Mallorca was one of the closest destinations from our wedding challenge (as we live in Barcelona), which means it constantly got postponed. Finally, we decided to use an upcoming puente (literally a bridge in Spanish - a long weekend) and pay a visit.

The first thing that hits you is the size of the airport. It's huge. Mallorca is one of the most known touristic destinations in Europe. According to the official statistics in June alone (which is when we went), there are around 2,5 million people visiting. The amount starts to impress when you realise there are less than 900 thousands living there permanently. Nevertheless, the clever mallorquinos managed to condense their tourism in certain spots and most of the islands beauty is still preserved.

If you have a family with small kids or you're German, you'll feel in Mallorca particularly at home. For the latter, most of the touristic spots have permanent signs in German and in many restaurants the staff speaks the language.

The island is mostly about beautiful calas - small bays scattered throughout the rocky coast - and small charming towns. In quite a chill mode, in four days we managed to see a lot but not everything. If you're planning a longer vacations, there are definitely more things to see and do and you won't get bored.

We started off with the North and Cala Tuent, having a lunch over it on a breathtaking terrace. There weren't many people at the beach so it's a good spot if you don't like crowds. If you want better views and don't mind people around, the nearby Sa Calobra is more famous and features some spectacular tunnels to reach the beach.

On the second day we headed to the North-East of the island. Far de Formentor is spectacular but so is the traffic jam awaiting at the top of it. You can easily double your trip time stuck in it. It's a good idea to park a bit lower and walk your way up to get the view. Actually, we think it's not even necessary to reach it as you get similar sights along the way. Mirador Es Colomer for instance is very big and gives you an incredible view over the neighbouring cliffs. If you make your way through hundreds of other tourists there. We also visited a nearby Cala San Vicenç for a quick bite and even though it's a classic European resort, there's a nicely looking modern hotel right on the beach with quite a nice restaurant and it's rather quiet.

In the Southern part, we chose Cala Mondragó for a half a day chill. It's a part of a natural reserve so it cannot be accessed directly but you'll need to park in a nearby parking for 5 euros entry (car price). It's a few small inlets around a bay with crystal clear water. It's quite packed with families but bearable. There are some rental options, too such as jets or water boats-slides and you can do some small hikes around the park.

Going further north, you can reach another famous beach at Cala d'Or. Even further up you can reach a reknown Mallorcan spot of Drac Caves in Porto Cristo. It was already an incredibly commercialised place in 2010 when Magda first visited, so we were too scared to give it another shot. We continued up the road and reached a small resort town called Costa dels Pins with private-looking beaches and neat golf courses. There are many nice food places in the neighbourhood, which was not the case for the first two.

When you head towards the interior, there's a really nice old town of Artá. It features some charming views over the town from the fortification-church which replaced old mosque when Spaniards reclaimed the land. Worth a short walk for sure.

In the North there's one of the most known resorts of Playa del Muro. You can find a lot of instagrammers posting paradisiacal pictures from that spot, but all we found was mud with leaves instead of water and a horrifyingly long chain of hotels and cheesy shops along it. So we felt forced to flee to a nearby Alcúdia. If you leave the main street that is filled with tourists, you'll find yourself in a charming Spanish town with restored houses and nice old vibe.

Another top spot for visitors in Mallorca is Valldemossa, where Frederic Chopin and his lover spent a winter, which resulted in a birth of "Winter in Mallorca" by George Sand. You can visit the cell in which they stayed, with the piano he played on, and the church to which it belongs, the latter quite pricey. The main street, as in most cases in Mallorca, is quite dreadfully filled with tourists. There's not a single free spot to take a picture. But again, miraculously as in other cases, just by turning to any of the smaller alleys, you can find yourself in a beautiful town with instagrammable portals, flowers and cats wandering around.

There's another town close by, UNESCO world heritage - Deià. We didn't even manage to park as the amount of cars trying to get there exceeds this small towns' parking and streets capacity. Most probably you'll face a traffic jam on the only road crossing it. It's worth to go through it to get some photos of its picturesque placing in between Mallorcan hills.

If you fancy some lunch in top location and you're up for a hike, try to get to Sa Foradada. Both the path and final destination are spectacular - overlooking a bay with crystal clear water and exposing nearby rocky cliffs. Be smart though and make a reservation. Otherwise you can end up hiking for almost two hours both ways (photo and video time included) and get back with an empty stomach anyway, as we know from experience..

Don't forget to pay the capital, Palma de Mallorca a visit, even if it's only on your way to the airport. With its huge cathedral, neighbouring royal castle, many sights exposing Arab presence on the island, variety of restaurants, bars and pretty walks, it's truly a surprising city. We recommend to visit Mallorca by car. This is the only way you'll be able to reach all the beautiful calas and remote spots. Make sure to book in advance! The car rental is relatively cheap and there are many companies to choose from. Except for the well known giants like Avis, Sixt or Europcar, there's a variety of local providers, too. We picked a car from AmigoAutos, which turned out to be the same as OK Car Rental. We went for the cheapest category with Fiat 500 for four days and got a brand new (only 10km mileage before us!), cute 500 for less than 100 euros, full coverage and emergency towing included. They pick you up from the airport with frequent service, the check in takes some time as there were many people but the drop off was super fast and efficient. You can use Komparing to find the cheapest gas in your area but bear in mind it's more expensive than in peninsular Spain - slightly below 1,40 euros in most stations in June 2019. Other than that, there are no tolls on the highways and roads are in very good condition. The distances seem short and you can drive through the island in less than 2h but you'll find out it's usually between half an hour and an hour to drive between any two points of interest.