, "wonderful" home with Mallorcan character, away from crowded and more populated areas (i.e., Palma), close to a beach (don't expect a Maui-like beach with soft, white sand), and convenient to a small village. With a clean pool.

And then you ask for "less expensive."


My advice is to do some searching and see if there are rental homes that meet your criteria of wonderfulness, Spanish character, location, and pool.... that have availability for your dates. If you find what you want, you're looking at how the market is pricing the rental. The price is the price. Less expensive means junkier home, less ideal location, no pool.

There are excellent reputable companies in Spain — I can recommend Valesa Cultural Services (http://www.valesacultural.com) and Made for Spain (http://www.madeforspainandportugal.com/en/). Either would be able to assist with your search ... but do you want to pay for expert advice and assistance? Using an agency would add to the cost, as their time is paid for by a commission on the rental.

ribeirasacra

In Spain a small (almost family run) listing website for villas is https://www.spain-holiday.com/
It has a good name so I would suggest you give them a try.

Rubicund

We've used www.sealandvillas.com several times and loved the properties that we've had. They are Mallorca specialists.

BritishCaicos

Don't be too put off by the idea that 95% of Mallorca is a party island.

These days 1% of the island (if that) targets the under 30s nightclubber market. Soller is really beautiful, as is Pollensa both have a higher proportion of English speakers to make life easier, other parts of the island such as the SE are dominated by German visitors.

Homeaway offers many, many rentals and most are not restricted to weekly rentals. However, I agree travelhorizons above, in that many of the established agency still dictate Sat to Sat rentals.

Just be careful using Homeaway, out of about 25 trips to Mallorca we have had two less than one expected rentals, mainly due to the owners being economical with the truth about the nature of the accommodation.

Soller is quite hilly and as we have found in the past pushing a stroller round town can be a problem.

One thing you don't mention is the month of your visit.

You should be aware than the Southern European travel market has been decimated due to the loss of Tunisia, Egypt and lower numbers considering Turkey due to security issues.

I've just booked a trip to Soller for a member of my staff as a present. Cottage availability was terrible, there's very little left on the market.

It may be worth booking as soon as possible.

Have you considered staying in a small family run Finca hotel. They usually have very high standards and very good local food, usually off the farm itself.

TheotherMallorca.com have a good choice of hotels.

By the age of 3 our son had been to Mallorca 5 times, it's a wonderful place to relax as a young family and as an island the summer temperatures rarely exceed 32oC unlike mainland Spain where 40oC plus isn't unusual.

TravelingDreamDuo

Hi thank you for your replies. We are traveling in July. I plan to stay in a hotel for the first two nights if I cannot do 9 nights straight in one cottage. We have bought flights so that we can do Sat-Sat rentals on each island.

I really appreciate the website suggestions. Any other advice is welcome.

ekscrunchy

ttt