The small sheltered resort of Canyamel, which you may also see written as both Costa de Canyamel or Playa de Canyamel, is quietly tucked away along the northern east coast of Majorca, approximately 10km to the south of the resort of Cala Ratjada, in the municipal district of Capdepera.

For those visitors to Mallorca arriving at the Son Sant Joan International Airport, some 65km to the south west on the outskirts of the capital Palma, the journey time over to Canyamel would normally be expected to take somewhere in the region of around 1.1/2 hours from the time of leaving the airport grounds.

As this part of Mallorca as yet to be discovered by most, if not all, of the major UK Tour Operators, practically speaking anyone wishing to visit Canyamel should be prepared to either arrange for the collection of a hire car from any one of the numerous rental agencies based at the airport, or alternatively engage the services of a local taxi driver who would typically charge around €85 for a vehicle carrying 4 passengers plus their luggage.

As with any journey, there are a number of routes that the driver may take, although possibly the simplest and most straightforward is along the main Ma-15 and Ma-4040 roads that will take you almost all of the way into the resort, passing through the towns of Manacor and Son Servera on the way.

A more detailed version of this route, complete with links to maps where appropriate, is available from the Route Map link on the left hand frame of this page.

Once you have arrived in Canyamel, and have had the opportunity to settle into your chosen accommodation, you will quickly discover that the resort is relatively undeveloped by Mallorcan standards, and despite the first hotels here being built during the early 1970's, even today, some 40 years later, the resort is still surrounded by natural pine forests and olive groves.

Backed by low mountains, Canyamel is famed on Mallorca for its wide sandy beach and fresh water torrente at one end. The Torrente de Canyamel actually rises some 8km inland from the beach, in the hills around the town of Arta.

With its calm waters, and outstanding scenic beauty, it can be navigated as far inland as the small lake of s’Estany de Sa Torre, whose waters were ordered to become the property of the people of Canyamel by John II of Aragon in 1466.

Despite Canyamel being so far undiscovered by most of the English speaking visitors to Mallorca, it is still nevertheless a popular, and sought after destination, with other tourists from both mainland Spain, as well as those from central Europe.

You will certainly not find a cafe or restaurant here serving the traditional all day British breakfast, and so far the resort has also resisted the charms of any of the large US burger franchises.

Despite its relatively small size, Canyamel is widely regarded as being an ideal destination for sports enthusiasts. Quite surprisingly, the town has no less than 100 tennis courts, with numerous professional coaches on hand to give tuition to all levels of ability.

For those who prefer their balls a little smaller and harder, there are also four excellent golf courses in the vicinity, these being Canyamel, Capdepera, Pula and Son Servera, all of which are within a 15 minute drive of the resort.

On a number of occasions we've heard many British ex-pats refer to Canyamel as "caramel", although I doubt if any would realise just how close to the truth they are, and that the resort name is actually derived from the Catalan word for "sugar cane" which used to be grown in the vicinity until late into the 18th Century.

So just who would find holidays to Canyamel appealing? Well generally it is an ideal destination for those families looking for a quieter beach holiday, but are still mobile enough to explore the towns and other livelier resorts nearby.

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