The resorts of S'Illot and its nearest neighbour Sa Coma, are part of the municipal district of Sant Llorenc des Cardassar, and are situated along the east coast of Majorca, neatly sandwiched between the resorts of Cala Millor and Porto Cristo.

Geographically this part of the east coast is approximately 65km north east of the capital Palma and the Son Sant Joan International airport, and transfer time into the resort usually takes around 1.1/2 to 2 hours.

For independent travellers who prefer to hire a car at the airport and make their own journey into the resort, driving over to S'Illot from Palma is fairly straightforward, once you've adjusted to driving on the "wrong side of the road".

The main Ma-15 takes you all the way to Sant Llorenc des Cardassar, and from there it's quite well signposted for the final few miles over to the east coast along the Ma-4022 and Ma-4021.

As with the other resorts on the island, 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.

On a good day an experienced driver should do it in around 1.1/4 hours, but as in the UK if you get stuck behind a lorry, this will increase the journey time substantially.

For the growing numbers of visitors who are now opting for a taxi transfer, there are always plenty of taxis available from the ranks outside of the arrivals hall, although on occasions you should be prepared to queue, and in theory at least, they should all operate on a fixed price basis, typically charging around 75 euro for the journey to S'Illot, however 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.

Visitors should also be aware that a standard taxi on the island is only licenced to carry a maximum of 4 passengers plus a "reasonable" amount of luggage, so for larger groups of travellers, or those with special needs, it is our recommendation to make provision for a pre-booked taxi to be waiting for you at the airport, and clearly specify at the time of booking that a larger, or specially adapted, vehicle is needed for the journey.

Public transport around all of the east coast is at best "unreliable", but for the very brave or very foolish, buses do run into Palma 4 times each day during the summer, inland to Manacor 9 times a day, south to the Caves of Drach 5 times a day, and north to the resort of Cala Millor 10 times each day.

Over the years many visitors to Mallorca have asked us for information on bus timetables, and although our general advice is the "sit and wait, and enjoy the sun", timetables are published each year on the bus stops throughout the town and also on local bus operator's Aumasa web site, although, clearly no responsibility can be accepted as to either the content or accuracy of information provided by these external sources.

Most visitors to S'Illot would be surprised to learn that until the late 1970's the east coast of Majorca did actually have its own railway line running from Manacor to Arta, passing through the local towns of Sant Llorenc and Son Carrio.

Although the grand station of "Pou Vell" still remains in the centre of Sant Llorenc, sadly there are no plans to reinstate this line, which for a relatively small investment of the much hated "tourist tax", would undoubtedly prove to be both a major tourist attraction and amenity for the area.

Unlike nearby Sa Coma, the resort of S'Illot is not a modern purpose built holiday resort, but a traditional Mallorcan fishing village that really only started to adapt during the mid 1980's to meet the ever increasing demand for tourist accommodation on the island.

Visitors to S'Illot will often stand and stare as the few remaining fishing boats here are hauled up each day, over the rocks and onto a concrete ramp at the end of the beach.

Over the last 25 years or so, S'Illot has continued to grow in a fairly controlled manner by Mallorcan standards. In all fairness to the local council, considerable efforts have clearly been made to maintain "green zones" and to extend protection over areas of special environmental interest, the most notable of these being the Punta de n'Amer headland which we'll cover in more detail on our Attractions page, and it is sincerely hoped that this policy is allowed to continue into the long term against the ever increasing demand for tourist beds.

A wide traffic free promenade also runs through S'Illot, north towards the resort of Sa Coma and south to the smaller sheltered beach of Cala Moreya, which you may sometimes see written as Cala Moraia.

If during your stay here you venture into Sa Coma, don't expect to find a mirror image of S'Illot, as most visitors find the contrast between the two resorts to be quite surprising.

If you are looking for all night karaoke bars or night clubs with foam parties every night, I am afraid that S'Illot just will not appeal to you.

Evening entertainment here is generally hotel based, although the resort does have a small number of lively bars, but even these tend to have few customers after about midnight reflecting the family market that the town attracts.

However, if you ever tire of S'Illot and are looking for a wider selection of bars and restaurants, the "bright lights" of the more lively Cala Millor are only around 5 minutes away by taxi.

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This website was launched on 1 May 2002

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