For those visitors to Majorca who believe that even the resort of Cala San Vincente is now becoming too commercialised for their liking, then the village Colonia Sant Jordi on the south east coast of the island may be just what you they are looking for.

For those of you not too familiar with the island, Colonia Sant Jordi, which if only to confuse things is also known in some guide books as "Port de Campos", is the principal coastal development of the municipal district of Ses Salines which is on the extreme south east corner of Majorca.

As the crow flies the resort centre of Colonia Sant Jordi is only around 40km, or 25 miles east of Palma and the Son Sant Joan International airport.

However, it has to be said that the road over to the east coast is not particularly good, and it's not unusual for the transfer to take approximately 45 minutes to 1 hour from the time you leave the airport grounds.

As with the other resorts on the island, we have put together the basic route for this journey, complete with links to maps where appropriate, and this is available from the Route Map link on the left hand frame of this page.

Most visitors here will not be on traditional Tour Operators package holidays, and as far as we are aware the resort does not yet feature in any of their Summer Sun brochures.

Instead, it is highly likely that all tourists staying here will be independent travellers, who have either discovered Colonia Sant Jordi purely by accident or by word of mouth and the personal recommendations of the previous year's visitors.

Anyone contemplating a holiday here must therefore also make provision to either collect a pre booked hire car from one the numerous agencies that operate from the airport facility, or alternatively utilise the services of one of the taxis that are always stationed in the ranks outside of the arrivals hall.

Although these taxis are always plentiful, and in theory at least should all operate on a fixed price basis, typically charging around 55 euro for the journey to Colonia Sant Jordi, experience has shown that this "fixed price" may vary slightly depending upon the number of suitcases, the time of day or night of the journey, and of course the number of passengers carried.

Also an important consideration for families with small children, is that taxis do not as a rule carry child seats, therefore children may have to sit on their parent knee for the journey.

If this is a cause for concern, we strongly recommend that you make arrangements for a pre-booked taxi to be waiting for you, and clearly specify at the time of booking that a child seat is needed for the journey. Pre-booked taxis are often a little more expensive, although as with all things in life, you only get what you pay for.

If for whatever reason you have not hired a car for the duration of your stay, you should be made aware that public transport around all of the east coast is not good, especially if you intend to explore beyond the resort and see more of the island.

However, if you do have a good sense of adventure, Transunion Mallorca sl do operate the L502 bus service over to Palma several times each day, and what can only be loosely described as a timetable is published every year on bus stops throughout the town, and also on the Transport de les Illes Balears web site.

However, in both cases clearly no responsibility can be accepted as to either the content or accuracy of information provided by these external sources.

Colonia Sant Jordi is a very quiet holiday resort, that was originally established in 1879 as an agricultural and fishing colony. For this reasons many of the locals still consider this to be the "new town". Tourists first started to arrive in the late 1950's, and since then the town has undergone a steady but controlled growth.

The original fishing harbour still exists, and if you can get there early enough, at 9.30am everyday a small ferry sails for the short trip over to the island of Cabrera. This tiny rocky island, whose name translates into English as "Goat Island", measures only 4 miles x 3 miles, was designated a National Park in 1991.

As a result, there is absolutely no commercial development, not even a restaurant to grab a bite of lunch. The island of Cabrera does however have a very colourful history.

It was once a haven for pirates and even served as a prisoner of war camp during the Napoleonic Wars. You can also visit the island with your own yacht, but you'll need to obtain prior permission. Only 50 boats are allowed in the harbour per day, and this is the only legal mooring place.

The municipal district of Ses Salines has traditionally always played an important part in Majorcan history. Its name literally translates as a "source of salt", and records show that as far back as Roman times salt was being extracted from the area. Also in recognition of this historic heritage, the salt flats have now been incorporated into the regional coat of arms.

The residential town of Ses Salines is situated approximately 7km inland from the coast has a modern spacious feel, and the local parish church dedicated to the town's patron saint, Sant Bartomeu, was only completed at the turn of the century. Being quite a flat area of the coast, this also provides a useful point of reference for the yachtsmen and fishermen offshore.

The beach of Sa Platja des Port is located next to the marina and fishing port of Colonia Sant Jordi, and despite being quite small, offers excellent facilities.

However, either side of the town are the fabulous beaches of Ets Estanys, Es Trenc, Es Dolc and Es Carbo, which are widely regarded as being the best beaches on the island. For those of you who don't know, Es Trenc is the also the most popular nudist beach on Majorca.

No part of this web site may be reproduced without the prior written permission of the publishers. For further information please contact Islas Travel Guides. Whilst every care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of editorial content of this site, no responsibility can be taken for any errors and omissions that occur therein.

This website was launched on 1 May 2002

Copyright 2019 Islas Travel Guides