ALCUDIA

Alcudia is a good quality family-friendly resort – the main one on the north coast - with hotels, restaurants, bars, shops and water sports galore around its 7km curving white sand bay. Yet despite its mass appeal, it remains a beautiful area with the benefit of plenty of facilities within easy reach.

The original old town of Alcudia, parts of which date back to 1300, is two miles inland. The Greeks were so keen on the place, they made it the Mallorcan capital in the 2nd century. Today, you still enter the narrow streets through the original Portal del Moll gateway and you can still see the old city walls.

Alcudia’s coastline, however, has been the focus of far more development over the past 40 years, stretching as far as the more upmarket Playa de Muro – and its vast clean, sandy beaches and warm shallow waters are the reason so many families spend holidays here.

The wide restaurant-lined promenade which runs along the port and bay is packed at night, with strolling holidaymakers looking for a spot to eat and drink. But unlike Magaluf in the south, noise levels aren’t excessive here as entertainment is mainly hotel based and there is only a small number of late-night bars and clubs.
Alcudia is a good option for those who want all their home comforts – you can buy all the daily British newspapers here, drink bitter and watch football on satellite TV – but still get a taste of historical Mallorca in the old town.

Property in Alcudia itself, near the beach, is likely to be apartments in blocks. Those near Alcudia port are cheapest, with one-bedroom apartments still available for under 100,000 euros and within a short walk of the beach. Two-bed apartments here cost from 160,000 euros.

Lake Placid is a new development of five-storey condos which forms its own gated mini-resort that still benefits from being close to Alcudia’s amenities, nightlife and beaches. Prices start at 177,000 euros for a two-bedroom apartment.

In the town’s residential areas such as Es Barcares you can find large four-bedroom villas set in private gardens from around 520,000 euros.

For something more lavish, such as a sprawling old – or indeed new-build – rustic finca, there are plenty of options in the stretch slightly inland between Alcudia and Puerto Pollensa. Prices start at around 600,000 euros and rise to around 2 million euros.